Kari picked us up at 10:30 (with Paul’s Donuts) for our flight and we had enough time to eat our lunch at the airport without feeling rushed before we boarded the plane for Atlanta.  Of course, it’s summer, so thunderstorms fired up in Tennessee and in northern Alabama and Mississippi.  Instead of taking the diagonal route from St. Louis to Atlanta, we had to fly along the Mississippi River until we were south of the storms (we saw the big anvil clouds from the plane) and then turn left to Atlanta.  This added about a half hour to our flight time.

Our layover allowed plenty of time for the storm delay and for a snack before boarding the plane to London.  (The flight included dinner, but we knew that with a 7:30 pm take-off, we’d be lucky to be eating by 9:00.)  Flying along with us were at least 100 band members from a Columbus, WI high school (just north of Madison).  Their jackets proclaimed them to be the “Wisconsin Ambassadors of Music” and they were going on a European tour.  One of them told me that when they arrived in London, they’d be going to the London Eye, to Parliament, and to a production of Jersey Boys.  I didn’t get the actual concert performance information from him, but the kids looked like they were ready for a good time.

We arrived in London around 8:30 am local time (2:30 am CDT) without more than a few minutes of sleep on the plane.  After a rainy week, it was a beautiful day and we saw England from the air.  It took us two minutes (we timed it) to get through customs, and then 25 minutes to get our luggage.

Let the European vacation begin!