Bags packed, dogs hugged and off I went to catch the flight to London. Jeff gave me a ride and I very much appreciated his time and kindness.

He helped me into the baggage check line and then had to race back to his waiting car before a airport security person gave him a ticket. He was successful in avoiding a ticket! Yeah!

My flight from Tampa to Atlanta was delayed about an hour due to rain in Atlanta so when I arrived at the airport it was a mad dash from one end of the airport to the further most other end where they had international flights. I made it with a few minutes to spare. Enough to settle in my seat and prepare for an 8 hour flight across the Atlantic!

My travelling companion was a nice young man who helped me stow my carry-on luggage in the overhead bin. He offered to help and I was grateful for it!

The trip was quick due to the entertainment of a good book and some snooze time. I was glad I had my heavy jacket with me as the plane was chilly. They provided a thin blanket and tiny pillow for the passengers in the section where I sat. I had upgraded my seat to one with a bit more leg room but even with that, trying to sleep comfortably was a challenge. Then as I was departing I saw the seats in first class… they had about 2 blocks worth of leg room; enough to fully recline along with a nice pillow and blanket. Well, next time I go on a LONG distance flight for many hours I will fight to get that kind of seat!

I had made no plans for arrival. I just figured I’d get a taxi and wing it. When I passed through customs and came into the arrival lobby, there was a familiar face and another smiling face holding a paper with my name on it. A momentary confusion ran through my mind wondering if there was someone else with my name! But they were waiting for me! A lady named Jo, who is the PR for St Hill, greeted me. She helped me with my bags and led me to an awaiting limousine. The chauffeur stepped out of the waiting car and welcomed me to England. I was still wondering if they had the right person but I accepted their generous hospitality happily!

Inside the limo there was enough room to comfortably sit a baseball team along with a full bar. It was a very pleasant drive to my hotel. And it gave me a moment to tell Jo about our awesome group at Mace Kingsley and the wonderful things we do to help young people and families. I loved it!

Later in the day a porter brought me gifts from the IAS. What a surprise! They gave me three small boxes of exquisite chocolate, a Brooks Brother knit cardigan embroidered with the IAS logo and a lovely fresh bouquet of flowers! WOW!

The hotel is huge. My room is about 4 miles from the lobby. It is an older building and there are no elevators. A nice young man helped me drag my bags to my room and I spent a leisurely bit of time unpacking, preparing for a good nap and enjoying the cool, damp British air!

Now off to nap!

Well, my nap turned into hibernation and several hours later I awoke, realizing the room I had was not going to work for me. So I repacked everything! GADS! I arranged for a better room; larger, closer to the lobby, no stairs and free wifi. How demanding we get with age!

They happily changed my room. I called for a porter and another young man helped me haul everything to the new room. AHHH. As it turned out he is from Hungary. We talked a bit and I invited him to visit us when he comes to Florida. I gave him my card and he was pleased to be welcomed in the USA! His name is Frank and he asked me to remember him when he calls me in Florida!

The hotel is like an old British Inn. Well, in fact, I guess it is an old British Inn! But it is humungous. It has a lake on the grounds with geese, ducks and swans. It has a spa with pool, exercise room, racquetball and sauna. There are two very nice restaurants in the building and a couple of sports lounges where food is served as well. Tonight I had dinner in the Garden Restaurant. It is a self-serve hot buffet with a variety of entrees. I had a garden salad to start along with a taste of fresh raw salmon. Very tasty. I skipped the bread and went right to the main course of grilled sirloin in a glazed onion gravy along with steamed vegetables.

England is famous for great carrots and a variety of potato dishes. I had the carrots and they should be famous. So good! But the best was the sweet potato soup! WOW! And then for dessert I thought I was getting some kind of pudding but it turned out to be a vanilla yogurt with some fresh pieces of blueberries and strawberries. Perfect! I was scooping it out of the dish to the last morsel.

After dinner I met Joava Good and her assistant, Mary, for a visit in the sports lounge. We had a great visit and enjoyed some excellent bottled water! By the way, even the tap water taste great here!

Now I’m back in the room. It has a large king size bed with a foot long older desk, refrigerator, coffee/tea accommodations, and a small TV that has movies, radio, internet and TV all in one. It is an adventure for me to learn how to navigate the media opportunities! Tonight I plan to watch ‘WATER FOR ELEPHANTS’. The book was great so the movie should be fine.

The bathroom is also awesome. It is large with a granite counter and a large tub with whirlpool jets. That comes next then the movie!

To be continued!!