The bride and I are returning to the U.K. for a visit again this May. This time, (for the first time on any stage, anywhere), all of my siblings and their mates are traveling with us. We decided, back in September, I think, that we would make the trip together, and so it began.

Here’s the challenge – it’s not the seven of us being together and if, or not, we might commit murder most foul on the moors or not, we are genuinely good friends and have been through a lot together over the years, even though, like most families, we have spread out. My brother Jay, and our truely southern belle, his wife, Ginger, hail from west central Florida. Younger sister, Karla and her lofty husband, Smith, live now in east central Georgia, while the older of the two sisters, Laura, Carrolle and I are from the south Piedmont of North Carolina. The challenge is for we all to be relaxed, not try to cram too much into 10 days in the U.K. and not be in conflict about when and where we’re going to visit. None of the siblings are shy about opinions, taking the lead or otherwise “being the guy”, but we are determined (so far) to just let things unfold in the spirit of discovery. Logically, we know that certain things will be influenced by Carrolle and my knowledge and past experience in the four prior visits. But here we are just seven weeks from departure and thus far, we as a group have only committed to two pre-ordered arrangements. We arrive on a Monday and the Friday following we have a ferry booking to the Isle of Wight. We’ve rented a 7 (or perhaps 9) passenger van and can take it onto the ferry so we can easily do the “Wighty 90” – the 90 km loop around the perimeter, more or less of the entire island. The other pre-arrangement is on the Monday prior to our flight home, we have rented a self skippered narrowboat on the Kennet and Avon canal and are going to take cream tea afloat – assuming we don’t wedge ourselves into the rushes or forget to pass oncoming craft port side to port side!

(an unknown person bearing no likeness to anyone in our group)

So, even before we all convene in Orlando for the flight over the big water (USD 1400 per couple less than if we flew from CLT or ATL), the adventure has begun. We’ve all watched endless episodes of “Escape to the Country”, “Detectorists”, (not so much for the scenery references, but because it’s one of the best serial episode programs on British, American or any other national media entertainment), and the tried and true shows, like “Midsomer Murders”. Trip Advisor has been consulted and countless YouTube videos watched. So preparation and research have and are taking place – but here’s to the pleasure of discovery of that very cool village pub – on the path from here to there.

Much more to come!