London Baby

Let me just start this by saying that Jay and I enjoy the TV show Friends. We have watched it before bed for years just so we could have a good laugh before bed. We have been referencing the Friend's trip to London ever since we arrived here and our trip to London was no different. We really wanted to find a pop up map like Joey had so Jay could step inside the map to find his way around, but the one we bought was more useful.

We took the train from Portsmouth to London and I'll tell you I love the train. It is so much fun to travel with the family and no one need to navigate or drive and we can all just hang out together. There was the time that not all of us got thru the doors of the train fast enough, but luckily we were able to get the door back open and everyone in before the train took off. Our hearts got a little workout, but no harm done.

When we arrived in London we thought that we were headed to one of the Navy's offices, but we were off by about 10 miles and 4 underground zones for the metro. No biggie, we just took another trip on the train/metro and found where we needed to be. After all the work was done we got to do our sightseeing.

Right off the metro we saw Big Ben and Parliament, The River Thames and the Farris Wheel.

Westminster Abbey was also on our list.

Not exactly sure what this was, but it was a beautiful view through St. James Park.

Sarah and I were excited to Buckingham Palace and Sarah was sure if she zoomed in far enough she might see something more exciting than just a big palace.

Nathan loved the ducks and wanted more picture of ducks than some big building.

We saw a lot of the highlights of London, but barely brushed the surface of things we want to see. We look forward to returning and digging deeper into all there is to see and do.

Trip to Ryde

On our third full day in the UK we took a little trip from Portsmouth to the Isle of Wight. Yes, I know, we really didn't need to come all the way to England for a Portsmouth and an Isle of Wight we had those in Virginia. Alexander and Spencer will be going to Ryde School on the Isle of Wight. We traveled over on hovercraft to meet the headmaster and visit the campus.

We had a wonderful meeting with the headmaster and the hover craft was an easy and fun 10 minute ride. The boys are looking forward to a great year and Sarah hopes to join them next year.

England Baby

So I can't quite figure out where to start. I have tried to start writing everyday since we arrived. By the way, we arrived Saturday, August 20, 2011. Mother and Anna helped Jay and I pack the night before we left and believe me it was a big job.

Nathan, who woke up crying because he didn't want to fly in the big airplane, had a wonderful time on the big airplane. He also slept well and wanted to go again. Spencer had a little bit of motion sickness and then slept all the way from DC to London. Everyone else did great. Alex even got to sit by himself.

Once we arrived in London we took the bus from London to Portsmouth. It took a little bit of time to get to Portsmouth, but it was a really nice trip. Jay, Alex, Spencer, Nathan and Sarah all slept on the way to our new home.

Once we arrived in Portsmouth we checked into the Marriott hotel where we are having a lovely stay. The hotel has been really nice. We have adjoining rooms and there is a pool. We are enjoying a hot English breakfast in the mornings. For breakfast we have a choice of eggs, tomatoes and mushrooms, ham, large sausages, bacon, tatter tots and baked beans. There are also choices of fruit and yogurt, pastries, toast and cereal. There is more to report, but I'm trying to keep your attention so I don't want to give you too much at once. Cheers.