Rose's journey begins :D

Rose: We had a really long plane ride, but it had really pretty views and we saw the sun rise and set multiple times. First we flew to Auckland and stayed at the airport for two and a half hours. Then we had a 12 hour plane flight to L.A., which was really boring, then we had a 10 hour flight to Heathrow Airport. Because we arrived at 11:30 am (London time), we stayed in a hotel for the night to get adjusted to the time zone. The next day we drove to a small village and stayed in a little cottage near Birmingham. There is also a huge field outside the house where caravans can stay. It has a little pond which has newts in it and in the long grass just outside a field where a snake lives. We haven't seen it yet but we have gone exploring to try to.

Today it was really foggy and we went for a little walk in a village nearby with our Grandma and Grandpa. There is a swing and a piece of rope connected to a huge tree and we spent a lot of the day playing a game Rebecca and I made up.

 L.A. from above.

 A pretty sunset.

 The swing in the big field

Foggy foggy dew

Rachel: Arrived safely in the UK after a very very long straight through flight with barely a couple of hours in the cattle pen at LA airport. Stunning views from the plane of the Arizona desert and the Grand Canyon. Now we are in the depths of rural Worcestershire where we will be for a week to catch up with family and friends. The cottage is near the Malvern hills and is really pretty, kids very taken with the huge green fields, birds and pond with newts and water snake.

Alistair already done some bird spotting and has found a kindred spirit in the owner next door who has let him many many bird books (no blue ducks here but many woodpeckers and birds of prey)...

Very autumnal feel today due to very atmospheric fog. More later!

All ready to go

Our first post...we are all packed and ready to go. First stop, Heathrow!