Day 1- Arrival into England

Well day one was an incredibly long day.  Due to hurricane Irene, we had to change our New York plans. So this meant we didn't leave until early Monday morning.  So off to the airport we went and met up with our friends AJ and Jen to take off toward London, England.  Once we got to JFK, it was somewhat of a mess with all the people that got stuck in the hurricane.  They had closed the airport for 2 days, so coming in and seeing the mess at ticket counters was a bit intense.  I wish we would've taken a picture of the check in areas because there were literally huge crowds of people.  And let's just say, no one looked happy to be there.  We had 3 hours before our flight left, so we had to figure out JFK airport which is a complete joke.  I seriously think that airport was made as a last minute decision.  Terrible set up.  We all ate the last of some wonderful American food and hopped on our plane to Iceland.  Somehow Evan lucked out on most of our flights and got emergency exit rows.  Which are perfect for him because his legs are so long.  Coach seats are not made for a 6'4" guy.  I felt bad for him seeing his knees jammed into a back of a seat, and then of course they would put their seat back so his knees were literally in the metal bars.  Luckily to Iceland, and England we got exit rows for both flights.
The Iceland flight was good, super nice each seat had it's own TV but unfortunately for Evan and I we are cursed with not being able to sleep on planes.  Our friends were dead asleep the second the plane started!   This was around 2am US time when we landed in Iceland, so of course Evan and I were on a caffeine high and all of us were laughing hysterically and it was DEAD silent in the airport.  Think of a library and then add 4 obnoxious Americans laughing hysterically because we are sleep deprived.  That sums us up in a nutshell.  Iceland on top of that was FREEZING.  We had to get off on the gangway because the gate machinery wasn't working.  I was in shorts and t-shirt.  It was cold, even for me.  So we hopped back onto our flight to England and of course our friends fell fast asleep while Evan and I read books and played Mancala.  As soon as we got to England, I felt like a zombie but Sharon and David told us we had to keep on going to adjust to the time difference.  So no sleep for us!  Evan's uncle, Andrew, came to get all 4 of us.  Andrew and Judy are without a doubt the nicest, most wonderful people ever.  As soon as we arrived to their house in Petworth they acted as if we come over every weekend.  I just love family, it's such a nice feeling knowing someone when you arrive in a different country.
And let me just start by saying their house was GORGEOUS.  Seriously the ideal house in the English town with a pub within walking distance.  It was perfect!  We had delicious sandwiches for lunch and set off on some adventures, which of course we had a boy car and a girl car.  Judy has the cutest Mini Cooper which is a convertible as well.  It is the zippiest most fun car ever made.

Their front/side yard

Their front door

Side porch

Their meadow.  

Al the flowers were positively gorgeous.

This is their entrance to their home and yard.  They live on the end of a lane.

We drove down to Aldwick to see where David and Sharon grew up, the church they were married in, and the prettiest beach!  And then of course I was introduced to Evan's obsession of 99s.  He literally had one everyday.  We should've taken a picture of one of them so we could have a photo reference, but unfortunately I didn't think to do that.  Sorry for the tired face in the beach photos!

While we were driving through the town of Aldwick, Evan would hop out of the car and take pictures of the houses.  I was starting to get worried that the owners of the homes would come out and ask what he was doing.  Probably thinking he was being creepy or something.  Well at the second home that David lived in, the owner actually did come out!  Since I wasn't in the same car as Evan, all we could see was him chit chatting with the owner and explaining that his Dad grew up in this home.  I can guarantee she came out because her children were playing outside and she probably thought Evan was being a creepster and taking pictures of her children.  I thought it was hilarious, because I was getting paranoid that would happen!  But good to know that another family is living there now!

 The church, The Parish Church of Saint Richard Aldwick, that David and Sharon got married in was so pretty.  I would have loved to have gotten married in somewhere like this because it's so historic and has such a classic look to it.  I also love that they have kept it in immaculate condition.  It's not run down at all.  It's everything I imagined!



After the tour of Aldwick, we of course had to see the beach.  Andrew had a lot of stories about things they would do at the beach.  And Judy had even better stories!  I love hearing that some of the things that are there were there when they lived there.  It's nice to see that.

The beach was beautiful!