I would like to take a moment and apologize for not getting this up yesterday. I forgot my journal in my trip down to Houston which means I didn’t have anything to write over from… But here’s the first few days of my trip! Enjoy.
Monday, June 8th (Norman)
The Day Before Departure
Packing took about an hour and I have chosen to leave toiletries for tomorrow morning. I have to say this: I’m scared, but not as scared as I expected to be at this point. I’ve accepted that I haven’t secured lodging and/or transportation from the airport. It is a problem I will deal with when I get there. I’ll write more when I go to bed. I didn’t end up writing more… namely because I was engaged in several phone conversations, one of which was with Ivan. Ivan is a British gentleman I know through my Father and Gwen. He set up a place for me to stay and gave me directions for when I got there.
Tuesday, June 9th 11:09 a.m. (OKC)
Waiting
Got to the airport nearly an hour ago. Check-in was amazingly easy, traveling might not be so bad. As I sit here in the OKC concourse, I wonder about flight. I wonder if it’ll terrify me. I wonder if there will be a cute girl on the plane beside me. I kind of hope there is. Maybe she’ll hold my hand. Wow was I optimistic at this point. Then again I might have just been dealing with a fear that hadn’t fully manifested yet. Heh. Story ideas are creeping into my mind and I think I’ll put this aside for now and outline. The outlining turned into 9 book goals. I know what I want to do with my Perdita book series because of this trip.
2:19 p.m. (Between OKC and Atlanta)
Somewhere up there in the Air
Sure, the first moments of air travel (30 minutes or so) were terrifying. The butterflies I expected arrived during the taxi to the take-off runway. They’re back now as we make our final descent into Atlanta. I will readily admit that the center of the flight was smooth and mostly enjoyable. The clouds way up high make me wonder if heaven is like that. I’m not sure if I believe in a heaven/hell, but if there is… I have a strong leaning that the fluffy white clouds are probably a nice place to call the entrance to whatever every person’s personal heaven is. The beauty of it leave no doubt for me as to why it is portrayed as such in the artistic renditions. Back to the beginning: the craft was smaller, and more cramped than I expected, almost enough so to give me a vague feeling of claustrophobia. Watching the land drop away was the scary part though and I am uncertain if I will watch out the window when my flight to London takes off. I will have my journal out to record it, rather than waiting for the end of the flight. I actually ended up writing during take-off.
4:36 p.m. (Atlanta)
The Wait
All the seats are taken as I wait for my flight. I’ve exchanged $50 for ₤22. In truth, it was more like $44 that I exchanged. I can say I was slightly surprised to get coins for the singles. Wow does this make me sound so very, terribly, naïve. A different world I will be flying into in approx. 9 hours. At least the plane looks larger, if the one sitting outside is indeed the one I’m to board. I hope it is a smoother flight with a more approachable person to sit next to. That’s right, no luck on the connecting flight. But there is always room for hope. A note about airport food: don’t bother getting something on the way back. Food is highway robbery. I really should have eaten more before going to the airport to begin with. A mistake I didn’t replicate on the return trip. Second note: the airport is huge and the train between concourses reminded me of the tram at the beginning of Half-Life. I will write more after boarding unless there is someone to chat with.
5:00 p.m. (Atlanta)
More Waiting
At least it is a larger plane. Here is hoping that larger = smoother. The jury is still out for my flight partner(s). One seems friendly enough, but is situated slightly behind me, making conversation a little awkward. We’ll see what the person beside me is like. The boarding (going on 15 or so minutes now) is slow going. I hope we get off the ground on time.
I think refueling just finished as there was a significant mechanical adjustment just now and we’re not moving. Maybe it was the luggage compartments closing. The excitement is growing within me and I can feel the butterflies tickling the edges of my stomach. Such kind people on the flight. It makes me smile. I hope the rest of the people I bump into are as nice.
Damn. Cute girls sitting across the aisle. Cute blonde. Taken.
