Day Sixteen in England -

Heyy Mommy,

Well, last night, I had a bit of a rough time. I couldn't get too sleep for some reason. The bed that Alix and I were sharing was a bit too small, so in the middle of the night, she got up and slept on the floor. When I woke up this morning I felt horrible! I suppose one of us will have to sleep in one of the rooms upstairs. Anyway, when we got ready for the day, Tony showed us around the town (I, of course, scoped out the clothing shops like Top Shop, Monsoon, Next, etc.) He showed us a beautiful church called St. Mary's and the really expensive flats, then left us to shop. We only had an hour, but Alix bought a dress, and I bought you a little something :) I hope you like it! Then, all the shops shut down for the day, so we headed home. Maggie had cooked us some spaghetti. She used authentic Italian pasta. It was awesome. They left to go watch their grandson's play, so Alix and I have just been chilling here. I really want to meet one of Tony's grandson's in particular because he just might be our link into the world of British teens!! (Also, I've seen pictures and he's rather cute ;) lol.) He's fifteen or sixteen years old, his name's Christopher, and if we ever get a chance to hang out with him, we might be able to hang out with some of his friends as well! Alix and I can't wait :) Without being blatently obvious, we keep dropping hints to Tony about meeting his grandchildren heh heh :) Tomorrow, we're going to see a castle and possibly hang out with Emma (Christopher's mom and Tony's daughter.) I'll be sure to take lots of pictures for you :)
I love you mom!
<3 always,
Your Rae of Sunshine

Day Fifteen in England - staying in Horsham

Heyy Mommy,

You know what I realized? I always start my emails with "Today..." It's always because I never know exactly how to start off. Hmm I have to get more creative than that :P lol.

Anyway, Alix and I got up relatively earlier than "normal". We got ready and started packing for our stay at Tony's. We were almost completely ready when he came. I opened the door with a toothbrush in my mouth and he chuckled and said, "Are you going like that the whole trip?" The drive up to Horsham was very beautiful. There were fields and forests as far as the eye could see. Horsham is a quiet, sleepy little town. Surbiton seemed like a busy city comparatively. Tony's house is so quaint! You would absolutely love it. I'll send you pics later. Alix and I are staying in one room together upstairs. There are so many nooks and crannies that we got to explore. There are another set of stairs that lead to two rooms near the rooftop, but it's too hot to stay in those. We ate outside because it was such a nice and breezy day. Their "backyard" has the most amazing garden (the reason for the quotes is because it's not really big enough to be a backyard, but not small enough to be a porch.) There are so many plants and flowers. In the very back, there's an adorable little playhouse for their grandchildren to play on. It's made completely of wood and even has a mail slot on the door. There's one swing and I'm a bit too big for it because I nearly made it topple over. Alix and I discovered they are growing raspberries and stole one or two. They're so juicy! It is such a peaceful place that I think one of the days we're here, I'll take Alix's laptop and just write to my heart's content. Tony put tennis on and we watched Andy Murry's victory. Now, I think we're gonna go to bed :)

So goodnight mom. I love you!
<3 always,
Your Rae of Sunshine

Day Fourteen in England - Two weeks in England

Heyy mommy,

Happy two weeks in England! Today marks two weeks that i've been here! I can't believe I've been here for that long because it still feels like I only got here just yesterday. Today was a lazy sunday, but not for Dave and Sue. They spent most of the day packing and preparing for their trip to California for the next two weeks. I bet they can't wait to get away on holiday! Alix and I learned the rules for when they're gone, how to do laundry, how everything works, etc. Aaaaaaaaaaand that's pretty much all we did today. We were going to go grocery shopping, but we're going to be staying at Unkie Dave's cousin Tony's house tomorrow, so we decided against it. Now, we just finished dinner and Auntie Sue brought us some creme brule (pardon the spelling) from where she works :) It was amazing! We also got to watch her put on the sugar and burn it. So cool. Well, hope I have more to write you tomorrow! I love and miss you dearly mom :)
<3 always,
Your Rae of Sunshine

Day Thirteen in England - Wimbledon!

