Countdown: 11 days

It is time to get our next travel adventure set up and our blog started. This August we will be traveling with my daughter Stacy, granddaughter Drew, and my brother Harry & his wife Diann to Scotland, Paris and London for 8 days before Tim & I and Harry & Diann continue on with a 12 night British Isles cruise aboard the Crown Princess Cruise ship. The pre-cruise week is our present to Drew for her 13th birthday. Harry and Diann will celebrate both their birthdays and their anniversary while we are traveling.

I started planning this trip last May as soon as the cruise schedule was released. The Edinburgh Military Tattoo which takes place every August in Scotland for 3 weeks was the reason we chose this cruise/destination. Once we decided to arrive early for the cruise so we could attend the Tattoo the idea struck us of asking Drew to come along and we are thrilled she gets to travel with us.

Our pre-cruise adventure starts in Edinburgh for 3 nights then the train to Paris through the Chunnel. We will spend 2 nights in Paris for a whirlwind look around and then back to London for 3 nights and Drew’s birthday.

Since I started planning this trip so long ago I was able to arrange a few unique treats for us. We will attend the Edinburgh Military Tattoo on August 16, be one of a handful to observe the “Ceremony of the Keys” at the Tower of London described as: “the traditional locking up of the Tower of London and has taken place on each and every night, without fail, for at least 700 years. The importance of securing this fortress for the night is still very relevant because, although the Monarch no longer resides at this royal palace, the Crown Jewels and many other valuables still do!”

We will have a “Special Access” visit at Stonehenge. Only 25 people get to visit outside of their regular hours and go beyond the ropes for a close up look at the stones without the crowds. We will visit right after they close to the public and just before sunset. I have seen some beautiful photos of the sun setting at Stonehenge and am hoping for clear skies and a wonderful sunset. I have arranged for 14 people to do this tour, so the 6 of us will be joined by some of our cruise critic friends with a stop in Salisbury en route.
The Queen is on holiday in August at one of her other palaces, so Buckingham Palace is open for tours and I thought that would be a fitting place to take Drew for her birthday so we have tickets for a visit of the staterooms. Her special day will end by going to the theatre to see“Wicked.”

• Based on the acclaimed novel by Gregory Maguire that re-imagined the stories and characters created by L. Frank Baum in ‘The Wonderful Wizard of Oz’, WICKED tells the incredible untold story of an unlikely but profound friendship between two girls who first meet as sorcery students. Their extraordinary adventures in Oz will ultimately see them fulfill their destinies as Glinda The Good and the Wicked Witch of the West.

Sunday morning the 22nd it will be time to say our goodbyes to Drew and Stacy as school and work is calling them back.

Tim & I and Harry & Diann will then head to Southampton to board our cruise and visit

• Guernsey, England
• Cobh, Ireland
• Dublin, Ireland exploring Trinity College and historical Killmainham jail
• Liverpool, England with a Beetles’ tour planned
• Belfast, Northern Ireland with a trip to the Giants Causeway and the “Troubles” area of Belfast
• Greenock, Scotland for Stirling Castle and Rob Roy country tour
• Invergordon/Loch Ness, Scotland where we hope to spot “Nessie” and visit Culloden Battlefield
• South Quensferry/Edinburgh, Scotland where we have a tour outside the city since we already will have spent 3 days there pre-cruise
• Le Havre/Normandy, France for a D-Day excursion

This will be a very port intensive cruise and I hope I am able to post a little bit and a few pictures most days. I have asked Drew to help me write some of the blog. We will be departing the USA on August 13 and returning on September 4 after spending one more night in London after the cruise so we can see “Love Never Dies”, a musical sequel to “The Phantom of the Opera.”

I think this has shaped up to be a trip of a lifetime and hope Drew loves to travel as much as we do. Her family is in the process of moving to Texas so we are even more thrilled to get to spend this week with her since they will no longer be 10 minutes away from us. She is flying back to Texas from London so I know it will be very sad for us when it is time for her to go.

Check back on August 15th for our first trip installment.