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| White Cliffs of Dover |
Here's what was on the schedule for their visit to Dover: World War II Dover Tour, Dover Castle Tour, and Olympic Torch event.
While Dover sounds like a beautiful place, the fact that they will actually get to witness the runner coming by with the Olympic Torch is awesome. History in the making and a true "once in a lifetime experience". I would think that with the 2012 London Olympics being literally days away from starting... must be adding an extra element of excitement to this trip.
Reports from the leaders:
Jason:
WOW!!!! Dover castle is a extremely powerful place. The history represented there is truly astounding. We did the tunnels tours and found a profound respect for those who served there during WWII. We walked through tunnels that had graffiti from the early 1800 to 1940. We saw a roman lighthouse that was built 1st century and was still guarded by a Roman Centurian. We visited a church that was 1000 years old and learned oh so much. We were present to welcome the Olympic torch to Dover castle and witness the kissing of the torches. I really must say that everyone we have met on this voyage has been so kind to us. The hospitality is astounding. I would also like to thank our hosts for such personal kindness they show us. We are so fortunate to have these brothers-in-arms....
Randy:
Wednesday began with the train ride from London, through Ashford, and onto Dover. We hiked from the sealevel train station to the decidely above sealevel Dover Castle, where we toured the WWII (and much earlier) tunnels and then King Henry II's castle - Grandpa (times 25) Henry to me and the Martin Boys. The pic is the Scouts charging up the final hill into the castle grounds,
After touring the castle, we got to wait in the wind and the rain for the Olympic torch. Grandpa Henry came by and talked to the Scouts - after I told him we were related he told me to keep an eye on my boys, especially the tall one with shifty eyes - history has it that he had some disagreements with his sons.
Email from Joshua (which he sent early Thursday morning):
So, over the past 3 days, we've visited attractions in London, and took a train to Dover to see Dover Castle and watch the Olympic Torch. The first day in London, we saw the British Museum (Ryan, Cameron and I saw the Rosetta Stone, Lewis Chessmen, the Crystal Skull, along with a lot of other things), The London Dungeons (An "Educational Horror" thing. Best part was a mirror maze at the very beginning), and St. Paul's Cathedral, and went between them either by walking in the rain, or by Double Decker Bus, which had the second floor open to the rain. The Second Day, which had no rain thankfully, we visited Westminster Abbey, took a boat down the Thames, walked around the Tower of London, and saw We Will Rock You, then Trafalgar Square. Tom and DB (David... Something, the English Leader with us) were acting like they were 18 again. It was really funny to watch them.
The third day, we caught a train to Dover, hiked from the train station all the way to the Castle, toured around for a little bit, then waited for the Olympic Torch to come in. Everyone cheered when we saw it, and someone acting as King Henry the II, who built the castle, talked with tourists for a little bit. As we were leaving, we happened to stumble across the torch again, this time on a road leading away from Dover Castle. We saw the transfer the flame to another person's torch, and got to take really good pictures, from only a few feet away. It was really cool.
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| Dover Castle |
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| Olympic Torch at Dover Castle - history in the making |
