Miscellaneous

Here are a few things I forgot to mention:

Weather: The weather here has been very nice. It hasn't really rained us on yet and the sun has actually been out and shining. At night it gets a bit nippy if you are still out and about. But so far it feels like we've brought the Southern California weather with us to England.

Water: I never realized how accustomed we are to large drinking glasses of water until trying to ask for it here.The Hambletons themselves have smaller drinking glasses so you will have to refill a few times during a meal but at least they do have plenty of water on hand. At restaurants, however, not only do they give you a small glass when you ask for water, but they don't even fill it up completely AND they give you a slightly weird look when you do ask. Then when you do have it, you try not to drink that much during your meal because you never know when the waiter will be back to give you a refill. We definitely did not feel like we drank enough yesterday, which can't be good esp. for Jeremiah, so we are going to try to do better today. I guess the big thing with water over here at restaurants is that if you order it, you actually order a bottle of water that has been imported from France - so it's more special, I guess. As they took so long at the restaurant last night, they gave us bottled water on the house so we got to try it and I'll tell you that I couldn't taste a difference between it and the water they had given me previously. Not sure why people would pay for the "fancy" water.

Thanks again for all your comments. We love reading them. Thank you for your prayers and for your driving tips.

Debbie, we did not have time to walk through the Abbey yesterday but will try to either tomorrow or when we get back to London at the end of our trip. I did see the outside of it and that was very beautiful.

I don't feel sick really at all anymore, so that is good. Jeremiah is a little better but I can tell he's still not feeling very well. He's taking Airborne and we are going to get more fluids in him today and try to get a better night's sleep tonight (odd thing is that we are tired leading up to bedtime, but when we are sitting there in bed, we're finding it hard to fall asleep so we aren't getting quite as much rest as we would like; maybe our bodies are still adjusting.)

Ok, well it's time to brush my teeth so we can be off. Talk to you all later!

Love,
Sara

Day 4 - London (continued)

May 5, 2008 (continued)

First off, Thank you for all your comments; it's fun to read them and great to know that this blog is actually being read.

We had a great day and are just waiting around for a bit to head out the door again as Mike and Gillian booked a reservation for dinner at an Italian place (yummy!)

To answer a few comments:
Debbie: Mike and Gillian actually bought us the ice cream; they were with us the whole time. I'm not sure what a flake is so I don't think we had that.
Dad: The Tower was wonderful; it was amazing to see it and imagine what it was like back when it was first built. It's definitely one of the big highlights of the trip thus far (and I think it will be by the end as well - I took lots of pictures). We didn't buy anything inside so I didn't have to worry about the mustard, but thanks for the warning.

Becky: We waited around for the Beefeater tour and didn't even walk in the outside wall until the tour started. Definitely worth the wait especially as they took us into the chapel which I don't think you can enter unless you're on the tour. Our guide was pretty entertaining as well.

Okay, so we started out the day a little late but we managed to make our bus and train just in time for each so we didn't have to wait much at each station. Jeremiah first took me to Big Ben, Parliament, and Westminster Abbey (Central Line to the District Line, exit Westminster station). This was an amazing site. For anyone who hasn't seen downtown London before, to come up the stairs from the tube and the first thing you see is these magnificent buildings, well, all I can say is "Wow!" We walked around the area for a bit and just soaked it all in (I took lots of pictures). We crossed the Thames and saw the London Eye pretty close up. We walked around for a bit as Jeremiah tried to locate the place to board a boat that would take us down the Thames. We actually walked too far and had to hurry a bit to make it in time for the next launch. We made it with about a minute to spare.


We travelled down the Thames and our crew (they emphatically noted to us that they were NOT tour guides but that they would point out places of notice to help make the journey more enjoyable) told us about everything as we were passing it. Between the two of us, we were able to understand almost everything that was said (the accent mixed with the loud speaker made it kind of difficult at times). The Tower Bridge is so beautiful and I think I got some really good pictures of it. The boat ride was very relaxing and a great way to see many of the sites.

