the Preston Temple ... finally!

Well, today I made it to the Temple for the first time. I thought I'd go today, so that I could just go to institute right afterward -- that way I got two things done on the same ticket!

It took me a total of 9 hours (2:15 - 11:15) to get to Chorley, go to the Temple, attend Institute, and get back to the University. Much of that time, though, was spent just trying to find my way around. First, I didn't quite know how to get to the train station in Lancaster (I know, I know, I've been there before -- but I didn't know how to make it there with the bus). It was really quite easy to find. Then, I had to wait 30 minutes for the next train to Chorley. Then, when I got to Chorley, I had to wait a good 20 or 30 minutes again, just to figure out the best way to get to the Temple. Luckily, the ladies in line behind me knew where it was. Then, I missed the bus I needed, so I had to wait another 10 minutes. THEN, the bus stop where the nice lady told me to get off was actually not the closest, so I had to walk a ways more than I should have. But I finally made it, and they were very nice to me. (Although the man at the recommend counter almost didn't let me in -- "You can't get in with this." -- he was just teasing, of course!).

The Temple is absolutely beautiful! The architecture is very clean and nice, the furnishings inside were gorgeous, and I loved the patterns in the stained glass windows. But, more importantly, the spirit was beautiful too. It felt so good to be there, knowing that this was where I should be, and just generally feeling at peace.

The session got done around 7:45, 15 minutes after Institute had started, but I decided to go over anyway. I ended up in the Presidents of the Church class, which actually looks quite interesting. But now comes the hard part -- getting home. I had checked the schedule before I left, but I had thought that it said the last direct train was at 9:22. In fact, it said 19:22, which is two hours earlier! Oops. One of the girls in my class offered to drive me in to the station, and then she tried to wait with me. When it seemed that the train was a good 10 minutes late, we checked the schedule and found that the next one wasn't coming for another 30 minutes! Rachel had to go back to the stake building, since she had promised to drive some people home, so she left reluctantly. I hung around waiting for the train, which wasn't direct either -- I had to change at Preston -- which meant that it didn't get in to Lancaster until about 10:40. I waited around a few minutes to see if there was a bus going to the university (this time I found the bus stop, which was on the other side of the station than I had been to before). Finally, I decided to call a cab. It was either that or walk into town and take my chances that I would be able to still find a bus from the market to the uni. I opted for the cab, and the certainty of being able to get home. The fare was pretty steep, but I decided it was OK. Apparently the buses from market to uni run until fairly late, I found out, so I'll know that for the next time, I guess.

All in all, it was a good trip. But I'd sure love to be able to get a lift from someone next time!