Day 1 - arrival

We have safely arrived in the UK!  Mom arrived early this morning on a separate flight and was picked up by our new friend, Jackie Marshall.  She is an English lady who works with and is friends with Mom's brother, Wes, in South Sudan.  She just happened to be back in England during the time we would be here so we had a chance to meet.  Since Mom was going to be here for several hours waiting on us, Jackie agreed to pick her up from the airport and entertain her until Grandma and I arrived.

I met up with Grandma in Atlanta where we started our flight to London.  We were seated together and were even able to preboard so Grandma could take her time settling in.  Soon the rest of the passengers were loaded and we were ready to leave.  Then came the announcement that a "switch" in the cockpit that only helps the pilots detect if the engine is having a problem was broken and had to be replaced.  That took two and a half hours while we sat at the gate, hot and tired.  This was to be a dinner flight so we still hadn't eaten yet!  FINALLY they got the part and installed it and we were on our way.  Dinner came well after midnight.  The rest of the flight was smooth but not comfortable enough to sleep well.  We ended up arriving an hour late.  It took quite a while to get through customs and also standing in line at the Avis desk to get our rental car.  At last we were on our way towards High Wycomb which is west of London, exactly the direction we needed to go.  In this little town there is a Wycliffe Centre where Jackie was staying.  I had purchased UK maps for my TomTom before leaving and now that we had the car it was just a matter of turning it on and putting in the address.

Our car is a cute little Peugeot that has manual transmission and takes Diesel.  Naturally, I have to shift with the left hand, and remember to stay on the left side of the road, and manage rotaries (aka round-a-bouts) and mind the GPS.  It takes some courage and a lot of attention.  Once you get on the highway, it's much easier.

In about 30 minutes or so, we made it to the Wycliffe Centre and found the reception where they rang Jackie to let her know we were there.  She and Mom were relieved to know we were safe as we weren't able to communicate all the delays to them along the way.  We had a nice supper with her and then said goodbye and started towards West Bristol where we currently are.  We found our hotel fairly easily and enjoyed getting the airplane sweat off of us!  There is no AC in the room as weather here is generally cooler than the US.  Grandma is missing it right now.

Jackie took some of us with her camera which she emailed us.

 We didn't take any today as the only pictures would have been of us standing in endless queues!  The above picture was taken two days later while in the country.  More tomorrow!

Going to Corwall and South-West England

Well... after six years of dreaming of going to Cornwall, it's finally coming true!

In 2008, while browsing through my Netflix account, I discovered a recommendation from Netflix for a British TV series called "Doc Martin" and after reading the intro, I was intrigued.  I watched the series premier on-line with "watch instantly" and immediately was hooked.  Doc Martin is practicing medicine in a rural community with limited resources and all the frustrations of a country practice.  I was in a similar situation myself and found myself relating to the story a lot.  The series is filmed in Port Isaac on location in Cornwall, only the village is called Port Wenn.  You see a picture of Port Isaac above.

Well... 5 seasons later (and owning all the DVD's which have been watched multiple times) and I feel like I have already been to Port Isaac.  The beauty of Cornwall is so amazing that I determined to go there some day.  After much planning and many doors opening and closing, it is finally coming together!

 Cornwall is a county in England that makes up the south-west tail jetting out towards North America.  It is sometimes referred to as the riviera of England due to it's beautiful coastlines.  It is a very popular destination for tourists, particularly after Doc Martin appeared on TV.  I do believe they will actually be filming the next season in Port Isaac while we are there!  That is kind of exciting since I'm such a fan!

My mom, grandma, Marlene, and I are traveling together.  We took a cruise to Alaska last year and had a good time together.  Above you see us in the formal dining room which was stylized after a Russian palace, complete with portraits of the Czar and family!

We will arrive in London at Heathrow Airport, pick up our rental car (which yours truly will be solely driving... with manual transmission... on the left side of the road), and head towards Bath where our journey begins.  A few days later we will check in to the condo in Camborne, Cornwall which will be home base for a week while we go on excursions to nearby sights.  After leaving Cornwall, we will head along the southern coast to take in Plymouth, Lyme-Regis, Portsmouth, Brighton, and more.  I'm excited about seeing places Jane Austen wrote about and lived in, including her final home before she died and her final resting place in Winchester Cathedral!

If all goes well, we can hopefully post pictures on this blog day by day... but we have yet to find out what the internet options will be.

Keep a weather eye on this blog!  The journey begins May 29 and ends June 11.