We then came up to Tower of London. I had no idea what it really was when people talked about it. I didn't realize that it was a fortress and that that's where royalty actually lived. It was so cool and I tried hard to take myself back in time and imagine what it would have been like during Medieval times with Lords and Ladies walking around the cobblestone streets (oh, I almost forgot; as we were walking through the Victoria Tower Garden - near Parliament - I imagined the Regency era and tried to picture women in their beautiful day dresses just strolling through the park). It was such an amazing site to see and to just think of how old all of it is and that it's still standing.

We stopped for lunch at a Subway before we bought our tickets. Fortunate for us, Gillian had just seen in one of her magazines a Buy 1 Get 1 Free coupon for the Tower so we were very happy to be able to use that (esp. as admission is £16.50 per person these days). We got our tickets (which took a little while because they had never seen that coupon before so the teller had to check with management to make sure she was doing everything correctly) and walked inside admittance area.

We had just missed the Yeoman Warder Tour (Beefeater) and had to wait around for about 20 minutes for the next one to start. We took a seat on the draw bridge wall and just soak in the outside of the fortress as I tried to imagine what the inside was like. Our tour finally started and after a brief introduction, we finally walked inside.

It was so amazing!

The tour took us around to different areas including the chapel which was so beautiful inside and even had fresh flowers that smelled so nice. I could totally imagine getting married in there! (One woman even asked what you had to do to get married in there and the Yeoman answered, "Don't be stupid." Not quite sure what he meant by that.) We got to sit in there for a while while he told us some more stories.

After the tour, we hung around for a bit and then headed up to the White Tower for another tour. This tour was good, but not as much as the first (I chalk it up to the fact that the tour guide graded on me a little the wrong way - took him way to long to say not much at all). But the whole inside was really neat and definitely worth looking at.

After that tour, we looked around the Tower a bit more and explored some more rooms including the Hands-On History room where you could actually touch some things (nothing authentic; if you've already been to the Tower and are only thinking of going back to experience this room, it's not worth the admission price, so don't worry about it; but if you're already there, then it's worth a look). The armoury was quite impressive; I had no idea how ornate some of the armour was back then with all the gold and intricate gilded design work (I think that's what it was called).

After we finished in the Tower we headed over to where the Crown Jewels were located. Those were impressive! I especially liked seeing Queen Victoria's Small Crown (it looked just like one of the ones in the movie Victoria and Albert that she wore - I think it was when the Great Expedition opened and they were having the ceremonies for it).

Note: I had to stop writing at this point as we went out to dinner. Story continues below.

We went on the conveyor belt a few times to look at the crowns more than once (it simply took you by too quickly to really get a good look at them). Everything was so ornate. We thought it very amusing that immediately after you see all this wealth in the jewels and golden ceremonial pieces, there was a donation box before you left the building asking for money - as if they didn't have enough already!

We then walked around a bit more and thought about going into the museum they have there but they wanted more money for that so we decided against it. Instead we walked throughout the other towers and along the wall walkways. We stayed there until just after 5:00pm and then needed to rush out of there to make it back in time for our dinner reservations.

We found the right tube station and got on. Then we transferred to the Central line and a little ways into the trip, realized that we didn't know exactly where this train was headed (this particular line had a fork in the road, so to say, and we need to go to the left but had a feeling this was would go to the right). A few stops before the fork came, I asked the chap sitting next to me if he knew and he was pretty certain it was the one going to the right.

We got off a stop later and waiting for a new train that was going to the right side, that is to say the left side in the fork. After a few stops on that train, we got off and headed up to the street. I had to ask the worker at that station where we could find a bus to get to Highams Place and he kindly helped us figure it out.

By the time we got to the station, we had missed the last bus by 3 minutes and would have to wait another 20 before the next one came. So we just stood about waiting. At last it came but we weren't sure want stop to take exactly. We knew if we got off at Highams Place Station we would be close, but we weren't sure if there was another stop closer to their house. We thought about risking it but as we were already running a bit late, we thought we had better get off where we knew we were and just walk the rest of the way. Turns out we could have stayed on for one more stop and had been just fine. Oh well. Next time.

