Made it to Jersey!

Hello Everyone! 

Weeeee'rrrreee baaaackkkk, this time reporting to you live from the Channel Islands. After an unexpected delay with our plane allegedly being too heavy and the runway being allegedly too wet (even though there was no weather on the island that day) I was stuck in London Heathrow for the night. I will have to give credit to my airlines for setting me up in a lovely free hotel from the 70s when they still smoked, think Vegas, with the green carpets permanently stained with ash and the smell of cigarettes that can never be removed. Sometimes my stubborn nature can pay off and this was definitely one of those times, I was rebooked for a flight the next night, and well that just wasn't good enough for visiting my best friend across the world! Hours of customer service lines, and an absolute refusal to take no for an answer, and I was booked the very next morning on the first flight out, one of three for the day, because island life. As you can see below, we had absolutely beautiful skies and even a little rainbow for the 40 minute flight! 

Jes and I started this tradition back in London 2019 where we come up with creative signs to meet each other in the airport with and this year did not disappoint! We started the morning with instant giggles and  fully belly laughs, so much so that our cheeks and abs hurt. 

She picked me up in the biggest smallest two-seater electric car, Ami, and thankfully we all fit with my luggage! 

After arriving to their apartment greeting Tiny, and having a quick outfit change, we immediately went on a walk to the local artists shops for some air drying clay for our trip's crafting project. Jes and I plan to collect seashells and sea glass during the trip and then press them into ring dishes before we leave. Life in my 30's is looking a lot different, but I can't complain one bit! I'm in crafters heaven! I almost had to laugh when I walked outside and it looked like Balboa Island.

Fun fact, Jersey has the third highest tidal range in the world, and it was quite obvious when we walked to the harbors where all the boats were on the sea floor! Apparently the island only has one harbor that has water all the time and there is a 25 year wait list to get a spot. 

We also walked past the old train station which was converted to shops, since there's really not much need for a train when the entire island is only 9 miles by 5 miles.  

Walking around, you definitely know you're in English territory. For example, here's a picture of the island's most popular bar, the Lamplighter. 

Jes is famous for her microadventures wherever she lives. Basically she gets strangers around the island to go for walks or sea swims or any cool activity you can think of! We walked by her book community box where I snagged a copy of horrible histories, Vile Victorians edition. I was shocked that it was a children's book! To be fair, most of history isn't pleasant, so I thought it did a good job of giving a more honest recap of the reality of the era. However, you can only imagine my jaw hitting the floor when the first page I turned to was "The Man Who Could Not Hang."

We then moseyed into the central market in town,. It reminded me a lot of the Gove farmer's market, with lots of little stalls open every day. I got a great pistachio filled cookie and had lots of fun walking into all the shops. There's a strong puffin themed decor on the island  (along with the infamous jersey cow theme) on pretty much any item you can think of, pillow cases, mugs, tea towels, and even necklaces! It's rather funny though because according to Jes there's really only 5 or 6 puffins on the entire island, and yet they've made a whole brand of it here. 

I think my second favorite part of the day was when I matched the purple State Assembly building! Maybe if California had purple buildings I'd work for them too lol. 

We also walked past the Piquet House which was used as Military Police Station up until 1926. Quite impressive that they didn't need anything more substantial beforehand. It adds to much of the island's charm, just like the honesty boxes. I imagine this is what small town living would be like. We've already run into a few of Jes' work colleagues today! And stopped for quick chats of course, because like in Prescott, they wave with all five fingers here instead of one like in LA haha. 

Continuing our way home we passed Liberation square. Guernsey and Jersey were the two islands occupied by Nazi Germany and this balcony was where they declared WWII and German occupation was over. Jersey has a special Liberation Day they celebrate with parades and reenactments to commemorate their freedom. It always takes me aback when I come across such historic places, because those were just things I grew up reading in  history books, but you can see that it really creates lasting wounds and memories in the places that survive history's horrors.

As we finished our exploration, we came across these morbidly cute benches which have the names of sunken ships around the island. I need to be more careful what I get excited about here, I thought they were adorable and super clever until Jes told me what they memorialized. Thankfully we were the only ones on the road so no one else overhead my faux pas, oops! On a lighter note, they also have benches with the NATO phonetic alphabet, which was lots of fun to walk by, each letter had the flag sign and Morse code.

We made it home just in time to rest a bit before tonight's dinner with local school friends of Jes and Pete. I realized I totally should have taken a picture at the jazz bar, (where they played old American crooner Jazz, to which I was probably the only patron who could sing along to every song) and at the yummy thai place by the beach where we ate dinner. I admit I did fail as a blogger for forgetting to take pictures with friends and food,  BUT we did see lots of bunnies on the lawn on the way home, so you can enjoy a picture of them instead! 

Signing off until tomorrow's adventure.

Sending you all love!

Carolyn