London-Day 1

Off the plane and down through customs to collect our baggage. All went well and the bags arrived in short order... and the drum. We loaded up the baggage and headed towards the Heathrow Express station for the 15 minute trip into London. Blazing fast and great internet :-)

Those poor wheels are getting a workout!!

On arrival at Paddington Station we where met by our friend and fellow cruiser Dan (whom tracked our flight progress from over Canada, Greenland, Iceland, Ireland, over his house and finally on approach to LHR.) Dan was kind enough to hand deliver some train tickets for our trip north to Glasgow on Sunday. Great service as Dan works for Virgin Trains!!  We got caught up and then grabbed a cab to the Corus Hotel.

We met up with our friend Dan for a quick visit & ticket delivery.  We will be seeing him later in our trip.

Once in our small but clean room, we unpacked and stored our gear. Good thing we have "small room" practice from cruising and the F3A Worlds in Switzerland!!

Kris arrived and we headed off to get our sim cards sorted for our iPhones. This will allow us to remain connected with each other as well as our friends in the band and back home. Not to mention the "find a pub" app which was put to the test immediately.

Dinner at a BBQ place and then Kris headed back to his hotel room as he flies back to YVR in the morning. Kelly and I went for a walk in Kensington Gardens as we visited the Royals... they were not in though... maybe next time:-)

Spire House

The Italian Gardens

Kensington Palace

Ok our body clocks are a mess and we are  done... off to bed. Not sure what Kelly has planned for me tomorrow!

Travel Day

After spending yesterday afternoon prepping clothes etc. my super packer Kelly had the two suitcases loaded and ready for transport. As the temps in the house reach 33C, we had the AC running in the trailer and had a nice cool "camp out" in the front driveway:-) Sleep came easily.

Up very early this morning, Kelly drove me to work and I loaded the Q400 with my now oversized "crew bag". A quick flight to YVR and I unloaded said "crew bag" into the company crew room for later retrieval.

I finished up work in YVR with Kris on my last flight. We headed over to the crash pad (with the "crew bag") to drop uniforms & flying gear that will not be needed. I also took the time to load computer essentials & charge chords etc into my carry on tote bag.   After a quick sushi lunch, I left Kris and headed back to the airport to meet up with Kelly.

I dropped my bag at the "bag drop" and, after clearing security, we met up for a cool drink to celebrate the start of my vacation.... hers will start after the band plays in Scotland!

Kelly chilling before we board the flight.

The plane awaits.

 We had VIP service from the Customer Service Agents and went on board first. As Kris was the relief pilot for this YVR-LHR flight, we had a special "tour" from him. As the plane was late into YVR and a subsequent medical emergency during deplaning caused the tour to be shortened..... but it was still interesting.

Front end crew prep for departure.

We try out the crew rest seats in the upper deck of the B777

Kris points out the details of the portable O2 system should it be required.

The flight departed at 19:35 local time and arrived in London at 04:24 Pacific Time or 12:24 in London. Not too bad! We both got a bit of sleep and as we are now into the next day, I'll start a new page.... good night/good morning/good afternoon :-)