Heyy Mommy,

Today was incredible. Alix and I woke up at the crack of dawn and we went to Wimbledon with Unkie Dave, Auntie Sue, and their friends Heather and Bret. We were about in the middle of "the queue" (English for line lol.) It was a bit chilly at first, but then it warmed right up. The line didn't really start moving until after Alix and I had been reduced to playing card games like War or Go Fish. Even then, it was stop and go for a while. After 4 and a half hours of waiting, we were inside the gates of Wimbledon! I'd seen it many times on tv, and finally I was there. I couldn't contain my excitement.

The first match we watched was between Hiroyasu Ehara and Denis Kudla. I thought Ehara was pretty amazing with his asian awesomeness, but we didn't stay to watch the end of the match because there was so much to see. There were a couple of courts welcome to people who didn't buy tickets in advance, although I didn't know very many of the players. The real big tennis stars were playing in the center court, like Venus Willams, Andy Roddick, Andy Murray, etc. There was a giant screen that projected those matches and you could watch them from a nearby hillside. We wandered from court to court and found one we liked. Sadly, we had to wait in, yet another, queue. It took about an hour for us to get seats...

... but it was totally worth it to see Jelena Jankovic and Melanie Oudin play. They were both awesome, but Jankovic had a bit of an attitude problem. I was glad that Melanie Oudin won. She played very well. I also got some great action shots!

The next match we watched was Amelie Mauresmo and Flavia Pennetta. Mauresmo was really having a hard time just getting her serve down. It was very frustrating, so we got up and left.

Exhausted, we met up with Heather and Bret again and went back to their flat for a barbeque. The food was awesome and Alix and I took a short nap while we were there. I realize now that I should've put sunscreen on my face because my nose and cheeks are a little sun kissed.

Well, I love and miss you :)

I'll write tomorrow!

<3>

Day Twelve in England - Shopping, shopping, shopping

Heyy Mommy,

Today was so much fun! Alix and I got up a little late, but the plan was to go to Totenham Court Road so that I could buy a memory card for my camera, then to Oxford Circus to go shopping. We got on the train to Waterloo, then transferred to the underground. The underground was basically the English version of the subway. It was very easy to find our way around the railways. Once we got off the train, we went up about a million flights of stairs, and were on the streets again. The street we walked down would be dad's heaven. It was purely electronic stores. Sadly, most of them were closed because a lot of shops shut down at around 6. I thought all hope of finding a memory card was lost. With every 'Closed' sign I walked by, my heart sank lower and lower. Then, hope shined brightly with open doors and I successfully bought a 4 gig memory card! Alix and I grew hungry, so we found a Sainsbury's and bought sandwiches (yet again lol.) We hopped back on the underground and made it to Oxford Circus (a big shopping mall in Oxford. I thought it was literally a circus at first! lol.) The first, and only, store we visited was called Top Shop. It was huge! It had three floors and clothes everywhere. I was in heaven. Alix, however, didn't particularly share in my excitement. I've come to find she's very picky when it comes to clothes. It was hard to get out of the set of mind that I couldn't spend my money because after all the time of saving and saving and saving, now I get to spend it! Alix had to remind me that the reason we're here is to spend the money I'd earned and that I didn't have to be as frugal. I proudly bought a shirt, some eyeliner, and nail polish. I felt bad that Alix didn't get anything, but on our way out, she found the shoe section. We browsed through it and found the most adorable heels I've ever seen! She looks smokin' in them, and so she walked away victorious as well :) We wanted to shop a little more, but it was probably a good thing that most of the stores were closed because we were exhausted while coming home on the trains. It was a very fun and good day :)
Well, good night! I love and miss you mommy!
<3>

Day Eleven in England - "Totally worth the trip"

Heyy Mommy,

Hooray! Today Alix and I actually did something! We woke up a bit late again, but we were able to go to the train station and take the train to Waterloo. The first thing we did after exiting the station was head over to the Eye of London. The Eye of London is a HUGE ferris wheel where you can see all of London from the top! (the picture to the right is the view from the top of the Eye) It was amazing. I giggled to myself at the thought of Aunt Jani on the ferris wheel. I would imagine it would be much like the time you took her to the top of the Tybee Island lighthouse lol! I love you Aunt Jani! :) Anyway, when we got off the Eye, Big Ben was nearby, so we set off to see it.

