Trip Highlights

Yes, we have officially been back from the States for a whole week now, and you'd think I would have at least checked in with the ole blog by now, but I have spent this past week feeling very sick and very tired. Oh, poor me. The trip was mostly lovely and very hectic. I don't think I will plan a holiday with so many ports of call ever again...unless it is a cruise on which someone else is in charge of all of the planning and transportation...and a guy named Antonio is bringing me fruity drinks and rubbing my feet on demand.

So instead if boring you with all of the fiddly details, I will list some of the more memorable highlights from our two weeks abroad...those memorable ones which I can actually remember, of course.

1. When we landed in Dulles airport, Emma and Sophie immediately ran toward a larger than life cardboard cut-out of Barack Obama and demanded to have their photo taken with him. George and I found endless amusement in the fact that all of the shops were carrying Obama gear which touted "Hope:" t-shirts and ball caps emblazened with his image and the word "HOPE" in all caps, a biography about the Michelle Obama entitled First Lady of Hope, a cup of French Roast Hope from the local coffee shop. We cannot wait for the Obamas to adopt their first pet: the terrier of Hope.
2. Next stop, Orlando, FL and a short drive to Winter Haven from there to see Paw Paw and Barbara. During the drive, the kids were asleep and George and I were giddy with tiredness. (There are, in fact, several drives like this that we vaguely and fondly remember from the trip.) The thing that gave us the most giggles this time was all of the fiddly 75 cent toll booths and the fact that we had very little American money. At the first stop, George told the lady that we didn't have much money and asked what she recommended since there were apparently several more toll stops before we reached Winter Haven. She cryptically responded, "Well, you don't have to pay at some of them. Like you can just skip the next one." Then she said something about throwing a handfull of pennies in the automated toll acceptor and then flooring it. We were utterly confused and amused at the same time. At the next stop a much more helpful elderly Indian gentleman said, "First give me one dollar...then I will help." We counted out a dollar in dimes, nickels and pennies and thankfully, he told us how to exit the highway and make it the rest of the way to Winter Haven without encountering any more tolls.
3. While in Winter Haven for a couple of days, we enjoyed dining on American cuisine which I now find it difficult to discuss, but it was good at the time. We also enjoyed catching up with Paw Paw and Barbara, playing Backgammon and browsing the world's largest Wal-mart. It don't get much better, y'all.
4. Next we were off to Disney for a couple of days. I have to admit that I spent less time gawking at all of the fantastic Disney sights than I did gawking at all of the huge, huge, huge people waddling around the theme park. I am not talking about people who just need to shed a few pounds or even those who have to shop in the plus size section of the local Dress Barn... I mean massive, enormous, obese people EVERYWHERE! Americans have either gotten fatter since I moved to the UK or my perception has seriously changed.
5. My Sixth Sense-esque seeing of fat people everywhere was not, of course, the highlight of our trip to Disney. George and the kids really enjoyed the rides and roller coasters, especially Big Thunder Mountain. George even sneaked Sophie onto Space Mountain wearing Emma's shoes with an inch-thick layer of napkins tucked into the soles to make her appear tall enough. Sophie's threshold tolerance was tested when my husband took my four year old baby on a ride called The Tower of Terror, which she quickly renamed the Tower of Terrible when it was all said and done and promised to never, ever, EVER get on that "stupid ride" again!!
6. At the end of our day at Disney we were once again reminded of the fact that we were definitely on US soil when we overheard a stocky gentlemen with a thick Brooklyn accent walking past talking to his cohorts say, "Ay! So what I wanna know is...where da hell is Mickey?" Priceless.
7. Back in Winterhaven the next day, we enjoyed to local scenery...especially the beautiful grey-bearded trees and clear blue skies. We also enjoyed driving around town and seeing some of our favorite local establishments such as: the single-arched McDonald's, the Crisp-Coon Funeral Home (we wondered if they specialized in animal cremations), and of course, our favorite, Domino's Pizza (sponsored) Middle School... home of the fighting pepperonis?? (We wondered what the Domino's Pizza Middle School fight song may have been... our vote went to Mika's "Big Girl, You are Beautiful.")
8. We also enjoyed looking for gators that never surfaced with Paw Paw and just generally hanging out with him. Paw Paw was in high spirits and we all had an enjoyable time.
9. Next we were off by plane again to Charlotte, NC followed by a drive down to Columbia/ Lexington, SC to see Granddaddy and the gang. We especially enjoyed going to the farm shop with Granddaddy and grinding our own peanut butter. The honey roast was especially fabulous if I remember correctly.
10. I also cannot fail to mention what can only be classified as an official "Dudes Gone Wild" shopping spree with George and my Dad. They made a serious dent in several local shops. Watch out, Michael Collins, George's wardrobe is catching up!!
11. That night a three hour late night drive took us up to Greensboro to visit Mimi and her handsome hunk papillion, Simon. While in Greensboro I had a seriously rotten cold...or perhaps it had me. In any case, I enjoyed being mothered a little myself for a change.
12. I knew something was seriously wrong when I stood dumbfounded in the local Target and had to leave before I had even procured half of the items on my American shopping list. I was one sick puppy.
13. While in Greensboro we also enjoyed sharing circus peanuts and songs with Mom B as well as spending the afternoon (including a trip to the J&S cafteteria--you know it!) with Uncle Jimmy and Aunt Janet.
14. Before heading back to Charlotte, we stopped at Jenny and Jim's for an all to brief but wonderful visit. We were happy to see the whole gang including adorable, tripod Bailey. Since we are all a bunch of show-offs, we had the most fun taking ridiculous posed shots on Jenny's digital camera. All are available for viewing on Spacebook!
15. Next we were off by air (again) to Dulles to visit briefly with everybody's favorite Super Hero, Uncle David!! He showed us some of the finer things in life including some of the best pizza I've ever had at Don Corleon's as well as some excellent Cold Stone ice cream. We like Uncle David.
16. The next day, we decided to explore DC after arriving via the metro and annoying everyone in sight with Sophie's constant chanting of, "Maybe a DINGO ate your baby!" We explored the Washington Monument, Museum of Natural History, White House, WWII Memorial and Lincoln Memorial. (At no time did we see Sue Thomas or anyone else associated with the FBI-- buy we're pretty sure they saw us!) By the end of the day, I was pracically in tears. Usually I am an avid walker/hiker/goer, but on that day I was 'stuggling" (as my favorite former 4th grader Richard Tuttle would write). David was an excellent motivational coach and got me to the finish line...or, er, back to the Metro station at least. He even had me running up all of the steps to the Lincoln Memorial by "singing" the Rocky theme music beside me. (Speaking of the Lincoln Memorial, George had told Sophie that it was his favorite, so when we finally got there and up to the top, Sophie asked (obviously), "So when does the show start?" When she discovered there was no show, just a giant monument of Abraham Lincoln, she groaned, "OHHH, can we just go now!?")
17. That night we all got to meet David's lovely girlfriend who passed all the tests as she even (mostly) tolerated the boys singing at the top of their lungs in the Target pharmacy.
18. Early the next morning, we boarded a plane to Heathrow, and the rest is rather boring history...unless you want to hear about all of the heaps of laundry that have been and still need to be done.

Will now try to do better with blogging...especially since this week will likely hold some exciting events like a field trip for Emma's class to St. Fagans, Sophie's class assembly and Red Nose Day on Friday. Stay tuned.