Oh, I forgot to tell you. Riding the bus was just like what I would imagine the night bus to feel like on Harry Potter. Not quite as crazy but boy did it sure amaze me how they could get a big bus like that down those small lanes!

We hurried back to the house and were greeted inside by everyone. Our reservations were for 7:30 and we got back just after 6:30. It was apparent that we would be around for a bit before leaving as Gillian still needed to feed her mother (Flo) so I decided to take that opportunity to write and that's where you found me at the beginning of this post.

We went to dinner at an Italian restaurant not too far away. It was very lovely and had a great atmosphere. The service, however, was another story. They were short staffed both in the front of house as well as in the kitchen. It took a while to get our drinks (I think they had our appetizers out before we ever got a glass of water) but it took well over an hour after placing our orders for our food to come. We weren't the only ones. A couple a few tables away from us had waited a long time for their food to come and then when it finally did come, they got the wrong food. Luckily, it didn't take nearly as long for them to get their right food.

Once we were finally served, the food was rather tasty. I got a lasagna and Jeremiah got pizza, of course. We also got a chocolate pudding desert with ice cream (on the house!) which reminded me of chocolate lava cake. In the end, it was a good meal and they did comp the bill a bit for the delays.

After we got home it was time for another driving lesson for Jeremiah. David, Charlotte's boyfriend, came to dinner with us as it was partially a birthday celebration for him (he is turning 21 tomorrow) and he needed to be taken home. So Miah, Charlotte, David, and I got in the car and started off for David's place. There were a few close calls with trying to remember which side of the street to turn on when you are in the middle of turning left or right, but we got through it safely (Charlotte was definitely a brave soul!). I think the more practice we can get, the easier it will be.

We also learned some new things about their traffic in general. These may help Becky as she will be driving here soon so I think I will go ahead and mention them.
1) There are a ton of speed cameras everywhere so beware. All they have to do is take your picture and a ticket will show up in the mail a little while later.
2) When going through a roundabout, here are a few rules to follow: Always yield to the traffic on your right; If you are going straight through, you do not need to signal; If you are turning to the left, signal left; If you are going around the roundabout for a bit, signal to the right.
3) There may be times when you have to drive in the middle or on the wrong side of the road because of cars being parked in the lane you are trying to drive in.
4) When a traffic signal is going to turn green soon, the red and yellow lights will be lit and then it will go to a green light.
5) Be very conscious of the space on the left side of your car and how far away you are from the curb. It is very easy to drift to the left too much because you are so used to being conscious of the right side.

I hope these little tips will help anyone who will be driving over here. If I pick up any more, I'll be sure to let you know.

So after our drive we got back, Miah went upstairs to take a shower, and I got on the computer to finish writing to you.

Thank you for your prayers for our health. I still have a slight sore throat but nothing too bad. Jeremiah, on the other hand, has been getting worse all day. It's a combination of allergies and a cold. If you could keep him especially in your prayers, I would really appreciate it. It's definitely not how we hoped to start out a long trip, but we will make the most of it.

Our plans for tomorrow are 1) Get up early, 2) Go to Kensington Palace, 3) Visit the Albert Memorial (Statue), 3) the Natural History Museum, and 4) see Parliament in action at night. It should be another busy day and I am looking forward to it (especially the gardens in Kensington Palace).

Until later! Love you all! S&J

Day 4 - London

May 5, 2008

Hi All! This will be a short post as we are trying to get out the door but I wanted to let you know briefly what we did yesterday and are going to do today.

We had a very easy morning and afternoon (I even got in a nap - it was very much needed). Around 4:00pm, we went out for a drive so Jeremiah could get used to things and boy was it different, even for me the passenger. I think we'll do fine after a little more practice though (there is a lot to think about all at once which can get confusing).