5:25 p.m. (Atlanta)
The seat belt around my waist feels slightly inadequate. I predict a quiet 6 or so hours. I won’t be disappointed. Maybe I’ll even sleep some. A couple hours would like go a long way to helping with jet lag in the U.K. This prediction was both accurate and inaccurate. I did get a quiet flight (and a smooth flight at that) as the couple beside me were married and more interested in their movie or eachother than making a new friend. I didn’t end up sleeping a wink, but on the bright side, I did watch Taken and watching Liam Neeson kick some serious ass was well worth it. I don’t recall what other movies I watched.
5:39 p.m. (Atlanta)
Departure
We’ve backed away from the gate and are now taxiing to the runway. The plane is warm, but I wonder if that’s just because I’m a little nervous. We’ve backed away from the gate, but, to my knowledge, haven’t got far enough from the building to get to the runway.
6:00 p.m. (Atlanta)
Flight!
Take-off was certainly faster and
louder but not entirely smoother, certainly smoother and a faster ascent. I can remember thinking that the plane was very steep for a very long time.
Wednesday, June 10th 8:39 a.m. (London)
The Train
Allergies set in about an hour before we landed in London (Gatwick). Talk about sinus headaches due to pressure. Right before the descent into Gatwick, my allergies kicked in and my nose exploded into a fountain. It made me rather miserable. The rest of the journey was quite enjoyable though. I survived and made it through customs. I’m no on a train going to Victoria Station in Central London. I worry, slightly, that the fellow who validated my flexipass did so for the wrong days. An unnecessary worry. I didn’t have any trouble. The train is almost abnormally quiet. No one is talking, with the exception of one woman on a cell phone. I wonder if everyone is merely tired from a long flight or similar journey. At least the country-side is pretty. I’ll go back to admiring it.
10:08a.m. (London)
The Hotel
Check-in has been stalled fro the mom
ent. The receptionist’s not due back for another 20 minutes. Fellow here is not too terribly friendly, but slightly helpful. Still, it is nice to get off my feet. The man wasn’t pleasant at all. The bulldog, however, was. I can’t say that, other than location, the hotel was worth what I paid to stay there.
The view from my hotel.
13:11 (London)
After my First Walkabout
Met with Ivan at 11:00. Just got back from walking and tea. Exhausted. Rest needed. Photo above is of some royal family member out for a ride.
18:47 (London)
Rested
I’ve slept for nearly five hours and showered. The first was on a hard bed and the second was under a trickle. Regardless, I think I will remain in this hotel until I leave on Friday. I met with Ivan earlier and he gave me a rather thorough showing around. I will be honest and say I don’t remember a whole lot though. I blame my tiredness. I am still tired and will probably go to bed early to fully refresh my sleep. For now, I will go downstairs, let them know I will be staying a second night and go out to find food and a bank. I believe both are to the left on High Street Kensington.
20:08 (London)
The Quest for a Mobile Continues
I’m feeling better now that I have eaten. I knew I would forget something, and something did I forget. Shaving cream. I touched up without before leaving and decided I would prefer to avoid duplicating the experience. Dinner consisted of a lovely chicken wrap and water. I will try something new tomorrow. Plans for tomorrow: call Maralyel and touch base, maybe I’ll have a traveling partner, get a mobile phone, visit the Natural History Museum, walk the park. HAVE A GOOD TIME. Bright note: the butterflies haven’t returned. I’m starting to relax, if nothing else, I think I will go read for awhile. The butterflies that I expected to come back never, unless I am misremembering and it’ll come up in my journal if I am, came back to plague me. I also never got in touch with Maralyel and started my journeys the same as I, for the most part, spent the rest of the trip: alone.
21:39 (London)
The sun is taking a long time to set. Even now it’s rays still illuminate the sky slightly. I just got off the phone with Elaine. She’s engaged. A slight surprise, but then again, I haven’t been in super good contact with her. Regardless, I look forward to meeting her in person in a few weeks. Time to finish another chapter in Ender’s Game and call it a night.
These photos are of the place I stayed in my first stint in London. I snapped a few photos of every place I stayed in, so expect to see all my accommodations as they come up!
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