Off to England

We set off on our big summer trip to England on Thursday afternoon, after the mad scramble of packing and cleaning that precedes every such trip. But now, with the girls so grownup, that scramble is decidedly less stressful.

We're down to just three carryons for the four of us, since we're no longer worried about the huge amount of snacks/entertainment/diapers/changes of clothing necessary for a baby/toddler/preschooler.














We were fortunate to make it to LAX on time, after a brush fire in the Newhall Pass caused a traffic jam and then the closure of the 5, minutes after we'd passed through the area.

Our flight on Air New Zealand was very pleasant, with the best airplane food we've ever eaten. The girls watched entertainment on their seatback screens, and Violet also listened to the kids' music station and played the video games.

We landed at Heathrow before noon local time on Friday, and greeted Nan and Pop and got the girls and luggage settled into their car.

Then, Stace and I made our way onto the train into central London. I couldn't stay awake, after just an hour of sleep overnight.

After seeing JT post about visiting the Mayflower pub on her recent trip to London, I thought that was what Stace and I should do during our few hours in the city.

We took the Tube to East London and found the pub, right on the Thames. This pub is on the river where the Mayflower ship was docked while it was in London, before the Pilgrims' 1620 voyage.

We enjoyed an orange juice and latte on a deck directly over the water and watched the boats on the river.

We then took the Tube back into central London, to Paddington Station, where we'd later take our train to Somerset.

We walked around, poking into the tourist shops, and found a nice little green.

We also admired St. Mary's Hospital - history is alive everywhere in England.

It was our first time at Paddington, a lovely place with architectural details befitting a station built in 1852.

A statue dedicated to the namesake bear was turned into a nostalgic memorial following the death last month of writer Michael Bond, at the age of 91.