On top of that, we have to decide what we want/need out of my husband's mother's estate items and furniture, and I have to draw up my first will. We also need to decide upon whether or not to purchase a funeral plot! Oy vay!

So, given all of that to do, it's no wonder that I have been spending my time obsessively scouring the Internet and researching our trip to England!!! ;-) Yep, that's me, escapist to a fault! But, honestly, I have to do some research to give my husband a ballpark figure as to how much it's all going to cost. And I am trying to keep it within reason - it's just that there are so many options! Stay in hotels or B & B's? (at the moment, especially in London, hotels are not more expensive - and some offer continental breakfast!) BritRail Pass or rent a car (in case I -oops! I mean we decide to go farther afield)?

At the moment, as usual, this is my baby. I promised my husband that I would not get too attached to the idea, but I am hooked! I spent time yesterday figuring how much I would be making for teaching summer school (as the school system likes to be vague in such matters - they say that I will be paid at state scale without local supplement, and it will be hidden somewhere in one of my future paychecks...) So that leaves it up to me to check out what I think my base state scale wage is, divide it by 190(days paid) and then by 8(hours?). I plan on using this money to fund most of the trip.

And then there is the question of how long to go for. At first, we planned on going from July 15 to July 24, which is really 8 1/2 days and 8 nights if we take a later flight home. And I chose that because the special rate I was researching at Lufthansa wasn't available after the 24th. Then, I realized that there was a similar - acutally lower - rate offered by United, and it was available after the 24th. So, I could possibly add 5 more days to the trip and fly back on the 29th.

I discussed this with my husband, and then backed down on that idea, settling for a trip to London - staying in one hotel and making side trips. Then, I added a 2-3 day stay in the Cotswolds at a B & B.

But, here's the deal:

I have actually been to England a few times. I visited there in 1984 - staying with my friend in Birmingham and making sidetrips to all of the touristy places, like Stratford, Bath, Oxford, the Cotswolds, and Warwick Castle. I also accompanied a group of French students on a field trip to London and Bath in 1986, and saw Stonehenge, Cerne Abbas, Salisbury, and other sites in London. I visited London with my Mother and a friend for Christmas in 1984. I have been to Portsmouth or Brighton (some beach town!) and even Jersey!

And I would gladly see them again! But I would also like to cover some new ground. I have looked at some sample itineraries from tour brochures online, and am considering Scotland and Wales. At the very least, Wales and the Lake District and York. I have always wanted to visit a real Welsh pony stud farm in actual WALES!

So, that is where I am at the moment. If anyone has any ideas about where to go that are not listed above, please share in my guestbook or by e-mail!