Our trip started July 24, at 2:15 when Charlie Gilbert took us to the airport.   Our flight was uneventful, but also very eventful as Nancy got to sleep for a large part of it.  This means that on our first day in London she is not a zombie.  She’s had pretty miserable jet lag experiences in the past including forgetting most of everything we did on our first day.

The two hours after the flight was exhausting.  Based on the length of our walk to the customs line at Heathrow, we may have actually landed at Gatwick .  Once there we shuffled through the cattle chutes for 30 minutes before meeting with a very nice customs lady.  She got a little annoyed when I asked her if her accent was Glaswegian.  She said “Do I sound like a Scotsman? I have a Geordie accent!”  Nancy agreed that she sounded just like Gillian and Irene.

From there we walked another 30 or 40 miles to catch the Heathrow Express.  The walks seem long because we have two heavy suitcases, and 3 smaller bags.  I have a sprained wrist and a torn tendon in the same arm so I need to stop constantly to change arms.

After the express got to Paddington Station, we grabbed a cab and finally made it to 98 Saltram Crescent.  After dragging our suitcases up 25 flights of steps to our second floor (first floor in UK) apartment, we showered and collapsed into bed.

No big plans for this day.  We took a walk to the Queens Park tube station to buy Oyster Cards and then walked a few blocks up Salusbury street looking at the stores.

The real purpose of this trip was grocery shopping at the Marks and Spencer.  After walking through the store and buying a few things, we decided that our next project was to find an actual grocery store.  Having no car, that means taking a bus to a Tesco Local a few miles away.  That’s tonight’s project so we’ll be stocked up with food in case Laura, Braden, Emily and Nathan should happen to drop in tomorrow

Tomorrow the trip starts for real as the Robinsons do not rest when they travel.  Emily is already asking what we are going to do.

My head still hurts.