On our way

Mom & Dad hired a big van + trailer to pick us all up and take us to the airport. We left home around 3:45pm on Wed 7/1 to begin the first part of our journey to England. We made it to the airport, got checked in, passed through security, and boarded the plane without any trouble. We were all sitting in World Club (business class) and the seating configuration was really unusual! The seats alternate forward / backward facing across the row.

The seats proved comfortable and the service was great. The 8 hour flight seemed to pass pretty quickly. Shortly after takeoff, we had dinner and then most of us watched a movie. I think most of us managed to get a couple hours sleep before we got into London around 8am local time, Thur 7/2.

The worst part of the flight was waiting to pass through customs & immigration at Gatwick airport. We were all tired from traveling and we had to stand in line with the kids for about 30 minutes before we made it through. Our driver was waiting at the baggage claim to take us to Cambridge, about 90 minutes away from the airport.

We got checked in to the Crown Plaza Hotel in Cambrdge. It''s not the fanciest hotel we've ever stayed in, but it's nice and the location is good. We are very centrally located and it is a short walk to all the points of interest, restaurants, shopping, etc. It was noon, local time when we arrived, about 15 hours since we left home in Tampa!

After checking in, we went out for lunch at the Anchor Pub and then went back to the hotel for a little nap. Brandon & I got after about an hour and decided to go out exploring with Kent, Pi, & the their families. I tried to get Michele, Cameron, & Justin up, but the would not budge!

We found a nice little park a few blocks away and the kids had a great time on the playground while we enjoyed the balmy weather. It is unusually warm here right now (90's), so it feels almost like home.

We came back to the room for a while and we were finally able to roust everybody up for dinner. Well, almost everybody: Kent & his family stayed in and ordered room service. The rest of us walked restaurant row looking at various menus, but we had a rough time finding something that would please everyone. We finally ended up walking in a big circle and ate at the hotel restaurant! The food was good, but the dining room was HOT and the service was SLOW.

After dinner, we took another walk to get some bottled water & other supplies for the room. Now, we're back. I know we're all tired, but we're going to try to stay up a couple more hours so we can adjusted to the new time zone as soon as possible.

Tomorow, we are scheduled to have the bus for sightseeing, but this town is so small, I really don't think we're going to need it. Dad wants to drive somewhere and see a castle, but I am not crazy about another long bus ride. There is an aviation museum about 20 minutes outside of town. We'll see...