On the way, there was a haunted house type place that caught my eye. It was called "The Fright Club" or something along those lines and it looked very spooky, but I was excited at the idea of doing something like that. Alix reluctantly followed me inside. The first thing we saw was a video playing of people's previous visits. There was a lot of screaming and things jumping out to scare them. I couldn't wait! It was a short line at the ticket counter. My heart was pounding. My hands started shaking. Alix and I got up to the counter. A man with bloody face paint said, "Ten pounds, please." ... I chickened out. All of the built up exitement scared me so much, I said, "Never mind!" and walked quickly out the door. I felt quite pathetic.

We made it to Big Ben and while I was there, I saw a vendor selling some hats. I had to buy the one that looked like Joey's hat from F.R.I.E.N.D.S! So I did :)

After Big Ben, we realized Westminster Abbey wasn't too far from our current location, so we went there as well. The architecture was amazing! It was so pretty. Totally worth the trip.

I realized we hadn't eaten at all today, so we met up with Unkie Dave at Waterloo station where I caved and bought American food from Burger King. I was starving! We rode the train back to Surbiton and now are relaxing yet again at the flat. Alix and I felt much better at our accomplishments of the day and can't wait to visit the Tower of London tomorrow!

Good Night mommy :)

I miss and love you very much!

<3> Your Rae of Sunshine

Day Ten in England - "...still regretting our lazy day."

Heyy Mommy,

Well, today was an incredibly lazy day. Alix and I woke up extremely late today and, in turn, didn't accomplish much. The moment we saw the time when we awoke, we sat there on the air mattress wallowing in our stupidity for not setting an alarm. Alix entertained herself by watching The Office, while I turned my attention to facebook. Hunger overtook me, so I made myself some bacon to tide me over until dinner. The day went on, and the first to arrive home was Auntie Sue. We were embarrassed when she inquired what we had done all day. Unkie Dave texted us saying he wouldn't be home until late, so we were on our own for dinner. Auntie Sue offered to make us something, but she appeared weary from her long day of work, so Alix and I decided to go out to eat to save her some trouble and give her peace and quiet for a while. We found a "take away" Chinese restaurant (take away here means "to go"). Since there were no tables to sit at, we decided to go a little further down the street and eat on the Thems River. We walked along the Thems and ran into (no exaggeration here) a SWARM of mosquitos. Alix thought that there was just a big group of them, but I realized there was a small group following us! It was the smell of the food attracting them! We ran for our lives and found a nice tall wall to sit on. The sun began to set, so we took that as our cue to leave. When we got home, Unkie Dave was there and was just about to go to bed. So, we're going to bed too :) Alix and I are still regretting the very lazy day, but it was nice to have just this one. Good night!

<3>

Day Nine in England - "I love how at home I feel here."

Heyy mommy,

Today was awesome! Alix and I actually got up this morning! Finally. We got up and went to the train station all by ourselves! It was like learning how to walk, except a little easier lol. The train ride was alright, except we went on the train that had a bunch of stops so it took a while. When we got to Waterloo, we went looking for a store to find my camera. We took a bus to Victoria and talked with the very nice and friendly bus driver, Steve. He helped us find where we wanted to go and he chatted with us about London and just silly things. He certainly made our day with his kindness. Alix and I agreed that there needed to be more people like him in the world. We told him that if we were citizens, we would elect him Prime Minister. When we bought my camera, our stomachs were growling so we went to one of the many sandwich shops located in London, and had the BEST lemon cheesecake ever for dessert. It was awesome. We took the 507 bus back to Waterloo, but we were very disappointed to see that the driver wasn't Steve as we had expected. We walked to the Eye of London, which is the BIGGEST ferris wheel I've ever seen! You could probably see all of London from the top. We had planned to ride it, but it was getting late, our cell phone had died, and there was a huge line. So, we decided we would have to go back tomorrow, ride the Eye of London, and go see Big Ben. When we got home, Dave and Susan made burritos and we all watched Hancock :) It was so much fun and I love how at home I feel here. Yes, it isn't really home, but it's pretty close :) Well, that's all for now.

