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Zamieszały/a w: Seattle, United States Czytaj więcej Seattle, United States
  • PodróżnikEurope 2019
    1
    Dzień 4

    Day 3 in London

    24 czerwca 2019, Anglia ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    Starting to feel normal in this time zone and navigating the city from the left side of the road. We scooted out to hit the changing of the guard at Buckingham - R's fervent request. With a few rain drops, we were concerned it would be canceled, but fortunately the show indeed went on.

    Just made it in time to predictably huge crowds. Tom was able to heft the solid squirt onto his shoulders to see and take copious video and still shots. Bands played an array of show and movie tunes - Greatest Showman, Hairspray, Indiana Jones, Star Wars, and more.

    R and I then positioned ourselves on the outer facing fence to watch them process. Met a lovely mother & daughter from Atlanta. They invited R to get in front of them for a front-row view. He was thrilled! (Cannot believe they do this daily!)

    We pedaled over to the Churchill War Rooms. I was clever and purchased on annual membership, which will save us 20+ pounds because we also plan to tour the HRH Belfast Wednesday AND allowed us to skip past the priority line (the regular line was over an hour wait). Super fascinating!! Not only learning more about WWII from the British perspective and seeing their strategy & leadership location in an underground bunker, but also the life and times of Churchill himself. We spent north of two hours there - basically until the boys were dragging Tom and me out!

    We pedaled over to SOHO for some fantastic burgers and pints of London brewed beer at the Brewdog pub (loved the Punk IPA!). Tom and I enjoyed vegan Beyond burgers - my first. Very filling, yet not heavy, like beef patties can be. Stuffed, we headed up to Kings Cross to see Platform 9 3/4 from Harry Potter lore. Unfortunately, there was an hour long queue to have a photo with the trolly cart. However, we were satisfied with just a photo of the sign and cart.

    Back to the bike stand, we wound our way through Piccadilly (I became directionally challenged, so Tom took over navigating) back toward the West End / Covent Garden area for some excellent gelato at Gelupo. Finally, a long, slow pedal back to the flat. Proud of how the not quite 11yo has been able to keep up, keep safe on the roads, and not an ounce of complaining!

    Over the past three days, my Fitbit has tallied nearly 60K steps and 10 hours of biking! Sleeping well tonight!!     Czytaj więcej

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  • PodróżnikEurope 2019
    Dzień 3

    Happy 15th Birthday!!!

    23 czerwca 2019, Anglia ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    Our eldest baby celebrated his big 1-5 here in London! L had the privilege of (mostly) selecting the itinerary and meals for the day.

    Despite all sleeping well, we moved slowly in the AM. Poached eggs, toast & fruit, and off we went.

    Rented (Santander) bicycles. Stands all over the city and only 2 pound per day each, unlimited use as long as under 30-minute increments. Fantastic way to see the city! Not cooped up in a vehicle nor stuck in traffic, way more efficient than walking, and while the tube is fun, we loved the fresh air, exercise, and ability to stop anytime the mood struck to check something out or snap a photo. Only problem is that we noticed they drive on the wrong side of the road!!

    The architecture in London is breathtaking!! Mind blowing that the city started 2,000 years ago. Our tour guide yesterday referenced a building built in 1880 as 'new'...older than almost anything in Seattle, it sure provides perspective!

    Our first stop was the London Eye. I scored 2-for-1 skip-the-line tickets, although the queue wasn't terrible. It was a nice experience. Next, we took a river cruise from Westminster Bridge to Tower Bridge. The tour guide was funny and informative.

    Traditional fish & chips for lunch right next to the Tower of London. I call L our "walking stomach" and he is excited to eat his way through Europe! Lots of texts starting to pop through wishing him a happy 15th. Now dubbed "bird boy" due to a fateful autocorrect on his uncle's text...given his 5' 9.5" frame carrying 120# (fully clothed after a big meal), the moniker may stick! :-D

    We wandered around the tower. Too late in the day for a Harry Potter tour, we biked over to the Ben Franklin House (one of my requests). While quite interesting in it's own right (80% original, dating back to the 1700s!), the boys and I are descended from Franklin, which made it extra special!

    Pooped out, we finally pedaled our way back to the flat for lasagna and ice cream, singing to L and then heading to bed.

    Our Airbnb is nice, although definite quirks in an older building. Top flat of 3-floor walkup. Two small bedrooms, 1 beautifully remodeled bath, small living room, combined kitchen & dining, and skylights, it is spacious compared to any hotel rooms in London. Nice to have a kitchen and bit of elbow room!     Czytaj więcej

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  • PodróżnikEurope 2019
    Dzień 2

    First Day in London!