We drove not too far away to Queen Elizabeth's Hunting Cottage (Queen Elizabeth I; originally built for Henry VIII - even had wider steps to accommodate the "portly sovereign"). It was very beautiful with open green fields around and then the Epping forest behind (this forest used to be much bigger but with expansions has been cut down for its timber).

We walked around for a bit and enjoyed the scenery while eating some delicious ice cream on a cone. We walked over to a "man-made" pond (it was "man-made" by a V2 bomb in WWII).

After a bit we drove back home and prepared dinner which was very tasty and Gillian made an apple crumble with minced meat for dessert (heavenly!). (Oh, and Mom, I found out where they get their tea and we will be ordering some so that I can take it back with me at the end of the trip - they buy it from a factory in Wales who actually imports it the ingredients from India and China).

Oh, as dinner was being made, I had a chance to watch a documentary on the BBC's Young Musician of the Year award. It's been going on since 1978 and man do they have some talented young kids over here. The winner in 1984 was a clarinettist and she was amazing (I thought of you dad as I listened to her and would have thought you would enjoy her playing).

After dinner, Mike really wanted to watch a TV movie called "Flood". It's one of those what-if disaster movies but this one was saying what would happen if the Thames flooded. They only showed the first half last night and the rest will be tonight. It was actually rather good. That brought us to bed time.

We finally got in bed around 11:30pm.

This morning we got up a little later than we were hoping for (my fault; I had set the alarm a little early to get up and have time to write to you but then I guess instead of getting out of bed, I fell back asleep and had already turned off the alarm! So we got up 15 minutes later than we wanted but we'll make it work).

Today we are going to the Tower of London and Jeremiah has some surprises along the way that he would like to show me.

Well, that's gonna have to be all for now as we need to get out of here. More to come later.

Oh, and if you could keep our health in your prayers; we both woke up with a soar throat this morning. We took some Airborne which will hopefully help and we'll try to be careful. Thanks!

We love you all and look forward to our next "chat".

Day 3 - Our First Morning in England

May 4, 2008

We went to bed around 11:00pm last night. After I left the computer, I joined everyone in the front room for some TV. They were watching the semi-finals of the Snooker tournament. At first I thought they were watching a pool game, which I thought a little odd, and then Jeremiah asked me if I had ever seen Snooker before. I thought he was referring to the TV channel and I said no. Then I asked if they were playing pool and he said, "No, this is Snooker." (I felt kind of stupid :) ) He then explaining the rules to me.

There are red balls and various colored balls on the pool table. Each opponent must sink a red ball into a pocket and follow it with any colored ball. If they miss, it's the next player's turn. If they hit a colored ball in the process, then they end their turn and actually give points to the other player (each colored ball is worth a certain number of points so when you sink one - when you're supposed to, that is - you add that many points to your score but if you hit one when you're not supposed to, you then add those points to your opponent's score).

After a colored ball is sunk, it is returned to the table as, I believe, there are only about 5 or 6 colored balls and twice as many red balls; once all the red balls have been sunk, then the player sinks the colored balls in order of point value until all the balls are sunk. Once all the balls are sunk, that is the end of a frame. 33 Frames can be played before the entire game is over. Whoever gets to a win of 17 frames first wins the whole game.

The reason it is called Snooker is because if you, the player, cannot sink a ball then you try to Snooker the other player by hitting the cue ball into a position where it would make it very difficult for the opponent to sink a shot. So they would be called Snookered. It was a rather entertaining game and much more interesting than pool which I originally thought they were playing.

After the game was over, we gathered our luggage and brought it up to the third floor to Luke's old room where we were staying. (Luke is Mike and Gillian's son who is living and working in China right now.) While Jeremiah lugged the luggage up all those stairs, I took some time to clean off my bag which we had a little present on from a local pigeon at the train station (A little background: As we were waiting for the train at the Walthamstow station, there were a couple of pigeons on a rafter a few feet in front of us. Jeremiah looked at them and stated that he wanted a rock to throw at them. I think they must have heard him because we had to pass under this rafter to get on the train and he happened to be carrying my bag at that time. Oh, well. At least it didn't get on us!)

