Monday, March 31, 2014
Not Much to Report
In terms of the trip to Dartmoor it has been a slow month. Now that I have made flight arrangements from Albuquerque to New York and all of the deposits have been made there isn't much to do. I did do a little research on rental cars and hotels for Brighton and London but I haven't made any reservations yet. Also I am getting some reading done from the books that I have ordered. But other than that there hasn't been much going on with the Talk List. A couple of other things I have done is to update my to do and packing lists. I have been adding things to the lists as I think of them because if I don't add it when I think of it I will most likely forget it - here one day, gone the next. That's it for now, I will report again next month.
Friday, February 28, 2014
Flights Confirmed and Some General Information
I have been working on our flights for the trip and it was a lot of work to make things come together. 
Daniel from Best Group Airfares had done the New York to London part but I needed him to make some adjustments since Thomas and I need connecting flights and we are coming back later than most of the group. It took three or four calls to Daniel to get everything arranged but it all worked out finally. Thomas and I will have to leave Albuquerque at 11:57pm on Wednesday, August 27th in order to get to New York and make the connecting flight to London with the rest of the group. We will get into JFK around 6:00am on August 28th and have to spend 12 hours waiting for the connection. But that worked out the best. The other flights really didn't give us enough time since we have to collect our bags from Albuquerque and go through security again. But at least we will be able to make the flight to London with the rest of the group. We will return from London on September 11th on an early morning flight which gets us into New York around noon giving us plenty of time to get through customs and make our connecting flight around 8:00pm. Both trips will be long but I think it will be worth it. I am glad that this part of the trip is handled. Here is our actual flight information . . .
When this trip was first announced Mark P. asked for suggestions for a group name and one of the suggestions was from Grumpy Grinch (who unfortunately had to back out of the trip) came up with a good one. And it seems that is the name we are going to use since I saw a post on Pinecone Boxing for the trip using that suggested name. It is The Hounds of Boxerville. This is a play of course on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes story The Hound of the Baskervilles - which is set in Dartmoor. You can read Mark P.'s account of the trip by going to The Hounds of Boxerville Trip on his blog.
Deposits have been made for our airfare, rental vans and our accommodations in Dartmoor. Things are getting more real. We will have to make full payments sometime in July. Mark P. has also given us an idea of what the total cost will be for each person for everything including extra meals, gas for the vans, entry fees and souvenirs. I think it will be a very reasonable price for this incredible trip. We have been putting money aside ever since we were invited on this trip so I am ready to pay when the time comes.
Earlier I had asked Mark P. if we would be going anywhere near Stonehenge but he said it was a little out of the way and when they had gone on a previous trip they were disappointed. Recently Mark did some research and mapped out a more rural driving route and we will be going right by Stonehenge. Also he read up on Stonehenge and they have revamped the whole experience and he has added a stop there on our way from London to Dartmoor. I am so excited, this has been something I have wanted to do for a long time.
This month I purchased a new point & shoot camera. I got the Panasonic Lumex DMC-TZ40. At first I was going to bring my DSLR but I decided that it is too big to carry and I am trying to keep things as compact as possible. I think this will work out great. We also needed to give Mark P. any dietary restrictions we might have so he can make arrangements at Blackadon. And we got information on how much we need for the kitty (£50) and we will also need $20 for Stonehenge.
We also got a link with some information on British coins - hopefully it will all make sense when we get there.
Now I still have lots of things to get done since we are staying a few days longer than the rest of the group. I need to arrange a rental car and hotels for those extra days. It shouldn't be a problem, I just need to get it done. I am so excited about this trip and as things get done I get more excited because it makes it all the more real. I will post again when more plans are finalized.
