MCKENNA77
Staff Sergeant
- Joined
- Jun 29, 2005
- Messages
- 913
THE TOY SOLDIER TRAVELER
Home Base – San Jose, CA
Destination – The London Toy Soldier Show – London England
Miles Traveled Round Trip – 10,740
Cumulative Miles Traveled = 16,688
Method of Travel for this trip – Plane
Wednesday March 26th 2008
I dragged into work in the morning and it was another routine day of the grind. After taking a quick glance at the forum I noticed that the March K&C UK London show was going to take place on the upcoming Saturday. Around 8:30am I started to day dream about how cool it would be to check out a toy soldier show there. Well sure enough, I wasn’t busy at work and decided that I might book a flight. By 10:30am my flight was booked and Sara KGB was livid with me as she had job commitments to do work on the weekend. She also gave me the “are you crazy” line over and over. Sure enough I spent my lunch break packing a bag and tearing up my home looking for my passport. Of course KGB knew where it was the whole time and didn’t tell me out of spite(got to love that marriage thing). By 4pm one of my engineer’s took me up to SFO for the 6pm flight to Heathrow. I still had no clue what I was going to do in London or even how to get from the airport to the hotel. Fortunately, I packed a London travel trip guide and this cool dude that I met on the plane from Ireland helped me with directions in London. The flight there is a total haul. Spending ten hours in an airline economy seat with my large frame is like experiencing life as a canned good.
Thursday March 27th 2008
The Eagle has landed and the McKenna invasion of England can now commence! England is tight dude, even the airport is cool. Picking up my bag I noticed flights from Tehran, Beirut, Hanoi, Dubai and Dar Es Salaam. It was the equivalent of viewing a cross-section of the whole world. I didn’t look out of place at all with my giant goofy red head(its like Sputnik, why don’t you go cry yourself to sleep on your giant pillow).
Heathrow is very well marked unlike some American airports(LAX). I proceeded down a few levels following the signs for the infamous London Underground(mind the gap please). You can travel into the city of London a few ways. You can take the Heathrow Express train, the London Underground or cab it. The Underground is by far the cheapest route($8) but it takes an hour. If you travel by train($30) it takes 15 minutes but more than likely you’ll have to take a taxi from the train station to your final destination. If you cab all the way from Heathrow expect to pay $140 one way.
After traveling on the Undergrounds Piccadilly line I arrived at the Russell Square stop. Make sure you don’t pull a Homer Simpson and lose your Underground ticket while you’re on the train as you won’t be able to exit the station. The London Underground or Tube is freaking huge dudes. You can travel to the majority of the sites in London via the Tube. An all day Tube pass to zones 1&2, the majority of the sites in London, will run you $10. The Tube trains always list the last stop they’re headed to. This is a good way to double check that you’re headed in the right direction. Additionally, the Underground has about 13 different directional lines. The top grab handle bars inside the rail car are color coordinated to match the same color as the directional line. For example, the Piccadilly line shows up as blue on the Tube map. The top grab handle bars in the train are all painted blue, just another way to make sure you’re on the right ride dude.
The Royal National Hotel is about a 3 minute walk from the Underground Russell Square stop. After experiencing near death by crossing the street and looking the wrong way(no honking!) I stashed my bags with the hotels bell hop. I purchased a good street map at the hotel and went out to walk the streets of London. The architecture and building designs in London are incredible. My jaw was dragging on the streets the whole time as my head was looking up constantly to check the views out. There is a huge conglomeration of old adjacent to new here. Also, make sure you fall into the habit of looking both ways before you cross the street as it could potentially cost you your life. I had two really close calls and about got run over 11 times(I said no honking dude). Don’t even think about attempting to j-walk either. The London streets are full of short blind corners that taxi’s come screaming out of. Trust me, it feels like the taxis come out of the sky when you’re in the middle of the road with your best deer in the headlights look on your face.
