Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Southhampton UK

TODAY IS THE DAY!!  Jeff's ship is scheduled to arrive this morning. 

Diane and I set off early to catch the first glimpse of the ship as it makes it's way into the harbor.  It's a rainy, cold and blustery morning here in Southhampton.  We drove into the Mayflower Park to await the arrival of the ship.  We were fortunate to have the warmth of the car from which to anxiously await Explorer's arrival. Finally, at 7:45, we saw her.

Jeff's home away from home for the past four months, MV Explorer arrives in Southhampton.

 The rain was pounding, so there were no kids on the decks to wave to all of the cold parents standing in the rain holding American Flags and poster board greeting signs.  But we all were bursting with excitement to see our children.  I think this is about the time tears of joy started running down my cheeks.  Tears or raindrops ... not really certain here.

After the ship passed us, we drove on down to the terminal at gate 10 to wait for the passengers to clear immigration and unload all the luggage.  While we were waiting, the kids came out on the ship's decks.  

Waiting to clear immigration, the children and parents catch their first glimpse of each other.

We were watching them from inside the terminal.  They were watching us from the deck.  It felt surreal.  So close, yet so far away.  They seemed to be as excited about seeing us as we were to see them.  Squeals of joy would erupt followed by happy frantic waving when a parent saw their child out on that deck.  Yup!  I was one of them.  That's when the water works started again.  I was so happy to see Jeff standing on deck, with his hat on backwards and his plaid shirt blowing in the wind. 

After four hours of waiting, the kids began disembarking the ship.  Families gathered at the exit waiting for their child to come through the door.  

Heather and Diane reunion.

Cheers of joy and happy greetings rang through the terminal as a parents and family members would run to hug their child.  My tears continued with each warm reunion, while waiting and waiting to see my son come through that door.  It's hard to describe the emotional melt down I felt when I finally saw my handsome son walking towards me.  

FINALLY!!  

As a typical mom, for months, I've worried about all the scary things that could happen to Jeff along the way.  But with one embrace, all was right with the world.  He left 4 months ago, traveled completely around the world, and now he was safely in my arms.  Thank you God!  

I got to meet many of the new friends Jeff has traveled with.  I'm sure he'll stay connected with many of these kids for the rest of his life.  

New friends!!

Several of us celebrated the moment with champagne brought by one of the parents.

The reunion was bittersweet with an underlying sadness.  These kids have spent months together, developing friendships and sharing adventures of a lifetime and now their trip has come to an end.  

Jeff's roommate on the ship.

There were tearful goodbyes as we loaded the car for our drive back to London.  Jeff, Heather and Maggie kept us amused with tales from the trip.  From skiing in Japan to bungie jumping in Africa to riding camels in Morocco, the experiences sounded wonderful!

When we arrived back to London, we had a nice lunch at Claridges before setting off on a shopping expedition at Selfridges for Jeff.

Lunch at Claridges where we had "proper" fish'n chips.

The journey continues!  Several kids from Semester at Sea have purchased Eurail passes (train passes) that will allow them to travel anywhere in Europe.  They are leaving London in a few days for Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Berlin and no doubt several other unscheduled stops along the way ending up in Barcelona.  

Geared up and ready for the next portion of his adventure!

Jeff needed a few essentials for the rest of his journey.  He can't haul the huge duffle with 4 months worth of gear, so we found a great back pack for him, a new hard drive for photos, shoes to replace the ones he lost somewhere in Hong Kong, a new charger for his GoPro and memory stick for his camera.  He's good to go.  

We had dinner with a few of the parents and some of the kids from SAS.  After dinner, Jeff went out with his SAS friends.  I returned to the hotel to consolidate Jeff's clothes and gear into fewer bags so I can take them back to California with me tomorrow.  

Dinner with Semester at Sea friends.

I'll get to spend some time with Jeff in the morning before I leave for Heathrow to catch my flight back to Los Angeles.  No sooner do I get my son back, he leaves again.  But I'm so excited for the next leg of his wonderful experience.  Now I go back to my worry phase again, praying daily for his safety.