Good Night!
<3 always, Your Rae of Sunshine

Day Eight in England - "...a very lovely dinner"

Heyy mommy,

Sorry this email is going to be a bit short because we didn't really do anything today :( We woke up late and took forever to get ready, and by the time we were ready Unkie Dave texted us and said that we were going to dinner with his cousin Tony. We went to an acutal pub! It was pretty fancy for a pub and no worries, we didn't have any beer. Tony and his wife were very nice people and we had a lovely dinner. We talked about visiting them while Dave and Susan were away :) I'm really excited about that because they're so entertaining :) That was pretty much it. Well tomorrow we're going to the eye of London so I should have more to write then :) Good night! I love and miss you!
<3>
Your Rae of Sunshine

Day Seven in England - "Today was a very nice Sunday."

Heyy mommy,

Today was a very nice Sunday :) Alix and I got up for church and made it there right on time! It was a relatively small building and inside, there were no pews. Since it was father's day, the primary sang to all the fathers in the congregation. There couldn't have been that many because the entire primary was about the size of our nursery! After that, the young women got up and spoke about this year's theme, Be Thou an Example, and sang I Know My Redeemer Lives. When sacrament was over, Sister Beaumont, the young women's president, came over and introduced us to some of the young women. She's so nice and, as it turns out, she's originally from Idaho! What a small world! lol Anyway, we followed the young women to class and when it was over, we called Unkie Dave for a ride home. Unkie Dave's Aunt Pam had called earlier and asked us to join them for a barbeque, so after we changed, we drove up to see her. It was a very nice drive. At first, all you could see were buildings, stacked like dominos in a row. Soon, the road shrank and the buildings grew scarce. I found we turned onto a narrow rode in a never-ending field of grass. It changed like a kaleidoscope into a green and lush forest. It looked almost mystical. Then, it all faded back into city. We passed by Queen Victoria's castle and it was so beautiful! When we finally arrived, I was surprised to be greeted with a hug from Aunt Pam. I never thought to find a more friendly family than our own. It was cozy in her home as we sat and learned about each other. Pam's son, Steve, and his wife and two children were there as well. It was pretty cool to sit back and listen to the way they talked because they all had accents. Even the children! I could've listened for hours. After we ate, we chatted some more, then left. It feels good to be home after a long day :) Well, can't wait to write about tomorrow! I love and miss you! <3>

Day Six in England (...just a big guy in a King's costume)

Heyy mommy,

Thanks for the email :) I'm glad you're having a good time in South Carolina and I really hope you can take me there! Today was a good day :) Unkie Dave and Auntie Sue had the weekend off from work, so they decided to take us to Hampton Court Palace, which was King Henry VIII's favorite palace! It was a magnificent. They were celebrating some sort of anniversary, so there was supposed to be this big hoopla going on. There were actors dressed up in legitimate pre-elizabethan clothes! It was very cool. All they really talked about was how the King was coming and that we must prepare! We abandoned the tour guide and went off on our own. It was amazing. However, there were a lot of little corridors and doors that were closed and I really just wanted to take a quick peek inside. I think it would be quite embarrassing to be thrown out of a palace though, so it took a great deal of restraint! It was amazing to see the queen's bed chambers, sitting room, drawing room, and even closet. It was huge, but the description said it was considered small! There were a lot of beautiful paintings and a history of King Henry's many, many, MANY wives. Of course, I overexaggerate because he only had six, which is less than I thought he had, but still a lot. After that, we went to the gardens to see the King arrive off a boat from the Thems River! It was a lot of build up and suspense for just a big guy in a King costume (whom you couldn't hear from far away) and a few trumpet guys. A little let down, but hungry, we found a sandwich shop (in case you haven't noticed, the British are a little obsessed with sandwiches lol) and ate. We went back into the court to go through the maze, but everything was closing. So, we bought some ice cream and left. When we got home, Unkie Dave showed us a tv show that he helped produce called "Meet the Natives". It was a little bit of a documentary about a group of villagers (pardon spelling) that come from an island into modern day London to live with middle class, working class, and upper class families for a week or so. It was quite interesting. He and Sue made Alix and I mexican lasagna (which was very good!) I can't wait to go to church tomorrow and meet some of the youth to hang out with! Well, I'm exhausted! Good night and I'll write tomorrow!
<3>
Your Rae of Sunshine

Day Five in England ... Finally ... success!!

