Erin had a great night of sleep! It seems she had no leg lag!
Breakfast was cleared, and Erin brought out the camera that several family members chipped in to buy for Anya’s birthday. Her birthday started early!
Due to the Saturday bus schedule and no early #9 buses, I could either take a bus to Stavanger and pay 110 kroner ($14) for a coach bus to the airport or walk there. It is just about 7 miles to the airport and not too hilly. It would take me 2 hours, and the sun was shining. I chose to walk, thinking of my friend, Marvin, who walks all over the place. This would also be good preparation for our hiking.
It was a beautiful hike through some pathways by some residential areas with playgrounds, some woods and then farmlands.
It was especially nice at the beginning before the clouds came and before it became industrial. I viewed the countryside, filled thoughts with prayers for most of you (who I know are reading this). Fortunately, with a Google map app and 4G cellular coverage, I was able to walk on a path that I never walked before and stay on track. (Is there one of these apps for a life path?!?)
I arrived at the airport with plenty of time before Karen’s flight arrived. I wondered if you could just walk up to the SeaTac airport? I don’t know if it is possible?
While I was out, Anya took Erin to Sandnes to look around and buy some groceries. Stores are closed on Sunday, and with 4 of us it would be good to stock up.
Karen arrived not looking like she had just covered 9 time zones! We took the bus back (free with my flexi pass on weekends). Erin and Karen met, then we had a sandwich bar for lunch, starting to finalize the plans for the rest of the visit.
To keep these two awake, we went exploring, walking around Sandnes. Karen found some intriguing stores in the old section of town. Then we walked to the center area and found another mall! I think this is 3 shopping areas in Sandnes! It was getting really windy and a few rain drops on our way home. The rain increased in the evening, as we talked, worked on our tourist plans, and had dinner. These two made it to 9 PM tonight! What jet lag!?!
The plan is to rent a car for an overnight trip to Bergen, as the weather here is not encouraging hiking! The reality, however, is that I’m the one who has been observing Norwegian driving, so I’d be the driver for the 5 hour each way trip. This is a little unsettling, but it is not as bad as driving in Arusha, Tanzania, and we’ll have a GPS to help. We checked the bus schedule, but with the Easter holiday, it becomes so limiting to time in Bergen. We considered flying, but the car rental would be about the price of 1 ticket, gas and tolls may be another ticket, and we have more flexibility with our travels. So, we’ll sleep on this and finalize things tomorrow.
Last bit of curiosity… while on my walk I saw this stone pillar with some engraving. This is not a rune stone, and I don’t know what the engraving says yet, but what an intriguing thing that is missed when driving by. Here’s a website with it appearing, but was it engraved before use in the old church or does the engraving talk about its restoration in this place? I don’t know. (Jeg vet ikke.)
