Talk about having to make adjustments to plans already. The trip to Vancouver was by far the longest I have ever seen it taken (20+ hours). Two roads closed, schedule thrown off. All enough to make the blood pressure rise a little. Add to that a leaky radiator on the van…but we made it to the plane. And I tell myself I can relax now, but I'm sure there will be more surprises .

Sara's great making sure everyone has their carry-on baggage, including books, travel pillows, and hand sanitizer. And she does a good job of keeping me relaxed (or at least she makes a valiant effort!). Our first few minutes in the UK rental van pushed the stress limits though. It's a 7 seater, or 5+2 on the confirmation, and now I know why - very small and totally packed with the six of us and our backpacks! So there we are, squished in, at rush hour traffic level in the Heathrow airport. I'm driving from the right side of the vehicle, with a stick shift on the left side - let's just say that when we arrived at Salisbury in one piece we were all very grateful!!

I know I'll be saying this lots over the next few weeks, but sometimes you just have to go with the flow. Mental check…BIG check. Just relax and no that in the end things will work out. And that nothing - NOTHING - is as big a deal as you first think. I heard a guy say recently that most things don't really matter, and at first I was slightly offended by the idea. Of course THIS matters - a lot! Or what about THAT!! But the more I think about it the more I realize the truth of that statement, especially the things that seem to be high stress. As my dad would often say, "this too shall pass". And it did, and it still does! So relax a little, and just go with the flow and see where it takes you.

We finally found our hotel, in a little town called Cholderton. If you blink, you miss it, and we did. A little back tracking on roads narrower than my driveway finally put us at the inn. Six hours of sleep later, I feel refreshed. Thinking of getting Luke up for an early morning ride to Stonehenge (five minutes away).

So today the plan is to meander around this part of Britain. Maybe take in the historic town of Bath or Glastonbury. Apparently you can see the "real" grave of King Arthur there. Mixed with a little faith, I'm sure it will be profound :-).