Ok so Dave and the boys are sleeping after a very long day. I am slightly neurotic about keeping my made-while-extremely-jet-lagged goal to write.  And with myself, I am also little disturbed. When I woke up this morning I thought, “what have I gotten myself into? Really? Beth, what were you thinking? You have no time for this and will anyone read? And do you want to share this with the world?” Nevertheless, if I do not write tonight I know my goal will quickly go down in flames. And thanks to Andrea, I know at least one person is ready. Thank you for stroking my vanity 😉

Again, forgive my lame and rushed editing.  I will be up front and say that this post is close to phoning it in. That said, I think or I hope you will get a gist of our day.

This morning I also thought, “if I am going to do this, I should take some notes.” Here they are.  We must check out of this hotel in the morning or I would write more.

Most harrowing part of the day: following Dave and the boys while riding rental bikes through London. Eli and I were almost hit by a bus twice. The second time I literally pushed Eli and his bike onto the curb so we both could get out of the path of the bus that was about to run us over. Ay-yi-yi!

Serendipitous part of the day: Running into my friend Robin on the streets of London.

Most comforting part of the day: lunch at the Kensington Whole Foods. The fresh beans were beyond the beyond.

My goals for today written down before we hit the road.

• Be nice
• Last word
• Don’t argue
• Listen

Notes written along the way.

• Barclays bikes
• Biking through Hyde Park to the Kensington Whole Foods
• “I swear someone called us a wanker.”
• Maple Bacon Popcorn
• Almost hit by a bus — twice (during the best of the day and we survived)
• Keeping the peace
• Busy streets
• Large Starbucks cups. (he he) – because they are half the size of US Starbucks cups
• Tea cheaper in England. Of course.
• Eli’s well earned meltdown
• Tower of London: least favorite tower I have been to. Sorry England.
• Ditching Dave, or so he says [wink wink]
• The Collar of Torment
• The dragon and yesterday’s best dragon quote said by a complete stranger. (“Frodo is dragon,” said by a man dressed as a dragon.)
• Trip plans broken in the cab. How do I answer when the answer is uncomfortable?
• Phone ringing in the Tower of London. I said, “Kyle, answer the phone. It is for you.” Then people waited for him to answer.
• Eli initiating a staring contest with the Tower of London guard (with the big furry hat) and the guard giving me the slightest wink and a smile when they were through. High fives.
• “Oh What a Night” ending of Jersey Boys
• I’m glad I apologized to Dave. He’s a good one.
• Seeing Robin across the street after taking a picture of the street marking that read, “Look right.”
• Spicy Indian Food, bangles and sugar cube candy
• Eli walking with me and telling me what he wants to be when he grows up: a video game designer, a video game tester/architect or a photographer. Great kid. Love that he is thinking about the future.
• Short walk with Dave. Buying crazy drinks in a tiny market, dropping the yogurt on the floor and feeling connected.
• Crappy Hotel Internet
• Bloomsbury and the Bloomsbury group. Was Ezra Pound the author who decided not to be a part of the Bloomsbury group?

PS Eli is currently sleep talking. Here is what he just said, “When we go to Hollister, we have to bring a flashlight and a mattress.” No, I did not make this up. Best end of the day, by the way.

This is a variation on a phrase that Eli has uttered while awake: “If you go to Hollister, you need to take a flashlight and a gas mask.”