One interesting thing about our room is that the ceiling is rather low. (They must not have very many tall people living in England, or at least they don't put them on the top floor - Jeremiah only has a couple of inches before his end touches it and I could feel the shortness when I was trying to put my hair in a pony tail this morning.)

So we went to sleep; although, Jeremiah was still very energized and tried to keep me awake longer, but I prevailed and we went to sleep at last - hence the later bed time. We both slept well and around 8:30am, Gillian knocked on our door with a nice cup of tea for us (she's so sweet). We enjoyed our tea in our bed and slowly woke up; although, I very easily could have fallen back to sleep. Jeremiah prevailed on this one, though, and got me out of bed to not get too late of a start on our morning, which is good because this will help set the pattern for the rest of our trip.

We got dressed and headed down stairs. Everyone was up; Mike and Charlotte were in their enclosed patio chatting while Gillian was in the front room on the phone with someone. A few minutes later Gillian walked in with the phone and it was put on speaker for everyone. Luke was on the other line. He called to make sure we got here fine and to see how we were doing. During his and Miah's chat, he wondered when any Cornthwaites would be visiting him in China. He said he would love to have anyone come to visit and that he will be there for at least another 2 or 3 years. We thought maybe Josh and Mandi were now the closest and maybe they could get some free military flights over there!?! If we can swing it sometime in the next few years, I think we will. (Oh, Josh and Mandi, we offered your place up to him any time he would like to visit Guam - hope you don't mind! :) )

It was nice talking with him (well, it was more Jeremiah talking and everyone else listening). Then we made some cereal (not literally, but put it in a bowl with milk) and ate our breakfast with a slice of toast.

Now, everyone is just kind of milling about enjoying the morning. Jeremiah is in the patio with Mike looking at some maps of China. I heard Mike mention the car they are letting us borrow while we are here (it's about the size of our Focus, but I don't think it has quite as much trunk space so I think we'll manage just fine) and that later today he could take Jeremiah out in it to have a test run (good idea since Jeremiah hasn't driven here before).

We decided to take it pretty easy today and start our major site-seeing tomorrow. It's kind of nice to not start off being so rushed and allowing ourselves to get used to the time change, which I think we're doing pretty good on so far. Although, I don't feel like I've really seen much of the country yet, so I am anxious to see more. We are going to go to a park nearby which Jeremiah said he hasn't been to since 1992. So that should be, as the British say, lovely.

The weather is pretty nice so far and it's supposed to be the warmest day of the year today. We did get a little rain yesterday evening, but nothing much. I think I'll come to expect a little rain everyday here which is fine; I came prepared with a mini-umbrella for just the occasion.

(Here's a few pictures that we took on the Hambleton's street the day we arrived)

Oh, this morning I realized that I left out parts of what I wanted to say about our flight yesterday. So here it is. When we finally started flying over land again, it was really pretty seeing all the green hills and fields. There were many plots filled with yellow; I couldn't tell if they were flowers or something else that just had yellow tops on them, but they were really pretty.

When we got close enough, I saw a large highway (probably one of their motorways) and it was so weird to see so many cars driving on the wrong side of the street. I also saw one of the biggest roundabouts I've ever seen and am looking forward to many of those to come. There were quite a few lakes strewn about the countryside; everything is just so pretty.

Other than the park today and a little driving, I'm not sure what else we're going to do, but we will at least walk around a bit and explore the area here in Highams Park.

I will try to write again soon. Thanks for the comments so far both Moms; they are very fun to read! Love you!

Day 2 - We're Here!

May 3, 2008

After some delays and our luggage getting "lost" for about 2 hours (new terminal and they haven't quite figured out all the kinks yet), we finally made it! I was all smiles when I exited the plane as I heard real English people in speaking in their real English accents (I'm so excited that I'm going to be surrounded by that for 3 full weeks).

