Some good, some not as good

archway in Bristol city centre

Saturday night, we stayed up way too late trying to figure out how to get to church the next morning.  Proximity to the church was one reason I chose that hotel in Bristol, but apparently there was absolutely no way to get there by bus on Sundays (no buses to city centre either, which would have taken  long time but also would have made the journey to church possible).  We fell asleep still undecided, and in the morning--cutting it close--we prayed for a way to get there and a way to somehow find time for lunch between church and our 13:51 train.

Our hotel gladly agreed to watch our luggage while we were at church (checkout was noon and we knew we wouldn't be back by then), and they called a taxi for us which was a bit pricey for a trip to church, but was worth it in the end.  Special note: oh my gosh! the seats in the back of the taxi CONVERTED into booster seats and infant seats!!!! Must get this built into my van when I get home!

At church, everyone was welcoming and so nice.  The pastor asked how we got there and he told us not to worry about finding a taxi back, he would ask around and find someone to drive us.  So nice.  And, our lunch dilemma?  Solved: it was a special abbreviated service to welcome guests and lunch was served afterward.  Eli had fun and did just fine in his class, and Sammy loved "crèche" (which to me sounds harsh, but it means nursery); they said he really enjoyed pushing the pram and he ate a biscuit, etc.

We got to chat with the members, many of them from the States, and after lunch a man approached us and said he would be happy to serve us by driving us back to the hotel.  I checked my phone and it was already 1:15, and I didn't see how we would make it to the hotel to get our luggage, much less to the train station before our (too expensive to miss) train.  We could not go with him after all, because he didn't have child seats for us to use, but another man could help us.  His wife offered to stay at church with their kids while he drove us to the hotel and  to the train station.  Not only that, he insisted on helping us carry our things, made sure we got our prepaid tickets okay, and took us to the platform!  We're so grateful and amazed how God answered each of our prayers!

Then, the day got a little more difficult.

We were confused enough, not having this kind of public transportation where we live, but man, the English have a really complex, efficient railway system worked out and their punctuality threw us in the rubbish bin.  It started with both the boys being incredibly tired and crabby, and unable to sleep on the train.  Instead they cried and whined, and that always adds more than a little stress for Chris and I (hm..note to self: work on not getting stressed about that...)  Okay, SO, just to get from Bristol to Oxford we had to take three trains,  and we have a lot of luggage for two people to hold at once...factor in the time it takes for two adults with two little kids to get that luggage down from the luggage racks...now factor in the 1.5 minutes (seriously!) they give you to get off the train.  This is what happened:

• train pulls into Didcot station
• I take Sammy and Eli and my purse and camera bag and laptop bag
• Chris turns to get the stroller and two suitcases
• The guy (I'm sure he has a job title) shuts the train door and locks it
• Chris sticks his head out the window and says something
• The guy argues
• a nice woman says "he's got his kids over there! let him off!"
• The guy says "I don't care--time is time--he'll have to take a train back later!"
• I think "the time you just wasted arguing is longer than it would take for him to get off the train"
• Chris rolls away to Reading

I'm really not exaggerating when I tell you this ALL happened in less than two minutes.  I know that because the train arrived at 14:31 and before 14:33 it was gone again...and guess what...my train to Oxford was leaving at 14:36!  I didn't even have enough time to walk to the right platform.  

All I could do at that point was ignore the fact that I was missing the other train and set off (with all this stuff and two tired kids) to find a bathroom because in the excitement of it all, Sammy's neglected diaper overflowed and his pants were now covered in pee.  I found a bathroom and got Sammy changed with little trouble, and then I had to decide what to do about Chris being..wherever Chris was.  

I could stay and see if he came back or go on to Oxford and hope he turns up there.  I just started walking aimlessly, and carried everything down a set of stairs.  A family walked by and, noticing I was struggling, asked if I needed help carrying anything.  I started to tell them what happened and that I didn't know what I should do, and I just ended up crying from the stress of it all.  They couldn't believe The Guy wouldn't let Chris get off the train, and helped me back up the stairs.  Making sure I was okay, they took me to the information desk and told another guy (who I'm sure also has a job title) what had happened.  He was very apologetic and said that he'd been looking everywhere for me, and assured me that he had been in contact with people on the train and that Chris was on his way back.  He said not to worry, we'd be able to get on the next train to Oxford as soon as he was back.  The nice family walked me to a waiting area and once again made sure I was okay.  They had been at Day Out With Thomas there, and gave Eli a little set of Thomas Legos they had been given for their baby.  So thankful for them!!

The time waiting for Chris was hard because poor Sammy was sooo tired.  He cried for a while and I finally rocked him to sleep, and that's when Chris showed up and at that point we had to immediately get on the train.  I'm really tired of talking about today, so this is where it ends.  Looking forward to tomorrow :)  Just a few things real quick:

1. Our train went through Bath and I feel terrible that we can't visit there this time.  It looked so amazing!  Plus everyone who found out we were going to be in this part of England said "you have to go to Bath!" and those comments continued at church yesterday.
   
2. Oxford is beautiful too, and I can't wait to get some photos and spend a few days here!  And the shopping looks fantastic.

Quote of the day: Eli, tired from so much walking, he was nearly crying: "I wish I would have taken a carrrrrrrrrrr!"