Hello!!
This is my first post coming to you from Bournemouth, England!
Nessy and I made it safely to England. The flight went smoothly, we just talked and laughed the whole way here. We even figured out the seat-to-seat messaging on the plane and had some fun with that too. We are having a great time traveling together and really getting to know each other.
Once we arrived we had no problem finding Chris and Terri. They spotted us right away and we we're so happy to finally be here with them after all of these months anticipating the trip. It was about an hour and a half car ride to their home in Bournemouth, and we ALL had so much fun laughing about our difference in accents. Nessy and I have learned some new words, the ones we have learned so far are: "Chippy" which means, Carpenter (Jon you would be a Chippy) "Sparky" is an electrician, "Bricky" is a brick layer.....I wondered if "Roofie" would be a roofer...but the answer was no ;) haha. We had a wonderful dinner last night with Chris, Terri and Terri's son Andrew, who is an amazing guy! He even plays guitar...so we are going to try and get him to play for us. After a few glasses of wine we went off to bed.
Nessy and I woke up this morning and we're recovered from our jet lag and ready to start the day! We went to 22 Kinson Place Road and saw where Boppa used to live. I absolutely love England, and feel that coming here is so necessary in really understanding the culture. I have seen pictures at home and heard stories about Grandma & Boppa's childhood and how they met, but being here I feel so much more connected to that time in their lives and find it so special.
We then picked up Uncle Tom, what a SWEET man.. I instantly connected with him and we just chatted about all kinds of things. He thinks I look like Ethel, Grandma's mom when she was younger (when she was about 18 he says) and he also says every time he looks into my eyes it brings him back to a different time. We then went to Saint Andrew's Church in Kinson, where Grandpa & Boppa got married. There was a woman outside gardening who actually let us into the church! Once I walked in I could just imagine Grandma walking down the isle toward Boppa waiting in his tux and glasses. After just recently seeing the pictures from their wedding it was not hard to imagine. Nessy and I did a little reenactment and pretended we were getting married! Uncle Tom gave me and Nessy a few words of advice, 1) You only find one true love in the life and you will know who that is when you are older... 2) Directed at me, marry a rich guy! haha. He is very funny. We are just finishing up lunch about going to a show tonight with Uncle Tom.
I will update again soon! Grandma & Boppa, I thank you so much for sending me on this trip. I have barely been here a day and I already feel like I know so much about our family. It is so amazing and beautiful here, the horses, green countryside and brick buildings are just gorgeous. Love you guys!!
Elise Diane
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Hi Bob,
ReplyDeleteI'm so happy that you are able to blog while on your trip. Now we can all go along on your journey with you. I got all teared up reading about Uncle Tom and how he thinks you look like Ethel. The church where Grandma & Boppa got married sounds really neat. I can just imagine you and Nessy recreating the marriage scene. Thats whats cool about England is that places like that are still there. If it was an old church in America it would have been torn down by now.
Can't wait to read your next post.
Love,
Mob
Hi Elise,
ReplyDeleteGlad that you and Vanessa are getting off to a good start on your vacation. Be sure to take plenty of pictures to show when you return. I have never met, or seen a picture, of Terri's son Andrew, it sounds as if you like him already. You haven't even begun to see the great scenery that is to come. Dorset is a very beautiful county and then later as you head towards Lynmouth you are in for a visual feast. You have to remember that you are in a country that has been inhabited for thousands of years and was invaded by the Romans, under Julius Caesar back in 55BC. The church you visited has a famous tombstone, dated 1765, with a very interesting inscription. You have just begun your journey and the best is yet to come. Please keep us posted.
Boppa