Ski Trip 2012

Family in Austria!

It has been a long time since I posted.  I think the dog has me running ragged!  Well, we had a week long school holiday and we took advantage of the time off by heading into the Alps for some skiing!

Last Saturday, we dropped Rupert off at puppy camp for the week (that's what we like to call going to the kennel because it makes us feel like he will be having a lot of fun too and won't be cursing us everyday that he is away from his cozy bed in the corner of the living room) and loaded the car for the airport.  Two airplanes and a car ride later and at about midnight we were pulling into the hotel about an hour south of Saltzburg in Austria.  The "Kowar" in me felt like I was coming home (my great-grandfather emmigrated to the U.S. from Vienna). 

We stayed at the Hagleitner kinderhotel near Zell Am See, Austria.  The mini-apartment was perfect for our family: three rooms that included a king bed room for mom and dad, a bunk bedded room and a common room with a couch that folds out to a twin bed.  The program included half board which meant a breakfast buffet was included.  The hotel is only for families so the kitchen always has food available that the kids will enjoy.  When we came in each afternoon from the slopes there were cakes, ice cream, bread, meat and cheese.  Then dinner was a kids buffet and really great menu choices for the parents.  Each morning we would select our Starter, Soup, Main and the Dessert!  I hadn't really thought about the food before getting there, and ended up very impressed. 

The kids had the option of going to ski school and joining the kids club groups, but we had decided to spend the week together as a family and spent six days on the slopes as our own group.

Sunday we had to stop and rent our ski equipment but were on the slopes before noon.  I think Steve had misread the map as he lead us over to a Red or Intermediate slope as our first run of the day and actually our first ski run since our trip to Utah last year.  It took us 1 hour and 45 minutes to get down the slope.  Cameron spent a lot of time sitting on the mountain crying and even Katie was overwhelmed in some spots.  It did not help that the snow was very icy in some spots and your skis would scrape down it, freaking out the novice skier.  Surprisingly I spent quite a bit of time telling Cameron what he should do and that it would be all OK.  If you know me, you know that I am NOT a skier!  So this whole scene was comical to me.  If I could have, I would have sat down and cried along with Cameron, but the reality was that the only we to get down was to ski it in little bits.  Please note that by Friday, we could all ski down that same slope in less than 20 minutes!!!

After that experience we took the gondola back up and found that there were other slopes further up the mountain that were Blue or Beginner and perfectly suited to our first day on the slopes.  On Monday, back on the slopes, we were able to explore other sides of the mountain and continue to regain our ski legs on blue slopes and challenge ourselves with a few intermediate runs.  Feeling more confident, we retired from the slopes with enough time to enjoy the hotel pool as well.

Tuesday, we had a great sunny day and made it back to the slopes.  By this time, we were all getting better, but at the end of the day, Jacob and Steve were the only ones to take the Red slope back to the bottom that had scared us the first day.  Katie, Cameron and I had ridden the gondola back down to the bottom both times.  This day we were all able to take it slowly and successfully made it to the bottom of the mountain.

Wednesday we woke to see snow coming down.  We headed out later than usual to the mountain, but there was still a long line to get up the mountain and we could see from the signs that several lifts were closed due to the weather.  Steve had to take a teleconference call, so the kids and I stayed to the beginner slope and skied a few runs before we were having trouble seeing.  The crowds were also a bit more unbearable than before.  It turns out that just about ALL of Europe was on school midterm break this past week and you could tell from the crowds that this was what we had already been told the busiest week of the season.  When we found Steve again, with the weather deteriorating, we skied to the bottom and finished our day at 1pm.  With a break for McDonald's for lunch we would have time to enjoy the pool and relax in the apartment for the afternoon.  Truth be told, my legs were so sore, that I needed the day off to recover from three full days already on the slopes!!!

