Tuesday, June 15th: From Jason's Diary...

Woke early. Breakfasted at 8:00am (Hilton had an amazing spread!) We walked to the train station and found the train bound for Penzance just about to pull out so we jumped on.

The train trip through Devon and then Cornwall was spectacular. At one point we were following the Coastline, with the red rock cliffs juxtaposed against the blue of the Atlantic, and the quaint seaside towns tucked in harbors. We took our lunch on the train.

It was an absolutely clear day. Not a cloud in the sky.

We arrived in Penzance. From the train station, to the north, we could see St. Michael's Mount, a castle built on a small island that can be walked to when the tide is out.

Jenny, Judah and Jackie took a bus to Pendeen. They also carried Julian and my backpacks. Jacob kept his backpack (which turned out a very good thing). I forgot to grab the camera (which turned out to be a very bad thing).

Jacob, Julian and I caught a double decker, open air bus, to Land's End. From Land's End the plan was to walk to Pendeen, about an 11 mile walk.

The scenery along the coastal path was breathtaking. It was great to push ourselves physically. There was a lot of climbing up and down steep incline, navigating over and through rocks, as well as straightforward open stretches. Down below us we saw beaches (with surfers) and then the rugged coastline dominated.

A couple of times we lost the path. One of those times was almost fatal (SEE MY NEXT BLOG ON THE CLIMB OF DEATH).

Finally we arrived at the Pendeen Lighthouse. We then wound our way into Pendeen and found the North Inn. We were looking forward to being reunited with Jenny, Judah and Jackie. But at the bar, when I asked what room they were in, the bartender informed me that I had booked for the night before, that there were no openings that night, and that Jenny and the kids had called the Tregrenna CAstle Hotel (where we were going to be spending the following two nights) and had gotten us a room for that night too!

So we had to catch a bus back to Penzance and then another bus to St. Ives.

We had about 45 minutes before the bus arrived. So we ordered burgers. I asked a kindly looking older couple sitting not far from us if they knew anyone that could take us to ST. Ives for 20 pounds (we were desperate :). They said they didn't (they were on holiday too), but that they could take us to Penzance. So we had a nice drive and chat with them. In Penzance we waited for the bus for about 1/2 an hour. We finally arrived in St. Ives and climbed the hill to Tregrenna castle about 9:15pm.

That night, before sleep, we all shared stories of our adventures. It was good to be reunited!...