Heyy mommy,

Today was very fun! Even though Alix and I got yet another late start, we still went out and walked all the way to Kingston! Hooray! After four days of failure, we finally made it. It wasn't too long of a walk and it was very nice outside. Although, I didn't plan for the walk and absentmindedly wore flip flops. I guess I've learned my lesson the hard way. When we arrived at the shopping center, the first thing we did was find an ATM and take out money! Another success that we had attempted for the past four days, but failed at. The plan was to shop first, then food, but our stomachs disagreed. So, we found a cute little cafe called Spuds and ate sandwiches and chips. It was very relaxing. After we finished, we went out and found a dress shop and shoe store. Nothing really caught our eye, so we left. We were not thoroughly informed because apparently, everything in the shopping center closed at 6! Disappointed, but not defeated, we left and successfully made it back home, safe, sound, and satisfied. When Susan and Dave came home, we told them of our victory and they congratulated us and made us grilled cheese, ham, and tomato sandwiches (yes, I had a sandwich with ham in it! I think the world will explode!) lol. Well, Alix and I have set an alarm for tomorrow, so we'll get a nice and early start! We're thinking of actually buying something in Kingston this time! In the words of Unkie Dave, "First stop, Kingston. Second stop, London... next the world! Muahahaha! lol." I'm having a great time here mom and I wish you and everyone else could enjoy England the way Alix and I are :) I miss you! <3>
Your Rae of Sunshine

Day Four in England (bored . . . in England?!)

Heyy mommy,

Well today was quite uneventful! Alix and I got a very late start this morning. We planned on going to Kingston, but we remember we had to contact the Bishop and YW president. It was very frustrating trying to figure out how to dial on the phone! We didn't expect it to be so hard, but apparently you had to add a zero or 04411 or take it away and it was just so complicated! Finally we figured it out. I left the dumbest message on the Bishop's answering machine! "Hi, this is Rachel Clark (very helpful, he's never heard of me before) I'm calling because my friend and I are visiting from the U.S. and um we wanted to come to church! (DUH!) Give us a call back when you can! Bye! (I didn't give him a number, so how could he call back if he didn't have caller ID? Can you say FAIL?)" I got ahold of the YW president luckily so I wouldn't leave yet another embarrassing message, but she apparently got the impression that we belonged in YSA instead of YW! So I hung up the phone with the YSA rep's name, phone number, and the fact that they met on Monday's. Very informative! Too bad I'm not 18 lol. After that, we made ourselves lunch and hung out most of the day. We went absolutely insane. Realizing a few hours later that the cause of our insanity was being stir crazy, we ventured out to find somewhere to eat because we needed a reason to leave the flat. I bought a burger and chips (fries) and Alix bought fish and chips. Her fish wasn't very good and neither were the chips for that matter. Disappointed, we went back home and waited for Susan and Unkie Dave to get home and when they did, they made us nachos :) It was much better. It amazes me how even in London, boredom can follow you! Well, hope I have more to write you tomorrow! I love and miss you!
<3 always,
Your Rae of Sunshine

Day Three in England

Heyy mommy,

Ok, so today was much more fun than yesterday lol. We got an early start this morning to buy tickets at the train station that we could use all day for any sort of transportation, so we wouldn't have to pay to get on the bus or anything, we could just flash the card. Although, Alix and I had stupidly stayed up late the night before and we could barely open our eyes. But, as soon as we got on the train, we became less like the walking dead. Unkie Dave took us to Waterloo and bought us a map (so we wouldn't get lost this time!) Waterloo is where we truely got a taste of the city. Dave had to leave to go to work, so Alix and I ventured off to the Tate museum of modern art. As of this day, I hereby declare that I do NOT like modern art. Most of the paintings looked either like squiggles drawn by a kindergardener or just very strange. It was an interesting experience to say the least. After we got bored with that, we were starved, so we found a sandwich stand, bought a couple wraps, and ate them in a small park outside the Tate. It was a very lovely day outside! There were a lot of kids in Waterloo on field trips. It was funny to see some of them in uniform and Alix said they reminded her of Harry Potter XD lol. So, we walked across the Milenium bridge to go see St. Paul's Cathedral. We couldn't go inside unless we were there to worship, and seeing as we're not Catholic, we could only view it from the outside. It's a very gorgeous building! We bought postcards in a nearby shop and mine has Prince William and Prince Harry on it :) heh heh they are very handsome boys! I think I'll give the postcard to Ali if she wants it ;) Then, we went to a familiar place, Starbucks! We desperately needed a hot chocolate and a place to rest our feet for a while. Each of us agreed that it might be time to head on home and on our way, there was an outdoor book sale. Alix bought a book about fairies for her mom and sister and she insisted on paying for my book so I let her. But I'll get her back soon! It's good to be at the flat though, despite the adventures we had today. We'll sleep uber good tonight, so good night!
<3>Your Rae of Sunshine

