Back in the UK

Yes, I am back in the UK for a little bit.......after getting home from Joplin Saturday I had a marathon packing and house cleaning session to get ready for my flights Monday. Yes, flights. There is not much that flies direct out of Little Rock but at least LIT has free wifi! Oh and I had to get Elsie all packed up and ready to spend the time I'm away at Brice and Patti's house (I miss my dog *sad face*).  A bit weird clearing TSA security this time around, they had to re-calibrate the scanning machine then the bottom of my left rib cage got some extra attention from an agent.  Not my bra underwire, my rib cage!  She even asked what it was, lol.  I was so tempted to just pull my shirt up in line so she could see, either I have a deformed skeletal structure or they don't get many through with not much fat on their upper abdomen.

overlooking the wing at Little Rock

The flight from Little Rock to Chicago was delayed--apparently it's normally late, not sure why they don't adjust the flight schedule if it is so much--so the 45 minutes I thought I had turned into 20 and O'Hare does shuttle buses rather than a tram and those buses were running very slowly.  Not much time to gather my carry-on, figure out where I had to be, make a quick stop to grab a bottle of water then do a very swift walk to my next terminal and board the flight to Heathrow.  Wasn't too pleased once I boarded because they made me stow my carry-on in business class (they don't like you making forays into business class from cattle class to get stuff out of your bag) and I find my seat in a very packed plane already occupied.  The flight attendants were awesome while they sorted it out but it was a hassle getting to stand there waiting and trying to stay out of everyone's way until it was.

Couldn't get comfortable at all on the flight from Chicago to London and it was frustrating not having easy access to my toothbrush and contact lens fluid. The food also didn't seem quite as edible on this flight as my previous ones so didn't eat much. I did get to see the Olympic site while up in the air though, quite impressive but I couldn't get a pic because it was during the portion when we have to turn off all our electronics.

The UK! Finally!

After arriving and clearing all the Immigration stuff and trying to figure out where to meet my ride, my first stop was for FOOD! and a stop at Boots to stock up on personal items while here (darn luggage weight restrictions).  Oh, by the way, powder scent here is called cotton, just a hint if you find yourself in the deodorant department trying to find it.  

pretty :-)

I did eat at a pub that I'd tried on my last trip for dinner that night, again service was slow initially but the waitress was brilliant, it was just a little busy and I think she was still kind of new at it.  This time I opted for the liver, bacon, and onions with peas and mash with my usual drink while I'm here, a Kronenbourg shandy--half a pint of Kronenbourg and half a pint of lemonade (or 7up for us from the states).

View from my table, yes I did wonder if my lamb liver was one of the relatives of those out in the field

I don't think the jet lag is hitting me near as bad this time but I have gotten up and ran both days--3.37 miles yesterday and 4.7 today so I think that's helping although both days were tougher feeling than what they should have been compared to what I've been running :-(.