Lost in Uxbridge

We didn't make it out to London after all...Not because we didn't want to, and definitely not because we didn't give it a good try. We didn't make it out because, well, we got lost. The morning was beautiful--sunny skies (they happen once in a while!), sandwiches packed, and snacks galore. We were armed and ready for a day in London.

Stegen and I decided to take our friend Kirk's advice and drive out to the nearest tube (London Underground) station and then take the tube into the city from there. We Google Mapped our way to Uxbridge station, taking a few wrong exits along the way (what's new?). When we finally got there, we couldn't figure out where to park our car. We continued to navigate around the Uxbridge area, hoping that we would find a friendly "Park Here" sign, but 10 double roundabouts (scary!) and 30 minutes later, we had lost hope and the ticket offices were officially closed for a Sunday. Ay, caramba! Perhaps we need to stick with taking the rail first and then transferring over to the tube. Driving is just a little too confusing right now...and I blame the crazy signs!

I'm sorry...what?

 A sidenote about things you see whilst driving in England: You can drive on your foreign license for one year without having to take a driving test to get your UK one. Meanwhile, if you were to get pulled over, the police officers (who drive around in their highlighter yellow cars) are not allowed to ask to see your ID. Apparently the British have a big aversion to having their identification checked--privacy is very important here. Even on the motorways, there needs to be very clear signage that speed cameras are in action because the drivers need sufficient notice that their picture may be taken. If you look at the picture below, you'll see that after several large signs stating "Speed Cameras Ahead", the cameras themselves are big, bright, and very noticeable. Very interesting!

It took us another few wrong exits around confusing roundabouts to get back into Maidenhead. We found a new park near our flat and let the kids enjoy some lunch and run around. Almost every park that we've been to has a playground that's completely fenced in, with heavy gates so that little kids can't easily make an escape. As a parent with a crazy child, I am extremely grateful. 

Several of them also have pretty awesome zipline-like equipment! (These videos might only work on a computer)

 

 

 Anyway, aside from the failed London trip, getting lost, and torrential downpour halfway through our park excursion, I'd say today was a good day.