Thursday:  by now the week seems to have slipped by too quickly!  We head back up the mountain for some great skiing.  We stop for lunch just after 1pm hoping the crowds have died down, but we still cannot find a seat at the place where we stop.  I convince the family to ski through for a little longer so we had back to the lifts.  The snow was still falling from the day before and the powder is deep.  We manage to get our skis to click back on, but little do we know that Cameron's might not have been as secure as we thought.  We make our way over to the lift.  It's a 4 person chair and Jacob goes ahead with another group of three leaving the 4 of us to be together.  We watch some people skiing off piste below the lift and laugh at some Brits "encouraging" their children to follow them down this somewhat treacherous bit.  We are just about to the top when Cameron looks down and notices he only has ONE ski!!!!  The tears are about to start.  We look back but do not notice a thing.  None of us can recall when it might have fallen off!  We wave to the lift attendant at the top to slow it down so we can get him safely off of the lift.  I wait with Cameron and Katie while Jacob and Steve go to see if they can find the ski.  Almost 30 minutes later, they rejoin us at without the ski.  Uggh, now we have to go to the rental place and explain!  Steve, Jacob and Katie ski/snowboard down the mountain and fortunate that the gondola is right there, Cameron and I take the lift up to the top of the mountain and all the way to the bottom. 

Everyone, I am making a plug for the ski renters insurance.  What a lifesaver!  I thought we might have a ski stolen.  I had never thought about the perils of deep soft snow!  The whole situation was fully taken care of and a match for his ski was found.  By now it was almost three o'clock and the three who had managed a full day of skiing were ready to go back so happy hour it was!

Our best day of skiing was Friday.  I think that there were fewer people on the slopes.  Perhaps many of the school groups were starting their travels home, but we found fewer lines and more open slopes.  We explored the far side of the mountain and even managed a Black or Expert slope.  From my snow plowing, you would know I wasn't an expert, but I managed to not get injured, so that's a plus!  We even had a great lunch at the one little spot on the mountain we had found on Tuesday that had food everyone enjoyed.  With Umpah music from a keyboardist, we were getting in the Alpine spirit.  I love Fridays on the ski slopes, everywhere it seems more relaxed and more like a party with more music everywhere.  It was our longest day of skiing of the week and if our legs weren't so sore, we would have stayed out for the last hour that the slopes were open. 

We had a great week.  First of all we were able to spend a full week as a family having more great adventures and second, we all got to improve on our ski skills (well, all but Steve who had to ski down to my level!).  I Loved skiing in Utah last year because we were there on an off week and with no crowds we skied the whole mountain freely.  Skiing Schmittenhohe in Austria was good except for the crowds.  I think the choice of the weeks was the problem there, but now that Jacob is in Junior High, we are stuck with the school holidays.  So, overall, a good week!  I would recommend Hagleitner kinderhotel and skiing Zell am See and Kaprun in Austria, it just might be better if it isn't the busiest school holiday week in all of Europe!

Rupert in England!

I promised an update on the arrival of our dog Rupert and here it is.

First, when we learned that we were moving to England, we immediately started working on getting Rupert into the country along with us.  What we found was that he was not going to be able to fly with us when we moved here last August.  We have several "hoops" to jump through in order to satisfy the British department that allows animals entry (DEFRA which is the same as our USDA in many ways).

First, Rupert needed to have an update on his Rabies vaccination.  Even though his vaccine was not yet due, we gave him a booster and then waited 3-4 weeks for a special blood test called a titre.  I believe the titre is taken to show that he is in fact vaccinated against rabies.  To be certain the immune system is at the appropriate level, you need to wait the few weeks.  Because of the late confirmation from Steve's company that we were certainly moving, we did not pay the $250 for the titre until we were sure we were moving.  That test was done on July 14th.  What I did not know at that time was that between the start of the process and the titre, on June 30th, a decision was made by the UK that dogs, as of January 1, 2012, would no longer need this blood test or have to go through a 6 month quarantine from the date of the blood titre.  Not knowing this, we did the test and had it sent to the one veterinary school in the US certified to analyze the blood in Kansas.

Next hoop:  wait six months from the titre for the dog to enter the UK, unless you want to pay crazy kennelling costs here in the UK until the 6 month period is expired and then you can bring the dog home.  In tears, I called my dad and told him the situation and asked if he would consider taking Rupert until the 6 month quarantine was up on January 14, 2012.  He did not even hesitate when he said yes.  Well, he did ask my mom first, but she is as nice to me as my dad and didn't hesitate even though this was going to be quite an undertaking.

With all in order, Rupert travelled across the US with me last August from Illinois to New Jersey via Cleveland, OH and Rochester, NY where he found a new, temporary home at Grandma and Grandpa's house.  My parents have been absolutely wonderful with him.  They took him to the groomer and the vet even having to deal with some type of worm issue!  Then they drove all over NJ to get to the USDA office twice to get the paperwork right for his travel.  All of the paperwork had to be completed within the month and some within the week before he flew to the UK.

