I followed her home as she occasionally rang the thing cheerfully. Joanna cooked up a tasty dinner and we put on nice clothes to go out. A short tube ride away and we were at the Dutchess Theater seeing The Play Where Everything Goes Wrong. It was a play about a murder mystery play and it was hysterical. The set disintegrated around them and the female lead kept getting knocked out and replaced by assorted stage crew. Just fabulous.

Later we wandered around London at night, seeing the sights. Joanna reported great success at catching pokemon.

Tomorrow is the Kew gardens and shopping. Bed time for now.

We had some time before lunch, so we walked downstream to the tea house at the lock, watching the boats go through and peering around their little garden.  It wasn't tea time, so we kept going downriver looking at the scenery and people out with their dogs, returned to the hotel, changed, and went to lunch at the Old Mill.

The food was pretty good, with both vegetarian and gluten-free options.  We split a cider and made sure to duck under the short ceiling and beams.  The interior was clearly redone, but the ancient floors weren't quite level and some of the wait staff seemed perpetually stooped over as they navigated the narrow spots.

The play started, and I immediately recognized some of the actors as being in various BBC television shows and a few movies.  The writing was funny, with some great characters along the way.  The detective was clever and the murderer was surprisingly stupid considering they almost got away with it.  It made for a fun afternoon and we scurried back to the hotel in time for Joanna's father and Christa arrived.

We all assembled, eating and chatting our way through dinner.  Joanna's dad seemed tired, having his pacemaker installed not four weeks ago.  Still, he was clearly pleased to see everyone and I suspect his recent brush with mortality focused his mind keenly.  I was generally polite and well behaved and went off to watch Arthur and Fin play outside.  Joanna tells me her father said that she'd done all right, which I'm going to take as a round about compliment.

Tomorrow we head into London, taking the train and then tube into our airbnb in Islington.  We have another play we're planning on seeing tomorrow night, ironically about a murder mystery, though the twist is that the play is about a murder mystery play that goes horribly wrong.  The plan is to see the British Museum on Tuesday with Christopher and company.  Monday we might see the Kew gardens, or whatever strikes our fancy.

The Abbey was her first school, bringing up memories of playground mischief and her mom picking her up. It was closed but we chatted with a couple people who worked there and peeked over the fence. Next was the hospital where she was born, almost by accident. Next was her childhood home, her mom's home, and the corner market. Sadly the sweet shop hasn't survived the thirty year absence.

Another bus ride and lots more walking brought us to the Great House where we're staying the night. Christopher picked up his girlfriend Ines while the boys played on the lawn. We drank cider, ate good food, and retired to our room.

As for today, we did some laundry and carried the kayak down to the river. We wound our way past the ship refitter's and into a relatively empty river. After an hour or so we made our way to a little village called Pont, which is basically a half dozen buildings by a bridge over the footpath. The old buildings were rented out to tourists. We ate lunch in some old ruins and rowed back home.  After a little lay down we took the pokemon tour of town, visiting the three Pokestops. 

Time to prepare for dinner and pack a little for tomorrow.

Joanna is making gluten free bread from a mix she found. After we finish laundry we'll carry the kayak down to the docks and had upriver to explore the area by boat. Hopefully we stay somewhat dry.

Somehow got some sleep on the plane. It helped there was an empty seat next to us.

Update: We're on the train for Penzance, fortunately I'm wearing my pirate shirt. We're only going as far as Par, where a taxi ride and ferry await us. It's been a long day, but I finished my mocha and Joanna is setting up our English cell phone so we can communicate with the world.

Update 2: The train was long but we made it to Par, where Christopher had ordered a taxi for us.  The driver zipped us down narrow roads and then we boarded a tiny orange boat to get across the river. Christopher was waiting and made us a tasty meal. I met Joanna's aunt and uncle and saw her grown up nephews. Now I'm worn out and ready for bed soon.

I heard a little more about the security job.  I don't think it's as sure a thing as it was before, but I'll at least get an interview.  The manager and his reports all like me, of course, so maybe that'll make a difference.  The security teams are in a bit of disarray at the moment, so perhaps it's a blessing in disguise.  In the meantime, I keep working on learning new web technologies and honing my development skills.

Joanna also had her first book published, with a box of books delivered to our doorstep.  She has some book signings lined up for Rochester and Portland.  I'm still not quite sure how I managed to marry a lovely English author.

The week has been moving along at a steady pace. Sam's been working for my mom, doing yardwork and assorted tasks.  Emma was sick with a cold when she went to her mom's on Monday.  Hopefully it's a little better.

This Friday we have a birthday dinner for Duncan and I, as Joanna and the little kids are heading to Rochester on my actual birthday.  We're going to England in less than two weeks, which seems pretty crazy.  Hopefully we have a good time.

Sam's been working on his video game, making some good progress.  It's fun watching him learn things I never figured out.  I continue to work on a new version of this web site - trying to make it all fancy and learn things along the way.