Laney got up early the next morning and after showering and getting dressed she just lazed about the house. The trip was a once-in-a-lifetime deal but she really did like being home. Rather than be out bar-hopping or shopping like the rest of her friends, she would just sit here and listen to the sounds of nature outside or music inside. She'd rather read than watch television or movies and she absolutely despised the noise of the crowds. Watching some of the people embarrassed her. Why did they feel they had to be so loud or showy just to attract someone of the opposite sex? It just didn't make sense to her. When it was the right time, the right person would come into your life even if you had to run over them in a car! Sometimes one gets pretty lonely waiting but if what her mother had told her of her parents marriage, it was well worth the wait.
She thought back to the stories her mother had told her of her father. He had died before she was old enough to remember anything about him. But her mother had told her wonderful stories and she knew he was a man of great passions. The look of love in her mother's eyes told her more about their life than the words. They had not had a long time together, but her mother said they had loved a lifetime in their short time together. Laney only wished for the same, it had been enough to sustain her mother until she died. It would be enough for her.
She walked around the house double checking everything until it was time to leave and giving her living room one last glance she grabbed her bags and left. She would leave her VW at the airport so she didn't have to bother any of her friends for a ride. She was only going to be gone two weeks, so it wasn't a big deal. The drive went rather quickly, there wasn't that much traffic heading into the city at 2 o'clock so she got to the airport a little ahead of schedule. It took a little time to get checked in but she found she still had time for a late lunch while she waited. She went to the closest restaurant and ordered a salad with grilled chicken and a glass of white wine. She took her time eating while she watched all the people bustling around the complex.
Most were rushing around either trying to come or go and she saw that most of them never looked around or acknowledged anyone they bumped into. She wondered if any one of them even realized what they were missing. Their life would pass by so quickly and they would never know the wonder of watching how gentle parents could be with small children or how over awed children were with the vastness of the place. There was so much to see if you only slowed down and looked around. Maybe that was what she wanted more than anything. To be in a place and time that went slow enough to watch. Finishing both her lunch and her ponderings, she went to the gate she was supposed to board the plane at and settled in for the half hour wait. She thought it would seem a lot longer but while she was watching the planes come and go out the window time must have moved at double time. She almost jumped out of her chair when the call came to board.
She boarded the plane and took her window seat. The trip would require a lot of time in the air and she was looking forward to watching the clouds. Maybe she should find a job as a "watcher", that was what she liked to do and even if she had to say so herself, she was really good at it. She could watch a situation and know pretty much all she needed to know about all the people involved. Some people said she was opinionated and just jumped to conclusions, but she knew others regarded her opinion as important enough to ask for, her boss for instance. Whichever was the truth, she still liked to watch and she probably always would.
About half way through the flight, the attendant came by and asked everyone if they would like to watch a movie or get some sleep. Laney had been finishing the book she had brought and felt her eyes needed the rest, taking the pillow she was offered, she reclined her seat and turned the overhead light off. She really didn't think she would go to sleep, the seat wasn't that comfortable, she thought she'd just rest her eyes for a while and then get up and move around for a few minutes. When she heard the announcement "Ladies and gentlemen, please raise your seats to the upright position…" she jumped realizing she had been asleep for more than six hours! "Damn, I missed all the sights over the ocean," she thought to herself.
When the flight landed in London she felt the excitement bubbling to the surface. She had done it! She was actually in London getting ready to walk the same ground that the fabled Knights of the Round Table had! Well, at least she was going to the next day. Tonight she would just be sleeping and checking the arrangements for the tour. Normally she wouldn't want to be a member of a 'group' but she wanted to see as much as possible and knew she wouldn't be able to find them all without a guide.
The hotel she was registered at wasn't one of the most elaborate ones in the city but it wasn't a bad one either. She really didn't mind, after all, if she had lived 1500 years before, there probably wouldn't have been anywhere indoors to sleep unless it was some kind of stable or something. This was turning into a real adventure after all. No matter how things turned out on this trip, she knew she would enjoy it. She loved the 'Old World' feel of the hotel and the relaxed way everyone moved along. No one was cursing or rushing. It was great!
She unpacked all the things she thought she might need overnight. Then she went to register with the tour group. She was surprised to find only two more people were registered and she wondered how the company made a profit like this. Hopefully they wouldn't give them the shortened version just to save money. She wanted to see everything. She picked up the daily guide showing the places they would go to and the schedule they would be following. Opening the guide she found the first stop was a town called Bath. She thought back to the books she had read and registered that this was probably not anywhere near the location where Arthur and his Knights lived and fought the Saxons. 'Well,' she thought, 'they have to start somewhere.'
After a quick dinner of meat and bread she settled in for the night. She lay in her bed and read some more about the places she would be visiting. They were going to spend the night in Bath and then they would be heading toward Hadrian's Wall and the spot where Camelot was supposed to have stood. She imagined what Camelot had been like. Not the fairytale version, the real Camelot. It would have been big, just to hold all the people Arthur had gathered for his cause. It would have been glorious, not with gold and silver and precious stones, but with people who wanted to live in peace and freedom. How she wished she could have seen it in all its glory!