Travel Buddy

Seven years ago this weekend, despite the fact that there was a terrorist threat in England (complete with tanks on the runway at Heathrow) and the fact that I had arranged to meet up with some people that I had met on the internet!!, my very brave friend JR got on a plane with me to go to London. It definitely was an Adventure. We had a lot of fun, met some very nice ladies, and got to see some really cool sights, including my first trip to the Tate Modern (my first Matisse and Pollack in real life), an evening walk along the southern Embankment (with this huge full moon), and visiting Carnaby Street. But there definitely were some challenges. I got stuck in the big anti-war protest in Picadilly Circus, which was disturbing. And then our return flight got canceled because of a big snow storm on the East Coast of the US, and we were left stranded in England for an additional unexpected day, which initially was terrifying (we thought it was an attack) and then frustrating (I really needed to be back for a work event.) But after I made a number of persistent (but pleasant) phone calls to Virgin Atlantic, not only did we get on the first flight back to the US (Boston), but we got bumped up to business class! It was really a great time, and I am really lucky to have a friend like JR who is up for adventure!