Cheerio...and not the Cereal!

Yes...I am bad at posting. I would rather write in my journal.

Sister Tiki and I went to London for our 27th anniversary. We have been trying to do something fun each year...so why not London?

We flew on Northwest Airlines (carrier of choice) into Gatwick. Gatwick is only about 8 miles from the London Temple. So after we rented our car, we drove over to the London Temple. We knew it would be closed but had to fulfill a dream. The London Temple will be having its 50th anniversary in March so they were closed for renovations. A nice security guy (Rob Ainke) let us use the loo, and use the phone to call the Preston Temple.

Well driving on the left is a trip! Not too bad but the steering wheel is on the right but the gear shifting pattern is not reversed so it takes some practice. The motorways are wonderful. Most tourist won't brave England traffic but it was fun...

We stayed at the Preston Temple for 2 nights. We did some temple work, had laughs, and I was mistaken for Uncle Jeff again. Preston is north of Birmingham and Manchester about 4-5 hours away.

We enjoyed Stonehenge but it was raining kitties and puppies! As no one really wants to stand around in the rain, we stayed only about an hour. Stonehenge is about 1 1/2 hours west of London...geographical London is huge. It was incredible though.

We went to church in Slough (rhymes with cow) and enjoyed their little ward while we received numerous invitations to move in. I got some great material for a talk from one of the speakers. Slough is only a couple of miles from Windsor Castle so we drove by.

We drove down to Dover and climbed around the white cliffs of Dover. The rain let up long enough for a comfortable walk. It was foggy enough that we could not see the coastline of France 30 miles away.

We lodged at the Holiday Inn Express in Croyden (suburban London) and took the train in a couple of days to see the sites. We rode the "tube" and "minded the gap." We took a romantic, yet chilly, walk along the Thames. We saw the Clock Tower (Big Ben is housed there), Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace (changing of the guard), Baker Street ("elementary my dear Watson"), St. Paul's Cathedral, Temple Church (yikes...closed on Tuesdays), London Tower, and Tower Bridge. We rode the London Eye (a 40-story ferris wheel on the Thames).

And we tasted the cuisine including bangers and mash, (not-so yummy), multiple fish and chips (yummy), scones and clotted cream (yummier), and gelato at Harrod's (yummiest). I amazed Sister Tiki by not going to one McDonald's...not even to the restroom. She did want to try Wimpie Burgers...nothing to write home about.

The best part of the trip, you ask? ...being with my eternal companion, my helpmeet, my wife (it was pretty crowded with all 4 of us...haha).