    22 czerwca 2019, Anglia ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    Despite an 'overnight' flight and all feeling tired, we were determined to power through the day to help adjust our internal clocks better.

    After a quick 30-minute express train from Gatwick to Victoria Station, we grabbed a delicious breakfast at a nearby cafe. Pancakes for the kids and eggs on toast for the parentals (smashed avocado for me....mmm!) That helped perk everyone up.

    Our warm-hearted R observed a homeless man on the corner and requested to give him money. I reminded him that it was better to provide food over cash, so without missing a bear, he headed off to present him an apple (and unbeknownst to us, a few USD as well). Proud mama!

    I pre-arranged a "hop-on, hop-off" double-decker tour bus - low key, yet out and about, to get our bearings and give the kids ideas of what they wanted to come back and see. We started part of the loop on the way to our flat in West Kensington, then grabbed an Uber the rest of the way. Worked perfectly as the cleaners were there, so we could drop our bags. Dragged everyone back to finish the loop around Hyde Park and then after an interminable wait, switched onto the main downtown London loop.

    Frankly an excruciating experience. Top deck was full, bottom deck was hot and tough to see/listen to what we were passing. Finally grabbed seats up top, which was WAY better! Traffic was awful, so lots of stationary observation time. We finally had enough and hopped off for the last time.

    Navigated our way back to the flat. via the Tube. The little one and I peeled off to hit the Tesco supermarket to obtain provisions. Tom & L were exhausted and headed to relax. We returned with backpacks full to find them both passed out. R and I enjoyed a take & bake pizza. L surfaced around 7:30pm, scarfed a couple of slices and crashed again. We all were comatose not much past 8pm and I had the first solid night sleep (9.5 hours) in three nights. Heavenly!     Czytaj więcej

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  • PodróżnikEurope 2019
    1
    Dzień 1

    Arrived Gatwick

    21 czerwca 2019, Anglia ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    Departed Sea-Tac on a 787-9 Dreamliner. The blue-haired one is indeed ours...hard to recognize L, he's grown up so much - now towering 2.5" over his mama and wearing size 11 shoes! He was excited to fly the new Boeing model.

    On the bus to the plane, we ran into Kiki, one of my fellow Vietnam chaperones and Evergreen teacher, on her way to honeymoon in Dublin. Small world!

    Smooth flight. No one slept more than 90 minutes on our 9-hour non-stop into Gatwick. Videos and games entertained the kids & Tom, while I completed 9:10 virtual puzzles in-flight. Two more minutes and would have had the 10th! ;-)     Czytaj więcej

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  • PodróżnikHuff Family SW Adventures
    Dzień 17

    Goodbye Las Vegas!

    3 lipca 2016, Stany Zjednoczone ⋅ ☀️ 39 °C

    Everyone slept in until around 10am - unheard of!! Checked out and headed to a yummy breakfast in Downtown. Tom dropped the three of us and all our luggage at McCarran, so I could squeeze in our last items - no easy feat, we are jammed!! The boys were very wild and crazy - think we're all ready to be home.

    Gonna be a hot one!! Left at 100 degrees and climbing. Happy to be out of the heat, but not totally looking forward to high 60s and raining in Seattle.

    Can't wait to sleep in my own bed after 16 nights on the road and have the boys in their own rooms!! :-)     Czytaj więcej

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  • PodróżnikHuff Family SW Adventures
    Dzień 17

    Viva Las Vegas!

    3 lipca 2016, Stany Zjednoczone ⋅ ☀️ 38 °C

    Another early morning, up before 7am. Gave away extra food to neighboring RVers (one had been our neighbor in Bryce!), got rid of trash and recycling. Three hour drive to Las Vegas - the kids and I packing and cleaning. Pick up a rental car at the airport, refuel and turn in the rig.

    Head over to Cowabunga Bay, a good sized water park. The kids were SO excited!! Frustrating at first with two big attractions closed, long lines, and poor management (literally sat in line 40 minutes for one ride - had to point out to supervisor that no one had come out of the tube in 10 minutes), but it improved. The kids had a blast and the parents had a good time too. No photos - left our phones in the car.

    Checked into our hotel in the center of the Strip - the LINQ, which is the remodeled and rebranded Imperial Palace. Had a reasonably good dinner across the street at Caesars, then enjoyed my favorite part of all of Vegas - watching the Bellagio fountains dance. Ice Pan was next - handmade right in front of you. We had a delightful gal who was entertaining to watch and was enamored with Rowan, treating the boys to an extra ice pop.