My body decided that it was time to get some rest after the long flight and the walk around London. Nothing like hitting the massive fatigue/jet lag wall, it puts you in a great mood every time. On top of that, there was some sort of foul up with my hotel reservation. I had to give the check in lady my best pirate face in order to procure a room. The routine even included a few good loud arghhh’s(making friends fast here Winger). You have to keep in mind that my brain was all upside down by this point. In all seriousness the pirate routine worked out great. Who can say no to a large red headed pirate? I’m convinced that’s how Seton Hall made it to the finals in the NCAA in 1989 because there is nothing that can beat a pirate.
Around 6pm Tony Neville rang my room after a much needed 3 hour nap. I headed downstairs to meet him, Dispatch “Divey” and Mr and Mrs Neville. We all headed out to an area called Covent Garden. This area is very similar to San Francisco’s Union Square. From what I understand this area was England’s first public square. It was used mainly as a vegetable market back in the day. Again, great Palladian architecture here with a sweet mix of old versus new which provides tight views. There are a lot of stylish shops and trendy eateries located here and in Leicester Square. We all sat down and enjoyed a great English meal wish included potted shrimps and banger’s and mash. Everyone had a great laugh at my expense as I ordered lemonade and got served a Sprite with a lemon in it. Apparently, you have to ask for “traditional” lemonade if you actually want lemonade. I have no idea how this works, maybe it’s the same difference between a mince pie and a mincer. If you really want to look like you’re crazy request a glass of ice tea. You’ll get the proper look of “who drinks tea cold?”(I’ll tell you who drinks it cold, people who dress up like Narragansett Indians and throw that crap into Boston Harbor – don’t mess with me lady, I’m jet lagged!)
After dinner we headed out to see some sites of London. I had the great experience and opportunity to view: Piccadilly Circus( like NY Times Square),White Hall(British version of the Pentagon),Admiralty Arch(Front gate of The Mall to Buckingham Palace), Trafalgar Square(Admiral Nelson Statue), Downers Street(home of Prime Minister), Westminster Bridge(crosses the Thames), London Eye(giant Ferris Wheel), Big Ben(watched it strike midnight) & Parliament(guess Funkadelic wasn’t in). Nothing helps sore walking feet after seeing those great sites like a good English beer. Tony, Dispatch Divey and myself headed to a local bar by the hotel and proceeded to have an enlightening conversation about Kylie Minogue. It was some great laughs for sure.
Home Base – San Jose, CA
Destination – The London Toy Soldier Show – London England
Miles Traveled Round Trip – 10,740
Cumulative Miles Traveled = 16,688
Method of Travel for this trip – Plane
Wednesday March 26th 2008
I dragged into work in the morning and it was another routine day of the grind. After taking a quick glance at the forum I noticed that the March K&C UK London show was going to take place on the upcoming Saturday. Around 8:30am I started to day dream about how cool it would be to check out a toy soldier show there. Well sure enough, I wasn’t busy at work and decided that I might book a flight. By 10:30am my flight was booked and Sara KGB was livid with me as she had job commitments to do work on the weekend. She also gave me the “are you crazy” line over and over. Sure enough I spent my lunch break packing a bag and tearing up my home looking for my passport. Of course KGB knew where it was the whole time and didn’t tell me out of spite(got to love that marriage thing). By 4pm one of my engineer’s took me up to SFO for the 6pm flight to Heathrow. I still had no clue what I was going to do in London or even how to get from the airport to the hotel. Fortunately, I packed a London travel trip guide and this cool dude that I met on the plane from Ireland helped me with directions in London. The flight there is a total haul. Spending ten hours in an airline economy seat with my large frame is like experiencing life as a canned good.
Thursday March 27th 2008
The Eagle has landed and the McKenna invasion of England can now commence! England is tight dude, even the airport is cool. Picking up my bag I noticed flights from Tehran, Beirut, Hanoi, Dubai and Dar Es Salaam. It was the equivalent of viewing a cross-section of the whole world. I didn’t look out of place at all with my giant goofy red head(its like Sputnik, why don’t you go cry yourself to sleep on your giant pillow).
Heathrow is very well marked unlike some American airports(LAX). I proceeded down a few levels following the signs for the infamous London Underground(mind the gap please). You can travel into the city of London a few ways. You can take the Heathrow Express train, the London Underground or cab it. The Underground is by far the cheapest route($8) but it takes an hour. If you travel by train($30) it takes 15 minutes but more than likely you’ll have to take a taxi from the train station to your final destination. If you cab all the way from Heathrow expect to pay $140 one way.
