Made it to Bath

Well, here I am! The plane trip was smooth, Heathrow was more manageable than anticipated, and the bus through the English countryside to get to Bath was uneventful even though I didn't have a good sense of where I was going. Once I arrived in this surprisingly bustling town, I had to figure out where my B&B was in relation to the bus station, which eneded up being another adventure.

But now I'm settled into these very lovely accommodations in someone's home, with two rooms of my own, looking out over The Assembly Rooms , a famous site in Bath. Crisp fresh inviting linens, a closet and bathroom with heated towel rails, sweet English amenities - and she just brought me a tray of tea!

I'm trying to shake the fatigue so I can go out exploring tonight.

One More Day . . .

Today I'm rather leisurely attacking my final "To Do" list, most of it somehow making use of technology of one sort or another.

Let's see: Access maps and information for sites in England, arrange flights and check in with airline, make a train reservation, figure out bus schedules, pay bills, send vacation hold for mail and newspapers, finish creating this blog (all online); send itinerary to family, make arrangements for seeing nieces and friends (e-mail and Facebook); recharge batteries for cell phone, camera, and laptop . . .

How did they do all of this twenty or thirty years ago? I guess people got information and arranged plans over the phone and with travel books (both of which I also used), they didn't have little gadgets that needed charged batteries, and they sent postcards instead of writing a blog or sending e-mails. Well, there may be a few postcards, but I hope you like the blog!

Notice I said "they." A trip like this wasn't even close to being on my radar twenty or thirty years ago during my happy, fulfilling days of mothering little ones! Happy Mother's Day, everyone!

Packing

Getting ready to travel across the ocean again - back to enchanting England, another dream of a trip. This Sunday I'll leave late at night from Chicago and wake up on Monday in London! I do love the way that works!

I want to pack lightly and simply but so far, well, wanna guess how that's working? I unpack when it won't all fit and rethink the number and nature of my clothes. Will it rain every day again? Will it be cool? Will it be warm? The only thing I do know is that when the plane leaves, my packed bag and I will be on it!