Zen and the Art of Trans-Atlantic Travel

So, today found me bleary-eyed and exhausted on a Monday Afternoon in London. This is my second trip to the UK – both because of work. Tiffany and I both came out in August and spent a week doing the tourist bit. Then, I worked a week on my company’s UK office. There are some pictures of that trip on our site. (Be careful, I still need to edit, cut and clean up that album – i just dumped all the pics there for now).

We had a ball on that trip. We got to see Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle and the Tower of London. I think, though, if you asked either of us, we had the most fun just wandering around the city and spending time with each other (we love the kids, but MAN is time with just the two of us nice!). The second half of that trip was ok for me – with one exception. Tiff left on a Tuesday. In the wee hours of Thursday morning, they busted all those terrorists that started this whole no liquids on planes era that we are in. I was set to leave the following Monday. WEEEEE! I made it out ok – no carry-on, but ok. Coming in this time was no biggie. We’ll see how leaving is in a couple of weeks.

So, now that I’m actually back to this trip, it’s a lot different. That one was August. This one is the second half of Feb. That one, I had Tiff for a week. This one, I’m on my own for two. Being away from my whole family for this long will be rough. The longest I’ve every done that was when dad was in hospital and I was gone for about a week and a half. We’ll se how things go.

As for the title of what has now become quite rambling, this is my fourth flight across the Atlantic. I haven’t quite mastered getting to sleep in a reasonable amount of time. Thankfully, on this trip, I came straight to the office so I can power through the day and crash tonight – hopefully avoiding the jet lag somewhat. Tomorrow, I have to cook Cajun food for about 150 folks in this office. (That’s a whole different story for another time).

I will say that anyone coming from Texas to London, check out the flight from Houston Intercontinental to Gatwick on Continental. Coming out of San Antonio, it’s perfect for me because it’s one hop and then on to the big flight. They use 777s for the international leg, so it’s a great plane to be on. Also, for this time of year, it’s nice to not have to worry about weather around airports up north that a lot of the other carriers use.

OK – I think I’ve meandered enough down this path. I’m tired. I’m here. I miss my wife and kids. And, I’m giving up coffee in two days, so I’m going to hit the free Starbucks machine while I still can. I’ll try an check in tomorrow or so.

Peace!

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