Daniel from Best Group Airfares had done the New York to London part but I needed him to make some adjustments since Thomas and I need connecting flights and we are coming back later than most of the group. It took three or four calls to Daniel to get everything arranged but it all worked out finally. Thomas and I will have to leave Albuquerque at 11:57pm on Wednesday, August 27th in order to get to New York and make the connecting flight to London with the rest of the group. We will get into JFK around 6:00am on August 28th and have to spend 12 hours waiting for the connection. But that worked out the best. The other flights really didn't give us enough time since we have to collect our bags from Albuquerque and go through security again. But at least we will be able to make the flight to London with the rest of the group. We will return from London on September 11th on an early morning flight which gets us into New York around noon giving us plenty of time to get through customs and make our connecting flight around 8:00pm. Both trips will be long but I think it will be worth it. I am glad that this part of the trip is handled. Here is our actual flight information . . .
JetBlue 66 27 AUG ABQ - JFK 2357. 0559.
JetBlue 65 11 SEP JFK - ABQ 2015. 2404.
VS 4 28 AUG JFK - LHR 1830. 0650.
VS 3 11 SEP LHR - JFK 0905. 1150.
Deposits have been made for our airfare, rental vans and our accommodations in Dartmoor. Things are getting more real. We will have to make full payments sometime in July. Mark P. has also given us an idea of what the total cost will be for each person for everything including extra meals, gas for the vans, entry fees and souvenirs. I think it will be a very reasonable price for this incredible trip. We have been putting money aside ever since we were invited on this trip so I am ready to pay when the time comes.
Earlier I had asked Mark P. if we would be going anywhere near Stonehenge but he said it was a little out of the way and when they had gone on a previous trip they were disappointed. Recently Mark did some research and mapped out a more rural driving route and we will be going right by Stonehenge. Also he read up on Stonehenge and they have revamped the whole experience and he has added a stop there on our way from London to Dartmoor. I am so excited, this has been something I have wanted to do for a long time.This month I purchased a new point & shoot camera. I got the Panasonic Lumex DMC-TZ40. At first I was going to bring my DSLR but I decided that it is too big to carry and I am trying to keep things as compact as possible. I think this will work out great. We also needed to give Mark P. any dietary restrictions we might have so he can make arrangements at Blackadon. And we got information on how much we need for the kitty (£50) and we will also need $20 for Stonehenge.
We also got a link with some information on British coins - hopefully it will all make sense when we get there. Now I still have lots of things to get done since we are staying a few days longer than the rest of the group. I need to arrange a rental car and hotels for those extra days. It shouldn't be a problem, I just need to get it done. I am so excited about this trip and as things get done I get more excited because it makes it all the more real. I will post again when more plans are finalized.
Friday, January 31, 2014
A New Year and More Plans
Well we are now into 2014 and we are still doing some planning for our trip to Dartmoor. My countdown calendar at the top of the page states we only have 208 days until we leave. Mark Pepe is really doing most of the planning, we just have to make payments and make arrangements for our airfare from Albuquerque to New York.
We have also decided to stay a few days after the letterbox group leaves. Thomas has a friend from college that lives in Brighton and we decided since we were in the country we should take the time to visit them. So we also have to decide what day we want to return and adjust our flights. Also Mark P. asked for a volunteer to drive one of the vans and Thomas said he would be willing to drive one - so it looks like he will have to practice driving on the left side of the road before we leave. I have been reading the books that I have ordered and looking at maps of the Dartmoor area just to get oriented. There seems to be a lot to do and a lot of folklore that I can't wait to learn more about when we get there. I am not sure exactly what we will be doing during our time in Dartmoor (well except for letterboxing), so I am hoping we have some time to learn a little about Dartmoor while we are there. Knowing Mark P. I am sure there will be some neat things happening on the trip.
I have a lot of things on my mind related to the trip. A lot of things I want to do, see and experience. I have started to make a little 'bucket list' for this trip to England. Thomas and I have been to England twice and have seen pretty much but there are still some things we want to do. So I am trying to keep my list to only a few things so that we have time to get them done. I am also starting to gather paper and things to make a logbook just for this trip to Dartmoor. Another thing I am doing is starting to make a packing list - I am trying to only take what I absolutely need and trying to keep my luggage to one medium sized bag and a backpack. Hopefully I can do that so it will be easier to get around.
