One red wire and one black wire

Sunday, July 10^th, 2016

Salisbury, UK / Hastings, UK

It’s 8:30am BST and I am waking up from a very bad night’s sleep. My hotel is old and charming, but it is also super hot inside. Air conditioning is something that I definitely take for granted.

I have big plans for the day so I get ready and quickly pack my bag. The hotel serves a hot breakfast for £10, so I make quick stop in the dining room. I serve myself a traditional English breakfast from the breakfast bar and it is terrible. Oh well, I have places to go.

I walk back over to the public parking lot to drop my bag in my car. Next I head to the Salisbury Cathedral where one of the four surviving copies of the Magna Carta will be on display. On the way to the cathedral, I stop off at Starbucks. This is the first Starbucks that I have seen since LA and I am praying that they have half and half. I order a small coffee and am only offered milk and sugar.

When I arrive at the cathedral I learn that it does not open to the public until 11am. It’s okay though, it’s 9:30am and there are a ton of amazing photo opportunities in the area. I spend the next 15 minutes taking photographs of the outside of the cathedral. It turns out that large, immobile buildings make very good subjects. I also take a walk around the courtyard where I find a quaint museum all about Stonehenge. The woman behind the counter sells me an overpriced ticket promising free admission for the rest of the year. Thanks lady.

The Stonehenge museum is adorable. It reminds me of the little museums that you would find in small town America. There is an exhibit on ancient history, a subject on which I clearly need a refresher. There is also an eclectic collection of clothing, art, and dishes. It doesn’t make a whole of sense, but that’s part of the charm. After about 45 minutes of browsing I wander back to the cathedral. They are still closed, but the gift shop has opened. I browse through the shop and purchase a set of coasters. They have little funny British comics on them and will come in handy one day when I actually purchase a coffee table.

At 11am sharp the Cathedral opens to the public and I am one of the first people to enter. The main seating area is gorgeous, complete with stained glass and lots of old art. Eventually, I enter the exhibit area, where there are multiple stations explaining the importance of the Magna Carta. I read everything; my knowledge is embarrassingly limited. Eventually I get to the end of the exhibit, where the 800+ year document is stored in a case, in a tent, guarded by an British docent. I have to duck to enter the tent. Once inside, it takes a minute for my eyes to adjust to the light.  The Magna Carta is much smaller than I imagined. The whole document is written on one piece of paper (it’s written in abbreviated Latin). I am in the tent with a few other tourists and there is an awkward silence. I ask the docent a few polite questions about how the document has been preserved but he really doesn't seem to know anything. Great, I have succeeded in making things more awkward. After a few minutes I leave the tent and head back to the car.

It’s almost noon and I have 8 full hours to get to Stonehenge before it closes. I am feeling good about my odds of success.

Upon examining the map I notice that Old Sarum is on the way from Salisbury to Stonehenge. These are ruins from an old Norman castle. It’s as old as Stonehenge, but not as well preserved. I decide to check it out. As I approach I see a guy in a bright green T-shirt that waves at me to stop. He informs me that a fun run is taking place and the road is closed. I ask for an alternate route and he replies that he is from Whales and he doesn’t know. I spend the next 20 minutes looking for another way into Old Sarum before I finally give up.

On to Stonehenge.

I arrive around 1pm. The line at the ticket booth is enormous. I get in line and immediately start trying to figure out a way to buy tickets on my iPhone. After about 15 minutes of research I give up. 30 minutes later, I acquire my ticket. 

Wow. This is definitely more difficult than I thought.

Before heading over to the ruins I take a quick snack break at the café. I grab a coffee and some brownies and sit down to refuel. The food is not very good. I am not surprised.

There are two options to get to Stonehenge from the ticket booth, either walk or take a bus. I opt to walk. The wind is pretty bad, but the landscape is really amazing. There are small rolling hills of wind-swept grass and teeny tiny trees for as far as the eye can see. The walking path is about a mile long and cuts through a field. I see a few cows and am mildly concerned that they will charge at me. Eventually, I am able to see the ruins on the horizon.

As I approach, I somehow take a wrong turn and end up outside of the fencing around the monument. It’s okay though, I am able to get some great long shots of the ruins and the line of people waiting to see it. I attempt a few selfies but am unsuccessful (For the first time in my life, I wish I had a selfie stick.) Next, I retrace my steps and enter the viewing area with everyone else. There is another security fence around the actual stones, which prevents tourists from trying to push them over (something that I have been imagining for the last week). On the bright side, this set up results in some great photographs.

Stonehenge is definitely big. It’s bigger than it looks in pictures and it is way more popular with tourists than I ever imagined. After a few laps I finally get into line for the bus back to the ticketing area.

Upon arrival I spend a few more minutes in the gift shop and then do a quick swing though of the exhibit area which explains how Stonehenge was made. It turns out it was made with pulleys. I find this information both boring and disappointing. I head back to the Mazda station wagon to make the drive back to Hastings.

I am gaining some confidence in my driving abilities, but am still basically terrified. Also, I am getting very hungry, but there is nowhere to stop.

About 20 minutes outside of Hastings I decide that it's time to make my best attempt at reattaching the passenger side mirror, and pull over into a parking lot near an empty warehouse. I find a cleaning cloth for my sunglasses in my purse and buff the mirror and the mirror enclosure to the best of my abilities. To my surprise most of the scuff marks come off. Next I clean the back of the mirror and re attach two loose wires. One is red and one is black. I have no idea which one goes where, so I make a guess. Nothing blows up. 

From here I squirt half a tube of super glue all over the back of the mirror and the enclosure. I press the mirror back into the enclosure and hold it there for 3 full minutes. I am holding my breath the entire time. When I remove my hands, the mirror stays in place.

I climb back into the car and gently drive back to my flat in Hastings. It feels like I have been gone for a full week. Around 8pm I collapse on the couch. I make an online order for King Kabob and wait patiently for glorious food.

I spend the rest of the evening watching Bloodline on Netflix and profusely thanking the car gods that I did not kill anyone.