Back in the UK

Oh man, where do I begin? Our posts from here on out just won't compare with our posts from Africa. We really miss it. Let's see, we flew from South Africa to Dubai to London. I do believe it was 16 hours of flight time. We returned the Warthog Express rental and hung in the Johannesburg airport for hours. By the way, they (the rental company) stamped our paperwork with NO NEW DAMAGE. Yea for Dax's auto repair work on the rental. 

Dax scowling at the nasty carrot cake in O.R. Tambo International Airport. 

Our flight to Dubai had a couple of medical emergencies. We witnessed one passenger lying in the aisle with a crew member using the defibrillator and oxygen (successfully, I might add). A lady passed out a few hours later. Another passenger helped the crew carry her to a part of the plane with more room for further assistance. We love Emirates Airlines--what a professional staff and so attentive. Our plane did not have to divert or make an unscheduled landings. 

All passengers were cared for and we arrived safely in Dubai. 

These 2 pictures are from the web, but we wanted to show the professional dress of the crew. There are also 15-20 languages represented among the crew. Amazing stuff. 

Whatever this place teaches, we should use it as a model for other service industries.

Unfortunately, our departing flight in Dubai had a gate change. We exited our first flight, zipped through security, walked to the end of one terminal (that's a hike), then caught a "train" to another terminal and walked to the VERY end. It actually was good to get some exercise between our two 8 hour flights. We were, however, disappointed that we didn't have time to use the restroom or grab some food before boarding our 2nd flight. Rats. We survived for 26 hours on candy bars from our backpacks and water from the plane (our new travel diet). We love the Airbus A380s. What a wonderful ride. Plenty of room (as far as planes go anyway), and great entertainment. We had electrical outlets to recharge all of our electronics and a great individual touch screen right in front of us. We selected movies, tv programs, news updates and games to suit our fancy. I was pretty happy to catch up on all the movies I've missed at the theaters.  Nice! (Complete with our candy bars).

We, with ALL of our luggage, arrived in London on time. Yes! Before catching the Hotel Hoppa to our hotel, we hung at a coffee shop and enjoyed some REAL sandwiches, juice and decent coffee. A shower, clean pajamas, and Herbies Pizza (delivered) was the perfect prep

 for a wonderful night's sleep in London. 

On Friday, we rented a car to drive up to Chorley. You know how you have your heart (and mind) set on the car you have reserved, right? Well, we were so looking forward to having an automatic VW  Passat Wagon. We thought, "Fantastic, we will have more room, no stick shift, less road noise, and more comfortable seats." Well, they upgraded 

us to a Jaguar 3.0 Litre V6 275 Turbocharged Diesel XF Sportbrake. 

At first we were disgusted that they didn't have what we original reserved available for us; however, at this point (2 days later), we are quite pleased with our new James Bond vehicle. We have had a bit of a learning curve, but we have decided the car may drive itself and we will let go of the control issues we originally had. Can't figure out how to open the vents for the AC? No problem, just push the button to start the car and they appear and open automatically. Can't figure out how to work the windshield wipers? Don't worry, they also manage to function independently to take care of all your visual needs. What? There is a 2 hour and 50 minutes delay due to traffic on our current route? No worries, the Jag will handle it all just fine. So, while navigating up to Chorley, I began to read the car manual. We learned something new on each page. We apparently also have a heated steering wheel. 

 Isaiah and a curious little boy patiently waiting for our rental.

The Jag (no longer Warthog Express, but awaiting a new title), took us to our new "home" on some beautiful, narrow, curvy roads (all paved and no South African potholes). 

We are set on 200 acres of beauty. 

Our current "home" near Chorley, UK.

On our current property.

Isaiah and 2 new friends feeding the ducks and other birds.

More of the beautiful grounds.

Lovely plants and flowers.

My new favorite. Does anyone happen to know what it is?

After exploring the property, we walked down a road just a bit

 and stumbled upon an antique sale/flea market like building. 

We had a grand time visiting with the sellers. 

Isaiah is now the proud owner of a British Royal Navy Beret. If we weren't so far from home, we would bring back an antique armoire, a bamboo fly rod, multiple framed mirrors, small tables, instruments, etc. Rats to the luggage limitations. 

Isaiah not only gained a beret, but also a new friend. This is Nile. At 9 years of age, he is the middle child of seven in his family. They had a great time playing with plastic action figures and army guys. Nile even gave Isaiah some of his toys for keeps. 

Instantly compatible.

We asked Nile's mother if he could come swimming with us at our hotel. She accepted our offer. She said she could drop him off at 1 p.m. Well, he didn't arrive until 1:30, but they were so grateful we waited. As we were walking to the pool, Nile said, "Isaiah, have you ever met anyone who could move their joints?" While holding his hand out and popping his thumb in and out of joint, Isaiah said, "Like this?" Nile stuck out his hand and did the same thing. Instant friendship! They later discovered the following similarities: 1) Not particularly fond of school 2) Don't like vegetables 3) Enjoy video games 4) Love legos 5) Love chocolate

Nile and Isaiah

 

The boys being silly for the camera.

Since we could not bring our staff from Africa with us to England, we've had to do our own laundry. Pitiful, aren't we? We found a local laundrette about 3 miles away. The gentleman on the left so kindly helped us figure out how things worked. This is the entire laundry mat. It's no bigger than you see here. See that door on the back right? If you need change, you ring the doorbell and wait for the owner to answer. When that door opens, the smell that pours out is quite overwhelming. It was worse than any smell we've experienced in China or Africa. The gentleman who helped us explained that the owner has all kinds of animals living in there with him. Everything from chickens to pigs. It is an option to drop off your laundry there to be done for you. I can't imagine having that same man doing our laundry. Yuck! 

The boys in the laundrette. Yes, Isaiah is being a goof ball. :)

Dax's customer took us to dinner tonight. We had

Goosnargh chicken on dauphinoise potatoes with 

mushroom, onion, herb and white wine 

sauce, and fresh vegetables (which I actually ate). Absolutely delicious. 

We met the owner and his wife, his son (and wife), and his daughter (and boyfriend). 

The owner is a former professional race car driver and his big hobby now is classic cars. 

Dax went to his house yesterday and got to see 7 or so of his cars. Neat stuff. 

 Tomorrow, Dax will have to get up early for work (poor thing), while Isaiah and I sleep in (blessed things). I imagine Isaiah will take me to the pool again for my four hours of exercise since I have yet to stop eating this summer.