Every vacation has to end, but the last day–even as short as ours was–need not be a waste of fun. Even your travel home day can be full of adventure. I say this with a mix of positivity and sarcasm.
Our last day began at 4 a.m. We had to be ready by 4:45 a.m. for our Uber ride to London Heathrow Airport. Even though we probably didn’t need to get to Heathrow at 5:30 a.m., that is what the airline told us to do: arrive 3 hours before departure time. From past experience I’ve learned that it’s much easier to arrive way too early and sit at the airport than to arrive close to when you probably actually need to arrive and then find yourself in a crunch.
Case in point: in 2023 when I flew from Amsterdam, Netherlands back to Boston, USA. I arrived two hours ahead and still didn’t make the flight because the airline didn’t have the staff to check people in and the line for bags was ridiculously long. Then security checkpoint was a circus. Luckily, Aer Lingus knew I had checked in, so they held the plane for me. I was the last person to board. Everyone was seated and not too happy about waiting. Considering that it was the airline’s fault it took so long for me to get to the plane, I think Aer Lingus decided to wait for me.
Back to the England trip: Lacy, Kensington, and I arrived at 5:30 a.m., but not without a major hiccup. Our Uber driver canceled our 4:45 a.m. pickup at 4:30 a.m. I had scheduled the pickup weeks before. So when I realized this I had a WTF moment, but Uber was on it. In under 10 minutes, Uber found us another driver, and we hopped in the car and took off. Heathrow bound!
Riding in a car watching the sunrise in London is kinda cool, y’all! One of the things I regretted on this trip is that I didn’t show Kensington enough of London. That’s because we didn’t spend our whole trip in London. I felt bad that she didn’t get to see Big Ben. Luckily, because our lodging was across the river, we drove right by Big Ben and Buckingham Palace to get to the airport, and it all happened as the sun was rising!
First up, Big Ben, which is likely the world’s most famous clock and certainly the location of UK Parliament. According to the Parliament website, “Six monarchs and 41 prime ministers have come and gone since the bells first struck their now familiar music across Westminster.” If you’re a clock nerd, you might like to read up on Big Ben’s features.
On to Buckingham Palace. I also didn’t get a chance to take Kensington to see the Changing the Guard ceremony, but at least we drove by the palace so that I could point it out. For those of you who don’t know much about this palace, it’s the one that Queen Victoria moved to upon leaving Kensington Palace. It’s the one famously inhabited by Queen Elizabeth II. It’s the one now inhabited by Charles III.
I’m happy to report that we made it to the airport at our desired drop off time. We made it through security in minutes. We had plenty of time to spare, so we decided to treat ourselves to our last breakfast in England. And I gotta say I love eating breakfast in England. Try to guess which meal was eaten by which traveler. I’ll provide the answers at the end of the post.
Yum! Eggs benedict, french toast, and pancakes! Even though airlines tend to serve breakfast on morning flights, we weren’t impressed with Jet Blue’s offerings, so we decided it would be better to eat beforehand.
And while I’m at, let me show you another breakfast we had the day before in Lyme Regis at The Galley Cafe. Clearly, one of us likes benedicts. That other pic shows avocado toast with eggs and goat cheese.
So, we got on our flight and prepared to find our way back to the US. As you can see below, I always mask up, wear my Bose noise-canceling headphones, and bring a stuffie with me when I travel on long flights. This stuffie is a pastel camo sloth, and its name is Cooper!
So ends the pictures I took, but it wasn’t the end of our travel. Once we got to Boston, I knew Lacy and Kensington would get on another flight, and I would get on a bus. First we had to make it through US Customs, which typically is a quick experience in Boston. This time, alas, it was not. The line was ridiculously long. It took forever to get through it, and Lacy didn’t have much time before the flight, so she was panicking.
I knew that the buses from Boston to Portland left on the hour, so I could grab another bus if I missed mine. The only complication is that there aren’t a lot of buses from Portland to Augusta, but I’d cross that bridge when I got there. I eventually got to Augusta, where my neighbor picked me up and brought me home.
Through a series of unfortunate events, Lacy and Kensington ran to get on a flight which then was delayed because the entire plane had to be cleaned due to someone barfing in their seat (as far as I know). So then Lacy’s next connection was in jeopardy, but somehow she and Kensington made it to Dallas, were picked up by husband-daddy and son-brother, and then rode home (an hour’s drive away).
We were all exhausted from an adventure-packed trip, but it was an amazing trip, and I’m already jonesing to go back to England next summer cuz I love it so much!
Thanks for reading my England Summer 2025 posts. I’ve enjoyed writing them.
As promised, here are the answers to the quiz:
- Eggs benedict: Misty
- French toast: Lacy
- Pancakes: Kensington
Misty Krueger 
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