London Calling

Photo of London Double-decker bus taken
during my trip to London in 2003

I'm off to London, Inverness, Edinburgh, North Yorkshire, Wales and Manchester this August, 2013.

Plane tickets are booked, and an overnight sleeper train from London to Inverness, too!

This trip will be a little different.  This trip I won't be solo.  On this trip I will be a travel companion to my Dad, Jeff, whose trip this really is.

My Mom died in March, after a brave year-and-a-half long struggle against endometrial cancer at the age of 65.  She was the apple of my Dad's eye.

My parents had their honeymoon in England, in the Manchester area and in Llandudno, Wales, almost 43 years ago.  Even earlier, my dad spent his early youth in England with my war-bride Nana and my GI Grampy as they helped my great-grandfather run his pub.

My brothers and I joke that this is my Dad's "Remembrance Tour."  It is exactly that, but I think it's much more.  My Mom didn't like to fly, and only ever did so for family -- to be with her mother and to visit her -- sometimes -- wayward children.  She would never agree to fly for a pure pleasure trip.  My Dad, on the other hand, was always willing to travel but couldn't coax his bride to do so unless via Amtrak or by car.  I'll tell you sometime about our car trips to Florida and to Williamsburg, or our cross-country train excursion from Arizona to Boston!

Distant view of Tower Bridge from the grounds of
the Tower of London, taken in 2003.

My Dad will read this post, but I'm not telling tales out of school.  My brothers and I agreed that he needed something to focus on after our Mom's passing, and this trip was a natural.  He has entered the fray with gusto, and I'm exhilarated by his enthusiasm!  I thought it would take weeks-on-end to plan this sojourn, but he approached it like a Grizzly bear and has hammered out all of the details in near record time.

I can already tell that my Dad will be an excellent travel companion.  He's an excellent writer, too, so maybe I'll coax him to write a few words on my blog during our trip to elevate the discourse.

I am excited to be traveling again, of course!  And I'm grateful to be allowed to share the journey with my Dad, with whom I'm proud to say I've enjoyed a great relationship the entirety of my life.

More details to follow, then stay tuned for messages from the UK!