But we didn't get far before we ran into some complications. We were supposed to catch the southeastern train at London Bridge at 9:07am... but it was late. So we waited.
And waited... and waited... and waited. The train was delayed more.
Finally it was CANCELED! Aarrrgggg! It took us 10-15 minutes to determine an alternate route to our destination (we had to take a train to a completely different station, then transfer to get where we wanted to go!). Once we figured it out, we also found out that the train we needed had left just 3 minutes earlier and the next one wouldn't come for another 45 minutes. Sooooo, we waited some more!
Finally, we arrive in Dover just after 12:00...
Dover is a port town on the English Channel. On a good day you can see France just 23 miles across the water! Dover is known for 2 things: Dover Castle and the White Cliffs (more about these sights below).
We grabbed some sandwiches from the local Marks & Spencer, and ate in a park with views of the Dover Castle up on the cliff. This castle sits above the cliffs and was England's primary defensive strong-hold from Roman through modern times. It has secret war tunnels that housed sleeping areas for over 2,000 men! 
After a quick lunch, ready to be on our way, we started the hike up to the castle. It wasn't a long hike, but it was steep! All of those stairs up and down at the train stations were training for this excursion!
We made it to the castle, and enjoyed the sight of it, but we decided not to tour this one... Unfortunately some sights of the castle were being refurbished, and besides that LATE train limited our time!
Our next goal was to get down to the water, where we'd be able to see both the English channel in one direction, and the white-cliff faces of Dover. We weren't EXACTLY sure which way to go, but we chose "the road less traveled by" (for those of you who are Robert Frost fans!)...
... and that made all the difference! We tramped through the wooded areas below the castle, watching the English Ivy take over many of the trees. Yes - the same English Ivy that climbs up and attempts to suffocate the trees in the northwest forests! 
We stumbled upon a fun find....The spot where Louis Bleriot landed his plane in 1909 after the first flight across the English Channel. This cement plane on the ground marks the spot!
Considering that we weren't taking the "normal" path... we had to hop over a bridge and shimmy down the side of it...
We were carefully making progress down the steep slope, when we turned our heads to the right and saw...
... that we could have made life easier by taking the stairs!
THE FAMOUS WHITE CLIFFS OF DOVER:
These white cliffs are made of chalk and are a glistening sight! These are the cliffs that the castle sits on top of!
Back in the town center... this fountain marks the middle of Market Square.
The city has a lot of fortified wall ruins throughout it. Cemented into the top of the walls are sharp pieces of glass - an old-fashioned way of keeping perpetrators out.
More of the wall -
The city is surrounded by old city walls, complete with lookout towers...
... and a castle maze for the kids to play in!
The city center (it is a small town - only 20 minutes walk from one end to the other) is a knot of winding medieval streets surrounding the cathedral.
We entered the cathedral through Christchurch Gate... and into the headquarters of the Anglican Church in England.
Prior to the assassination of Archbishop Becket and the miracles that followed, this church wasn't very big. However, due to the masses of pilgrims swarming the place, additions were build on in order to hold the crowds.
This is one of the rare cathedrals that I was welcome to take photos in! Yeah!
This is a modern monument to Thomas Becket. It marks the spot of his death.
The hallway of the Cloisters...
Micah and Becky in the cloisters... and open-aired area inside the church. 
The Stout River runs through Canterbury and adds a natural feel to the landscape and a great place for punting tours!
Punting is done in a long canoe-type boat and is propelled forward using a long stick instead of paddles. The punter uses the stick to push off the ground, moving the boat forward. Rather than having someone else row our boat forward though, I wanted to do it myself! We didn't get the opportunity this time though, so we'll have to give it a go next time.
Being that we are "Pilgrims" ourselves, we were quite famous in Canterbury. Here is the Pilgrim's Restaurant and Bar...
... and here is our Hotel and Coffee Shop!
In order to get to the train station to head back to London Bridge, we had to go through the West Gate Towers! We'd hoped to climb to the top of them, but they were closed by the time we got there!
We certainly enjoyed the beautiful weather! We ate a wonderful dinner in Canterbury before heading over to the train station and heading home.
Little did we know that we'd run into even more problems on the way home than we did getting to these two small towns! When we got to the station, we noticed a lot of people milling about outside, along with a bus. 
As it turns out a train derailed near the station, shutting it down for quite a while! (Thankfully no one was hurt during the derailment!) In order to get back home, we had to take a bus to a different station. But first, we had to WAIT for that bus to come get us...
