After lots of ups and downs while planning this trip, we are on our way to London! We have been planning this 3 week adventure to the UK and Ireland with my mom for more than a year. She has always talked about her love of England, Scotland, and Ireland, but she didn't ever expect to go. I knew she would love it, so we talked her into joining us this year. This is her first trip overseas.
Our planning took a bit of a curve when she was told she needed open heart surgery to remove a cardiac tumor 1 month before we were supposed to leave. The extensive recovery required meant that we would not be able to continue with our original plans. Undeterred, I hurried to reschedule everything for later in the summer, hoping she would feel well enough to travel then. I normally like to travel in the less busy seasons, so we were a little bit concerned about traveling in July. It may be busier when we get there, but we are looking forward to some of the benefits like getting to visit the Buckingham palace state rooms, Highclere castle, and attending the military tattoo in Edinburgh. The downside of the changes to our plans is that everything was significantly more expensive during the high season. Also, since we were booking with less notice than before, we had difficulty finding a triple room in many places, so our hotel costs almost doubled.
We are so thankful that mom is OK and able to travel with us, we are viewing this once-in-a-lifetime trip as a celebration for her. We are making more splurges than we usually would, like spending extra money to get great seats to the Phantom of the Opera in London, and to the military tattoo. Instead of staying in the more budget places that we normally stay in, we are spending a little more to get charming places or places with unique history to stay in. Our biggest splurge is going to be a night spent in Ashford castle in Ireland, where we will also have afternoon tea then do the hawk walk.
We are especially grateful to Delta this trip. We had booked our original flights 9 months before we planned to travel. I was not aware that a ticket expires one year after purchase. I was prepared to pay the change fee per ticket, but when I called to reschedule our flights I was told that our tickets would expire just the week before we planned to travel. I was so disappointed, and told the customer service person why we had to make the change to our plans. She was reluctant, but said that she would attempt to make the changes and see if the computer would allow it. Not only was she allowed to reschedule, but in light of the circumstances she waived the change fees and wished my mom a happy recovery. I learned my lesson about not booking flights too far in advance going forward, but I'm thankful the lesson wasn't as painful as it could have been.
Mom isn't a hiker, and she still tires out more easily than before, so we have planned a lot of time in the car with scenic stops along the way. She loves road trips and is excited about this. We are certainly trying to cover too much in too little time, but hopefully we will be able to give her a little taste of each place since it is doubtful that she will ever be back. Thank you all for the tips you have offered as I've planned this trip. I will be sure to report back when we return!