By the way, we did learn about the change in the rules in the fall.  This meant that as of January 1, Rupert would actually be able to fly to us as long as he had that rabies vaccine three weeks earlier and remember he had that back in June.  With this information, we decided to get him here sooner rather than later and booked him on a January 4th flight arriving on the morning of January 5th.  Unfortunately, this meant my parents had to run all over NJ during the holidays hoping that the people they needed would be at work and not on holiday (vacation).  As things seemed crazy, my mother got nervous and booked herself on the flight with Rupert!  This is a grandmother who loves the dog too!

So paperwork was in order.  We also had to have the proper size kennel for the dog.  With a tape measure in hand, my parents even measured the dog, a moving target mind you, and determined that the largest travel kennel was needed.  Oh, and because he is rather tall (36" when sitting) he needed a special extender added to the kennel to get the height right!  Then my parents had to get food and water bowls for the kennel.  If you know labradors you know that a plastic bowl will be a snack on the long plane ride, so my parents afixed some metal parrot bowls to the kennel as required!  Then they donated an old flannel sheet to be used as bedding.  Yep, they love the dog! 

The big day arrived last Wednesday for him to travel.  I can't believe it was just last week.  I had arranged for a company to pick him up at their house and take him to the airport.  The woman who collected him was wonderful.  She promised to take good care of him; and since my parents had already heard great reviews of her from the people in the USDA's office, they were confident he was in good hands.  When my parents went back into the house to get my mom's stuff together, they commented that the house seemed so empty!

A few hours later and my mother was on the plane.  A few minutes after she was settled, the animals were loaded last in the cargo hold below.  The plane was in the air while I was sound asleep.  As I woke, the winds were howling in the southern part of England.  It had been howling for the past 24 hours or so.  It had me nervous for the travelers.  I went online and found the airplane tracking to land almost 30 minutes early.  The winds were helping to push my puppy home. 

I also had a travel consultant here in England that I messaged in the morning about the flight. She confirmed that she was also watching the arrivals and would be in contact through the day.  We had spoken the day before and I knew that it was going to be awhile before we saw the dog.  Apparently, everyone knew about the change in rules so Everyone wanted to get their pets to the UK as soon as possible.  The day before was the first big influx of pets.  Because of a required vaccine within 120 hours but not less than 24 hours before flying, and given that Monday, January 2nd was a holiday for many offices because the 1st was on Sunday, people were getting the vaccine and not flying until the 3rd.  Over 120 pets had to be processed on the 4th of January which is 2x more than usual.  Friends at the school collected their dog at 2pm on the 4th and he had been on the same flight as Rupert but the day before.  I knew that it would be at least 2 before we saw Rupert. 

I arrived at the airport at the same time that the plane was estimated to arrive if it had been on time, but the last report as I left was that it was going to be early.  Unfortunately, when I got to the airport, it was going to be landing 10 minutes late!!!  Apparently they had to circle the airport three times before landing.  Uggh.  An hour later I found my mother rolling her two large suitcases through the arrivals door!  Yeah!  She confirmed that the pilot was able to tell her that Rupert had definitely made it onto the plane.  She said the flight was really bumpy at the end and hoped the dog was okay.  But now we had to wait for the call from Jane, my pet travel consultant.

We made it to my house in Camberley.  I made lunch and we were able to relax and eat it.  My mother was able to wrap all of the Christmas presents she had filling one of the large suitcases.  I contacted Jane who said that there were 200 pets coming through and they were still processing animals that had come in on 6am arrivals!  It was time to get the kids from school and watch Jacob's first Rugby game.  I made sure Jane had my cell phone number.  We were able to watch the entire rugby match and load the kids in the car.

Jacob in the tackle going for the ball.

Jane called us as we were driving home to tell us not to come near the pet reception center at the airport, because there were people cramming the little waiting room and no parking out front.  We should continue to wait.  Hoping it would be any minute, we made a quick pasta dinner.  But we had plenty of time to sit down to eat.  Then we had time to sit together and open Christmas presents!  It was just before 9:00pm when we finally got a call from Jane that Rupert had been processed and we could come to collect him! 

My mother and Cameron and a pile of presents!