We got to the Hambletons around 5:45pm and were able to chat with their daughter Charlotte and her boyfriend David while we relaxed and waited for Mike and Gillian to come home from the theatre (they had tickets to see King Lear at the Globe Theatre). They are both very sweet and great conversationalists and Charlotte made me the best cup of tea I've ever had! It tasted nothing like what I've had in the States.

We were informed that London now has a new Mayor, whom David helped campaign for. David actually has things in common with both Jeremiah and myself: he does web programming, IT, and like robotics like Jeremiah but his day job is accounting like me.

Around 6:30pm, Mike and Gillian arrived home and I finally got to meet them. They are very sweet and so loving. They make you feel like you're at home instantly, especially as the first order was to offer us another cup of tea. :)

We sat and talked for a bit while they had their tea. We talked about their recent trip to China (their son works there and they visited him for 3 weeks). We talked about our trip and our plans as well as our flight here. They talked about tea time and how they actually enjoy a good cup of decaf coffee in the evenings. I thought this would be an excellent time to present them with the Decaf Vanilla Bean Coffee we had brought them as a gift. We handed one bag to each and they were very happy especially as they had just run out of their own supply.

After a bit, we called in a food order to the Fish and Chips shop a little ways up the street (The Frying Place). About 15 minutes later, Charlotte, David, Miah, and I walked up to the Fish shop to pick up the food. We came back, dished up the plates and ate around the dinner table while talking about various things.

During dinner, Debbie called to make sure we made it safely, which we did. She told us that she's been checking our blog and email very hour for an update, which we just hadn't had time to do yet, so I thought I better get to it, especially as I know my dad wanted frequent updates as well.

But before I sat down to write this, I called my parents to let them know of our safe journey.

Well, now it's just after 9:15pm our time and everyone is in the front room watching some TV so I had better join them before we head off to bed. I think we will acclimate to the time change fairly well. We were able to sleep just enough on the plane during the night to give us enough energy for the day but not so much that we aren't getting tired right now.

Oh, about the plane ride. We had a good dinner meal (Lasagna for Miah and Chicken with rice for me with complimentary wine) and plenty of movies and TV shows to choose from.

Miah watched Beowolf, which he has been wanting to see for a long time (but was pretty disappointed with it after watching it) and I watched Mansfield Park, the new version the BBC just did. We both started other movies after that but got too tired int he middle to finish them, so we dozed off and didn't turn the TVs back on until about 1 1/2 hour before our flight was over. A little disappointing for us since we didn't want to waste all these "free" movies we could be watching but we thought we needed the sleep more. Plus, there's always the trip back!

Ok, now I really need to go. More will come later!

Day 1 - Leaving for England

May 2, 2008

We started the day at 5:45am to get ready for work, finish packing, and close up the apartment. We got everything in the car and were out the door a few minutes before 7am (supposed to be at work at 7).

I dropped off Jeremiah at his work and headed to mine. Very busy day for me; relaxing day for Miah. I had a lot of last minute things to get done before the trip and being gone for 3 weeks. We worked for 5 hours and then said our goodbyes. I picked up Jeremiah with our lunches and luggage in tow. We switched sides so he could drive while I ate.

We talked about our days at work and I ate my lunch (PB&J sandwich & strawberries with lots of water). I started getting a headache so I took some medicine and tried to unwind from the crazy morning at work.

Around 1:10pm, we arrived at my parents' house, used the restroom, talked for a bit with my mom, and loaded up my mom's car with our luggage. I drove so my mom, who recently had surgery on her foot, wouldn't have to and Jeremiah rode shotgun to be able to mess around with the new GPS unit my parents had just given us for the trip (pretty cool!). No traffic on the way to the airport so we got there just after 2:30pm - in plenty of time. We said goodbye to my mom and headed inside.

This was my first time in an International terminal so I took my time looking around; somehow it just felt different.

