April 7 & 8 – Heading Home


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April 8th 2023
Published: April 10th 2023
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April 7 & 8 – Heading Home

WOW! I slept well, I rollover expecting to see Kirsten all dressed and ready. Nope she is still asleep, I just drift away....

Around 8:30 we get up, dressed, and have a wonderful breakfast at our hotel.

After breakfast we have packed our suitcases and are ready, we loaded them into the car and checked out and said our goodbyes. We are heading toward London’s Heathrow Airport, yes, it’s coming to an end.

However, there is always time to squeeze in one more stop. So, we decided to visit the village of Wells. Wells has one of the largest cathedrals in England.

We parked the car and made our way toward the cathedral, then we were told the cathedral was closing at 11:30 am to prepare for Good Friday service.

As we began our tour of the cathedral, Kirsten saw that they had on display the Shroud of Turin. WHAT! Ok, stop everything! Kirsten and I were on our honeymoon, we spent a few days in Turin. I tried to see the Shroud then, however I couldn’t because some crazy person tried to damage it.

Now, for those that don’t know what the Shroud of Turin is: it’s the burial cloth “Shroud” Jesus Christ was buried in.

We finished viewing the cathedral along with the Shroud of Turin. As we were leaving, the vicar of the cathedral approached us and asked where we are from and about our trip. We were able to ask question about the cathedral and the village of Wells.

As we were walking away, I turned and asked about the kids and young adults all dressed the same... just like in the Harry Potter movies. The vicar explained that they attended boarding schools in England and that is their uniforms.

Then he said, Brits have a thing about sending their children to boarding school but keeping their dogs at home.

As we were walking away, I mention staying for the 3–4-hour service. Kirsten gives me the look, and says being the good Baptist you are, you know this story probability better than most people. Yea, your right, but I got to see the Shroud.

We are back in the car and heading to our hotel at London’s Heathrow airport. We have a room at the airport Ibis.

We stop for a late lunch at Warminster, we had Fish & Chips and a beer. Kirsten goes into the local Aldi and buys chocolate candy for the flight crew.

Back on the road and 2 hours later, we’re pulling into our hotel. We check in and then we’re off to drop off the car and take the shuttle to the airport. This is something we do the evening before leaving if this is a new airport for us. We drop off the car, go to the airport and get familiar with where we check in and then head back to the hotel.

Well, we’ve never been to Heathrow (LHR) and it’s huge. Yes, we found where we are to check in, now we need to get back to the hotel.

Normally, each hotel has a shuttle to and from the airport. Heathrow doesn’t do it that way. You have two choices, taxi, or Hotel Hoppa service.

So were standing where the Hotel Hoppa service is, and the Budget Car Rental pulls up. Kirsten looks at me and says Budget Car rental is next door to our hotel.... get on.

So now were riding the Budget car rental shuttle back to our hotel.

This solves getting to the hotel, now I need to figure out how to get back to the airport tomorrow morning at 5AM for our flight at 8 AM.

So, we decided to use taxi tomorrow morning, I walk up to the hotel front desk and ask to schedule a taxi. No problem Mr. Vaughan, what time is your flight? I answer 8 am, the gentleman says your taxi will be waiting for you at 4:45 am.

Ok, that’s all scheduled we head up stairs and finalize our packing, set the alarms for 4 am and we’re in bed early knowing it’s going to be a long day tomorrow.

Good night – Good morning......

4 am came early!! We both know the routine. We’re up, showered, dressed, and heading downstairs. We walk up to the desk; the attendant says good morning Mr. Vaughan your taxi is waiting.

WOW! the taxi driver is grabbing our luggage and we’re into his taxi. Within 15 minutes we are standing at Delta’s check in counter. The line was already forming. By 6 am, we’re checked in and walking toward our gate.

Well, our flight from London to New York was uneventful. We breezed through immigration and was on our flight to Orlando by 4 PM. We landed in Orlando around 7:30 pm and Bea was there to pick us up.

It’s been a long day, as Kirsten and I get into bed she turns to me and says welcome home Love!

Good night and goodbye until our next adventure....


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