Friday

Mini LapTop

I've purchased a new mini-laptop .. ASUS EeePC900 .. and I'm taking it home with me so I can use my MagicJack to call the U.S. .. and to keep up on my emails. My HP laptop is big and heavy so this little netbook will do fine for my travels.
I have some new clothes, new luggage, new shoes ... and I'm ready to go!

Sunday

England ... Land of my Birth

I'm so looking forward to my trip home ... I haven't been back since my dad died in 1981 ... I know it's changed so much but it's still 'home' ... I will enjoy talking to people who talk like I used to ... I sound more American now!!
We leave SFO on April 21st and arrive at Heathrow the next day ... we'll drive up to Blackpool and spend three days there, then we head to the Cotswolds and will stay overnight at a B&B in Broadway ... our final leg is on the 26th when we drive to Torquay where we stay for 10 days ... coming back to the U.S. on May 7th.
I can't wait to see the schoolyard where I learned to whistle (through my teeth) .. and the church where I took the collection on my first day there, under my sister's care, and started to walk home with the plate of money. (I was only about 5 .. and they told me to 'take' the collection.) After that my sister swore she'd never take me again!
Oh to see the thatched cottages of Cockington, the ruins of King Arthur's castle, Dartmoor, etc. etc.
Devon (the county where Torquay/Torbay is) has just about the best weather in England .. it's in the southwest and is protected from most of the northwesterly winds so the weather is quite mild and quite warm in the summer. It was called the English Riviera by the Victorian elite (because it reminded them of the French Riviera) who spent their holidays there when travel was difficult during the Napoleonic wars.
There wont be much more posting until I return from my trip home ...