Derwentwater and the play "Dry Rot"

During our time in "The Lake District", we stayed at a lovely B&B, just minutes from Lake Derwentwater.  There is a hiking trail that goes entirely around the lake, approximately 11 miles RT, which was a little long for us to do in one outing. So instead we took a boat from one side of the lake to the other, stopped at a gorgeous hotel and had hot cocoa....then proceded to walk back to town.  It was, of course, raining the whole time, but this didn't seem to stop us.

 



Behind this grand hotel was a trail leading to a gorgeous waterfall.




The Catbells from our lakeshore trail

After visiting the waterfall, we hiked along the trail and found an interesting set of hands that George just had to check out.

 

this was as far as we could go as there was a short section that had no public access.  So we waited at the dock for the next boat to take us back to the beginning of our trip.

And then there was the play "Dry Rot" that we saw at Keswick's Theatre by the Lake. It was definitely a high quality performance, on par with any NY or London performance.  Only at a much better price.  Theatre by the Lake began hosting plays in 1999 and was opened by Dame Judi Dench, who is also the current theater president.

Liverpool, England

We are not the typical tourist when it come to touring

the city of Liverpool.  We did everything we could to

avoid anything to do with The Beatles and The Titanic.

Hard to do....but here's what we did instead......



George loved just hanging around Albert Dock
 

When you "Ride the Duck" in Liverpool,
 the tour guide makes sure you get wet!



Yes, you can live in a Yellow Submarine in Liverpool.
This is actually a floating hotel at Albert Dock.

This is a Yellow Duck Marine!

Julie standing outside Jamie's Italian in Liverpool.
(Jamie Oliver's restaurant)

How am I supposed to eat this burger?
(at Jamie's Italian)

Julie's entre at Jamie's Italian. 
 

A Climb thru Conwy Castle

Conwy Castle is located in Conwy, Wales and was just literally a stone's throw away from our B&B.  We spent a couple of hours climbing 4 of the 8 towers of this castle built by King Edward I.

 

Our day at Reifel Bird Sanctuary Delta, British Columbia, Canada

We had a great day bird watching at Reifel Bird Sanctuary in Delta, B.C., Canada.  Julie recorded 34 different species of birds during the day and I got great pictures of some of them.

Some highlights: We saw our first owl outside of a zoo; fed sand hill cranes and black capped chickadees; played follow the leader with a handful of ducks; and got attacked by flying pigeons!

At THE TODAY SHOW 4TH HOUR, with KLG AND HODA

KLG and Hoda were here to promote "Saving Aimee", the production based on the book (and lyrics) by Kathie Lee Gifford and currently showing at the 5th Avenue Theatre in Seattle.  We had tickets to the show that night, but wanted to see them live so we headed for Pike Place Market at 4:30am.  When we got there at 5:45am, there was a long line to get into the "seated areas".  We opted for a premium "standing view" spot just behind the fenced off area, but with a perfect view of where Hoda and KLG would be.  It was also right where Sara Haines would have been seated, if she had been there...I was disappointed not to see her, but perhaps she will return for a visit.  The day was all about "Saving Aimee" with guests being the actors and actresses from the show, along with the usual segments we all know and love.

 the drinking

the crazy things animals will do live on TV

oops, we dressing alike AGAIN!

Hoda can't even look at KLG holding our infamous geoduck clam

guest Carolee Carmello (Aimee)

Bobbie's Buzz!

 Jay stood right next to us during taping

During the taping of the first show, we stood right next to Hoda's boyfriend Jay.  He was the nicest guy and chatted with us during breaks of the show.  I got him to sign a postcard (which he said he's not used to doing...Hoda's the celebrity, not him) and I figured that was as good as it gets.  We had a great view of our favorite morning hosts and had gotten some great pictures.  But it got better!  Bobbie Thomas was setting up her segment before the 2nd show, and I called out to her and she came over.  She also signed a postcard (and posed for a picture) and let us in on a little secret: Her shoes were too big and she uses a maxipad as a shoe insert to make it fit better.  (Hoda demonstrated this live on TV a week later).  After the 2nd show taping, we worked our way into the crowd to try and get Hoda's auto and a picture. Hoda did sign my postcard (right next to Jay's kind words) and we had a laugh when I asked her to take a picture with George and she asked "Who's George?  Oh, curious George" We thought this would be the last time we spoke with Hoda, but luck was with us that night at the 5th avenue when lo and behold we are standing right behind Hoda and Jay as they are leaving the performance.  Another person stops them and asks for an autograph, so I say hi to Jay, not expecting him to remember me, but then it happens:  Jay looks at me and asks questioningly "Debbie? right?"  I am amazed he remembers me.  Not only does he remember me (and Julie), but he introduces us to Hoda and she comments about how he mentioned us to her earlier at their hotel.  We are in shock, but do manage to remember to get Hoda to sign our Saving Aimee program, which she does graciously.

Addendum:  How was the show?  Were you on it?
 Of course, we couldn't see everything that the TV viewer got to see, but it was worth it, and we even managed to be on the show for 2 seconds during Hoda's Playlist. 

what we could see of the remote segments

what the TV viewer saw live on TV

here's the proof, in case you missed it