Stonehenge - page 9

Page 9

Tuesday, November 16, 1999 (continued)

It was surprising to see Stonehenge appear along the roadside. There was a chainlink fence along the roadside and the entrance was through a tunnel under the street. A low rope fenced off the stones and marked a pathway elliptically around the structure, putting people safe distance from the stones. Some faint remnants of past graffiti could still be seen on some of the rocks. There were two big stones in the parking lot that can be touched, one of each type that was used to build Stonehenge. The weather cooperated during our 50 minute visit, with the sun shining brightly while rain and clouds rolled in over the horizon. There was a booming sound almost nonstop in the distance. It sounded more like cannon fire than thunder. A rainbow appeared on the horizon among the dark clouds and I made a second loop around the stones to get some pictures of it behind Stonehenge. Someone was sketching Stonehenge from one of the benches and there was a TV crew stopping people to interview them about memorable sunsets and the millennium. At the time, I was too awestruck by Stonehenge to think of any memorable sunsets, but thinking back now, that sunset is probably the most memorable for me. I took one last picture and headed for the gift shop at 4:00, thinking I would have 10 minutes to look around before the bus would leave. Unfortunately the shop closed at 4:00, so no Stonehenge souvenirs for me. As the bus pulled away from Stonehenge, it began to rain.