Steve and I arrived at the Animal Reception Center (ARC) at about 9:30 and the place had at least 8 groups of people waiting for pets. I overheard one gentleman saying his pet arrived on a 6am flight and the customs assistant apologized but said the pet's paperwork was still in review.  Another woman was standing with two very large suitcases and I think she had been there all day waiting for her pet.  There was a family with little kids on a couch and based on the piles of paper cups on the table, I think they had been there a long time as well.  I was able to get the attention of one of the control officers and she took my name, Rupert's name and the flight number.  I told her our consultant had indicated the paperwork was complete.  She disappeared through a door to investigate.  We waited for about five minutes and I wasn't sure anyone was actually looking when the woman appeared with a large envelope and a clipboard.

"He's ready," she said.  She handed me his paperwork and asked me to sign him out.  She then said she would bring him around in moment and that they would bring his kennel out through some large garage bay doors.  It was only moment when she returned with out dog!  I felt badly for the people who had been waiting all day when we just waltzed in and waited less than 10 minutes to walk away with our pet.  He had been out of his kennel for the day and I was assured he had been fed and given water for dinner.  He was happy to see us and seemed to recognize us. 

We had to take the kennel apart to fit it into the back of the minivan.  Rupert jumped into the car without problem and settled in for the drive home.

For the first night, I slept on the couch in the living room to keep him company and get him outside if he needed.  I don't know how jet lag affects dogs, but Rupert did alright.  I didn't get much sleep, but I think that's because I was on the couch and not because of the dog.  We also had to change his food, but he seems to be doing well with that as well.

My mother and I took him to Windsor Great Park for a walk on Friday morning.  When we were in the park he did get sick.  I am not sure if it was the food, the jet lag or a combination, but he hasn't had any other problems.

Rupert and my mom on the long walk in Windsor Great Park

Here is the castle which is small behind Rupert and Mom above.

I have been looking forward to walking Rupert all around England.  The English love their dogs and you see them everywhere.  Windsor Great Park is no exception.  On Sunday, we went on a country walk in the town of Shere and I was even able to let him off the lead (leash) and he was so good.  When the horses were coming toward us we put him back on, but he didn't even bark at them.  And unlike my mother and I, he didn't slip and fall in the muddy trail down the hill near town!  We could not take him to Hampton Court Palace today, but will make it up to him tomorrow when we head over to Runneymede which is where King John signed the Magna Carta in 1215!  More sightseeing for Rupert.

The town of Shere below.  Just before the big slip in the mud!

Rupert on the trail!

I think he likes it here so far.  There are lots of new smells and he has already tried to go after one of those cats who wanders into our yard.  I have been awaiting his arrival to help chase them away!  The kids play with him and let him out when he needs it.  It's nice to be a complete family again!  It's too bad that Grandpa has to miss him so much.

Disneyland Paris!!!

We surprised the kids on Christmas by wrapping up a stuffed Mickey Mouse that I snuck out of one of their bedrooms a few days before.  I made up tickets to Disneyland with each of their names on them and had the in an envelope attached to Mickey.  They all were thrilled at the prospect of heading to Disneyland in less than a week.  They have been there before when they were 4, 2 and 6months old respectively, so this was exciting.  We have never taken them to Orlando so they have nothing to compare it to; consequently, they were excited to be headed to France.  What is great is that it only takes 6 and a half hours and that includes the hour wait to get then car onto the train through the Chunnel.  You could take the Eurostar train as well, but we had opted to drive.  We were staying in the Davy Crockett Ranch which actually requires you have your own transportation to the park and we would be staying in a cabin.  Having been to a European Centre Parc before, I started to get nervous about the accommodations, but we were pleasantly surprised.  It was nice to have the extra room of the cabin and we took advantage of the kitchen for breakfasts and snacks. 

We arrived at about 2pm on Thursday which gave us time to head into the park and to get dinner at Disney Village.  Steve and Jacob headed for Space Mountain: Mission 2 and I took Katie and Cameron over to the Buzz Lightyear laser blast.  Surprisingly, we had the longer wait for Buzz than the guys did for Space Mountain.  So after spending almost 2 hours to go on one ride we headed to dinner with somewhat long faces.  Rather than attempt another long line, we called it a night and decided to plan our attack for the next day.

