Day 67: London Day 2. We awoke early and enjoyed a nice breakfast in the hotel and then boarded the double-decker bus for a trip to Buckingham Palace for the changing of the guards. However, with the weather turning bad and the traffic heavy we missed the changing of the guards and decided instead to remain on the bus for a lengthy drive and chance to see more of London. Of course, as the rain got heavy at the kids’ request we donned the plastic ponchos provided by the bus and rode on the top level. After a three hour tour, a three hour tour [thunder-clap], we exited the bus a little damp and headed for sushi at one of the sushi conveyor-belt restaurants. The kids tried many different sushi dishes and Avi had fun grabbing the different dishes as they rode quickly by on the conveyor belt. Rebeka enjoyed the sushi and tamayo while Avi and Esti preferred cooked salmon. We then continued our day with a ride on the Underground to the National Science Museum. We spent two hours at the museum and still only saw about a quarter of it. After the museum we enjoyed a light Indian dinner. With the day ended, we packed for the last time oversees and went to bed, saying a sad goodbye to London and the end of the overseas part of our trip.

Day 68: A Travel Day. With tears in our eyes, we boarded the plane and settled in for our trip back to the United States. The flight went well and we enjoyed the great service, delicious food, and entertaining movies. We arrived in Newark, NJ on time and were greeted at the airport for the first time on our trip! this time by Scott’s parents. A two hour drive and a visit to a diner for dinner later, and it was bedtime for the Shapiros.

Day “69-90.” So here’s the thing: Writing this blog has been fun and practical. It has turned out to be a great and convenient way of sharing with those friends and family members that want to know what we are doing. It has also been a great way to keep a journal for the family; as it happens, it is pretty hard to remember what we did for each day of our fantastic journey and the blog helps us with our memories. Having said all that, and as important as it was to us, we are guessing that we are at the point of our trip where you (the reader) don’t care so much about the details. So, here is the Cliff Notes version:

We stayed at Scott’s parents for about 10 days, with that visit punctuated by: a two day visit to some of Monica’s family; an overnight trip for Scott and Monica without the kids that consisted of theatre (small town), mediocre food (Italian), and a quiet night at a hotel (Mount Laurel Marriott); a party for Esti’s birthday catered with some of the best smoked fish we ever had; 18 holes of miniature golf for the kids; and a visit to see the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall in Philadelphia. At the end (day 78), we board a Southwest 737 and flew through Las Vegas to get back to Sacramento. We arrived home hot and tired, spent some time with Violet, and then after a quick swim our beds never felt so good. On Monday (day 81) we’ll all get in the car and drive down to Camp Ramah where Monica and the kids will spend a month. Scott will stay at camp for 10 days (punctuated by some day visits and trips), and on August 2 he will come back to Sacramento, sleep, and on August 3 he will return to the offices of Downey Brand. Or at least, he says he will!

So, that’s that. And we think this will be the last blog entry. But who knows, maybe in seven years the Shapiros will travel again; and maybe new entries will show up then. Stay tuned.

With love, Scott, Monica, Rebeka, Avi, and Esti