After traveling on the Undergrounds Piccadilly line I arrived at the Russell Square stop. Make sure you don’t pull a Homer Simpson and lose your Underground ticket while you’re on the train as you won’t be able to exit the station. The London Underground or Tube is freaking huge dudes. You can travel to the majority of the sites in London via the Tube. An all day Tube pass to zones 1&2, the majority of the sites in London, will run you $10. The Tube trains always list the last stop they’re headed to. This is a good way to double check that you’re headed in the right direction. Additionally, the Underground has about 13 different directional lines. The top grab handle bars inside the rail car are color coordinated to match the same color as the directional line. For example, the Piccadilly line shows up as blue on the Tube map. The top grab handle bars in the train are all painted blue, just another way to make sure you’re on the right ride dude.
The Royal National Hotel is about a 3 minute walk from the Underground Russell Square stop. After experiencing near death by crossing the street and looking the wrong way(no honking!) I stashed my bags with the hotels bell hop. I purchased a good street map at the hotel and went out to walk the streets of London. The architecture and building designs in London are incredible. My jaw was dragging on the streets the whole time as my head was looking up constantly to check the views out. There is a huge conglomeration of old adjacent to new here. Also, make sure you fall into the habit of looking both ways before you cross the street as it could potentially cost you your life. I had two really close calls and about got run over 11 times(I said no honking dude). Don’t even think about attempting to j-walk either. The London streets are full of short blind corners that taxi’s come screaming out of. Trust me, it feels like the taxis come out of the sky when you’re in the middle of the road with your best deer in the headlights look on your face.
My body decided that it was time to get some rest after the long flight and the walk around London. Nothing like hitting the massive fatigue/jet lag wall, it puts you in a great mood every time. On top of that, there was some sort of foul up with my hotel reservation. I had to give the check in lady my best pirate face in order to procure a room. The routine even included a few good loud arghhh’s(making friends fast here Winger). You have to keep in mind that my brain was all upside down by this point. In all seriousness the pirate routine worked out great. Who can say no to a large red headed pirate? I’m convinced that’s how Seton Hall made it to the finals in the NCAA in 1989 because there is nothing that can beat a pirate.
Around 6pm Tony Neville rang my room after a much needed 3 hour nap. I headed downstairs to meet him, Dispatch “Divey” and Mr and Mrs Neville. We all headed out to an area called Covent Garden. This area is very similar to San Francisco’s Union Square. From what I understand this area was England’s first public square. It was used mainly as a vegetable market back in the day. Again, great Palladian architecture here with a sweet mix of old versus new which provides tight views. There are a lot of stylish shops and trendy eateries located here and in Leicester Square. We all sat down and enjoyed a great English meal wish included potted shrimps and banger’s and mash. Everyone had a great laugh at my expense as I ordered lemonade and got served a Sprite with a lemon in it. Apparently, you have to ask for “traditional” lemonade if you actually want lemonade. I have no idea how this works, maybe it’s the same difference between a mince pie and a mincer. If you really want to look like you’re crazy request a glass of ice tea. You’ll get the proper look of “who drinks tea cold?”(I’ll tell you who drinks it cold, people who dress up like Narragansett Indians and throw that crap into Boston Harbor – don’t mess with me lady, I’m jet lagged!)
After dinner we headed out to see some sites of London. I had the great experience and opportunity to view: Piccadilly Circus( like NY Times Square),White Hall(British version of the Pentagon),Admiralty Arch(Front gate of The Mall to Buckingham Palace), Trafalgar Square(Admiral Nelson Statue), Downers Street(home of Prime Minister), Westminster Bridge(crosses the Thames), London Eye(giant Ferris Wheel), Big Ben(watched it strike midnight) & Parliament(guess Funkadelic wasn’t in). Nothing helps sore walking feet after seeing those great sites like a good English beer. Tony, Dispatch Divey and myself headed to a local bar by the hotel and proceeded to have an enlightening conversation about Kylie Minogue. It was some great laughs for sure.
, but after the arrival of ankle 