    Having not been to Vegas in 15-20 years, it was interesting to be there with kids. Explained it as a Disneyland for adults. L is worldly enough to ask a lot of good questions, to which he received age appropriate answers. R was relatively oblivious to all of the adult misbehavior and mayhem around him (especially given it was Saturday night on a holiday weekend). Both kids were bothered by the ever present cigarette smoke. By the end of the evening, L declared that he didn't want to come back to Vegas again. Kind of proud and kind of sad.

    High Roller was next - the highest big wheel in the world at 550'. Really cool and slightly unnerving to be that high off the ground in a plexiglass bubble. Caught two partial performances of the Bellagio fountain, plus fireworks show at Mandalay as it slowly rotated.

    Finally, off to bed at midnight!     Czytaj więcej

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  • PodróżnikHuff Family SW Adventures
    Dzień 15

    More Zion Narrows Photos

    1 lipca 2016, Stany Zjednoczone ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    Started the day overcast. First sunshine was popping through by the time we turned around. Clouds rolling in less than 90 minutes later. The rocks and cliffs were really pretty, but you could see how the sheer faces could be dangerous in a storm - heard people die in the Narrows every year, yet it's still the #1 attraction in the park.

    Water had been at about 47 cubic feet per second (CFS) yesterday. Flash flood Thursday evening and overnight, drove it up to over 110. Was about 60 CFS and 60 degrees when we hiked (normal around 30), certainly a good flow, but not an issue, even for R. Right after we got onto the tram, the dispatcher announced they closed the Narrows. Flow spiked up to around 90 CFS after we were off the river.     Czytaj więcej

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  • PodróżnikHuff Family SW Adventures
    Dzień 15

    The Narrows

    1 lipca 2016, Stany Zjednoczone ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    Only alarm this trip - 7am to beat the crowds. Hearty breakfast, loaded our pack and water bottles. Swim suits on, trekking poles in hand. Park at the Visitor Center and 40-minute tram ride to last stop - Temple of Sinawava. One mile walk to the stairs leading down to the river. We trekked two hours up the Virgin River through the "Wall Street" section. Absolutely stunning! Took 100s of photos (will add once we're home) and enjoyed the lovely Narrows - sheer cliff walls on both sides.

    Finally reached a 'Y' and turned back a little after Noon. We'd met others who said the rangers recommended being off the river by 2pm due to weather warnings. We were off around 2:10pm and not 10 minutes later, huge thunder claps rambled through. Ten minutes after that, the rain began. And rain it did. We were pretty wet by the time we got back to the tram stop. Amazingly, there were still hikers heading up the river! Waited through two trams with other bedraggled hikers before we squeezed onto a shuttle.

    Was hoping to stop at a couple others we didn't see yesterday on the way back, but didn't dare get off since there were people unable to get on the trams. Went to the Human History Museum to watch the video and had the opportunity to see a condor nest on the cliff by telescope. Tragically, the male died of lead poisoning two weeks ago and the mama and chick hadn't been seen recently. (Chick probably died without both parents and mom left.)

    Walked to the Nature Center for the boys to recieve their Zion Ranger badges (taking home booklets for Paleontology and Wilderness for them to mail in) - believe this was #11 on the trip!!

    Stopped for ice cream and t-shirts in Springdale, then back to our campsite in Virgin. The kids were able to have our final campfire, grilled burgers, and started packing.

    Fell in bed exhausted!! :-)     Czytaj więcej

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  • PodróżnikHuff Family SW Adventures
    Dzień 14

    Last National Park

    30 czerwca 2016, Stany Zjednoczone ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    Kind of wearing out. If we did this trip again, I'd do it in reverse. Feel like Zion is getting short shrift - didn't think twice about a three mile hike in the beginning. Less energy for sure now. Not ready to stop seeing neat things, but ready to go home at the same time. Wish I had built in a 'down day,' although I don't do nothing very well, so I'm at a loss as to what that would exactly look like. A nap for sure!

    Arrived Zion around noon. Going through the Mt. Carmel Tunnel - built in the 1920s, they have to flow it one lane at a time due to big vehicles. Parking in Springdale was a challenge. Ate lunch in the RV, then caught a shuttle up to the park. Made a couple of shuttle stops, hiked up to Lower Emerald Pools. Enjoyed a nice respite in he shade of a gigantic oak in front of the lodge, followed by cool treats.

    Neat thunder storm in the early evening on our way out of the park. Rainstorm with flash flood warnings. Stopped for giant burgers before heading to our campsite for an early bedtime.

    ~A     Czytaj więcej

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