European Escapades
I've been on many family trips before, but never on a plane. And not with 7 of us. It was an experience, if nothing else! I moved all my earthly belongings home from Darby on the 22nd, dumped them into my new room/storage space upstairs in approximately 15 minutes, and then headed to Dillon to meet with an old friend. We visited for several hours before I realized my time was running short, so I continued my journey to Clark Canyon Reservoir to pick up Mateo's girlfriend, Jillisa. We made it back just in time for dinner, and then I had to pack and go to sleep. Not terribly early, of course. My phone alarm decided not to function the next morning, since I don't have cell service out here, so Jillisa and I were close to half an hour late to Helena, resulting in her missing her flight. She was able to get a later one, so I left her there and zoomed back to Butte, where I met up with the rest of my travel companions and we headed to Bozeman for our first leg o the journey. Getting a bunch of travel greenhorns through security, (even at Bozeman), was memorable. Dad had a western shirt on with all those snaps, plus a gargantuan belt buckle, plus two metal hips to get through. The boys didn't unload their passports or phones into the containers, and they had to have their huge contact solution bottles tested for dangerous chemicals. Oy!
We met Jillisa in Minneapolis and made it to London without much in the way of excitement. Seth, Caia, and the kids met us there and we drove in our 2-vehicle caravan up to RAF Lakenheath. The first night, we just sort of chilled, settled in, grilled burgers and steaks, and went to sleep.
All the females shopped for groceries for the entirety of the trip, since each one had two days to cook for. The guys were on teams for dish duty. We went to the market at Bury St. Edmunds on Saturday and browsed around. After church on Sunday, Mom, Caleb, Seth, and I went with Taylor, (staying with Caia and Seth while her mom was in the U.S.), to see her horse. What a strange system. Both she and her mom pay 20 pounds a week for the privilege of watering, feeding, grooming, training, etc. They are leasing the horses, basically, and when they no longer can care for them, someone else "adopts" one. That's spendy!
We went gokarting on Monday. It was fun, but I wish I would have figured out NOT to use my breaks at all, or much less, at least. Seth beat everyone, of course, and had lapped each kart at LEAST twice by the end of 30 laps.
On Tuesday, we loaded into the vehicles and drove to Stonehenge, then Glastonbury Abbey, and then through Bath, though we didn't have time to stop there. We had run out of daylight and travel-tolerance on the part of one Titus and one Chloe of the Seth Salusso family. The Abbey was quite majestic and peaceful. I wandered mostly by myself and found the fish pond. They had some strange fish in there, and I found a lovely solace standing along the edge. We stayed at a hotel on RAF Fairford, which was a fabulous way to stay somewhere. I got to cook that night, which was interesting in such a small kitchen, but the couscous turned out alright anyway. We went to Monmouth, Wales the next day, which was fun. We had lunch in a former coach stop, and chatted with a gentleman there. We strolled around a bit, stopped in a few shops, and went to the local history museum, which was largely dedicated to the life of Admiral Horatio Nelson. On our way out of town, we walked over Monnow Bridge, which is the oldest bridge of its design in all of Britain. We drove directly back to RAF Lakenheath, with a bit of a confusing detour through Cambridge, as a section of highway was closed for maintenance, and all the detours just looped back to the closed highway.
Thursday was a rest day, but Mom, Caia, Jillisa, and I went to the nearby village of Thetford to walk along the river a bit and browse another English village. They had swans and other fowl on the banks, and Mom had her hand gnawed on by a swan!
Friday was our London tour. We watched the changing of the guard at Buckingham, stood outside Westminster Cathedral, wondering why it looked nothing like our idea of Westminster Abbey, (not until after we left London did we realize our mistake), went through the V & A Museum, (free, and probably the only thing I really enjoyed in London...except of course for one to come), and then the Sherlock Holmes museum at 221b Baker Street! We brought the stuffed The Cheat, (see characters from homestarrunner.com for explanation), with us on all our journeys and photographed him at famous places. The dressed up guard at the museum entrance was kind enough to pose with the Cheat, even though he had NO clue as to what he was. So I gave him the address to corrupt his mind. :0)
We drove north on Saturday to relax and see a crumbly castle. We went to Castle Rising Castle, the best-preserved castle in England. It was probably most people's favorite part of the trip, with the continuation of our trip to the beach at Hunstanton. Queen Isabella spent the remainder of her life there, after playing a part in the murder of her husband, King Edward II. It was really interesting. The wind made our trip to the beach fiercely beautful. It was a bit cold for the little guys, so we found a little pub area and had some hot chocolate. Mmmm!
We recovered, packed, and had fun on Sunday, complete with a solid game of Taboo. Unfortunately, Seth had to sleep early, since he started his shift at 1 AM. I was up to see him off, trying to combine everyone's photos, (a combined effort of over 1,000), and I finally made it sleep at 2 AM. Then we were up and off to the airport on a typically rainy, misty English morning.
We got back to the Bozeman airport just before midnight, and we were all VERY ready to be home and in bed. However, some lady had a flat tire, so Dad helped change it, and then I had to pick up my car in Butte, complete with frosted windows. I've missed my favorite season! We got back around 2 in the morning, and a very bleary-eyed Craig came to greet us. He had stayed to watch the place for us during our absence. We talked a little bit before everyone else disappeared to their respective rooms and I crashed on the couch. However, by that point, I wasn't sleepy. But my throat was scratchy and my nose was a bit stuffy. So, trying not to wake the other couch-dwellers, I didn't get to sleep until almost 3:30, and woke up for some dang reason at 5:30 AM! I thought I would just get a spot of tea, use the bathroom, and head back for some more z's, but no. Dad got up for work just after 6 AM, Craig just after that, and Craig and I chatted until he left for work, and then Mom got up. I was doomed. So after picking up Jillisa from Helena, shopping for a few groceries, and coming back for dinner with her family, I started a rapid decline from consciousness. It was lovely.
