Our European Adventure: London Bound

February 6, 2003:

I only need the following two words to describe our trip since we left Red Deer: drive, drive, drive, and fly, fly, fly. We have spent the last six days traveling to London, and it all seems such a blur.

That was my first journal entry after a marathon trip from Red Deer to London with Michelle and our three sons. Michelle and I had taken time off from our jobs and pulled our sons out of school to travel for five months to Europe and Eastern Canada. It’s a trip that we’d been looking forward to for years, and getting to London was the beginning of our traveling adventure.

Our plan was to travel to Europe for four months and then return to Canada and travel around Eastern Canada for the last month. Our European itinerary included England, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, and Spain. We planned to settle in for six weeks in the village of Pezenas in southern France, a short drive to the Mediterranean Ocean, and two weeks on a Tuscany vineyard near Florence, Italy. In Canada, we wanted to travel to Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia.

At the time, our sons were attending French Immersion schools: Brett was in grade 9, Keegan in grade 7, and Joel in grade 2. We wanted our boys to have authentic encounters with different cultures and also to experience the world outside the classroom room walls. Above all, we wanted to give them a family experience they would always remember.

Brett, Keegan, and Joel were enthusiastic about traveling to Europe, especially since it meant missing an entire school semester. However, much to their displeasure, Michelle and I homeschooled them while traveling. The subjects we concentrated on were English and math. I helped them with math and Michelle helped with reading and writing. We also had them write in their daily journals.

To help finance the trip, I took a deferred salary leave from Red Deer Public Schools: RDPSD deducted 20% of my salary each month for four years and they paid this amount back over the fifth year while we were traveling. Michelle worked for Diamond Software as a software developer, but her company didn’t have a deferred salary program. Instead, her boss promised her job would be there for her when she returned and she saved a portion of her salary each month prior to the trip.

Regardless of how much everyone was looking forward to the trip, it was difficult leaving for five months. We were going to miss seeing our family and friends and attending family get-togethers, birthday parties, sporting events, and other social activities. We also had to leave behind our pets: our dog Shadow, and two cats, Crookshanks and Slurpee.

Michelle and I were also anxious about traveling to Europe with three children. We had previously toured Europe years before, on our honeymoon, but that was a very different trip. At the time, Michelle was teaching in Alix, and Mike, a colleague of Michelle’s (and my former social studies teacher) made plans for a student trip that summer. Mike asked Michelle and me to act as chaperones, but in the end, only one former student could make the trip. As a result, Michelle and I had no supervising duties and reaped the benefits of Mike’s planning and experience and went along for the ride.

This trip with our sons was much different: we were the tour guides, responsible for looking after three fellow travelers. Michelle and I felt prepared for our journey, but it took courage to take them traveling halfway around the world to foreign countries where we were unfamiliar with the culture and language.

In the end, there were a few mishaps, but we avoided any major catastrophes, and have nothing but wonderful memories of the trip. Well…. mostly wonderful memories. I wouldn’t classify getting to London as a wonderful memory.

It was my idea to travel 3000 km in the middle of winter to Toronto to catch a flight to London. That way, we could leave our van in Bracebridge, Ontario with my brother-in-law’s sister, and it would be waiting for our return from Europe to travel to Eastern Canada. What I didn’t consider was the chance of driving in poor weather conditions.

Immediately after working my last day of work, we drove to Edmonton and stayed with relatives before leaving for Toronto the next morning. It was February 1st and our flight left in the evening on February 4th. That gave us four days to get to Toronto, arriving at the Pearson International Airport only a few hours before our flight. We could not afford any delays or else we could miss our flight.

To decrease the distance driving to Toronto, we traveled through the United States to avoid driving long stretches in Northern Ontario. The first two days went well, as we drove over 1800 km and reached Grand Rapids, Minnesota. The boys were excellent travelers and spent their time reading. It was exciting for them to cross the United States border. Joel wore his Canada shirt and hat, Keegan, his Canada pin and hat, and Brett his Canada shirt.

The third day didn’t go well: it started snowing heavily after Duluth, Minnesota as we traveled along the south side of Lake Superior. We hadn’t expected that moisture from Lake Superior causes large amounts of snow in this region.

We had to drive in whiteout conditions, on unploughed roads. The snow was so deep, I could hear it hitting the bottom of our van. I was literally white-knuckling it and am surprised we didn’t hit the ditch. Eventually, we reached a plowed highway, but it was still slow going because of the falling snow. I drove late into the evening and finally stopped at Parry Sound, Ontario.

Our original plan was to reach Bracebridge and spend the night in order to have enough time to drop off our vehicle and catch a shuttle to Pearson International Airport. That evening, we made plans to get up early the next morning so that we wouldn’t miss our shuttle.

It had been an exhausting day for everyone, driving during adverse weather. Our kids were wonderful the entire day–there were no arguments or complaining. Michelle was happy to let me drive, but it was hard for her to relax, so she had one eye on her book, and one eye on the road the entire day.

The next morning, to everyone’s relief, it had stopped snowing. We were still weary from the long stressful drive the previous day, but eager to catch our flight to London. With the roads in good condition, we were able to catch our shuttle on time and avoid a disastrous start to our trip.

Once we reached Pearson International Airport, our sons were excited to board our flight to London. Keegan and Joel especially looked forward to the flight, having never flown in an airplane. While waiting, everyone became cognizant that we were really traveling to Europe, and it was no longer a topic being discussed while eating supper. It was a surreal feeling when we heard the boarding announcement and were standing in line as a family, handing our tickets and passports to the flight attendants.

We flew nonstop with British Airways to London. After the initial excitement of boarding the plane and taking off, it was a long, boring trip, especially since the entertainment center was not working. Joel was in tears after hearing the announcement because he was looking forward to flying and having his own television.

Our flight landed at the Heathrow Airport, one of the busiest airports in the world, making it hectic for Michelle and me to retrieve our luggage, pass through customs, and navigate our way to the Tube. To make matters worse, it was exhausting lugging our heavy suitcases. We didn’t have suitcases with wheels, so nobody wanted to carry our biggest suitcase, which Keegan nicknamed Big Red.

The airport was so busy, Michelle and I were constantly checking to make sure we didn’t lose anyone, especially Joel, our youngest. With a great deal of strain, we successfully made it to the platform to catch a subway to London. Michelle steered our sons onto the train while I waited to make sure everyone was on before I boarded.

We arrived at Victoria Coach Station during the morning rush hour, and once again needed to keep track of three kids while carrying our heavy luggage. The added problem was finding our hotel. Even with a map, we walked in the wrong direction, adding a few extra blocks to get to our hotel. After six days, we finally made it, and everyone was so happy!

We had a small room with four beds crammed close together: our home base for the next five days. We did have a private shower, a luxury that we would miss in the days to come.

We had barely slept during the flight, so once again we were tired from traveling. Brett, Keegan, and Joel wanted to sleep and were not happy when Michelle and I made them stay awake to help their bodies adjust to London time. They were excited about what we planned for tomorrow, but after six days of traveling, they were not enjoying our family adventure.

That evening, I described the ordeal of traveling to London in my journal. My last entry was:

I hope we can all now relax and enjoy this adventure.

To be continued.