Good to be home. Not 'glad' to be home, as that might incorrectly suggest that we couldn't wait to get home because we had had a terrible time - nothing could be further from the truth. But it is nice to be back in familiar surroundings; in one's own bed, with one's own pillow, and one's own toilet (even if the seat is not soft-closing). Driving on the 'correct' side of the road. Money which you can identify with just a glance, and not having to fiddle with one cent pieces. Adelaide weather which gets 5 loads of washing dried in one day.
The trip itself - didn't miss any flights. Didn't lose any luggage. Didn't break any of the glassware we had packed away in the suitcases (2 bottles and 3 glasses - 2 from the N.Y. Hard Rock Cafe, and 1 from Bubba Gump). Didn't lose any personal items, although Julianne did come close a couple of times (mobile phone in Denver, glasses in Disneyland). Didn't get mugged (at least, not in the traditional hold-em-up, hand over all of our money manner). Didn't have any accidents in the cars. Didn't fall perilously ill, only the minor chest infection in Knoxville. Even the wooden hurley (stick used in hurling) which we had posted back from Ireland because it was too big to go in any luggage arrived in one piece. None of the usual sorts of things that I imagine most travelers concern themselves with. And there I go ending a sentence with a preposition again. Mind you, we'd been back on terra firma australis for less than 36 hours and the dish-washer decided to pack up - it was on its way out, but it wasn't the greatest timing in the world - perhaps in a way this very minor flooding was a salient reminder that we were incredibly fortunate to have missed the flooding in New York by a matter of only weeks. Are dish-washers blessed with such insight as to be able to highlight the often seemingly random interconnectedness of life events? All in all we probably wouldn't have changed much if we had the benefit of hindsight - perhaps a few days more in certain places (New York in particular), but given our time constraints this was always going to be our dilemma.
Many people to thank. Sonya for organising all the flights, accommodation, tours etc. etc., which is probably why it all went so swimmingly - helped tremendously in making the trip the success and the enjoyment for all of us that it was. Cheryl in London for having us stay, especially when life is so busy for her at the moment - as I have said earlier, it was lovely to catch up as if we had only seen each other the week before. Jean and Mick for showing us such wonderful (dare I say Northern) hospitality in Preston - sorry we couldn't help to bring PNE over the line Mick. Sean, Diane, Tarryn and Jenna in Ardee for going well and truly above the call of duty by actually moving out of their home for us!! Pam and Alex for showing us such wonderful (dare I say Southern) hospitality in Knoxville - I'm just sorry Pam that we didn't get the opportunity to catch up with John in L.A.. John, Valerie (when she eventually returned home), Hannah and Elliot for showing us the sights, the colour, the glamour and the excitement that is Iowa City - Go Hawks. But above all else, thank you to Julianne for making this trip the complete success that it was. At times it is possible that I may have been slightly less than supportive of Julianne's need to have everything pigeon-holed and triple-checked hours, days and even weeks beforehand, but it doesn't mean that I didn't appreciate all the hard work and effort that she put into making this the trip of a lifetime. I can only hope that she was able to relax enough to enjoy it as much as I am sure that the rest of us did. I know I did.
Oh yes, and thanks Allan for paying for all of it.
Statistics.
English counties -
Ireland (North and Republic of) -
American states -
The trip itself - didn't miss any flights. Didn't lose any luggage. Didn't break any of the glassware we had packed away in the suitcases (2 bottles and 3 glasses - 2 from the N.Y. Hard Rock Cafe, and 1 from Bubba Gump). Didn't lose any personal items, although Julianne did come close a couple of times (mobile phone in Denver, glasses in Disneyland). Didn't get mugged (at least, not in the traditional hold-em-up, hand over all of our money manner). Didn't have any accidents in the cars. Didn't fall perilously ill, only the minor chest infection in Knoxville. Even the wooden hurley (stick used in hurling) which we had posted back from Ireland because it was too big to go in any luggage arrived in one piece. None of the usual sorts of things that I imagine most travelers concern themselves with. And there I go ending a sentence with a preposition again. Mind you, we'd been back on terra firma australis for less than 36 hours and the dish-washer decided to pack up - it was on its way out, but it wasn't the greatest timing in the world - perhaps in a way this very minor flooding was a salient reminder that we were incredibly fortunate to have missed the flooding in New York by a matter of only weeks. Are dish-washers blessed with such insight as to be able to highlight the often seemingly random interconnectedness of life events? All in all we probably wouldn't have changed much if we had the benefit of hindsight - perhaps a few days more in certain places (New York in particular), but given our time constraints this was always going to be our dilemma.
Many people to thank. Sonya for organising all the flights, accommodation, tours etc. etc., which is probably why it all went so swimmingly - helped tremendously in making the trip the success and the enjoyment for all of us that it was. Cheryl in London for having us stay, especially when life is so busy for her at the moment - as I have said earlier, it was lovely to catch up as if we had only seen each other the week before. Jean and Mick for showing us such wonderful (dare I say Northern) hospitality in Preston - sorry we couldn't help to bring PNE over the line Mick. Sean, Diane, Tarryn and Jenna in Ardee for going well and truly above the call of duty by actually moving out of their home for us!! Pam and Alex for showing us such wonderful (dare I say Southern) hospitality in Knoxville - I'm just sorry Pam that we didn't get the opportunity to catch up with John in L.A.. John, Valerie (when she eventually returned home), Hannah and Elliot for showing us the sights, the colour, the glamour and the excitement that is Iowa City - Go Hawks. But above all else, thank you to Julianne for making this trip the complete success that it was. At times it is possible that I may have been slightly less than supportive of Julianne's need to have everything pigeon-holed and triple-checked hours, days and even weeks beforehand, but it doesn't mean that I didn't appreciate all the hard work and effort that she put into making this the trip of a lifetime. I can only hope that she was able to relax enough to enjoy it as much as I am sure that the rest of us did. I know I did.
Oh yes, and thanks Allan for paying for all of it.
Statistics.
English counties -
- London - sightseeing
- Hertfordshire (just driving through)
- Bedfordshire (just driving through)
- Buckinghamshire (just driving through)
- Northamptonshire (just driving through)
- Warwickshire (just driving through)
- West Midlands (just driving through)
- Staffordshire (just driving through)
- Cheshire (just driving through)
- Merseyside (just driving through)
- Lancashire - B&B, Preston and Blackpool
- Cumbria - the Lake District and B&B
- Derbyshire - B&B, Alton Towers and the Peak District
- Nottinghamshire - Nottingham
- Oxfordshire - B&B and sightseeing
Ireland (North and Republic of) -
- Dublin - hotel and sightseeing
- Meath - Newgrange
- Louth - Ardee
- Down (just driving through)
- Antrim - Giant's Causeway and Bushmills
- Londonderry/Derry - Londonderry/Derry
- Tyrone - B&B
- Armagh (just driving through)
American states -
- New York - hotel and sight-seeing
- New Jersey (just driving through)
- Tennessee - Knoxville
- Kentucky (just driving through)
- Indianapolis (just to sleep)
- Illinois (just driving through)
- Iowa - Iowa City
- Missouri - St. Louis
Flights -
- Adelaide to Sydney
- Sydney to Singapore
- Singapore to London
- London to Dublin
- Dublin to London
- London to New York
- New York to Knoxville
- Cedar Rapids to Denver
- Denver to L.A.
- L.A. to Sydney
- Sydney to Adelaide
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