Sort of a Holiday, but don't tell!

Our son graduated from college in the spring and intends to attend law school next year. With undergraduate degrees in Political Science and German he's considering various options for future employment, from corporate attorney to diplomatic/government service. Having recognized that there are countless numbers of people who apply to law school immediately after earning undergraduate degrees he began to seek out a program that would strengthen his credentials and provide some separation from the average applicant. He located a program in London and is now working towards an MA in International Relations.

Of course, being good parents, we couldn't just pack up a couple of suitcases and send him off on his own. We "needed" to make sure he was settled in properly, so we accompanied him across the pond as any good parents would. (In case you were wondering, this is where it would be proper for you to applaud our sacrifice.)

He applied and was accepted during the winter, so I started investigating travel options around mid-
April. Airfares were a bit more expensive than last fall, which I found curious, so I adopted a wait-and-see approach, checking various sites approximately weekly. Pricing remained fairly stagnant, then the Brexit vote happened and the prices on Virgin Atlantic fell significantly. This was the first time I considered Virgin for air travel, but it definitely won't be the last, more on that later.

I quickly consulted calendars and schedules, did the usual calculus of airfare pricing vs. the cost of an additional night or two, factored in some adjustment time prior to check-in at school, allowed for tracking down items that it simply didn't make sense to try and transport, such as dishes and cooking utensils, checked the opening times for a few attractions, consulted local friends, determined reasonable travel dates, outlined a plan, and booked our flights.

Having been to London several times prior we opted to rent a flat for this trip in the Kensington/Chelsea area. We've stayed in the neighborhood in the past and have friends who live nearby, so it made a lot of sense for us this trip since we'd be in town for over a week. The convenience of being able to fix breakfast ourselves as well as the occasional dinner after a long day can shave a significant amount from your food expenditures. An assortment of dining options in the neighborhood provide variety for unsettled appetites as well as choices to help keep budgets under control.

Hauling everything for a year took a bit of luggage, so I made arrangements with our favorite and ever-reliable car service, Eddie Manning, for our airport transfers. Unless you're traveling as a couple with very little luggage Eddie Manning is the best value I've ever found, especially when you're trying to navigate after an overnight flight.

Packing was reasonably methodical, with considered thought given to what was likely to be needed to survive a year in the remote wilderness of metropolitan London. How many suits? How many ties? Which shirts will make the cut and which ones will be left behind to languish in the closet for the year?

After an adventure in obtaining his student visa (which you can read about here) departure day arrived and we set out on yet another grand adventure. I will say, the new International terminal in Atlanta is as nice as I've visited and a pleasant place to start your journey abroad.

Pro Tip

I just read that a friend of a cousin lost her father to a heart attack in Costa Rica a couple of days ago. Tragically it was at her wedding, just after the Father-Daughter dance.

Now, in addition to dealing with the overwhelming shock and grief of the circumstances, the family is faced with the daunting (and expensive) task of re-patriating his body. As a SCUBA diver I have had a membership in DAN (Diver's Alert Network) for about twenty years. Not only do I have insurance for dive-related accidents anywhere in the world, my family is also covered for medical emergencies when traveling abroad - including repatriation of remains.

If you travel and don't have a DAN membership I highly recommend the investment, it's affordable and provides tremendous peace of mind.

You can find complete information on DAN membership here.

WTF Disney?

Not a trip report, just a short observation on trying to plan a trip.

Disney World is fairly close, we no longer have to adhere to school schedules, and as I've stated elsewhere we really enjoy the EPCOT Food & Wine Festival. While trying to plan a visit I've identified what I consider a fairly significant bug in the system.

Disney has offered all-inclusive packages for a long while, but has really been promoting them for the last five or six years. Each time we've investigated a vacation we've considered the Disney Dining Plan as an option. If you do the math (and plan accordingly) the dining plan is an excellent option and will ultimately save you a sizable sum of money.

However, if you're planning a trip with minimal lead time the dining options are so limited as to be virtually nonexistent. In other words, Disney is selling you something that they fundamentally can't deliver, unless you want to plan your days around available dining reservations. Since most people look at things such as Extra Magic Hours or offered performances to help plan their days this is pretty much a lost cause.

I'm not sure what the solution is, but for practical purposes it has eliminated these promotions from consideration unless we can plan a trip 5-6 months in advance (reservations open 180 days prior to your arrival.) Since, more often than not, promotions aren't advertised that far in advance, that pretty much means it's a lost cause.