halfway point

I think today might be the halfway point of the trip. That's wild. It doesn't seem like it's been that long. It does seem like a long time since we've posted. Too long, I guess. Sorry about that. This week has been pretty action packed. Wednesday we met up with one of Ange's college buddies who just happened to be here on vacation and she took us in to Belfast for the afternoon. It was a fun time, especially for Ange. We went to the Starbucks downtown for a (bad) cup of coffee and a rest. It was a great atmosphere, though: comfy couches, big glass windows with scenic views of the city, teenagers making out in the corner...

Thursday we took the bus into Newcastle for some groceries. While waiting for our return bus we met some bizarre old women. They were dressed all fashionably and one of the first things they said was that I looked mexican and that I had nice teeth. The next thing was that I was cute and should be a chippendale dancer (mind you, Ange was standing right there). After a few random and racy stories, they asked us what we were doing and when we told them about the camp they said "Isn't that some kind of religious place? Are you like, mormons or moonies or something?" And then they laughed and talked incomprehensibly about "moonies." They didn't seem to want to talk to us any more after that, though. That's two for two meeting strange characters at the Newcastle bus station. Shocking.

Friday we went to Newry with our friend David and just walked around the town. It's a nice place--probably about the size of Marion, IN. Saturday David and his wife Sandra had us over for fajita's. They were really good, but we thought it strange to fly across an ocean and still eat Mexican food. We had a really great time with them, singing and talking well into the night.

More later, I've got to run now, though.
Mark