After school on Friday, October 10, the kids and I rode the tube to Waterloo Station, where we met John. As we exited the underground John was walking into Waterloo as well - perfect timing. So far so good. What I failed to take into account, however, was getting on a commuter train with the kids during rush hour. I did not purchase tickets ahead of time so we had to wait in a rather long queue. Thankfully we were not in a hurry and really could go at anytime but also didn't want to be hanging around Waterloo station with the kids, so our motto was the sooner the better. At 5:30 p.m. we were in line and figured we would have plenty of time to catch the 5:58 p.m. train to Windsor. Just as we bought our tickets and were waiting for the platform to be announced, Kate said "I have to go wee." Naturally. Off she and I walked towards the toilets...at this point it was 5:43 p.m. I made her go as quickly as she could while holding her above the public toilet seat. She made me proud. Just as we exited the facilities I saw that our train would be departing from platform 18, which was right in front of me and Kate. But, we left Dad and the boys back at about platform 5. I texted John and looked at the clock...5:52 p.m. Just as I looked up I saw them hustling through the crowd with the McDonald's bags and happy meals in tow.
We boarded the train and much to the delight of everyone in our car, we started eating our McDonalds. Can you imagine the smell we created on a very crowded commuter train? We got some serious hairy eyeballs from some rather stuffy Englishmen. Good stuff. We rode the train to the end of the line - Windsor & Eton Riverside, home of Legoland. We caught a taxi and told him the name of our hotel. Well, the hotel that was advertised on Legoland Holidays as "minutes from Legoland" is actually at Heathrow! We went about 25 minutes further on the train than necessary. Bad research on my part. We arrived to the hotel around 7:00 p.m. and checked-in only to discover that the "family room" at the hotel is a basic room with two double beds and a cot. When will I learn to just book two interconnecting rooms?!? As a result and not for the first time, John and I drank wine while sitting in bed with Jack, a very wired Kate and Owen, who was nearly asleep, watching "Alvin and the Chipmunks" on t.v. John had the nerve to say to me, "if we didn't know any better this could be Springfield, Illinois." Nice.
Saturday was a great day - Legoland is everything you can imagine it to be; crowds, legos, cotton candy, small children laughing and crying, ice cream, rides, more legos, the biggest gift shops full of more legos and a lot of exasperated parents. The kids had a ball and that was the plan. We went to just about every area and tried to see it all.
Our favorite part is MiniLand, where versions of London, Edinburgh, Paris and other cities are made entirely out of legos. Jack, Owen and Kate entered the "Star Wars Battleship Building competition" at the Imagination Zone. We'll find out by email if any of the kids won. Jack is pretty sure he did.
The kids also went to "driving school"...Jack in the 6-13 age group and Owen and Kate with the 3-5 year olds. I had to bribe Owen not to tell the guy that Kate wasn't really 3 yet. That little white lie was easier than telling Kate she wasn't allowed to drive! Although I'm pretty sure they figured us out when she kept driving into walls. Nevertheless, they all received their drivers' licenses and proudly wore them for the rest of the day and on Sunday too. It was a beautiful day - sunshine, very few clouds and no wind - this was all making up for the fact that our hotel was at Heathrow.
We returned to the hotel and enjoyed a swim in the pool and a good dinner before settling in for another movie - this time, "Bee Movie." It was a great day and we were surprised the kids were able to stay awake to see the whole movie...I fell asleep and John was pretty close too.
On Sunday we headed back to Windsor to visit the Castle. Windsor Castle was founded by William the Conqueror, who Owen will tell you, also built the White Tower at the Tower of London. It has been the home of thirty-nine monarchs and is the oldest royal residence in the British Isles to have remained in continuous use. The Royal Standard was not flying, which meant that the Queen was not in residence there today. We always seem to miss her.
The Castle offered audio tours for children so each of the kids had their own headset and really enjoyed listening to the history and stories.
We spent about ninety minutes at the castle, about sixty more minutes than I thought the kids would tolerate. Granted there was plenty of "this is boring" "is it time to go yet" and "I'm hungry" in between the moments of "oh, that's cool" "look at that suit of armor" or "this is actually interesting." John and I have definitely learned to take the good with the bad. And although the day started out very foggy and uncertain, the sky turned a magnificent blue and the sun was very warm...and Owen let us know it, "I am so hot the sun is burning my back!"
We took a leisurely stroll down Longwalk - which gave us a beautiful view of the castle. It was a gorgeous day and the kids enjoyed eating their "crisps" on our walk, especially Kate who had a built in tray for her crumbs...
We enjoyed lunch at a cute pub across the street from the Castle and then it was time to head back to London.
It was a great weekend "away" at Heathrow...Springfield....Windsor...wherever. We were together and we shared more experiences as a family.
Cheers!
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