Now that we are in 2014 the trip is becoming more real and we are getting more information from Mark P. and the excitement is building. We started the month with 16 people going on the trip but there have been some more changes. Shorty is no longer going on the trip and we have added Whiz Gee, The Lazy Letterboxer and The Letterboxing Ham. That means we have gone from 16 to 15 to 16 to 18 - and 18 is where we stand now.
We have received information about making our flight reservations to and from London. Mark P. is getting the flights arranged through Daniel Freitas at Best Group Airfares and the flights are as follows . . .
Thomas and I also need to arrange a flight from Albuquerque to New York and then back home after the trip. Also, we are staying a week longer than the Dartmoor trip so we can visit friends in Brighton and then spend a few days in London (one of our favorite cities). Unfortunately when I called the guy handling the flights he was in a meeting. I talked to a woman and put down our deposit for the New York «-» London part and informed her that we needed to add the Albuquerque to New York part and then change the dates of the return trip. She said she would make a note and then give it the guy handling the flights and get him to call me back. Well I didn't hear back from him today so I am a little worried - I am hoping he didn't schedule us to return with the group. I left myself a note on my computer to call him first thing Monday morning and hopefully we can get all the flights arranged and paid for. It sure would be a big part of the trip handled and one thing we wouldn't have to worry about anymore. We made our $80 deposits on the 24th of this month
 |
| Brighton's Royal Pavilion |
I have a lot of things on my mind related to the trip. A lot of things I want to do, see and experience. I have started to make a little 'bucket list' for this trip to England. Thomas and I have been to England twice and have seen pretty much but there are still some things we want to do. So I am trying to keep my list to only a few things so that we have time to get them done. I am also starting to gather paper and things to make a logbook just for this trip to Dartmoor. Another thing I am doing is starting to make a packing list - I am trying to only take what I absolutely need and trying to keep my luggage to one medium sized bag and a backpack. Hopefully I can do that so it will be easier to get around.
We have received information about making our flight reservations to and from London. Mark P. is getting the flights arranged through Daniel Freitas at Best Group Airfares and the flights are as follows . . .
VS 4 28 AUG JFK - LHR 1830. 0650.
VS 9 06 SEP LHR - JFK 1605. 1855.
Thomas and I also need to arrange a flight from Albuquerque to New York and then back home after the trip. Also, we are staying a week longer than the Dartmoor trip so we can visit friends in Brighton and then spend a few days in London (one of our favorite cities). Unfortunately when I called the guy handling the flights he was in a meeting. I talked to a woman and put down our deposit for the New York «-» London part and informed her that we needed to add the Albuquerque to New York part and then change the dates of the return trip. She said she would make a note and then give it the guy handling the flights and get him to call me back. Well I didn't hear back from him today so I am a little worried - I am hoping he didn't schedule us to return with the group. I left myself a note on my computer to call him first thing Monday morning and hopefully we can get all the flights arranged and paid for. It sure would be a big part of the trip handled and one thing we wouldn't have to worry about anymore. We made our $80 deposits on the 24th of this month
Tuesday, December 31, 2013
A Little More Information
Information regarding the trip continues to trickle in and planning also continues. 
Mark P. reminded us of the Yahoo Talk List and wanted us to make sure to sign up so that we could get all the information as it becomes available and be able to respond to any questions he would ask us.
Mark P. gave us a little more information about the airfare and let us know that sometime soon we will need to provide an $80 deposit per person to the air consolidator. We still don't have the actual flights or price but that shouldn't be long in coming. He also mentioned that we will need deposits for the cottage and vans sometime in March. I still haven't done anything about connecting flights because I need to find out the actual times of the flight from New York to London.
