Heading to Heathrow

Day One

Today begins the Reske family European adventure: Seven countries in four weeks with four kids. The possibilities are exponential.

I can remember the exact place Dave and I were when we dreamed up the idea of taking our family to Europe. It was on the beach in Puerto Rico in January. We were lounging on the beach, soaking up the rays, still adjusting to the fact that just a few hours before, we had left a typical single-digit frigid day in Boston, and here we were, just a short jet hop to radiant heat.

“Wow, travel can really change your whole outlook on life,” I remarked, digging my toes into the soft sand.

Thus started the Europe conversation. And, unlike many other crazy ideas, this one seemed to take flight even after we flew back home to not-so-balmy Boston.

What started out as a two-week trip rapidly morphed into a month-long whirlwind continental extravaganza.

Dave bought Rick Steve’s “Europe” book for his travel Bible, and began to map our way through major countries via Google Earth. It was pretty cool.

We kept adding “just one more destination” as we went along. The reasoning was, hey, this was going to be likely the only time we’ll ever do this as a whole family, so how can we see Switzerland and skip Italy? How can we not visit our relatives in Vienna or Berlin? The kids needed to see their lineage. It was up to us to make it happen.

I was the dreamer. Dave was the doer. As in: Finding six frequent flyer tickets – all on the same plane. Booking thirteen different hotels in seven different countires. Planning an itinerary for dozens of stops over 29 days.

Turns out, he was really good at it. If he ever wanted to pursue a new career, he’d get rich and famous as a personal travel planner. Rick would have his competition cut out for him.

So today, after months of emails, phone calls, checking out destinations on the internet, and confirming our confirmations, we are on our way. We left Boston this afternoon and headed to our first destination on our international excursion: Cleveland, Ohio.

Yup. We flew to London from Boston via Cleveland.

This was actually the coolest part of the day, because Dave’s mom, dad, and sister Esther’s large family all live in Cleveland. And we had a four and a half-hour layover. So Esther and Oma picked us up at the airport and 14 of us Reskes went to an all-you-can-eat restaurant (The Golden Something).

Then we drove back to Esther’s house and hung out on the back deck. Joel and Caleb jumped on the trampoline. Jake and Chloe chatted with their older cousins. It was like a free, half-day trip to Cleveland, thanks to Continental Frequent Flyer twisted logic.

It was the best layover you could dream of. Ironically, just 24 hours earlier, Dave’s brother Jim and family (who also live in Ohio) had arrived at our house in Boston for dinner, before heading to Martha’s Vineyard. They had about a four and a half-hour “layover” before their ferry reservation. The coincidence is a bit bizarre. But very cool.

Now we’re on the plane, and on our way. Right before takeoff, Caleb leaned over to me and asked a favor.
“Mom, if we crash, could you please wake me up?”

I told him not to worry and we prayed together for a safe flight. He felt better.

He’s watching Harry Potter now.