2018 August Great Britain Day 6 - Preston Temple & Avenham Park

It is going pretty fast our trip is.   The BNB we were in was very comfortable and nice.  The hostess had lots of little things like chocolates, cereals, milk in the refrigerator and so on. The washing machine was put to use as was the iron and ironing board.  So many times you don't get those things in these BNG places.  If were staying longer, being so close to a metro station would have been awesome.  But we were in and out really quick.

We were ready to go by 9:30 AM, so we phoned our friends and told them we would meet them at the Preston Temple at 11 AM instead of 12 PM.  The drive for us was about 40 minutes heading north from Liverpool outskirts where we stayed.

We arrived around 10:30 AM and found Elder (Richard) Fox sitting on the cement edge of the pretty pond next to the temple.  His wife, Sister (Marilyn) Fox, was already inside doing some work.  So after some great hugs with Richard, we went inside and enjoyed doing temple work together.  It was so great to see them.

At around 1 PM, we headed to the Ribble River in Preston where the first British saints were baptized.  I don't remember the exact date.   I believe it was Heber C. Kimball and Orson Hyde who were the missionaries.  And apparently they had a crowd of some 7000 people who came to witness this strange event in the mid 1800's.  Anyway, there is a beautiful park there.  There is a memorial plaque in one of the park too.  We walked down to the river and onto a bridge visiting the whole time with the Fox's catching up on our families and their missionary activities.  They seem to be doing really well.  And after Richard's scare with cancer, life seems to be settled down as they serve the Lord in this great part of the world.  They are working with Young Single Adults along with less active members.  They are really enjoying their time here.  Writing this makes me remember that before we headed to Preston, Richard requested one quick stop at an LDS Bookstore.  Apparently this bookstore orders A&W Root Beer once a quarter from the USA.  When we got there, they probably had 30 to 40 cases of the brown gold!  I could totally relate that Richard needed to buy 2 cases worth.  I would have too.  Most of the local missionaries can't understand the love as it tastes like cough syrup to them.  And to put your good ice cream in it and watch it float...well...just seems odd to them.  But the Elder's and Sister's from the USA totally are thrilled.  Makes me smile.

After spending a good hour in the park, we drove a short distance to a nice restaurant.  The food was tasty.  But the company was better.  :-)  After eating, it was about 5 PM.  We still had to take them back to the temple.  So we hurried off.  It was hard to say good bye but look forward to hearing more of their adventures as they post somethings on line now and again.

After a 1.5 hour drive north to Carlisle, we easily found our BNB a few miles off the motorway in a small, quaint little village.  The driving was a blessing once we got on the M6...a major motorway.  70 miles an hour!  Straight roads.  Yes!  I woke up tired today so getting a drive like this was what I needed.   So getting here quickly and getting this blog writing thing done will allow me to relax a little bit more this evening and hopefully get a good nights rest.  The problem with these BNB's are the beds...a double bed is seen as 'King Size'.  I need a Queen Size minimum...but they are hard to find.  Anyway, I'll survive...I think.  

Most of our pictures will be at the Temple and at the park in Preston.  Great memories....

Our breakfast...biscuits and jam!  Yum.

Some row houses as we head out of Liverpool...

Interesting art formation along the way...not sure what it represents.

The entry sign to the temple site.  This site had a Missionary Training Center, a Stake Center and Temple grounds.  A pretty big complex...

The temple...

The Tiner's and Fox's.  I'm a bit underdressed.  But when you travel stand by, you travel light.  Great to see our friends and former neighbors in the Bass Lake Ward in Cameron Park California.  I think it is still there and has not burnt down yet!

The pretty pond had Lilly pads and this on sported a yellow flower.  So naturally, Denise grabbed a shot of it.

This plaque is in honor of the first British Saints who were baptized in the river there.  Significant church history...

Another plaque...

I nice fountain in the park.  The kids to the left were jumping in and out of the water.  I thought it was a cool day.  But they seemed to think different.

Scotland...almost....but not quite.  We'll be there tomorrow...Edinburgh.