Armed with a Disneyland Paris app on my iphone we were able to scan the map and select the attractions that were on our must see list.  We could also plot times for the parades and locations of characters we might want to catch.  Since we were on Disney property, we took advantage of the early admission and descended on the park by 8:15 in the morning.  Still feeling like we were on UK time and having risen early the day before to catch a 10am train, we weren't moving fast.  We were happy to get to the park before the crowd.  Our plan was to hit Discoveryland first and brave Space Mountain.  Katie and I had it on our list and Jacob wanted a second go.  Since Cameron is still too short for a few of the rides, Steve opted to take him on the Autopia car ride.  But wait!  Space Mountain was not running yet due to technical difficulties.  To kill time we went back to Buzz Lightyear where The kids were much better than I was (that includes Steve) at getting Zurg.  Having killed the right amount of time, yet the park was still not open to the general public we were able to jump on the 10 minute Space Mountain line and they actually opened the Autopia ride a few minutes early due to the line forming.  Success!  Love it when a plan comes together!  A trip on Star Tours after that left the 3 guys about to vomit from motion sickness so that was not going to be revisited.

Now, off to Frontierland.  Cameron got to pick the next ride which was the Phantom Manor.  A friend at school had talked it up.  My app indicated the line would not be too long, so off we went.  When we turned the corner toward the manor we were lucky to find that Mickey had just appeared for meet and greets!  Barely a crowd and the kids were able to get one of the most elusive photos!  Cameron is still hesitant about the characters so I was only able to convince Jacob and Katie that they needed this picture so they could prove to their kids that "Yes, I really did go to Disneyland as a kid!" 

Rides on Phantom Manor followed by Big Thunder Mountain and then though Adventure Isle put Frontierland up high on the list of the best part of the park.  Pizza and pasta for lunch kept smiles on faces as we filled out the afternoon with Pirates of the Caribbean, Peter Pan's flight and It's a Small World.  I convinced the kids that some rides are quintessentially Disney and although they don't seem like big thrills, you kinda have to go on them.  OK, you know that those are the ones of my childhood and I couldn't think of missing them!  For another character moment, we go a photo with Captain Jack!  Honestly, I thought it would be really hard to get character photos but was pleasantly surprised...again.

On Big Thunder Mountain!

Adventure Isle

It's a Small World

 Cap'n Jack

 Parade Watching

We finished our day in the park with the early (5pm) parade and then headed to Annette's Diner in Disney Village for some all American cuisine.  Say what you want, but when we can get American food, we don't pass it up.  It's a novelty for us, like pub food is for all of you.  Back at the Ranch (literally), we made our plan for the next day.  We also managed to get in an hour at the pool, where we met Mickey on our way in!  Photo op number 2 with the Big Guy! 

By the way, the Disney app, when in the park did give us wait times on rides so you would know before even walking over to it.  It would find you on the map and then you could use it to guide you through.  I did have some problems with it updating information, particularly on our second full day at Disney Studios, which may have been due to high usage.  When it was working, it was awesome.

Our second full day was New Year's Eve.  We spent the day in Disney Studios.  Our first stop was the Tower of Terror.  This kids were a bit freaked out by the Twilight Zone story line of the ride.  They also really didn't like the freefalling bit of the ride.  Steve and I loved it!  Cameron was actually tall enough for all of the big thrill rides in the Studios, so we were able to all go on the Rockin' Rollercoaster, but a coaster in the dark scared him and he decided he wouldn't go on that one again.  We went to the Armageddon Special Effects attraction.  Here they dub everything into French and we have to read English subtitling.  This is odd because you see Michael Clark Duncan talking to you, his mouth forming English words, but a deep French actor's voiceover.  It gives you a bit of a headache trying to watch it.  But we were in France....   We came across this again when we went to the Art of Animation attraction.  Here we had headphones and you could select your language, but there was a host on the stage speaking in French and the video was all dubbed.  We were hearing the actual actors and animators voices (since they are all Americans...) in our ears which actually matched the movement of the lips on the screen but the sound from the host and the voiceover was so loud in the theater that it was a bit annoying trying to hear the English.  Really, voicing over Eddie Murphy.  After that, we decided to skip anymore shows as it took too much effort when on vacation to understand what was going on.  No problem because we still had a few more rides.

