Missing You

I spent a few minutes this morning going through pictures from the 2010 tour. I miss those kids! We had such a great group of travelers - informed, interested, positive, adventurous. They were nice to the adults, nice to each other and fun to be around. All have moved on to bigger & better things - college, missions, etc. I am thankful for the opportunity I had to spend a minute of their life with them! Remembering how much I love the 'old crew' makes me excited to get to know the new crew better!

Here's to 350 days until departure!

The Official Countdown Begins.....

I got an interesting phone call this weekend. A business man from Wasatch County was interested in how we go about planning a student trip to Europe. Turns out this gentleman had traveled with Dean Collett on the Highland tour back in 1963(ish). He talked about the impact that trip had made in his life, expanding his view of the world. Now he wants to provide that opportunity to the young people in his community.

When I tell people about escorting 30-40 students around Europe I often get comments like, "Wow, that sounds like a lot of work!" or, "You're crazy!" Yes, it's a lot of work, and yes, I'm crazy. Crazy about sharing my love of culture, history, art, and architecture. Crazy about what our country learned from others that helped America become a great nation. Crazy about helping kids open their hearts and minds to new ideas and new people.

Katie & I celebrated today when we realized it's just one year until we leave. There is so much to be done and even more to look forward to. Here's to a great group of travelers, intellegent and well prepared to make the most of an amazing opportunity!

Our first group photo of the 2010 tour. SO much to look forward to!

374 Days!

The last Monday of school this year. As I run into travelers in our Europe group we comment on how we can't believe it is just a little more than a year away! WOW!!

427 Days until Europe!

With Spring Break quickly approaching and summer break not far behind, it seems like we are getting close to our one year mark before we leave! Next summer we will be in Europe!! My nephew, Michael (8 years old), absolutely loves maps. He lives in Virginia and we love playing games online. He just sent me a map game. I'm not going to lie -- I was a little embarassed at my score -- I thought I was better with geography! Anyway, give it a try! The link is http://www.yourchildlearns.com/mappuzzle/europe-puzzle.html

What are we watching?

There's the craziest movie on right now titled "If It's Tuesday, This Must Be..." It's set in the '60's and all about a tour group traveling through Europe. I'm laughing as the clepto character tries to stuff a stolen ash try into a suitcase already too full of contraband. Then the group complains because they only get burgers when travelers from another tour get salad with their meal. Next the traveler that knows everything and another that thinks the most amazing sites are boring. Then the girl who's sure she's in love with a foreigner she's met Switzerland and the guy who thinks if he just speaks louder the locals will understand him. Now the tour is in Venice and a traveler is meeting his family roots. They've got a young daughter and even though no one speaks English it's obvious a wedding is afoot. I'm laughing hysterically recognizing so many scenarios from my own tours (except the wedding of course). There are so many great things when visiting and learning about new cultures, but its the stories and memories we create along the way that make the trip amazing. I'm still so excited about the group & can't wait to leave! 438 days to go....

Can You Say Great Group?

I got the travelers together for a short meeting today. Some things happened over the weekend that had me worried and I was hearing that some of the travelers may not have the best intentions for the trip. Seeing the kids together eased my concerns. They are so cute & I think we are going to have a fabulous time. Having the entire bunch in one place at the same time made me want to pack them all up and leave today but I know they're not ready yet. Katie & I talked about starting travelers meetings before this year is out instead of waiting for the next school year to begin. It'll be fun!
P.S. 463 days and counting!

STATE!

Okay, this blog is supposed to be about traveling but how can the events of this weekend go without notice? The Highland boys took the 4A basketball title last night. It was actually a bit anti-climatic. After the nail biter against Lehi Friday, the Bountiful game was pretty calm. Bountiful had a lead 2-3 the first few minutes and then HHS led the rest of the way. Special congrats to Matt & Max, 2 travelers on the team and also to the many cheerleaders and fans that made Highland look good all the way!

Estrogen

The first early registration deadline has passed and two dozen travelers are signed up! It's a bit unbalanced right now with girls outnumbering boys 3:1. There are however, some really great guys that told me they were coming that aren't on the list yet so I'll start working on them. I'm sure the guys already on the tour don't mind these odds but there tends to be less drama if there is a bit more balance either way.

The Excitement Begins

The response to the trip has been amazing! Kids are getting registered right and left. It's looking like a great group so far and Katie & I are already excited. After Parent-Teacher conferences we were ready to go - now!

2012

Starting up with a new group makes me excited and nervous at the same time. Will there be enough that sign up? Will they be a good, trouble free group? Oh, look there's one of my favorite students... Thanks to all those that came to the first meeting last night. It helps allivate some of my concerns. It looks like there is more than enough interest and fun kids. Hopefully the website is up and running on Tuesday.

