We started our day on Wednesday Oct. 21st with a waffle breakfast - American Style - over at Peter and Elaine's! Elaine wanted Tyler to teach her how to make them. :) We went over there at 9am and I helped Tyler finish making them. It took a while because we only had 1 waffle iron! But they were yummy. We ate them with real maple syrup, whipped cream, strawberries and blueberries. Mmmm.

Barbara, Peter & Elaine enjoying waffles

Chef Tyler

After breakfast we went for a walk with Peter and Elaine. We walked through a nice forested area in their town, and then through the old village of Wolverley (their town).

The backs of these homes go into the red sandstone cliffside! 

A natural garage in the redrock sandstone mountainside!

This back conservatory of a home is in the mountainside!

We are in front of the baptist church where some of our Penn ancestors attended church and were baptized until the 1850s. The Wolverley cathedral.

The Wolverley Cathedral. 

Elaine and Barbara's dad's (Ernest Penn) grave marker. I believe their mom is buried there, too. Dave cleared it off for them so the inscription can be read again. :)

For lunch we went to the Arboretum and had a roast buffet. It was beautiful there and the food was delicious.

 Then we went back to Barbara and Bill's. The kids did some school work, and I did laundry, and went and got a haircut. I decided to get it cut shorter. It'll take a little getting used to, but I mostly like it.
Later we went for a walk with Barbara around more of Bewdley. It was a lovely fall day.

The Ribbesford Church (the next town over). It was built over a number of years, in stages, hence some stone pillars, and some wood, in different styles. 

The Ribbesford Church graveyard, where Great-great ?? Aunt Lil Gardner and her son Cyril are buried.

This tree is about 500 years old and grew "out" and all over the place!!! It's awesome.

Later, the boys and I went for a drive with Barbara to Kidderminster to see some places where our ancestors lived.

The red section of house on the left is where my Grandpa Albert (Bert) Penn's father George Penn, was raised! His parents had 9 children, and I think they all lived here for a time! Barbara said that the front area was all a nicely manicured garden back then.

This is the house where my Grandpa Penn's dad's family moved to when George was a teen. Barbara said it was larger than the other townhome, as it has the attic and a basement. Barbara's dad Ernest stayed in this home and raised his family here, so this is where Barbara grew up! She said that they didn't have running water and electricity as they grew up! 

The Baptist church where my great-grandpa's family attended church.

Wednesday evening we played Ripple Golf with Barbara and Bill, and Bill had prepared a chocolate comparison activity for us. We rated 4 different chocolate bars without knowing the manufacturers, by taste, meltability, sweetness (personal preference), and overall rating, from 1 - 6. It was a fun activity. The winner was a Lidl special bar, I think! And interestingly, it was the 2nd least expensive bar of the 4. 

Tyler, Bill & Dave