We're here!

We made it.

It was a long trip, but all things considered, it went pretty smoothly.  Here's how it went.

Getting There

On Saturday afternoon, my parents came and picked up the kids and took them back for a sleepover.  The plan was that Kim and I would finish packing and cleaning, and then drive to the grandparents' on Sunday afternoon, and from there be driven to the airport to make the 9:40pm flight.  The plan was successful, if arduous!  I did not appreciate how much work it would actually be to pack up ten 30+ pound suitcases and 5 carry-ons.  But Kim did a great job in organizing the whole affair and we worked together efficiently.

On Sunday we drove to the grandparents' and relaxed a bit.  My Dad drove everyone to Dulles airport in the van (which is now at their place for the year while we go carless in England), and we said our goodbyes.  The next step was checking in, and checking all of the bags.  The kids were surprisingly patient!

 

Once through security, we made a quick stop at the duty-free, had some snacks, and boarded the plane.  Much to their surprise, the kids found the Boeing 777 that we flew on to be very cool!  Tim and Anne listened to music, played with the tray on the back of the seat, and enjoyed the free food.  No one was in the least scared by the takeoff---they almost didn't notice it!  Anne and Colin fell asleep pretty soon after the novelty of things wore off, but Tim was too wired. Eventually everyone fell asleep and rested a couple of hours before landing at 9:40am UK time, about 20 minutes early.

The next challenge was to get our huge number of bags to the bus depot.  Fortunately we could pay someone to help us.  After a bit of a walk and a wait, we boarded the bus for Cambridge, and arrived in town at about 1:45pm, exactly on time.  Mike's friend, Peter Sewell (a Reader in the Computer Laboratory), met us to give us the key to our house that he'd acquired on Friday.  This was necessary because we'd learned at the last gasp that the rental agency would be closed on Monday, and Bank Holiday in the UK.  Thank God for bank transfers!

The last step was to cram ourselves and our bags into a large Taxi to go the mile or so from Parker's Piece, where the bus (or "coach" as they call it in the UK) dropped us off.  Pretty soon we arrived at 99 Argyle St., unloaded our bags, and collapsed on the couches!

Our First Day

After arriving on Monday, we did a little walking around to find groceries, and as it turns out, pillows and towels.  On Tuesday we did some more walking around, this time to make some arrangements at the bank and the rental agency, and eventually to go to the City Centre, to see some of the old stuff!  We managed to get to the Market just off of King's parade, and we saw Great St. Mary's Church (the University Church).

But we didn't make it much further than this, since everyone was feisty and tired.  So we started back, and cut across Parker's Piece, one of the many parks and open spaces in Cambridge, and as it turns out, the park next to which our bus had dropped us off on Monday.

Unfortunately, this is where things turned sour.  Tim borrowed the digital camera, took a picture, and then fought with Anne over it.  Before we could stop them, they fell down and landed on the camera, breaking the lens mechanism.  I took it to the repair shop today, and while the repair won't cost as much as a new camera, it will be pretty close.  I was fuming when it happened!  I hope this will be a teaching moment, so that the money I'll pay for the repairs is not totally in vain (and I'll be smart enough next time not to trust them with the camera) !  Unfortunately this means we won't have any more pictures for at least a couple of weeks while the camera is being repaired.

Moving forward

We now have Internet access, a phone, enough US to UK plug converters for all our gear (and knowledge of where to get more), and this morning I bought a bicycle, coffee, and a coffee maker, so I'm feeling pretty good!  We plan to use Skype for most communications overseas (aside from e-mail); shoot us an e-mail to schedule a call and we'll get your our details.

Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers.  We'll keep you posted!

PS.  To keep abreast of when we post new articles, you can use an RSS viewer.  At the bottom of the blog viewer you should see a "Subscribe to" link.  Depending on the browser you are using, this should provide a way for the browser to check this site for updates and inform you of them, so you can go see them.  If you aren't able to figure this out, let me know.  Or if you figure it out, consider posting a comment with directions.  (I might do that for Safari, which is the browser I use.)