We have also had a change in who is going to make the trip. Grumpy Grinch and Talking Turtle & Hugh have decided not to take the trip and Lisa (from the HowD Girls) has joined the group. So we went from 19 to 15 to 16 in the matter of a month. Since the trip isn't until this coming August I guess we are in for more changes - oh well, it will all work out. I am sure there will be more planning during the new year.
Mark P. reminded us of the Yahoo Talk List and wanted us to make sure to sign up so that we could get all the information as it becomes available and be able to respond to any questions he would ask us.Mark P. gave us a little more information about the airfare and let us know that sometime soon we will need to provide an $80 deposit per person to the air consolidator. We still don't have the actual flights or price but that shouldn't be long in coming. He also mentioned that we will need deposits for the cottage and vans sometime in March. I still haven't done anything about connecting flights because I need to find out the actual times of the flight from New York to London.
We have also had a change in who is going to make the trip. Grumpy Grinch and Talking Turtle & Hugh have decided not to take the trip and Lisa (from the HowD Girls) has joined the group. So we went from 19 to 15 to 16 in the matter of a month. Since the trip isn't until this coming August I guess we are in for more changes - oh well, it will all work out. I am sure there will be more planning during the new year.
Saturday, November 30, 2013
More Information and Who's Making the Trip
Well, we have received some information regarding airfare, cottages, vans and estimated costs for the trip. We got approximate costs for the cottage (which includes some meals) and comes to about $750 each. For the vans, it looks like it will be about $134 each and the airfare is going to cost somewhere around $1200 each - that only includes the flight from New York to London. We will still need to look into airfare from Albuquerque to New York.
The dates for the trip have also been established and it looks like we will be gone from Thursday, August 28th to Saturday, September 6th. That's the trip to Dartmoor, they will change if we decide to stay a little longer and visit our friends. Mark P. also gave us information and reminders regarding electrical converters, passports, luggage, laundry facilities, having some local currency, logbooks, putting money into a kitty for gas and such, and also to remember to let our credit card companies know we are going to be out of the country.
We also have a list of who's going to be traveling to Dartmoor . . .
On a more fun note Mark P. has asked for everyone to suggest a name for the group.
Grumpy Grinch came up with a really great one right off the bat. He suggested The Hounds of Boxerville. This is a play on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes story of The Hound of the Baskervilles which is set in Dartmoor. It seems most people like this so I am guessing that is the name we will use for the trip. And it was noted that Amy (TsukiAmes) will carve the group stamp for the trip.
I also bought a couple of more books . . . Dartmoor Letterboxing: A Guide for Beginners and Dartmoor Quiz Book. There has been a lot of information exchanged this month and a lot of plans are in the making. I am looking forward to this trip and I am really excited - but there is so much to do and it is still quite a ways away.
We also have a list of who's going to be traveling to Dartmoor . . .
Grumpy GrinchThomas and I have had the pleasure of traveling with most of these people and we are looking forward to seeing them again and meeting the ones we have met yet. I feel that this will be a great bunch.
Mark & Sue Pepe
Doublesaj & Old Blue
ggghiker & Irish Marine
TsukiAmes & Jei
lionsmane & Highwayman
bookworm
Shorty
Talking Turtle & Hugh
moonstone
Bell Motel
roadrunner
On a more fun note Mark P. has asked for everyone to suggest a name for the group.
Grumpy Grinch came up with a really great one right off the bat. He suggested The Hounds of Boxerville. This is a play on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes story of The Hound of the Baskervilles which is set in Dartmoor. It seems most people like this so I am guessing that is the name we will use for the trip. And it was noted that Amy (TsukiAmes) will carve the group stamp for the trip.I also bought a couple of more books . . . Dartmoor Letterboxing: A Guide for Beginners and Dartmoor Quiz Book. There has been a lot of information exchanged this month and a lot of plans are in the making. I am looking forward to this trip and I am really excited - but there is so much to do and it is still quite a ways away.
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