First Impressions

Reunited

After taking a COLD shower (even with hot on full blast, only cold came out) and a couple hours nap, we were highly anticipating reuniting with our Barksdale friends! Insert girly EEEEKK here. I really wanted to cry, I was so happy to see one of my best friends! It's great knowing I have a close friend to help ease the transition, hang out with when the husband is working, help be there through the crazy times, etc.. And commence Jane Austen tours and David Tennant stalking!

Of course, they weren't the only ones to greet us... The live-in hotel residents, little flying insects (possibly flying ants?) have made their presence known in our bathroom. Yes, we did inform the hotel. No, they did not fix the problem. Apparently, houses are not just for people here, but also for bugs and spiders.

Anyways, we went out to eat with our friends (and not the ones in our hotel) to this place called the Bull's Head. Of course, we sprung for the meal the UK is known for, fish and chips. The food was AMAZING, or maybe that's the Aspall cider talking- we had that too! Seriously though, it was good food! The fish is not like in the US, the pre-cut strips, but basically the WHOLE fish. The fries are good and salty. I even chomped down on like a salt brick- tasty

After eating, we went back to the hotel to sleep in order to be well rested for the next morning.

Ely

Thursday, we got up early and set out to accomplish in-processing procedures. We had to rely on our friends for assistance for navigating and driving as we are without a car and have never drove on the LEFT side as the Brits do. After we finished our list of things to do, we took a road trip out to see Ely- a potential town for us to live.

Words CANNOT describe the beauty that is Ely! Apparently the town was named after eels, known as the "district of eels". The Ely Cathedral is located in the centre (center for Americans) with gargoyles that have been weathered. The cathedral is  surrounded by shops- tea, books, clothes, groceries, etc. There is a foot/bike path leading away from the cathedral that leads to a big open green hill on one side and a fenced in area that is home to horse (or ponies?). The path leads to the Jubilee Gardens and down to a river. It is very close to what I imagine all English towns to look like.. lots of greenery and grown plants surrounding shops, old architecture (gothic and romantic), historical preservation, and people bustling about.

The weather so far hasn't been too bad. During the day it's pleasant that you don't always need a jacket, maybe a light jacket if it's windy or the sun isn't out. Once the sun goes down though, it can get chilly. It hasn't rained much; a few light showers, but we haven't had to pull out the umbrella yet.

On another note, Abel is doing well. He is staying at the Silver Birch Kennels which is a short distance from Ely! We are allowed to take come and visit him and take him for walks. He was excited to go for a walk, but seems to be liking the kennel a little too much! When we brought him back from the walk, he headed straight in like he was home! It makes me feel better that he is being well cared for and happy. He didn't seem phased by the plane ordeal even though I will NEVER forget that.

The start of Something New

Moving Day

First off, moving is a stressful ordeal. Moving overseas is even harder. Saying goodbye to loved ones knowing that you won't get to see them as often as your used to is almost unbearable. Thank goodness for modern technologies such as phones, internet, Skype, planes, etc. Right?

We were booked on a 3:30pm direct flight to the UK out of Houston. Our dog Abel had been checked into United Airway's PetSafe, we'd said our teary goodbyes to our families, successfully got past TSA security checkpoint, only to fail not once, but three times to take off. Mechanical problems eventually led to our flight being cancelled around 7:30pm.

While waiting in line to figure out the next available flight, I called PetSafe to check on Abel to make sure he was okay (at this time he'd been kenneled for close to 8 hours). The man on the phone informed me that Abel had been put on the next plane to the UK that was departing in 50 minutes!!!!

Panic set in. Abel was flying ahead of us and the line we were in WAS NOT MOVING!! The poor man on the phone got the brunt of all my frustrations with the move and the fact that our dog was not with us, was being SEPARATED from us. We explained to on of the United service personnel and she led us to the first class/business line which had 2 people being helped. Despite their being 2 people, we didn't reach the desk until around 8:40. We knew there was little chance of us getting on the 8:50 plane, and our fears were confirmed. Abel was on his way to the UK without us.

Crying seemed to be the theme. Our Abel was gone. The earliest flight we could get was 6:40am the next morning with an 8 hr layover in New Jersey. We wouldn't arrive in the UK until the morning after, a good 24 hours after Abel. However, we were assured that PetSafe would hold him and take good care of him.

Blessing in Disguise

After crying in the airport and having a freak out at the airport, I was exhausted. Lucky for us, United gave us a place to stay at the Holiday Inn. On the shuttle to the hotel we met some people from the UK that lived close we are now calling home. They reignited our enthusiasm for our move. They told us of the place where they lived and the Medieval structures that still stand.

The next morning we boarded our flight and made it safely to New Jersey. We landed in Newark, NJ which was conveniently located close to the Statue of Liberty state park. We set out to sight-see.. $50 cab ride later we were at the state park. We saw Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. We could see the NY skyline and Empire State Building. We walked for a few hours then hailed a taxi back to the airport to await our plane.

We had a slightly turbulent plane ride to the UK, but arrived on time. We were excited to finally be in the UK and even more excited when Dean from the Silver Birch Kennels picked us up from the airport with Abel in tow! Abel looked well and was happy to see us! We were dropped off at the base and Dean took Abel to be kenneled until we can get a home for all of us. We are currently living in the base hotel, but that's for another time....