We waited for quite a while on the Toy Soldier's Parachute Drop.  Katie, Jacob and I waited for about an hour for Crush's Coaster.  Because it spins and goes backwards, Steve and Cameron opted out given that they have problems with motion sickness.  Smart idea!  We loved the ride and afterward, Cameron regretted his decision, but with no fast pass available on that ride and hour long waits prevailing throughout the day, we were unable to try again.  Katie and I then braved the RC Racer and ended up with seats in the last row.  I was happy when that one was over!  We caught the parade through the park and even managed to get a photo with Sully.  Knowing we had a late night ahead of us we went back to the Ranch to relax before 8pm dinner reservations.

From Toy Soldier Parchutes

We had made reservations at the restaurant at the Ranch.  Because it was New Year's Eve, there was special pricing everywhere that we had to work around.  I was happy to have a reasonable time.  We hadn't been seated but a moment when Pluto entered the restaurant.  This was the only character that Cameron would be photographed with.  Then Mickey Mouse and Goofy joined him.  I don't know if we just lucked out with our timing or if they came to the restaurant each hour, but we were thrilled to have the characters at dinner.  Just note, photo #3 with the Big Guy, Mickey Mouse, for Katie!

After dinner we went straight back to the park.  The kids had voted on seeing the fireworks over the castle in Disneyland Park, so that is where we headed.  We had already been told that the exact same display would go off in Disneyland Park, Disney Studios and Disney Village.  With time to kill before midnight, we agreed to head back to Big Thunder Mountain for a rollercoaser thrill - this was in hopes of making Cameron feel better after missing Crush's Coaster.  We had even checked on the way back the the park and the line was still an hour for that ride.  Even after a 30 minute wait for that ride we still had some time, so we wound our way up to the Pirates of the Caribean for an easy ride.  Cameron had not been feeling well after the rollercoaster.  As the ride came to an end, there were no people waiting!  It was eerily quiet.  When we made our way back outside it was apparent that all of the rides were closing and that the crowd was forming for the fireworks. 

Madness!  This is what we landed ourselves into when we made our way out of Frontierland and toward the castle.  You just couldn't go any further so we stopped behind the crowd and tried our best to see.  Thankfully fireworks are in the sky.  Poor Cameron was at a distinct disadvantage and if you ask him, he will tell you it was terrible!  The crowd was crazy.  People kept trying to cut through to get closer and we would tell them that you couldn't go any further.  Steve and I weren't even next to each other as people pushed forward between us.  I had Jacob and he had the other two.  I have been in Times Square for New Year's Eve and I think this was worse!  A woman behind me, who did not speak English and smelled of alcohol, had her hand on my shoulder and kept pushing/leaning into me.  My legs hurt from trying to stand upright and not push into the people in front of me.  The fireworks were good and the castle looked great and we can say that we have "been there, done that."  We celebrated midnight again when we got back to our cabin and it was 1:00am Paris time which would be 0:00 London time! 

Sunday morning we had some time to kill before getting to the Chunnel train, so we loaded up the car, dropped off our key to the cabin and made one last stop in Disneyland Parc.  A board right near the front indicated that there was only a 5 minute wait at Space Mountain.  There seemed to be a lot of people as it was almost 11am, so I was surprised by the short wait.  My theory is that as this is a big thrill ride for the older crowd, that the target market was too hung over to brave the rollercoaster.  The 5 minutes was actually the time it took us to wind our way through the maze to get to the cars.  We only had to wait for one group ahead of us to load before it was our turn!  We were off before Steve and Cameron were able to even get in a car in Autopia! 

Let's Drive Home!

It was almost 11:45 and we had to leave by 12:15 to get to our train on time.  We decided to grab McDonald's figuring that would be quick.  We didn't remember that McD's is a great hangover cure and the line was crazy!  We actually ran from the McDonald's to the car and still got on the road 15 minutes later than planned.  Steve promised to make up the time as long as I promised not to comment on the spedometer.

