Nov. 6, 2004 Liberty, Freedom and our trip to England
love my country, America. I am proud of our godly heritage and look forward to teaching Langston about our history. I'm not proud of the many immoral things America has done recently but I love my country! Going back to the States for the 4th of July was wonderful timing for us. I had this insatiable urge to buy anything with the US flag on it. I bought a poster dedicated to 9/11, calendars, art with the Statue of Liberty for Jon's office, patriotic shirts for all of us. I did refrain from buying the corn flakes with the flag on the box but God bless them for making it! Jon even bought a flag to fly while we stayed on the beach at Galveston. ;-)
I love my country, America. I am proud of our godly heritage and look forward to teaching Langston about our history. I'm not proud of the many immoral things America has done recently but I love my country! Going back to the States for the 4th of July was wonderful timing for us. I had this insatiable urge to buy anything with the US flag on it. I bought a poster dedicated to 9/11, calendars, art with the Statue of Liberty for Jon's office, patriotic shirts for all of us. I did refrain from buying the corn flakes with the flag on the box but God bless them for making it! Jon even bought a flag to fly while we stayed on the beach at Galveston. ;-)
Finally, our time in Texas came to an end and it was time to pack again. I don't know if I'll ever get good at packing. I seem to always have more to do or put in and end up leaving a mess behind. The comfort in this trip was that Mother and Jan would be going with us to London.
We got off on our flight just fine. It was strange being in business class with Mother and Jan back in economy. We went back to see them and make a switch. I gotta tell ya, traveling in business class spoils you really fast. Talk about no leg room. Yikes. Jan went up with Langston for a little while. The crying baby in our section did make sleeping for me impossible. Maybe that evened out the comfort level somewhat.
We were all glad to get off the plane . . . so we could wait in the customs line! That was a doozy. We made it to the train station to wait for the Gatwick Express. I had the notion that it would leave like the tube does - fast. So when the doors opened up we frantically started loading our luggage, sure the doors would close any second. Several other travelers had this same notion. We all made a mad dash for the few luggage racks. I dropped my stash of food items from the plane trip. At one point I was physically stuck in the aisle. I couldn't move because of being wedged in with my luggage. The man pushing with his bags finally made a shift so we could move on. After all our luggage was on Mother, Jan and I kept standing in the aisle bracing ourselves for departure. We finally realized we could sit down. We began to relax some and waited several more minutes before we left.
It was so nice to return to the Foreign Mission Club after 10 years. They've built a jungle gym in back which Langston enjoyed. The rose garden is still lovely. We meet Wilma, a nice lady who lives behind the Club. She was keeping a little boy, Jasper and his sister Seline. She was a little younger than L. but they got along very well. We even went to the nearby park with them. We were thrilled to have beautiful weather the whole time we were there. August was rainy they said so we enjoyed the cool, clear days. Saturday we cruised on the Thames, saw the Tower of London, House of Parliament and Big Ben. We didn't go in any of them. I don't remember everything costing money when I came before. St. Paul's was in a major restoration process so we weren't able to see it as I had before. Mother and Jan enjoyed everywhere we went.
By the time we'd ridden to Parliament area I was ready to go home. It was crowded and I was tired. We took a bus just to get out of the area and ended up in a less desirable neighborhood. It didn't concern me much since it was daylight but when a young guy stuck his hand in my purse I was ready to go somewhere else! Thankfully he didn't get anything that I know of. I was much more careful after that. The FMC seemed like a peaceful haven after the hustle and bustle of the busy day.
Sunday we went to church at Highbury Baptist nearby and went to The Lion King musical that afternoon. We enjoyed it very much especially since we spent nearly $60 a piece for the tickets!
Monday we set out for Buckingham Palace. It seems to take a long time to get anywhere - by bus anyway. We enjoyed St. James Park and were blessed that we could tour some of the state rooms - such beautiful paintings and ornate design. They were pretty particular if you sat down on the carpet (like I did to show Langston something) or the steps to the lawn. It reminded me of touring the Biltmore.
Tuesday morning came very early. I had secured a taxi for the ride to Heathrow. Mother and Jan rode with us. it was nice to see London before it got quite so busy. After asking three British Airway attendants we finally got in the right lane to check in. We had a little breakfast and it was time to say goodbye. It's hard to say long goodbyes in a hectic, impersonal airport which I guess is just as well. We had an uneventful flight to Doha. I wish I had a picture of when Langston saw his Daddy among those unfamiliar faces at the airport. It was priceless. Jon greeted us warmly and the climate had its own warm welcome. We were back home!
Mother and Jan saw Westminster Abby that day and traveled by bus early the next morning back to Gatwick Airport. They must have gotten on the first bus of the morning. They said they had no trouble getting their luggage on or making their connections. It was a trip of a lifetime. We all enjoyed it so much. It certainly made it easier for me to have family along for the ride.
Posted by nellie at November 6, 2004 09:28 AM