Cobb Cottage, Dorset

First full day in England, and it has been a lovely one! We arrived at the cottage yesterday, after following Marc and Lisa down the M3 at 93 miles per hour!! We all had a lazy morning this morning then went to the only pub in Tolpuddle, the Martyrs Inn, for a Father's Day lunch. Marc took Alec wake-skating on the jet-ski at the coast this morning. After lunch we all went into Dorchester which is about 10 miles away. Most places were shutting down by 4:00 but we did manage to get into the shop to buy some stuff for the barbecue dinner tonight. We did see a Dinosaur Museum and a Tutankhamen Exhibit and Terracotta Warriors Exhibit, so needless to say we are going back to Dorchester!

This cottage (see picture below) is about 500 years old. It is gorgeous, and so comfy and honey with all the mod cons like a Wii and DVD players and Wi-fi access! Hot hot showers, comfy beds and a fully stocked hamper basket when we arrived!

We have just had a lovely time at the bottom of the garden. Marc and Alec cooked the chicken and sausages and all other stuff, and we just all enjoyed being together. Lots of laughs! What great fun to be with everyone again. We are trying to decide what to do tomorrow- see the cliffs at the coast, go see Corfe Castle, or go shopping in Dorchester. We will let the weather decide!

I went for a walk before dinner and saw so many different varieties of wildflowers, horses, cows, a lovely stream with a huge black fish...trout? black goldfish?! and heard lots of birds. It was so blissful and refreshing being in the English countryside. Lots of thatched houses here, including the one we are staying in.

The Grand Prix race qualifier is about to start and the boys are playing on the Wii. More tomorrow, I am off to finish the anniversary video's we are showing my Mum and Dad tomorrow for their surprise 50th wedding anniversary celebration at the pub.

Happy Fathers Day!

Charlotte USO

If you are military connected in any way the USO is an awesome place in an airport! We are at the Charlotte Douglas Airport in the USO after an uneventful flight this morning- the BEST kind of flight! The USO is awesome. Imagine walking into a dark, secluded, low light, windowless club. We are in the kiddie area, which is carpeted, has a tv and movies, books, toys, cots, rocking chairs, and a table and coloring books. There is a sign on the wall- no kidding!- that says "Please feel free to take any book or toy that your child is reading or playing with." There is a row of nice recliners where you can sleep and put in a wake up call. There is lots of food -all free- and free wifi access. There is a playstation/x-box room, a computer room and a tv lounge with recliners. This is a little slice of heaven, especially when we have to wait until 6:00 for our flight and it is 1:20 now!





I had three hours of sleep last night. I am so sleepy sitting here in this nice little space. We are the only ones in the kiddie room, Cameron is watching a movie. I was up late last night/this morning finishing up a present for my parent's 50th wedding anniversary. Sophie called at 6am to say she arrived safely. My parents are at my sister's house. When we get there tomorrow we will all be driving to the cottage in Dorset that we are renting for a week. Pictures above- looks gorgeous doesn't it? I am very excited. I also plan to work on my spiral pictures. I have quite a collection of spiral photographs, and I would love to do a book some day. One day......

Oh yes- forgot to mention that the pilot let Cameron into the cockpit this morning and let him press all the buttons! I got a pic on my phone. it was adorable!!

Plans....

I can't wait until Friday evening at 6pm. By then I will have done all of the millions of things I need to do, and packed, and packed the kids, and seen Sophie off to Raleigh, and flown to Charlotte with Dale, Alec and Cameron and suffered a 6 hour layover. Then we will FINALLY be leaving from Charlotte to England!

We are initially going to be spending a week in Dorset, with my family. There are lots of things to do in that area, and I look forward to some great picture taking. Stay tuned, I hope to post some here. Then on the 27th we will drive up to Suffolk, perhaps by way of a few sites, and then we will use my Mum and Dad's as a base to explore further afield. We are going to the West End on the first to see Les Miserables, and on the 11th/12th I will be visiting some high school friends!

ONE WEEK until ENGLAND!

Exactly one week from now we will be leaving Charlotte, NC to fly through the night to Gatwick Airport in London, England! We will be spending a week in gorgeous Dorset on the south coast, and then we will go up to Suffolk, on the east coast. We will be visiting London as usual and.....I will be having a mini-reunion with some friends from high school! I will be posting our travel-edventures, pictures and escapades on our month long visit.

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT

I just wanted to let you know that due to a new TSA regulation regarding airline ticketing, ALL participants will need to register your MIDDLE name when you enroll on an EF trip. If you have not yet enrolled, please give the traveller's middle name as it appears on the passport.

If you have already enrolled on the 2010 tour please update your personal information by logging into your participant website or by calling Customer Service at 1-800-665-5364. This must be done immediately. Should you neglect to do this, there could be large fees incurred later on down the line as well as the possibility that you will be denied the ability to board the plane on departure day.

All participants who have yet to sign up will need to make sure their middle name is included on the application they submit to EF.

Should a participant not have a middle name, they will be fine as long as their passport supports this.

Let me know if you have any questions. sara.gant@onslow.k12.nc.us