….across the Atlantic Sea….

The thing about the Manchester road trip is that I can't stop singing this song.  I have Hair lyrics echoing in my brain everytime I go to write this post. Which has been a few times now.

Zach was fortunate enough to have a college friend in Manchester who had tickets to a Manchester United game.  We haven't been to that side of the country so the girls and  I decided to drive them up and make a couple days of it.  The game drew a spectacular crowd which shut down the streets for blocks around.  I dropped Zach and Megan near the stadium and then drove back out against the tide of bodies pressing forward to the entrances. It was like parting the Red Sea.  That part of the trip however was a highlight for Z.  He is sharing this video.  Just remember this is England and it's a soccer game.  I am not responsible for any language you might overhear. <g>

https://www.facebook.com/v/10151296547274381

Beyond that this was not the most wildly successful road trip to date.  It was Boxing Day for starters.  That's the British equivalent of Black Friday. While the stores were open pretty much nothing else was either that day or the following or apparently many of the days between Christmas and New Year's. 

We didn't get to see some of the things Zach had on his list like the old library. We did get to walk around and stopped into the People's Museum which houses a collection of memorabilia from various labor movements.  Some was fascinating. Some downright disturbing.  Some made me chuckle, like the informational sign about "Tom Paine" who came off like a rabble rouser from the 'colonies'. 

There was a very urban and industrial vibe there which isn't usually our thing. Ok my thing.  Still, it was a legitimate adventure.  The drive home was a challenge.  It has been so wet some of the roads were closed due to standing water and our GPS doesn't recover well in those situations.  We all fell into bed right quick afterwards.  We did get to travel through some beautiful open farmland land while detouring on the way back. Way more my speed. I hope to share soon.