August - (1)
The
rain poured down my face, into my clothes and down through my shoes which now
felt like kitchen sponges. Water was ankle deep in most places. A thoroughly miserable
August evening in Washington, D.C., no time to be outside, definitely not the
time to be lugging several gigantic steamer trunks from the house to a rented
SUV. But there was really no choice. The next morning was D-Day - our ship had
literally rolled in - the legendary QEII waited at her dock in New York City and
was sailing for Southampton, England at 4 PM and we had a four hour drive ahead
of us before we could board. The alarm was set for 4AM. The five super large soft
sided bags were packed with everything to feather our new nest: dishes, pots,
clothing, photo albums, paintings, small sculptures, even a full size artist's
easel and a 50 CD hi-fi set. They were bursting at the seams and Rob had to wrap
2 or 3 cargo belts around each one to prevent splitting. Each weighed a couple
of hundred pounds each - they were our primary reason for sailing on the QEII
to England rather than flying - we were allowed 8 pieces of luggage of any size
without any surcharge. Dining in luxury and experiencing a transatlantic cruise
was certainly an enticement as well.
Thus the last memory of "home" in D.C. was of water streaming into
my eyes during a rain that would strangle frogs, grunting and pushing a particularly
cumbersome bag onto the roof of the very tall SUV while our neighbors roared in
laughter at us as they waited in their car for us to move from the main driveway
we shared. They offered help however we were beyond that and already dreaming
of sunny ship decks; so, with a titanic grunt, the last bag rested on the roof
of the vehicle and we drove into the garage.
10AM August 11 - The reflective longshoremen's jackets shine out eerily in
the cavernous and dimly lit dark brown Cunard terminal in New York. The scene
is total madness as thousands of passengers disembark , collect their bags and
find transport home at the same time that another equally large number of people
arrive and find help to load their luggage. We were having a little trouble finding
help. A few of the longshoremen came by expecting the usual matched luggage set
only to find the equivalent of an elephant sitting on the curb where we had managed
to unload them from our rental car. With murmurs of "I'll get help"
they disappeared not to be found again, at least by us. Our rescuer came in a
stout and strong young man who looked fearless as he singlehandedly manhandled
the behemoth onto a large trolley and deposited it on the right queue. We tipped
him well in the hopes that all would arrive with us.
Having a few hours to kill until departure time we spent it happily in the
company of a good friend in a cozy Italian restaurant in Greenwich Village.
The sea voyage was a much needed relaxing break between the stress of packing
and of buying not just a boat in a strange country but our new home as well. Our
plan of action was only loosely formed and we fully realized that anything could
happen. We had an introduction to the English and their love of ballroom dancing,
certain popular comedians, and some great food. Our arrival in Southampton was
on a beautiful sunny day with puffy white clouds. Several enormous sailboat masts
on the scenery belonged to world class racing yachts there for an international
competition.
To our relief we were able to leave the behemoth at the Southampton terminal
for a modest fee - and no one searched our luggage in customs (we didn't think
it would all go back in if they did.)
The train to Birmingham from Southampton was very full but uneventful. Our
hotel is in the heart of town, not far from the train station. We chose to begin
the search here, it is the center of England's canal system and close to several
boat brokers. When we settle into the hotel room we immediately call several and
line up our week.
.....continued on page 2
|