My morning got off to an interesting start. I was stopped outside of the Poundstretcher by a guy in a suit and a young woman also dressed up. I'm sure they had something more to talk to me about, but once they heard my accent and found out I was from America, more specifically Vermont, ("I've heard of it, but I don't know where it is..."), that pretty much detoured their whole plan. They then told me all of the places I should go and had a debate about which city was better, Manchester or Liverpool, which I declared a draw. I then asked what they were doing and they said raising money for blind kids, and wished me well on my journey.
My next stop was The Blackpool Tower Dungeon! What a way to start your day. It was like the The Tower of Terror meets the Pittsford Haunted House, with a more historical and interactive twist. Along with a huge group people, you're loaded into an elevator and dropped to the dungeon. You then walk room by room hearing the history of Lancashire, from plagues, to witchcraft, torture chambers, to the War of the Roses and smuggling. Each room had its own particular fright and special effects, with that and the darkness, you were sure to scream and jump out of your skin a little. Luckily I was pretty good thanks to all my years of going to the haunted house, thanks Ingrid & Paul, and Jill! Few!
After that I went up to the top of the Blackpool Tower. You start with a 4D movie presentation, I think all the water they spray on you and the rumbling floors are the 4th dimension. The movie gives you a quick history of Blackpool and the Tower, followed by an overview of the city. You the. Hop in an elevator... I mean lift, and ascend 380 feet into the air. Once there you can get a 360 degree view of Blackpool and even a look down to the ground through the glass viewing floor. I then decided to climb the stairs to the second, third and fourth tiers of the Tower. I was over 400 feet in the air at the top and what a spectacular view it was.
A quick lunch, where I met a man who used to live in San Francisco and New York, and then I was off to Sea Life. It's an aquarium filled with lots of different well, sea life! This was particularly crowded today because there were lots of schools visiting. I walked quickly through and made it to the shark exhibit just in time for the feeding! I had to wait a lots bit, which I didn't mind because I was thoroughly entertained by watching this little girl try to climb up on the ledge near the edge of the tank. It was pretty crammed full of kids, but she just kept trying, at one point she straddled the kid next to her, then wedged her friend up on the glass, the her friend tried pulling her by the pants up and finally they figured out if her friend just stood up for a second on the ledge there was enough room for the girl to get up and then both to sit. Feeding time was after that and then I went to my final stop of the day, Madame Tussauds. I must say, I'm not a huge fan of this place... it's kind of freaky. Although I did see a lot of my favorite celebrities, it was still really eerie!
I ended the day with a walk along the beach, down past a pier in a direction I had not yet been. I walked past the Imperial Hotel, which looks fantastic from the beach. It was windy and a little rainy, but a nice peaceful walk away from the crowds.
On a random note, can I just say they choose the weirdest American shows to air on TV here! The obvious choices of Law & Order, Law & Order SVU, and NCIS and CSI, but then they have Dr.. Quinn Medicine Woman, Walker Texas Ranger and Touched By An Angel. I mean I'm not complaining, it's like I've gone back to the 90s and am having a sleepover at my Grandma Dood's. All my favorite childhood shows, Kate would hate it! Hahaha!
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