Here's the next chapter! There will probably be two more after this one! Please Read AND review! Enjoy! Thanks!
The next day after Breakfast, the Krakowskys and the Reeveses headed across town to take a DUQ (Duck) tour. This was an old war vehicle from the First World War. At one point it could travel on both water and land, but now it only tours on land. There was a history lesson to go along with the tour. Later, the kids would go with Ellie and Clay to get their picture taken in a few select spots that they hadn't gotten to see up close during this tour or the bus tour, while Abby and Jesse were touring Oxford. The tour guide didn't talk the entire time so, as they were traveling on, Ellie suddenly remembered a song she'd learned as a kid.
"Hey Guys, I just remembered a song about England that my dad taught me when I was little. It's called England Swings by Roger Miller.
"Hey, I think my uncle taught that song to me and Luca! He used to have an eight track player in his car and played that track all the time when he took us places!"
"My dad had an album of Roger Miller and that song was on it."
"So what are you waiting for? Sing it for us!" Clay said, speaking for himself and the kids. So Ellie, Abby and Jesse among the three of them tried to remember all the words. Pretty soon, they were all singing or signing,
"England swings Like the pendulum do. Bobbies on bicycles two by two. Westminister Abbey the Tower of Big Ben. The rosy red cheeks of the little children." Some of the other tourists even joined them. They were all laughing by the time the tour was over. Then they disembarked from the bus and headed back to the condo, where Abby and Jesse got ready to leave for Oxford and the rest got ready to sight-seeing and photo ops. Abby and Jesse decided to stop by Big Ben and London Bridge on the way back as well as a phone booth for photo ops. Abby and Jesse thanked Ellie and Clay and hugged and kissed the kids, then they caught a bus going to the area they were headed.
Once they got there, they went straight to the school of Science and Math. They found an Oxford University shirt in the gift shop for Palmer and also a special one from the Science and Math School for McGee. Then they were given a tour of the campus of the Queen's College. Abby was fascinated by the state of the art equipment. Jesse was asking about the different experiments they were working on at the time. After a few hours, the tour was over, and Jesse and Abby headed to the main gift shop, where they purchased water bottles for Ellie, Clay, the kids, and themselves. The group was planning to go on a hike the next day and Abby and Jesse wanted to share their experience at Oxford with the rest of them in some way. They ate lunch at a near-by cafe and then headed back into London to take landmark photos.
Meanwhile, Ellie and Clay and the girls were having a blast all over London, The girls posed for pictures with the London Bridge in the background, in front of Big Ben, on the steps where the lady fed the birds in Mary Poppins, and then they all got in the phone booth and pretended to make a call. After that, Caty came up and tugged on Ellie's sleeve.
"Aunt Ellie, I'm hungry." She signed. Ellie looked at her watch, then said and signed,
"How about the rest of you? Kelly, Jules, are you guys hungry too?"
"I am!" Kelly said.
"Food!" squealed Julie.
"How 'bout I take you ladies to the Hard Rock?" Clay suggested.
"Yaaaaay!" Kelly and Julie shouted. Caty grinned. So the group of five headed to the well-known restaurant and found there was a wait. They decided to stay anyway and headed to the gift shop to pass the time. Ellie bought each of the girls a Hard Rock Cafe London shirt and she bought a keychain for Jesse and a Hard Rock Cafe London Union Jack Flag print guitar pin to put on her purse or lanyard or a hat. She got a magnet and Clay got a patch for his jacket. They had lived in London for several months but this was the first time they'd been able to get to the Hard Rock. They were finally seated and then it wasn't long before the orders were taken. After that it was only about twenty minutes before the food arrived. Once they finished eating, they headed back home for naps for the younger two. Caty chose a movie to watch while the little ones napped, but ended up falling asleep on the couch before it was over. Abby and Jesse got back late afternoon.
"Hey, guys. How was your day?" Ellie asked.
"It was great. I got us all water bottles from Oxford for tomorrow's hike. And I found an Oxford hoodie for Jimmy and a shirt from the Science and Math school for McGee.
"And after lunch at the cafe across the street, we headed back into the city and took pictures. A really nice couple offered to take our picture in front of London Bridge. Then we found someone to take our picture in front of Big Ben and we took each other's pictures in a phone booth."
"It was totally awesome!" Abby said. The kids had awakened by then and ran in to find Abby and Jesse. They all excitedly began to tell about their day. When they were finished, Ellie and Abby fixed dinner while the men played with the kids. After dinner, they all watched a short family movie and then went to bed to rest up for a fabulous hike the next day. They couldn't wait!
Well, There's the touring for you guys. I have no cllue what Queen's College's Math and Science program is like so I'm just guessing. England Swings is
my fave Roger Miller song besides Walking in the Sunshine and King of the road. I knew I had to get it in the story somehow since it inspired the title. Next
chapter will probably be up on Monday or Tuesday. Don't forget to review! Thanks!