We checked in online the night before so there was no line for us. We just had to get the passes for our checked bags then take them over to the screening area. My dad called during this and I couldn't get to my phone in time so I missed his call. While we waited to make sure our bags got put through the screener, I called my dad back. He was wishing us a good journey and lots of fun (he "demanded" that we have fun :) )

**Well, the computer lab here at Capernwray is about to close, so I'll finish this post later.**

**Back Again to finish the Post**

As I was talking and after our bags got loaded, we headed up an escalator to a food area. We found a table to sit at and Jeremiah took out his lunch. I used the restroom and decided to get an ice cream cone from McDonalds as a treat (yes, it is officially the start of vacation!).

We enjoyed our food and finished off our water. During this time I talked with Becky and finalized our plans on meeting the 19th in Keswick at their B&B around 1:00pm.

A little after 3:30pm we decided to head over to Security. It seemed like it took forever to get through but it probably wasn't really that long. They put Jeremiah's backpack through twice because they couldn't tell what everything was. They asked if we had a laptop in there. I said no. Then they asked for a back check. I (or Jeremiah, I can't remember) remembered the GPS so I mentioned it. Then they asked if there was any water in the bad? Lotion? Food? No, No, Yes. I said there were containers with cookies in them. They then put the bag through the scanner again. As it was going through the second time, a male worker came up to the girls and they suddenly weren't as interested in our bag and let it go through without any more questions. The truth is, we had applesauce containers in the bottom of the bag and were seeing if we could get away with them :)

We then found a TV with updates on the flight status and ours had been delayed. Original time: 5:45pm and now: 6:30pm - Boo! We walked down to the end of the terminal to our gate and found an open place to sit. My headache was worse and my stomach was upset; I really felt like some soup would help.

So I walked down to a Deli. They served soup, Udon Soup, whatever that is, but it cost $8 or $9. No way I was buying that. So I kept walking and stopped at each little store to look around and just waste some time. (Everything costs so much!)

Eventually, I headed back to our seats and decided some Gold Fish would hit the spot (brought them for the car trips). But then I realized that we didn't have anything to drink with them. So I walked back to the Deli and bought some Sprite, hoping it would help my stomach.

I got back to Jeremiah and started my new snack. It seemed to hit the spot because my stomach feels much better and my head doesn't hurt as much. We turned on our new IPod, listened to Maroon 5, and Jeremiah took some pictures.

Now we are just waiting and trying to be patient until it's time to board. Current time: 5: 31pm. Should be boarding soon!

Catch you in London!
S&J

England!!!

We are less than 1 week away from our trip to England!

I am so excited as I have never been out of the country (save Mexico when I was really little) and I have always wanted to go there. My favorite author is Jane Austen and in her books she always talks about all these wonderful places in England so I want to see and experience them for myself.

We have a busy schedule planned for the 3 weeks we are there. (Trip dates: May 2-23, 2008)

We will start in London for about 5 days with some friends of the family (Debbie's roommate from Capernwray). Then we head to Winchester (Jane Austen's house and grave and King Author's Roundtable) and Stonehenge. We spend the night in Avebury a little ways away. The next day we will head to Bath stopping along the way at a few places. Then we head into the South of Wales for the night at a little B&B.

Next, we go into the heart of Wales in the Snowdonia National Forest. We will spend 2 nights in Wales and tour the castles along the coast (per Uncle Jerry's directions).

After Wales, we head to Capernwray for a few days of relaxation and touring of the Lake District.

Then it's into Scotland for us. We will stay in Edinburgh for 2 nights and then head up North to Lock Ness (with binnoculars in hand in case we can spot Nessy ;).

We then travel back down to the Lake District for the night and will meet up with my sister and her friend who will also be in England at this time.

Next, we go to Oxford and will tour around the city a bit before heading over to Windsor castle.

Last, we spend our last 2 nights in London and then head back home.

It will be a lot of traveling in the car and a lot to do, but we want to make the most out of this trip as we can.

We will keep you all informed of our travels via this blog whenever we can get to a computer with some Internet access.

Thank you to everyone who gave us tips on where to go and what to see (and what to eat!) while we're there. We can't wait to do it all!