We bought a campervan!

We flew to London and took the train to Portsmouth near the dealership. We checked into a hotel and the next morning were picked up by our salesperson for a quick look at our campervan.  I'm not going to sugar coat this.  Thereafter ensued several days of frustration with long hours and only two meals a day. We've never had to work so hard to spend money.  I'll spare you the details but suffice to say that payment proved, uh, troublesome.  In the mean time, we bought some van related supplies from the dealership store.  

Finally the day came when we actually got to drive it off the lot.  Dermot had the keys with the remote control and as we were shopping some more in the dealership for supplies, I asked if he had locked it and he hadn't!  When he went to lock the van, a couple had the doors open looking through it!  Mike and Rosie turned out to be a lovely couple who had retired in their mid-forties and had been traveling for the majority of 20 years. They shared some important tips and told us they still loved the life style. They were the perfect people to meet after a rough start!  Hours later we realized the second set of keys had been inside the unlocked van so this could have been a much different post of we hadn't been lucky!

Filling up the camper.

The next several days were a blur of shopping, unpacking, learning just enough about the van to take care of bare essentials with sporadic eating, sleeping, and bathing when we could fit them in.  Imagine outfitting an entire home with essentials at one time in a foreign country where you don't know the names of the stores most likely to have what you need.  

Our first weekend was a "banking holiday" and apparently everyone heads to the campgrounds. We didn't know when we'd get the van and had no reservations.  So we had to head far afield and change campgrounds every two days.  It also meant we were shopping in small towns with limited supplies and a few quirks.

Milford on the Sea was celebrating its centennial.  We visited on a rainy day and, weirdly, the celebration required that the locals cover the parking posts and benches with a cacophony of soggy knitted items (we visited on a rainy day).  It was a bit surreal as the pictures demonstrate. We noticed many people going to the take away chipper "Mr. Pink's." We ordered fish and chips and ate it in the van mere feet from the purveyor and it was delicious! Dermot declared it the best he'd ever had!

So far parking in crowded parking lots has been the biggest struggle and seeing new things everyday the biggest reward.

Adorable house in a small town in Southern England.

There are few pictures this week as we had almost no time for sight seeing and only intermittent internet connectivity but we'll just leave this picture of the cutest little house right here. 

European Champions League Final (Liverpool v. Real Madrid)

By Saturday night we were watching the European Champions League Final in a pub in New Forest, England. Here's the first installment of "Where's Dermot?" There will be a hint at the bottom of the post.  

Here are some things I learned about British food in restaurants near hotels this week:

1. Chips (aka French fries) go with everything.
2. Gravy should go on nearly everything that is not chips.
3. Yorkshire pudding also goes with everything - especially gravy.

   

   Yorkshire pudding on top of carved meat.

4. Yorkshire pudding was described as "like a pancake." (It's not.)
5. When you can't stand any more pub food, you still should not order a salad in a pub.
6. Proximity to the sea does not ensure you will be able to discern what is in the crab salad. 
7. Mayonnaise in a small cup on the side of a crab salad is a perfectly acceptable dressing.
8. Those are brussels sprouts in the photo but the cook must hate them to make them come out this way.

Now I know why there are no blue zones in Great Britain. Also, Dermot and I need to tackle making meals ourselves when we have the necessary cooking supplies.

So this post demonstrates that it's not all glamour and fun.  Next week we'll put up more photos (maybe even a video) of the van. 

Where's Dermot Hint: Find the blond guy in the black shirt and look under his right elbow.  Dermot had some trouble keeping an unimpeded line of sight on the game as more and more fans crowed in. He still enjoyed seeing the game.

From Italy with Love

What a week we’ve had! It took us three flights to get to Naples, Italy by way of Atlanta and Paris.  When we landed in Paris we had a long layover so I got a pain au chocolat (chocolate croissant) for breakfast and later met up with Julianna and Theora and her family.  By the time we got to Naples we had been traveling for a full day and were hungry and exhausted.  The world seemed a better place after pizza and sleep.  The next day we visited the Museo Nationale and saw many of the fabulous statues, mosaics, and other art that had been recovered from excavations of Pompeii.  

The next morning we went to the gorgeous villa on the Amalfi coast Julianna and Theora had rented for all the members of the soon-to-be extended family to stay and where the marriage ceremony would be performed. Unfortunately, the photographer was not able to come so I had to become a wedding photographer very quickly!  While others shopped and prepared wonderful meals, I studied my camera manual and took practice shots.  

Julianna and Theora's Wedding Ceremony

The brides were glowing with happiness and we were all swept up in the joy and beauty of it all. The ceremony was performed by Theora's brother Austen and we all toasted the start of their married life together. Later we went out to dinner at a restaurant and had delicious meals and more toasts all around.

We spent the next day in the town of Amalfi and Dermot became the photographer. We roamed through the shops and had a delicious lunch followed by gelato. Tyler and Emma hiked up trails beyond the town and showed us pictures of the waterfalls they saw.  

More Italy Photos here

All exceptional things must come to an end and we all had to go our separate ways.  Julianna and Theora were off to romantic Venice, Verona and other lovely Italian destinations for their honeymoon.  

Next headed to England to pick up our wee house on wheels.  Since we don't have ready access to wi-fi, it may be awhile before we post again.  Wish us luck!

Parting Parties

So many celebrations! Deonda retired on April 20 and Dermot followed on May 4. We thought we knew all the plans but our loved ones had a few tricks up their sleeves.   

Deonda: My retirement party at City Hall was lovely with all the traditions: good wishes, gifts, speeches and a massive cake.  I’ll have to admit, the day felt surreal.  Was it really possible I wouldn’t be back on Monday?  I gathered HR pictures spanning 24 years and showed it as a slideshow you can watch by clicking here.

Some co-workers, friends and family then joined us for drinks and dinner downtown.   (More pictures here).  Julianna and Tyler had arranged to cap off the evening at SAK Comedy Lab which our family had enjoyed together many times before. The show was great and we posed for some silly shots at intermission.

Then came the twist - they had purchased a part of the show, supplied the actors with information and let them loose to create the one and only production of “Deonda Scott, the Musical.”  Everyone really pulled out all the stops to make my last day of work unforgettable! 

Dermot: My co-workers took me out to the Rock and Brew for drinks and dinner. I was amazed so many people came out to celebrate with me.  (More pictures here)

The food and drinks were wonderful but the best part was all the stories we told each other from our 28 years together.  Some of them were even true! 

Bon Voyage Party at Fiddler's Green: 
We didn’t want to leave without getting together with those outside our work circles and/or for one more time. 

May 5th was Cinco de Mayo and Kentucky Derby Day and we held it at Fiddler’s Green Irish Pub. Yeah, a bit strange but that’s just how we roll.  Sarah White surprised us with this delicious cake to top off the evening!

We had a great time with so many wonderful people!  (More pictures here)

We invited everyone to “Tell Us Where To Go” and they tagged our Lonely Planet Europe book and left stories of their favorite travel experiences.  With all this great guidance and love from family and friends, this is going to be the trip of a lifetime!

Thank you to everyone who made it out to celebrate with us and to everyone who couldn't! I wish we'd had the idea to collect people's recommendations prior to the Bon Voyage Party so if you have a favorite place or experience to share, please leave it in the comments section below.

Now we have to pack up and get ready to head out!