Continental Drift

April 21-22:  This was our travel day which spanned over two days, with about 24 hours without sleep.  It is also not very interesting reading, but for us there are a number of things to record, journal-wise.  For instance, we flew three legs getting to Heathrow Airport (PDX to Seattle, Seattle to Iceland, Iceland to England).  We enjoyed the executive lounges before the first and second legs flights, though we "crashed" the Alaska Boardroom (their lounge name) since they do not provide this service for Icelandic Air.  Our first leg was on Alaska Air so using their lounge made sense to us.  They were nice and made an exception for us.  The Seattle lounge was pleasant, and allowed to get light snacks.

I watched 4 movies on the long legs from Seattle to Heathrow:  1) Edge of Tomorrow - Tom Cruise saving the world from aliens; 2) The Next Three Days - Russell Crowe breaking his wife out of prison; 3) Goldeneye - James Bond (Pierce Bronson) saving the world, again; and 4) The Homesman - Hillary Swank and Tommy Lee Jones moving 3 crazy women from the Nebraska Territory to Iowa.  I also did a little work for my consulting job on hydroAMP, using my computer laptop.

After boarding the plane in Reykjavik, I watched our luggage arrive on the baggage trailer and be loaded onto our plane.  It was quite reassuring.

 

We arrived at Heathrow at 11:30, went through passport control along with a few thousand other people in about 40 minutes and after calling for a taxi was delivered to our flat in Windsor for the next 2 weeks.  The owner Chris gave us a thorough rundown on all the features on the one bedroom, one bath rental.  We have everything anyone would want - Wi-Fi, TV, washer-dryer, which uses the same tub for both, etc.  Chris was very nice and helpful regarding where to shop for supplies, where to go for evensong in the chapel at Windsor Castle, and where to walk and drink.

We went off to find groceries for breakfasts, by walking down the main pedestrian street to "The Local" amid many other  many other stores, restaurants and pubs.  We carried our purchases back to the lodgings (22 Grove Road) and collapsed on the sofa.  I tried to look as some brochures and maps that Chris had left for us but could not stop from just drifting of to sleep.  It is such a weird feeling not being able to keep one's eyes open even when trying to concentrate.  We gave in and napped sitting up for a few minutes.

We struggle awake and went for dinner, trying first The Two Brewers, a famous pub just off the Windsor Great Park with its straight road (leading up to the castle) but it only served dinners on Monday through Thursday.  We walked toward the main shopping area and went into The Three Tuns for a brew and light supper (salad and sandwich).  The TV was on and was consumed by the news that the Prez was in town meeting with Prime Minister Cameron.  Obama had lunch with the Queen earlier in the afternoon at Windsor Castle while we were arriving.  We saw helicopters and police but otherwise no disruption.   In the pub I found the magazine pictured below put out by the local chapter of CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ales).  Betsy and I did some planning/strategizing while eating including finding the nearby horse racing parks.

We walked home and collapsed once again.  By the way, it was misting and then raining most of the afternoon into late evening.  It was forecast to be better the next day, though with cool temperatures (high in mid 50s).

Cheerio for my first entry.