Getting a Dog to England

Dog (Bob) finished his radiation treatments on October 9th. Radiation Oncology gave him the ok to make his escape from the U.S. and begin the journey to reunite with Dragon (Tiffany).

The journey to Southampton

Dog jumped aboard an Icelandair flight on evening of October 15th bound for London via a layover in Reykjavik. Customs at London Heathrow utilized an e-customs process that was so much faster than any customs process he’d experienced previously. The only hitch on the flights to England was the loss of his prescription sunglasses from his checked bag that arrived with one of the pockets open. Dog grabbed a National Express bus from London Heathrow to Southampton that was very comfortable and pleasant. The countryside in the south of England is full of trees and green fields. Total travel time to Southampton was roughly 12 hours.

Exploring Southampton

Dog stayed two nights at the Ibis Southampton which was clean, simple, inexpensive, and very close to both the bus station and the cruise port. Dog explored Southampton with notable stops at The Duke of Wellington (recommendation from Dragon) for fish & chips and Dancing Man Brewery. Southampton was a very cool city sporting a university, a working class port, and a narrow street old English feel all around town. It wasn’t until later that Dog realized he had followed in the footsteps/selfies of another recent explorer.

Experiencing Stonehenge

Being a day early for the arrival of the ship meant October 17th was a free day. Dog took the train to Salisbury and boarded a double decker bus to Stonehenge. The Stonehenge exploration was a truly epic trip that even included a hike through the English countryside. Stonehenge was amazing and so worth the journey. Dog decided the landscape could have just as easily been Wisconsin as southern England.

Reunion

While there is no denying that the Stonehenge day trip was an epic opportunity, the real reward from this journey took place on October 18th when Dog and Dragon were finally reunited. In their 27 years together this 3 month period was the longest they had ever been apart. Finally at long last, Dog and Dragon were back together. Now the real adventures could begin. Here we go.