We are on our way!

Officially we are now in day 3 of our trip, but really day one of the journey. Last night was our second night in the camper van. The current dilemma is what to call her. The options on the table are 'the joint' and 'the melon'.

Our first night was spent in the driveway of Rachel's parents place in Deeping St James, a nice way to ease ourselves into the trip. The only problem we had was trying to get the optimum arrangement of cushions for the bed that comes from the table. Last night I think we managed it and had a good nights sleep. A desparate trip down to Teddington to get rid of the last of our English lives, including the car, big thanks to Ananth for that one and some baking stuff (no over in the van).

We took a detour on the way to Dover to Sittingbourne and I think we managed to track down the house we rented when I was 4 and we lived in England during Dad's sabatical. I will post pictures when I have a proper connection for family validation. I was imagining al kinds of childhood memories of the graveyard next door, the donkey on the way to school and the orchard behind us, none of which may be real, but they felt good anyway!

Last night was spent in a camp ground just outside Dover. We hooked up the electric without any drama, cooked a real meal and generally lived OK, but by the end of the evening everyone was very shattered so thank God Rachel had figured out the right cushion combination.

This morning we explored Dover Castle, really well worth a visit. Two millenium of history from the Roman lighthouse built around 100AD right through to WWII tunnels. And, because it has basically been occupied the whole time, it has been maintained really well. The Saxon church is brilliant with arches dating back to around 700AD and most of the church built 1100ADish. Even examples of crusaders grafitti on the walls.The castle is huge with an inner keep built by Henry II in 11?? and various add-ons by the dudes that followed. Brilliant views across Dover, you certainly can understand the military and strategic importance of the place.

Now we are steaming across the channel with the 'melon joint' stored happily underneath. I want to get this out before we change to a French cell phone provider and I have to pay for the internet connection so no photos yet, I hope to get that sorted tonight.

Next post will be from the mainland...