"Our flight had a a slight mechanical so we were delayed an hour taking off from DC, but we all fell asleep immediately and slept the whole way to London. We arrived at 10: 30 a.m., went through customs, and had a man waiting for us after baggage claim with a sign that said, "Mr and Mrs D." He took our bags, loaded them in a nice Eurovan and took us over to pick up our dog and cat who were already processed and ready to go home with us. Couldn't have been any easier. This was an 8 month long ordeal/process in order to avoid a 6 month quarantine here in Great Britain, so we're especially thankful it went so smoothly!!
Leaving our dog, Kona and cat, Cleo yesterday at the airport cargo department before departure was extremely difficult. While waiting to be processed, another dog bit our sweet, eleven year old Kona on her nose and she bled quite a bit. By the time we got her in her crate, Kona was scared and shaking so hard that her crate was rattling around. The Virgin Atlantic company has a perfect record though for transporting pets and so they reassured us that Kona would do just fine. We had to drop them off at 1:30, they were boarded on to their plane at 5:30, and arrived into London at 7 a.m.--3 hours ahead of us. They were fed, walked, and put into runs until we arrived. Kona was SO happy to see us when they led her out. I think we were ALL happy to be back together again. Cleo meowed the entire two hour drive up to the hotel.
Although we tried desperately to stay awake and see the beautiful countryside along the drive, the children and I all fell asleep waking up only as we arrived at our temporary lodging establishment. We have a suite of two rooms, two bathrooms, and a full kitchen all for $40/night. It's a nice deal and is located very much in the countryside. We walked out our hotel building side door this afternoon and were greeted by a sweet white horse standing right there at the fence. She seemed to be hoping we'd have some snacks to give her, and this must happen often, because all of a sudden about three other horses began making their way over to us. The kids loved this...and so did I. I made a mental note to pick up some extra carrots and apples on our first grocery trip.
We got unpacked and situated then moved into panic mode when we realized Cleo needed litter and the commissary is a bit of a long walk away from here. Thankfully our sponsor family knocked on our door at that minute and leaving their eldest child behind to babysit, drove us up so we could purchase some much needed food and supplies. It's a much smaller commissary than what we're used to. Not a huge selection. But the basics were all there. Brought everything back and loaded the fridge and pantry. Our sponsor's wife gave us a shepherd's pie she'd made for us to have for dinner tonight. It was delish!! So nice of them! (Sometimes I think the food that tastes the best is the kind I didn't have to make myself! I'm so much more appreciative because I know the effort that goes into making such a meal.)
Now I'm sitting here in the same clothes I've been wearing since yesterday morning in the U.S. It's time to shower and go to bed early as we're all exhausted! Supposedly a big storm with gale force winds of 60 mph is blowing through tomorrow... Can't wait! Always have loved a good storm."
Can't wait to continue this journey tomorrow! Much has happened and I have lots of pictures to post. Until then...
