Heading home

The last few times I have returned from England I always say that I won't be going back for a few years but this year is the same as any other, I just booked a flight for Kate and I at the beginning of December for my annual pilgrimage. Why do I claim that it will be a few years between visits? probably money is my #1 reason, at $600 a ticket it gets pricey but this year Eric discovered his 46,000 american airline miles would expire at the end of the year, this left me with a dilemma, even though that is enough for 1 free ticket it would still be $600 for another, do we use the miles at an expense of $600 for an additional ticket? to save money should we let them expire? should we use them to travel somewhere else other than England? I'm not sure what it is but after almost a year of being away I do feel a yearning to return to my homeland, to feel the sharp cold of an English winters day, to see the familiar streets and stores, to enjoy simple things like authentic fish 'n' chips. What is it about a greasy, starchy, heart attack waiting to happen kinda food that is in the least bit appealing? I'm not sure they in their own right taste all that divine but growing up we would go to Blackpool, Fleetwood or Southport and when utterly chilled by the biting winds my parents would buy us fish and chips, we would eat them on the pier and they would warm us up from the inside. I have heard a thousand times what some people think about British food but for me maybe the taste is in the experiences and the memories that come back to me, I must also make a mention that English food is not all fish and chips though, there is lots of good food to be had in England. So on December 1st Kate and I will take to the skies, she is really excited, she woke up this morning and asked if we were going today, I can't wait to take her to do fun things and have some one on one time with her. Why are Eric and Sara staying home? Well for Eric's answer he must blog that himself, needless to say he would rather be at home, he is not really one for travelling and the prospect of taking our mile a minute 1 yr old on a 15 hr flight was not overly appealing. I hope its a win win situation, Eric gets a vacation at home, Sara gets some one on one time, I get to fulfil all of my English longings for another year at least and Kate gets to fly on an airplane, something she has longed to do for quite a while now, and to top it all off we will be here for Christmas, in our own house with our girls not having to rush off anywhere.