Enterprise – We’ll pick you up, and today they did! I got up this morning with anxiety, nerves, and excitement because today was the day I was going to start driving on the left side of the road. I had been preparing myself for this the whole week, watching the traffic patterns, pretending to drive the buses we were on, and constantly repeating to myself “Left, left, left.” Here goes nothing!
The woman from Enterprise picked me up and as I climbed into the left seat I felt my first bit of disorientation. It was very peculiar to be sitting in the left seat with no pedals, no steering wheel, no control. Yikes! She brought us to the rental company grounds and showed me my vehicle for the week, a Hyundai i800! It is an enormous car that seats eight, holds luggage for the Kardashians, and runs on diesel! To say I was disheartened is an understatement.
I was expecting a repeat of last summer’s car, a lovely, tiny little van that we all barely fit in. On the narrow European roads, it did very well, and for most part it was easy to park. My UK driving strategy was to rent an automatic for the first leg so I could concentrate on staying in the right (left) lane and not worry about driving a manual with opposite hands at the same time. What I’ve learned is that tiny minivans that seat six aren’t available in an automatic transmission, so I got this beast instead!
I pulled out of the car park and headed back to the flat, taking care to keep myself firmly planted in the left lane. For the most part this went well, and I was even able to parallel park the thing when I returned to the apartment. Keep in mind that the space I parked in was very generous! We gathered up our possessions, loaded the van, and departed our flat – for awhile…
With the help of Liz and the Bordcomputer I was able to make my out of London and on to the comfort of the highway system. We started the day with only a 1/4 tank of gas (a peculiarity that would never happen in the US), so after about 45 minutes of driving we stopped to fuel up. As we entered the gas station to load up on snacks for the trip Liz discovered that her credit card had gone missing. We contacted the place we had just stayed and sure enough, they had found it. After a little bit of deliberation we headed back to London to retrieve the card!
With that mission accomplished we continued on our journey to visit the ancient mythical phenomenon known as Stonehenge. Through a little research I had done earlier that morning I had discovered that we could drive up to the stones via an access road, park our van, and walk on a pedestrian throughway, which would give us the same view as the paying customers. As we tried to find said access road, we stumbled upon Woodhenge! The kids ran around with some other travelers, invented some new games, and even Liz had a little fun demonstrating her flexibility.
After a little searching we ended up finding the road and walking up to the stones. Surprisingly, all the kids were impressed. I heard things like “This is much cooler than I expected,” and “I didn’t think I was going to like this at all.” I’ll take it!
We got back in the van and headed to our next base camp. After getting off the highways, my mettle was constantly tested as this giant van barely fit in the lines, there was often a stone wall 6 inches off my left and then Semis were coming straight at us in oncoming lane. I’ve found it best to hold my breath and hope for the best. So far so good.
Finally we arrived and met our hosts, Warren and Ali. Their home was actually the old post office in Cranmore and was built in 1867. It’s got some really cool original features, as well as all of the modern conveniences. Warren poured me a cold beer, and gave me a rundown of the place. After they departed we headed to local pub for dinner – The Strode Arms.
Suffice it to say that this was the best meal we have eaten thus far in England. Between the braised steak and mushroom pie, the chicken supreme with mushroom sauce, and the gammon ham, we were in food heaven. We also discovered a fun pub game called “Shut the Box,” and just so everyone knows, I won.
We headed back to the Old Post Office and got ourselves settled in for the night. Liz started game planning tomorrow’s journey to Bath, with a new caveat – park that big stupid van!
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