Our England post

Hi everyone|!!!!
This is our first attempt at adding an official blog as well as some videos from England and Ireland, and I think 1 from New York. Instead of rambling from a Cyber-cafe in Dublin, I thought we would simply read from Brian's journal. Here is what he wrote on the 4th of July...This is my first entry in the journal that will document our trip. For those of you who are reading this in our old age or after our passing, I will explain the details. My beautiful bride, Kelly Marie Mack (now Kelly Mack Herkert) and I dreamed of a trip circumnavigating the globe for the four years prior to our marriage. We are now in our second day of said adventure, and have found it to be even more exciting than we had imagined. We first flew from Chicago (Midway) to New York (Islip), where we found ourselves in an 86th and Broadway version of a nice hotel, specifically designed for foreign travelers. It was smaller than the average kitchen, but had all of the amenities of a tent in the middle of the woods.
From New York, where the subway spun through the underbelly of the city (by the way, not one taxi patroned) like a graffitied web of lies and misinformation we made our way to Heathrow Airport in the land of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. We were thankfully and quite surprisingly greeted by Mr Malcolm Clark. He is a longtime friend of Kelly's family, the Lamkins, as well as, from what I have seen, an indispensable asset of the Lamkin Golf Grip Company. Malcolm ushered Kelly and I from the airport to the first hotel of the European stint of our adventure, The Thistle Hotel; a dump by the standards of some, but quite a leg up from our stay in New York. Kelly and I found it to be more than suitable, especially due to a tiny pub known as the White Horse. Built in 1534, the White Horse became the oldest building I had ever stepped foot in, an honor that would live in eternal glory...until the very next day when Malcolm and his wife, Rosemary, brought us to Windsor Castle, truly the home of the Queen. To be fair to the White Horse, it is still the oldest pub I have ever been in.
This day, July the fourth, was made all the better by Malcolm's incessant gratitude for me (I represented America) kicking him (England) out of the United States. "You're Welcome" was teh only fitting response I could muster, with a hearty laugh by all. In a time when both the United States and the United Kingdom face economic peril and social disarray, it was encouraging to have a delicious meal with three of the most wonderful people we are likely to meet during our travels. Malcolm, Rosemary, and their daughter Steph could not have been more welcoming or hospitable. A wonderful meal of filet mignon and English sausage with chips was preceded by a delightful appetizer of olives and Moondance Ale. The only thing more wonderful than the meal and the endless glasses of Glenmorangie that followed was the conversation thereafter and the resonance of the friendship we all had gained. We have made plans to meet with Steph further in our adventure, and I can only hope that we have the chance to return this favor to the entire Clark family. The stories we shared and the time we had will not be soon forgotten.