England

This past weekend, I met my (super) extended family for the first time! Kim and I flew into the London Gatwick Airport, which should probably be called the "non-London Gatwick airport," considering it's quite a drive from the actual city of London. When we got off the plane, we got our England stamp and headed to try to find Ruth and Jim. Fortunately, they were holding up a sign, and I guess I looked like a relative or something!
Of course, Kim and I were instantly amused by the fact that the English drive on the left side of the road. Ruth and Jim drove us to their beautiful home in an English Village. England was so green, especially compared to dry Spain! We had tea and sandwiches and caught up a bit, talking a lot about family genealogy. We went on a walk that afternoon; it was so picturesque with rolling green hills, and the nearby horse stables. We talked more to Ruth and Jim, who were great hosts... I am lucky to call them family! It was nice being in an English speaking country for a change. Kim and I wanted to just start reading every book they owned and we ended up watching Cars (the kids movie) that afternoon, in English! For dinner we had traditional fish and chips, the suggestion by everyone who knew I was going to England. After talking a bit more, Kim and I headed to bed so we could read, but all the travelling caught up to us and we decided to just sleep.
The weather Saturday was odd, but I guess it was the normal English spring day. It rained and shined and rained and shined and the weather could not make up its mind. That is quite alright though, because Kim managed to get a walk in and I went for a great run (a little hilly but a good workout). Early afternoon, Rose came over! We had some lunch and then started talking about family genealogy. It was fun hearing all the stories, and I finally started to piece together how I was related to everyone and who is the father of who, etc. It's still a bit confusing, because most of them have Richard or Joseph in their names it seems. After tea time, I met Jackie, Tony, and my third cousin, 2 year old Evan! He is so adorable, and a little shy. We all headed to go square dancing.
Square dancing was serious business! Ruth and Jim called the dances, and all the people were GOOD dancers! It was close to square dancing I have done in the past, except for the music had a little less twang, and I seemed to be not dancing well. It was fun though, I really enjoyed it.
Sunday morning was a little chilly, but after a breakfast of porridge and cereal, we headed out for another walk. We later met Rose at a local pub, housed in a super old building. It was neat to see the old wooden beams and the gorgeous flower gardens outside the pub. Lunch was amazing, although I could only eat about half of it. We then headed to Rose's house for tea and to talk a bit more before Kim and I had to leave. We somehow managed to cook up an idea of our entire Perrott family reunited on a cruise ship, or something, but the ideas just kept expanding and got a little ridiculous. Although I really think it would be great to get the whole family together some day. After saying some sad goodbyes to Rose, we headed back to the airport. On the way we stopped to see the famous Epsom horse track and a view of London city.
It was really hard to say goodbye to Ruth and Jim! I felt really comfortable and just like family in their home! It's neat to know that we are planning to see each other again someday, but it's crazy to think we live an ocean apart!