First Impressions

The truth is, we have now left London proper but now is when I'm finding the time to sit down and write a proper post. So I'm starting at the beginning. The reason Candy (best mother-in-law ever) and I were meeting Shawn in London was because he was at a conference for work in Copenhagen the week before. We were taking logistical advantage of his proximity to launch the next epic adventure. We knew that if we took this trip, we would constantly be saying "mom would absolutely love this!" so we made her come along. :)

Our first glimpse of England came from the air as the clouds parted and the countryside appeared. I've flown over the Midwest many times and the regular patchwork of square and circular fields is impressive, but the landscape that unfolded below us was amazing. I always assumed the beautiful pastoral landscapes I always admired in art museums were a little impressionistic or surreal. I found today that they are in fact true to life, complete with rounded hillocks, irregular fields boarded with hedge rows, and slightly fuzzy but perfectly shaped trees. The fields led to neat rows of suburban houses, and then, London, full of urban splendor and historic architecture along narrow windy roads.
After we settled in, we began to explore some of these roads. We were staying near the Marble Arch in Hyde Park, and wandered in that direction finding plenty to admire.





Later we met up with our friend Dan who was with Shawn in Copenhagen and had also decided to see London before heading home. Together we wandered aimlessly (the best sort of wandering) in the general direction of the Thames.


We found the US Embassy, many beautiful buildings, and...the underground. At this point we decided it was time for dinner so we went below.

The London underground is somewhere between a labyrinth and an amusement park. I couldn't help but think of the novel Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman where the London underground comes to life, and there are actual black friars at Blackfriars station, and you have to pay a toll to cross Knightsbridge. At one point, to get to our platform we had to go down a few stories of spiral stairs, narrow windy corridors, and then up an escalator. I would love to see a 3D model of the London underground, I have no idea how far under we went, but it turns out that the deepest stations are 221 feet.

The tube took us to Piccadilly Circus, London's equivalent of Times Square. I think it may be even more impressive than Times Square, but that would be because of the well preserved historic buildings were integrated into the high tech bling of massive LED screens. Once there we had dinner at Byron's a place that advertised beef from small farms in Scotland. I'm still not exactly sure if it was Angus beef or Angus's beef, but everything was very fresh and tasty. Full and a little exhausted we called it a night and took the tube back to our hotel.

We slept soundly despite the jet lag, and the overall excitement of being in this place and the anticipation of what we were going to experience in the days to come.

~ Sara


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:London

We made it!

We met up with Shawn at Heathrow and took the train into the city.

While waiting to check into our hotel we found a proper pub (a pub with books!) and had a proper pint while watching west ham get beat in a football match with the locals.
It had every stereotypical English pub amenity, from the real wood paneling and huge stone fireplace, to stained glass, and well used bar stools. The interesting thing was...
This pub also happened to serve excellent Thai food. Yum!

-- Post From Sara's iPhone

Location:Marble Arch

Here we go!

Boarded and ready to go!


-- Post From Sara's iPhone

Location:9A and 9B

Getting sleepy

We are checked in, through security and having the traditional per-flight beverage with dinner. Hopefully this will be a good combo for a 7hr all night flight. :)







-- Post From Sara's iPhone

London or Bust (guest Blog from Candy Hart)

Today Sara and I leave for London....months ago I received a package in the mail from Shawn and Sara, enclosed were layers of hints from them asking Me to join them on their trek to great Britain for 2 Weeks...... I cried.....there's one place I've always wanted to visit and that's the UK.... So the day has finally arrived, after much preparation we are about to embark on a dream......we fly out tonight arriving in London around 6 am (10am local time) Saturday where we will meet up with Shawn......don't think I can put into words how thrilled I am to have been giving such an unselfish gesture......thank you Shawn and Sara.... I love you both.... As for the readers of this blog we will keep you abreast of our travels.....

How to plan an awesome vacation

Like life, when it comes to vacations it is never good to over plan.  And as much as I love to be spontaneous, that is how you end up in Virginia Beach, 4th of July weekend at 3 'o' clock in the morning seriously considering staying at a hotel with bullet proof cops in the parking lot and what could only be blood stains on what passed for carpet.  But that's another story...

Sometimes, an adventure is so epic in scale and ambition that it calls for some serious considerations and (gasp) reservations.  

We call these binder worthy vacations.  They usually are at least 2 weeks long and have multiple destinations.  Our first binder vacation took us to Newfoundland and the maritimes and resulted in this.

First you need a destination or two (anywhere will do) some imagination and a propensity for adventure.

Next we head to a bookstore and stalk the travel section for good guide books to our chosen destination.  This process is best with coffee.

Then once you are completely excited and inspired by what you discover, make a short list.  This is a list of places that you absolutely must see on your trip.  Sometimes this list is also long.

A calender is handy.

Next, you will need a binder.  I like these because of the elastic closure (good for holding in all the stuff), also the softer cover with the rounded spine makes for easy packing. 

Also, you will need these or some other binder pockets, one for each day of your trip.

Let the planing begin!

As you schedule flights and reserve accommodations print out the confirmation data, directions, cancellation polices (I will get to that later) and any other info you might want and place it in the pocket for the appropriate day.  It isn't uncommon to not have (free) internet access so having hard copies of your itinerary is a nifty thing.  You can also include info on your must sees, things like hours and fees are good to know.  Another reason I like to have a binder 'pocket' for
every day (reservations or not) is that it is a great place to store ticket stubs, recites, travel info and anything other memories you pick up along the way.  (this is when the elastic closure on the binder becomes a necessity)  I don't know how many times I have gone back to the binder to find the name of the resturant we ate at that one time.  It also comes in very handy if you happen to be blogging your vacation.

Remember at the beginning of this post, the thing about not over planning?  Here is a trick...schedule in extra time for "stuff" and "exploring".  In general we try not to "schedule" more than half (or less) of each day (including driving time) so that there is plenty of time to get side tracked.  And just because you have this nifty binder with stuff, don't be afraid to change your plans!  That is why you print cancellation info.  Also, you never know when something may be canceled for you, having all the info will help with re-scheduling as well.

Now...go forth and travel!  Just don't forget to send us pictures!

Modes of travel

In the course of this blog we have traveled via plane, car, and ferry, and have featured various rentals, but today we are in The Van. We have a 1994 Ford Econoline, that has had past lives as a locksmith and a work van. We inherited it from a loved family member when we were in need of hauling things. The van is very good at hauling things. In return, we put a rug in the back, keep it maintained, and acquired some fuzzy dice.


Through the years we have become attached to our loyal pack mule. It has moved many things, for many people, to many places. Now, we are headed to South Carolina, Shawn's childhood home, to see family, attend a wedding, and haul stuff home.




Of course, we being us, are going the scenic route though Shenandoah National Park.



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:On the road...