Just Four More Days!

Time has passed so quickly. It was last September that Ted & I decided to take this trip and in just four more days we'll be boarding our plane. Other than a few last minute things to take care of, we are ready. Many tasks had to be done in preparation for our excursion: renewing of passports, asking the neighbour kids to mow the lawn, packing our bags--which meant shopping, which is a ton of fun, but I digress---easy to do when speaking of shopping! But by far, the most enjoyable exercise for me has been re-reading my journal entries from our last trip to the UK.

It was my first time abroad and I had forgotten how smitten I was with all things British! As we left Gatwick and boarded our bus to travel to Ted's hometown of Totton, we grabbed a seat on the left side of the bus near the driver. I carried on a conversation with him for almost the whole time. I remember my first words, more to the whole busload of folk than just to our driver, "Oh my goodness! Look! We are actually driving on the other side of the road!" Polite titters rippled through the bus as we proceeded through quaint towns and narrow country lanes...and I was agog the whole time!

Ted's older sister, Connie, was there to meet us at the bus station. As I disembarked and Ted introduced us, she smiled and hugged me and it felt as if I was in the arms of an old friend, as if we had known each other all our lives. I'm looking forward to seeing her again and doing some exploring of more historic sites with her--like Osborne House, Queen Victoria's summer home, and Port Isaac in Cornwall where they film one of our favourite TV shows, Doc Martin, and of course filling ourselves with authentic English Fish & Chips...yum!

I was ecstatic about everything from the red phone boxes to the Pound (not Dollar) Stores. Things were so old, and they were revered. I didn't have to visit Buckingham Palace because I was enthralled with simply strolling through old cemeteries with their moss-covered grave stones and un-mown grass.. Oh, the joy of it all.

I will leave you now and do some of those last minute things I spoke of--putting little plastic shampoo-filled bottles into ziplock bags and attaching Canadian Flag luggage tags to our new bags and tidying up the house a tad. Thanks for listening. Talk to you soon.

Peggy/Mom/Granny