I had big plans to accomplish much in the moving into my new room upstairs process, but have done nothing but try to load pictures and shower. It's glorious. Here's to tomorrow!
We met Jillisa in Minneapolis and made it to London without much in the way of excitement. Seth, Caia, and the kids met us there and we drove in our 2-vehicle caravan up to RAF Lakenheath. The first night, we just sort of chilled, settled in, grilled burgers and steaks, and went to sleep.
All the females shopped for groceries for the entirety of the trip, since each one had two days to cook for. The guys were on teams for dish duty. We went to the market at Bury St. Edmunds on Saturday and browsed around. After church on Sunday, Mom, Caleb, Seth, and I went with Taylor, (staying with Caia and Seth while her mom was in the U.S.), to see her horse. What a strange system. Both she and her mom pay 20 pounds a week for the privilege of watering, feeding, grooming, training, etc. They are leasing the horses, basically, and when they no longer can care for them, someone else "adopts" one. That's spendy!
We went gokarting on Monday. It was fun, but I wish I would have figured out NOT to use my breaks at all, or much less, at least. Seth beat everyone, of course, and had lapped each kart at LEAST twice by the end of 30 laps.
On Tuesday, we loaded into the vehicles and drove to Stonehenge, then Glastonbury Abbey, and then through Bath, though we didn't have time to stop there. We had run out of daylight and travel-tolerance on the part of one Titus and one Chloe of the Seth Salusso family. The Abbey was quite majestic and peaceful. I wandered mostly by myself and found the fish pond. They had some strange fish in there, and I found a lovely solace standing along the edge. We stayed at a hotel on RAF Fairford, which was a fabulous way to stay somewhere. I got to cook that night, which was interesting in such a small kitchen, but the couscous turned out alright anyway. We went to Monmouth, Wales the next day, which was fun. We had lunch in a former coach stop, and chatted with a gentleman there. We strolled around a bit, stopped in a few shops, and went to the local history museum, which was largely dedicated to the life of Admiral Horatio Nelson. On our way out of town, we walked over Monnow Bridge, which is the oldest bridge of its design in all of Britain. We drove directly back to RAF Lakenheath, with a bit of a confusing detour through Cambridge, as a section of highway was closed for maintenance, and all the detours just looped back to the closed highway.
Thursday was a rest day, but Mom, Caia, Jillisa, and I went to the nearby village of Thetford to walk along the river a bit and browse another English village. They had swans and other fowl on the banks, and Mom had her hand gnawed on by a swan!
Friday was our London tour. We watched the changing of the guard at Buckingham, stood outside Westminster Cathedral, wondering why it looked nothing like our idea of Westminster Abbey, (not until after we left London did we realize our mistake), went through the V & A Museum, (free, and probably the only thing I really enjoyed in London...except of course for one to come), and then the Sherlock Holmes museum at 221b Baker Street! We brought the stuffed The Cheat, (see characters from homestarrunner.com for explanation), with us on all our journeys and photographed him at famous places. The dressed up guard at the museum entrance was kind enough to pose with the Cheat, even though he had NO clue as to what he was. So I gave him the address to corrupt his mind. :0)
We drove north on Saturday to relax and see a crumbly castle. We went to Castle Rising Castle, the best-preserved castle in England. It was probably most people's favorite part of the trip, with the continuation of our trip to the beach at Hunstanton. Queen Isabella spent the remainder of her life there, after playing a part in the murder of her husband, King Edward II. It was really interesting. The wind made our trip to the beach fiercely beautful. It was a bit cold for the little guys, so we found a little pub area and had some hot chocolate. Mmmm!
We recovered, packed, and had fun on Sunday, complete with a solid game of Taboo. Unfortunately, Seth had to sleep early, since he started his shift at 1 AM. I was up to see him off, trying to combine everyone's photos, (a combined effort of over 1,000), and I finally made it sleep at 2 AM. Then we were up and off to the airport on a typically rainy, misty English morning.
We got back to the Bozeman airport just before midnight, and we were all VERY ready to be home and in bed. However, some lady had a flat tire, so Dad helped change it, and then I had to pick up my car in Butte, complete with frosted windows. I've missed my favorite season! We got back around 2 in the morning, and a very bleary-eyed Craig came to greet us. He had stayed to watch the place for us during our absence. We talked a little bit before everyone else disappeared to their respective rooms and I crashed on the couch. However, by that point, I wasn't sleepy. But my throat was scratchy and my nose was a bit stuffy. So, trying not to wake the other couch-dwellers, I didn't get to sleep until almost 3:30, and woke up for some dang reason at 5:30 AM! I thought I would just get a spot of tea, use the bathroom, and head back for some more z's, but no. Dad got up for work just after 6 AM, Craig just after that, and Craig and I chatted until he left for work, and then Mom got up. I was doomed. So after picking up Jillisa from Helena, shopping for a few groceries, and coming back for dinner with her family, I started a rapid decline from consciousness. It was lovely.
I had big plans to accomplish much in the moving into my new room upstairs process, but have done nothing but try to load pictures and shower. It's glorious. Here's to tomorrow!
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