Anticipation

It is now the eve of our flight to England for our much-anticipated holiday in England.  We bought our tickets and started making plans in January, but really we have been anticipating this trip for MUCH longer.  Back when Rebecca was first learning about geography in kindergarten, I told her that some day she and I would make a trip to Europe - a mother/daughter trip with just the two of us - when she graduated.  Homeschool teachers don't get any pay - so I thought this would be reasonable compensation for my efforts.

Of course, when your daughter is in kindergarten, you don't have any real idea what kind of relationship you will have with her when she grows up.  I don't think I would have anticipated that we would be as close as we are.  I can't think of anyone I would prefer to travel with!  I am hoping to see lots of sites, but I don't really worry whether the trip will not meet our expectations, because the main thing I want is just to have an extended adventure with my little girl, who is now a big girl!  So if it rains a lot (which it very well might), or we get lost (a distinct possibility) or are too tired to enjoy everything, we will still be having an adventure and making memories.  Come to think of it, our homeschool journey was a lot like that.  It wasn't always fun, but we were always together.

I am so glad that we didn't leave for this trip right after her college graduation in May.  We have had all summer to savor the anticipation.  Rebecca loves to sketch and we both love to take photos, journal and blog.  Besides planning and packing, we've had time to prepare our journals:

and even our toes (well Rebecca painted hers, I was too busy buying food and preparing meals for the men who are left behind, whose main concern about this trip was "What will we eat for three weeks?").

Rebecca even printed logo stickers for the trip that is on our luggage and water bottles:

Since I have some family and friends that want to follow along, I will be posting lots of photos on Facebook and updating this blog as often as possible.  Here's our itinerary, though we have tried to keep most of our plans flexible.  As you can see, we are taking in lots of literary sites - everything from Dickens, Shakespeare, and Jane Austen to Beatrix Potter and Roald Dahl.  I guess we will never be through taking field trips!  It looks like the first couple of days, there will be no rain, so we're off to a good start.

Date	Itinerary	Staying
8/27	Travel to London, AA Flight 90	London
8/28	Tower of London, Double Decker Bus Tour, Covent Garden, St. Paul’s, Theatre (hopefully the musical “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”)	London
8/29	Buckingham Palace, Kensington Palace, Westminster (Evensong), Theatre (“Mousetrap,” “1984,” or “Wicked”)	London
8/30	Worship at Metropolitan Tabernacle, Thames River Cruise and/or War Museum	London
8/31	Rent a car, drive to Rockingham Castle for “Viking Invasion”	Raunds
9/1	Private Tour of CS Lewis’ home, Walking Tour of Oxford, eat at Eagle and Child Pub where Lewis, Tolkein, and the other Inklings met	Raunds
9/2	Cambridge, hopefully punting on the river if weather is good	Raunds
9/3	Stratford upon Avon; Cotswalds, Roald Dahl Museum	Derby
9/4	Peak District: Chatsworth, Country Fair	Derby
9/5	Lyme Park, Bronte Parsonage	Haltwhistle
9/6	Hadrian’s Wall, Moors	Grange
9/7	Lake District Hiking, Castlerigg Stone Circle	Grange
9/8	Lake District, Wordsworth Home, Beatrix Potter Home	Grange
9/9	Longest Driving Day, Tintagel (King Arthur’s Castle) late in afternoon	Perranporth
9/10	Visit St. Ives, Hike South West Coastal Path, look for Lego lost at sea	Perranporth
9/11	Visit St. Ives, Hike South West Coastal Path, look for Lego lost at sea	Bath
9/12	Jane Austen Festival	Bath
9/13	Portsmouth (Agatha Christie Festival), or Lyme Regis	Bath
9/14	Jane Austen House Museum in Chawton, Windsor Castle	London
9/15	Visit Parliament in session, Globe Theater, Dickens Museum	London
9/16	Whatever we still want to do in London	London
9/17	Fly home to Knoxville	Knoxville