Day Two in England

Heyy mommy,

Well, day two wasn't quite as exciting as day one. It was still fun though :) Today, Unkie Dave and Susan were both at work, so Alix and I had to fend for ourselves for the day. We attempted to go to Kingston agian (because it's only a 15 minute walk from the flat), but we didn't know exactly where to go. So, we attempted to take the bus (and paid 4 pounds instead of 3 because we forgot to show our student ID's for a discount :P), but we didn't know where to get off at because there were about three stops that said "Kingston", so we got off and walked back home. I must say, it was quite embarrassing and we felt very defeated. Of course, it's only our first day. Anyway, we got back to the flat and watched Ocean's 12 and 13 back to back (can you say lazy much?) lol Unkie Dave eventually came home, he made us dinner, and we ate together. It was delicious! After we did the dishes together as well, he went to go pick up Susan at the train station. So, here we are, Dave and Susan gone to bed and Alix and I are watching Friends until we fall asleep. I can't wait until tomorrow because Unkie Dave's going to take us to Waterloo! We get to take the train! :D Oh... I almost forgot. Well... I think I forgot my camera on the airplane :( :( :( I'm so sorry! Unkie Dave said he'd call the airline tomorrow and see if anyone found it, but if they don't, then he has a camera we can use. Man, I'm such a ditz :( I kicked myself all day for it. Ugh, well I guess I'll just have to cheer up and move on :/ I'm sorry again :( Well, goodnight! I'll write you tomorrow!!!

<3 Always,
Your Rae of Sunshine

Hey Mommy!

Alright, well day one in England was pretty amazing! The first thing me and Alix did when we got off the plane was meet up with her Unkie Dave (yes it's Unkie not Uncle lol). We took the scenic route on the way home to his "flat" (enlgish for apartment). I love the way he and his wife Susan speak! But, Susan is from South Africa, so her accent is slightly more harsh than Dave's. They're so nice and welcoming and they're the cutest couple! Anyway, London is amazing! Although, we weren't truly in the heart of London because it costs like 8 pounds to drive through the city :P But, the part of London that I've seen so far is so quaint! It's hard to get used to the fact that they drive on the wrong side of the road and the passenger's seat is the driver's seat! English drivers are crazy too! They drive really close sometimes, but I like the fact that almost all the cars are brightly colored :) Mom, you would love to live in one of the houses here. They're so cute and they look almost like the cottages from those puzzles that you have. I'll take pictures, don't worry. After we drove around for a bit, Unkie Dave wanted to show us the Kingston shopping center, so we parked the car and walked there. It's basically like the Pointview mall near Dahlonaga and the Mall of Georgia smooshed together. It has some of the same shops, but I think it's really funny that the "in thing" here is 80's clothes! And I mean legitimate 80's clothes, puffy sleeves and neon colors and all! When we got done looking around the mall, we stopped at a ready-made sandwich shop and ate our sandwiches on the Thems River! We sat on a ledge over the river and there were some people throwing bread to swans and geese. They were so pretty :) After that, we went grocery shopping with Dave and back to the flat so Alix and I could get situated. We didn't do much besides watch British tv and sleep for a little while. So, that was my day :)

I'm so excited for tomorrow because Dave's going to take us back to the Kingston mall on a double decker bus! And we might ride the train too because the station is practically 10 minutes away from his flat! Well I'm going to bed now. Good night mommy and I'll write you tomorrow!

Sweet 16

Yes!! Rachel is finally 16 years old. She had the opportunity to spend the summer in England with a friend so that is her 16th birthday present. So the day before she left for England we celebrated her birthday and with tears in her eyes, her mother sent her off on the adventure of a lifetime.

She promised to e-mail everyday by way of a journal and so I thought it would be a good idea to create a a travel blog and share her adventures with ya'll. Enjoy.