With a stop for gas and toilets we still managed to get to the checkin gates at 3:15, more than one hour before our 4:20 train as they request.  Unfortunately, there was a line.  And the line wasn't moving.  At 3:50 we were through the checkin gate, but now had customs.  Here we had to swerve around rows of cars to get on the one lane which was for All Passports and not just Euro passports, but all of the lines were equally long.  The French had no problem waving us through, but then there was BRITISH Passport Control!  Another line!  They load the train 25 minutes before departure.  It was 4:00 and we were still on line.  Finally, with passports stamped by the British, we headed for the train.  All signs indicated that boarding for our train was CLOSED!  Uggh!  Steve ran into the waiting terminal to find out what we needed to do to change trains.  He leapt back in the car and quickly got it in gear.  What did we need to do?!  We apparently just needed to head right to the boarding area and we would be put on the next train!  Probably because the delays and lines were affecting everyone, they were working on the belief that there would be trains enough for all.  We were just thrilled to be able to get on the next train which was only 30 minutes later than our scheduled train.  By 6pm we were back home and by 6:30 I had laundry in the wash and dinner on the stove!  What a vacation!

Happy New Year!

Now we are just waiting for our next adventure...when Rupert finally joins us on Thursday!  Thanks for reading!

Holiday Pub Walk

We definitely like to keep busy when we don't have to go into the office or to school.  On Wednesday after Christmas, we took advantage of the mild weather and went on a pub walk.  The route had the pub in the middle which made it an easier and more appealing journey for the kids!

What we love about walking in England is that there is always something to see and this particular route, not more than 40 minutes from our house, has several sights.  First was the ruins of an abbey.

 



The ruins are on private property so you can just view it from the road. There was a farmer on a tractor in the field that morning but he wasn't close enough to ask questions and he would have probably found me a nuisance.  Next we continued along and found a church.  The kids LOVE it when I drag them into ANOTHER church!  It must be my upbringing, but I can't pass a church without taking a peek inside.  This church was built in the 1100's and has an original fresco painting on the wall.  I thought it was cool...

We continued along our way through a field and along another field and then across a golf course which was very busy due to the unseasonable weather so we did have to watch for long drives.  It is amazing to me that there is a public access way through a golf course.  That's England.  Then we found the pub and had a really good lunch.  We were actually fortunate to get a table as many were reserved.  Then it was back on the path along the River Wey back to the car.  Along the river we were afforded the view of another historic site - the home of John Dunne when he was first married.  The kids were all good and goofy.  I think they were humoring us since they knew that in less than 24 hours they would be on the road to Disneyland Paris!  More blogging to follow on that!

Dunne House

A Visit to Hampton Court Palace

With our family pass good for one year to the Historic Royal Palaces, we decided to check out Christmas at Hampton Court Palace.  This was Henry VIII's favorite palace and to celebrate the holiday, the palace was decorated as it might have been for the first Christmas that he spent there with his third wife, Jane Seymour.  To help us really appreciate it more, there were costumed interpreters throughout engaging us in conversation.  Lord Thomas Howard was there helping me convince Jacob to join the King's army.  Jacob didn't seem very interested.  He also doesn't think I'm serious when I tell him he better get into an Academy if he wants to go to college!  There were some frantic ladies who heard the king was returning early from his morning hunt and we all had to get outside to welcome the king.  Oh, we did! 

In front of the Palace

They have some decorations throughout.

Thomas Howard in a Privy Council meeting just after trying to recruit Jacob

Loved this Hall!

We all kneeled for the King!

After welcoming the king back to the palace we were in just the right spot to catch the jester's show in the courtyard.  He told us of how he had only just been hired for the holiday season to come to court.  He was then overwhelmed to look across the crowd of people and notice his long lost uncle in the courtyard!  He asked us to part for his uncle to run to him and show him how much he was missed!  When we turned around the kids and I were particularly amused to see his "uncle" coming through the crowd!

They then skipped through the crowds to find their way to the "king" to show him their special trick.  Steve was so good at keeping in character. 

After doing the handstand, the Jester had to properly "thank" his uncle with a HUGE KISS!  Katie was taking pictures here because the kids were all near the front of the group and she would get a better shot, but she was in such SHOCK at the sight that she didn't think to take a picture of it!  I am certain that Steve is grateful for that!  Dag nab it...that picture would have been perfect right here in a blog on the internet!

Thoroughly amused for the afternoon, we got a quick bite at a cafe in the gardens and took a walk through the hedge maze and around the grounds.  Although overcast, the weather was fairly warm for the time of year and we were happy to spend the day at the palace.

Really...flowers in bloom on 27 December!

Can we find our way through the maze?!

The kids "Tebowing" as they had managed to get to the center of the maze!