And the Winner Is....

Bids are in! Looks like we'll be traveling with Explorica the summer of 2012. They came in with the most competitive bid and then added London as a bonus. I was thinking to avoid London that close to the Olympics but how can you resist when it's thrown in practically for free?

Waiting....

Wow, the travel agencies are slower than expected! They seem to be stumped by a custom itinerary. I'll be sending out interest cards tomorrow. No sense waiting for the companies before I start building our travel group!

Merry Christmas!

The itinerary went to the travel agencies a few weeks ago. Now its an anxious wait for the bids to come in. Hopefully they are reasonable and won't require much negotiation. Then its time to start notifiing and recruiting a new crew of travelers. Yay!

Planning

Wow, It's hard to believe we've been home 3 months. I miss the travelers from the 2010 tour a lot but am excited to see all the great things they're doing. The college kids have all made the transition successfully, the high school kids are having a great time and congrats to the boys that have received their mission calls!

The big news is that Katie & I have started planning the itinerary for the 2012 trip. We're trying to shake things up a bit. The thoughts - hit a bit of eastern Europe and maybe stay out of the UK because of Olympics craziness. The plan will be ready by the end of November and sent to travel companies for bids. Stay tuned!

HOME!

It was a bit of a crazy flight. The Atlanta airport was closed for a while due to a severe weather. As anxious as we were to get home I'm glad they didn't fly us through the lightning. The storm finally calmed enough for us to land & we made our connection to SLC. That flight was held at the gate in Atlanta because the pilot for our plane was stuck on his flight in due to the same weather problems. We finally took off & were only 45 minutes late landing in SLC. Great to be home! Now all we need is Will B back from Norway & all will be home safe & sound.

Halfway Home...

We slept in a bit today then packed up the car and started to make our way back to London. The half-way point is Leeds so that's where we'll sleep tonight. The drive was again spectacular. For a family from the desert everything is so green. Everyone here is talking heat wave in southern UK - it's 75 degrees and hasn't been this 'dry' during the spring/summer for the past 30 years or so. For us it rained all the way from Edinburgh. The rain is weird however, it is really just a good mist rather than the raindrops we're used to. I love it here. On the drive we even found my house. I'm no longer remodeling but packing up the clan & moving to an estate in Coulter. It's only about 20 minutes outside of Edinburgh. Everyone is welcome to visit!

Duh! Edinburgh Day 2

I went to the National Gallery of Scotland today for the 5th time. You'd think by now I wouldn't be surprised by Rembrandt, VanGogh, Titan, daVinci, Monet, El Greco, Rubens, Raphel, Cezanne, etc. I always go through & say 'Duh, I forgot that was here." Great museum.

Next we went to the Edinburgh Zoo. For a small zoo it packs a lot in. The setting is spectacular and the animal exhibits let you get really close for a good look. We've been pushing hard for the last 4 weeks - I think for dinner we'll order a pizza in to the hotel!

The UK

So, I can't get past needing to blog. No one is reading anymore because you're all home but I'm blogging anyway. The boys & I dropped the group at the Delta check in and then Will at British Airways. We rented a cool Volvo station wagon and hit the road. It didn't take long to adjust to the 'wrong' side of the road and not much longer until we crossed the Second Severn/Wye Bridge (spectacular) into Wales. Next day we did the laundry and toured Cardiff Castle. Not the greatest but still interesting. The following day was spent at the National Museum of Welsh Life. Great for me - my family ancestry is Welsh. We then drove to Chester. A great old town established during Roman times that reached itsheyday during the Tudor period. Next morning we backtracked just a bit and toured the town of Hawarden, hometown of the Bennion family. Then off to Edinburgh. It was a beautiful drive through 3 countries!

Home Safe!

We all made it home safe (except Wendy and her two boys who stayed an extra week). The trip was a blast! We'll have to get together for a reunion and trade pics! Thanks to all the great travelers and all of their great supporters!

What You Don't Know Won't Scare You! Day 18

So, now that the group (sans Will, Wendy, Stephen & David) are safely on the plane and flying home we thought we'd share some of the things that happened along the way the way that may have given some parents concern......

Someone(s):
clothes were held hostage by a washing machine...
became members of a British protest group...
got up close and personal with Will B's undies...
stripped on the Grand Canal...
got lost in Egypt.....
nearly lost appendages from an Italian butcher...
got trapped in an elevator...
got trapped in an elevator...
got trapped in an elevator...
got trapped in an elevator...
kissed at the top of the Eiffel Tower...
walked pantless through Switzerland...
got detained/arrested at the UK border...
pulled a Houdini in the Underground...
got hit by a car...

The kids should be home around 11:30. They're excited to come home!