It is hard to explain the thrill, excitement/nervousness of leaving the USA for the first time. For me, it has always been a dream to go to Europe. Thank goodness my hubby loves to travel to, so we said what the heck, lets spend ALMOST all of our savings and go to Europe baby!!!!
Since the Lounsbury family has very close ties with the British, London was our first stop. Wow! What an incredible city! It is filled with energy, history and a whole lot of diversity! Finally arriving there after a 5 hour lay over in Vegas, and then another quick 14 hours in Minneapolis, we were finally on our way to conquer our first set of dreams. It was quite comfortable laying down in business class on ALL of our flights. A huge thank you to Uncle Aaron! You saved our behinds and made this entire trip possible for us! Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
Flying stand-by isn't all punch and cookies like everyone says it is... I've never been so stressed in my life! When, yet again the plane took off without us, my heart dropped, and we sat some more... But not to complain too much, because it was the most glorious feeling when they called our names for boarding tickets!
It is remarkable to be able to experience a place so close to my heart and finally being where I have always longed to go. Being in the same places that my beautiful Grandma Doreen May ran around as a child, seeing where her and Grandpa Chet met, the home she grew up in was breath-taking. I felt so close to her while we were there, and wanted so badly to come home and tell her all about it. I know she feels the love that I have for her.
Our trip wouldn't have been so sweet if it wasn't for Linda and James. They are so fun, kind, loving adventurous Brit's; they showed us all that Great Britain has to offer. First order of business, Lin made sure that Chad or "Chaz" (She called him that from day one hehe), never went hungry. We ate, and ate. And ate! She made yummy quiche, veggies, chocolate cake, sausage rolls, sandwiches, Sheppard's pie, and introduced us to the best fish and chips on the planet! They taxied us around the rolling hills, cities, and back ally ways. We had the most wonderful time with them. As they took us to Bristol to get on the plane to Amsterdam I felt like I was saying good-bye to Grandma all over again. Lin is so much like her, I can see Grandma through her eyes, she is so lovely.
We were blessed to meet Brian's adorable new wife Angela. That girl is wild! Well, she knows what she wants and no one is going to get in her way. She does hair for a living, but in all her free time she loves to help with charity organizations and take great care of her family. It was a delight to see Brian and his girls again. We went to a fab play in which Amber Rose had the lead roll. "Romp" and that is was.. Let's just say good ol' Tuacahn won't be putting this play on anytime soon. Chad and I had a great time getting acquainted with English humor. Jess is such a doll too! They were nice enough to take us to the Cotswold's, and a few other places. We got to ride in Brian's sweet ride and have dinner on the river.
Angela had many questions about our beliefs, standards, and views. It truly made me so grateful that I know my Heavenly Father, and I know that I can spend eternities with my family! It is such a comfort.
Places that we visited in Great Britain:
London: Westminster Abbey, Tower of London, London Bridge, Big Ben and Parliament, Buckingham Palace, Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square, drove passed St. John's Cathedral.
England: Stroud, Gloucester Cathedral, Bourton-on-the-water (and other Cotswold's), Bath (loved this town), Oxford University, Wales ( St. Fagin's Museum) Warwick Castle, Drove to Bristol.
