I'm leaving on a jet plane

Sitting at Heathrow, waiting for them to call my flight. Said goodbye to Amy at the Garden Court Hotel. She's from New Zealand and moved to London last year in order to earn some good old Sterling. Nice person. She wants to be an interior decorator and is trying go figure out whether or not to study in London or back in New Zealand. She took my cheese and put it in the fridge overnight. Now it stands a chance of making it home in good shape. Fingers crossed.

For future reference, when you're standing on a main artery to Paddington Station at 10am, forget trying to hail a taxi. It just doesn't happen. Stood there waving my arms, trying to hail a cab for 20 minutes. This is London for crying out loud! There are a million taxis. Just not when I need one. I wound up taking the bus to Paddington. Fortunately, it wasn't far and I still had money on my Oyster Card (bus/Tube pass.) It was just a pain with my VERY heavy luggage. I swear, they pick up weight as if by magic. Too many gifts and too much cheese, I guess.

I'm eager to see the wild terrain of California. I am amazed at how well manicured the English landscape is. It has been occupied for so many eons that every square inch seems to have had some form of alteration from man. The stone hedges, most trees grow along side the hedges, out of the way of a plow, the miles of public footpaths, even the forests are all planned and accounted for. Just look at an Ordinance Survey Map and you'll see what I mean. I know parts of Wales and Scotland are a bit more wild, but for most of Britain, it's very well maintained. Given that half of the population of Great Britain lives in rural countryside or villages, I'm not surprised, I guess.

I wonder what the guys at Ticklemore are doing today. Normally they're off on Wednesdays, but Liz is away this week. They called Will up from the cheese shop to lend a hand, but Either Nick or Ben must work today. I wonder who drew the short straw?

Now it's up to United Airlines to make sure I arrive home safe and sound. I can't wait to see the smile on Jim's face as I emerge from the hermetically sealed environment of US Customs in San Francisco. I've missed him. I should be home in about 12 hours.