A Michigan Yankee in the United Kingdom - Part Four

The next day we were back on the plane heading home. It had been a wonderful trip, and I hope we can make it back there again in the not-too-distant future. I had been a bit nervous about aspects of the trip, most especially the driving part. But it all turned out really well, including the weather. While Julayne would have liked it to be a little cooler as temps were uncharacteristically in the 80's, we at least did not have the typically gray, rainy days to deal with.

Using British money wasn't too difficult. They use a decimal system like we do, only instead of dollars and cents it's pounds and pence. The bills are larger than US currency, and the 20 pound notes I carried suck out of my wallet. The coins were much different sizes from ours, with different denominations. There are no one or two pound notes anymore, just coins. There were also coins of all different sizes for fifty, twenty, ten, five, and one pence. By the end of the trip I found myself able to quickly pick which coins to use based on size instead of having to read each one.

The people we interacted with there were all very friendly. I became rather cognizant of the fact that every time I opened my mouth I branded myself as an American. Nonetheless we never had any issues because of that, and Julayne even had a brief conversation with a Starbucks employee in London who was delighted to be speaking with someone from the States.

Our plane ride was long but uneventful. We got fed some pretty good food, and I was impressed at the Delta flight attendants. they came by several times with food and/or drinks. It seemed they were always serving us, cleaning up, or preparing for the next service. I only slept for a half hour or so, and both Julayne and I spent a lot of time watching shows on the monitors set into the back of the seat in front of us. They also had music available, and upon finding the soundtrack from the movie Inception I looped through that several times while I read my Kindle. It was every bit as powerful as I remembered from the movie and I need to get it soon as I've been jonesin' to hear it again.

The plane landed in Detroit a bit after noon, and we were at least a half hour getting through customs. Most of that was standing in line or waiting for our luggage to show. Once out of there we headed home, after a brief stop at McDonald's for lunch and to see the daughter 'cause she works there. After getting home and unpacking we only made it until about seven before we were ready for bed. As far as our bodies were concerned it was midnight, so we gave in and hit the sack.

The next day was Sunday and we spent it in a fog of jet lag. We really didn't do much other than watch TV and take frequent naps. I felt more human on Monday when I returned to work, but I didn't feel totally acclimated  until Wednesday.

So ends my impressions from the trip. I hope you enjoyed them. It was a fun place to visit, and I hope everyone reading this has the opportunity to go there some day. And until we can return I will bask in the memories of a great visit to an interesting land.