Finally it came, we hopped on with one hundred other people also waiting (and not all of them fitting on the bus - we were thankful to get a seat!)... we drove 45 minutes to another station where we could then get on a train, which would finally take us back to London. It was a much longer day than planned, and though we didn't get into all of the sights we'd wanted to see, it was a fantastic day out. We were very thankful for the warm, sunny weather, great sights, and English countryside!
We made it to the castle, and enjoyed the sight of it, but we decided not to tour this one... Unfortunately some sights of the castle were being refurbished, and besides that LATE train limited our time!
Our next goal was to get down to the water, where we'd be able to see both the English channel in one direction, and the white-cliff faces of Dover. We weren't EXACTLY sure which way to go, but we chose "the road less traveled by" (for those of you who are Robert Frost fans!)...
... and that made all the difference! We tramped through the wooded areas below the castle, watching the English Ivy take over many of the trees. Yes - the same English Ivy that climbs up and attempts to suffocate the trees in the northwest forests! 
We stumbled upon a fun find....The spot where Louis Bleriot landed his plane in 1909 after the first flight across the English Channel. This cement plane on the ground marks the spot!
Considering that we weren't taking the "normal" path... we had to hop over a bridge and shimmy down the side of it...
We were carefully making progress down the steep slope, when we turned our heads to the right and saw...
... that we could have made life easier by taking the stairs!THE FAMOUS WHITE CLIFFS OF DOVER:
These white cliffs are made of chalk and are a glistening sight! These are the cliffs that the castle sits on top of!
Back in the town center... this fountain marks the middle of Market Square.
The city has a lot of fortified wall ruins throughout it. Cemented into the top of the walls are sharp pieces of glass - an old-fashioned way of keeping perpetrators out.
More of the wall -
Our last view of the castle before hopping on the train and heading to Canterbury.
Canterbury: This is the center of Christianity in England, as established by England's King Ethelbert of Kent, after he'd been converted by St. Augustine. The Archbishop of Canterbury then emerged as one of the country's most powerful men.
However, this city is most known by the Canterbury Tales. These tales tell the stories of famous pilgrimages to Canterbury that began in the 12th century. The Archbishop Tomas Becket was assassinated by King Henry II and Becket was canonized as a martyr. Miracles began occurring in the cathedral, thus drawing people to it. In the 14th century, Geoffrey Chaucer began writing the stories of these pilgrims - known as the Canterbury Tales.
The city is surrounded by old city walls, complete with lookout towers...
... and a castle maze for the kids to play in!
The city center (it is a small town - only 20 minutes walk from one end to the other) is a knot of winding medieval streets surrounding the cathedral.
We entered the cathedral through Christchurch Gate... and into the headquarters of the Anglican Church in England.
Prior to the assassination of Archbishop Becket and the miracles that followed, this church wasn't very big. However, due to the masses of pilgrims swarming the place, additions were build on in order to hold the crowds.
This is one of the rare cathedrals that I was welcome to take photos in! Yeah!
This is a modern monument to Thomas Becket. It marks the spot of his death.
The hallway of the Cloisters...
Micah and Becky in the cloisters... and open-aired area inside the church. 
The Stout River runs through Canterbury and adds a natural feel to the landscape and a great place for punting tours!
Punting is done in a long canoe-type boat and is propelled forward using a long stick instead of paddles. The punter uses the stick to push off the ground, moving the boat forward. Rather than having someone else row our boat forward though, I wanted to do it myself! We didn't get the opportunity this time though, so we'll have to give it a go next time.
Being that we are "Pilgrims" ourselves, we were quite famous in Canterbury. Here is the Pilgrim's Restaurant and Bar...
... and here is our Hotel and Coffee Shop!
In order to get to the train station to head back to London Bridge, we had to go through the West Gate Towers! We'd hoped to climb to the top of them, but they were closed by the time we got there!
We certainly enjoyed the beautiful weather! We ate a wonderful dinner in Canterbury before heading over to the train station and heading home.
Little did we know that we'd run into even more problems on the way home than we did getting to these two small towns! When we got to the station, we noticed a lot of people milling about outside, along with a bus. As it turns out a train derailed near the station, shutting it down for quite a while! (Thankfully no one was hurt during the derailment!) In order to get back home, we had to take a bus to a different station. But first, we had to WAIT for that bus to come get us...
Finally it came, we hopped on with one hundred other people also waiting (and not all of them fitting on the bus - we were thankful to get a seat!)... we drove 45 minutes to another station where we could then get on a train, which would finally take us back to London. It was a much longer day than planned, and though we didn't get into all of the sights we'd wanted to see, it was a fantastic day out. We were very thankful for the warm, sunny weather, great sights, and English countryside!
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