Report from the Middle of the Storm

It is a quarter to midnight here, making it almost 6 in the evening at home. I am conducting an experiment as I wait for the election results in my jammies. I went to bed at about 8 and set my alarm for 11:30. My plan is to then to go back to sleep after I find out what way the world is going. I am so scared and hyper and hopeful. This is truly an historic evening.

Back to my record of the Wales adventure. Tuesday. We spent this day in Conwy, exploring and shopping. It rained a lot, of course, but we were well dressed and ended up having a pretty good time with it, I think. We went to the castle, which was pretty cool, and then spent most of the afternoon shopping at the little shops in town. I keep buying things, and thinking I'm spending too much, but the things I buy are usually for other people. I need to figure out how to buy souvenirs for myself. After shopping we went back to the hostel in an attempt to regain feeling in our feet, and then headed back out again for a while. Conwy, like many other Welsh towns built by Edward way back in the 1200's, has town walls that go all the way around the original town. Most of the circut is open for pedestrians, so we hiked around lots of that. It was really fun and pretty, due in part to the hail that fell throughout much of the walk. I'm really glad mom and I stayed positive (and even a little silly) in the crumby weather. We ate at a little Indian restaurant that was quite tasty and then turned in early once again.

They've called projections for Kentucky (McCain) and Vermont (Obama). Lots of other states are taking longer to report than was expected (yet, this is expected).

Just called S. Carolina (McCain).

Wednesday we took a roundabout bus route to a town called Betws-y-Coed, which was significantly more touristy than Conwy. It was also, amazingly, rainier and colder. We went on a hike in the mountains and got pretty much completely soaked, but I still think we had a good time. Mom's knee was bugging her, which made the experience less enjoyable for her, and the issue continued to plague her the whole time she was here. I hope she is feeling better now. Slogging in the mud was fun-

Just called Pennsylvania. OBAMA!

-but once we got back to the hostel, we couldn't bring ourselves to put back on our soggy shoes. So once again we ate at the hostel.

Now might be a good time to mention that I'm following the election through BBC on TV as well as CNN, MSNBC, and Reuters online, at this point. At this point: McCain 34, Obama 103. Keep it up.

Thursday is what we would call a bust. It was the day of missing trains. We did have a good time in the morning though; we visited Caernarfon and saw another totally cool castle. This one was in much better shape and had tons of cool passageways all through the walls etc. We had a really good time racing up to the tops of the turrets with our backpacks to take pictures and then back down because it was so cold. It was after leaving this town that we kind of started to fail. We took a bus to a town called Porthmadog where we had wanted to catch a scenic narrow-gauge train that mom had heard about. Well, we got off at the normal train station and then discovered that we actually wanted to be at a different train station across town. By the time we got there, we'd missed the train, and of course, by the time we got back to the normal train station, we had missed the train to our next hostel town too. So we hiked back across town to the information center to get the train/buses figured our to get to our hostel and then waited at the train station for our train. By the time we got to the hostel (which involved a train change in a town I can't spell) we were once again exhausted and just ready for bed. The day kind of disappeared in travel.

Friday was our last day in Wales. We had a hearty breakfast at the hostel and then left for a hike along the coast. The plan was to take our backpacks and hike to the next town over where we would catch the train to leave Wales. The hike was something like 7 miles and we were told it would take about two hours. With our backpacks and mom's knee, it ended up taking us 4 hours. We had planned to get to the destination town two hours before our train was scheduled to depart. We got there with 10 minutes to spare. (I prayed really hard for both of us and it worked.) That train took us all the way to Shrewsbury, where we ate dinner and then waited (for a long time) for our train back to London. It was so great to be back in the flat.

2:00 am, 15 states polls close. Results: McCain 76 Obama 175. We're getting there.

Saturday was another day in London. In the morning we went to Borough Market and wandered around there. I think Mom had a good time exploring the crowded market and we bought some tasty goodies. After that we returned once again to Thorntons to get a final stock of delicious toffees. We had tickets to a matinee of the Lion King and it was absolutely amazing. The first song was so inspiring and stimulating that it made me cry. The show was just so cool. I'm so glad we got a chance to see it, in London, and that I got to see it with mom. After that we went back to the flat and then ate dinner at an Indian restaurant near home.

Oh my goodness, BBC just called Ohio in favor of Obama. This is amazing. This should be it.

Dropping Mom off at the airport on Sunday morning was tough, but we had such a great week. I'm so glad she came, it was so wonderful. Church was good that afternoon. It was good to be back after not having been there for a week and a half. I love church.

3:00 am. Obama gets IA. (McCain 135, Obama 207)

4:00 am. Polls close on the west coast. Obama wins CA and Washingon.

OBAMA WINS! We have elected our first black president. I have so much joy in my heart at this moment. This is it, this is the first step towards change.

Good morning. To more than just November 5.