The Leaky Dinghy: Captain's Log: Up to Mighty London

[This entry written on June 2nd.]

Location: London

Weather: Sunny and almost warm

Crew Status: A little cranky

Land ho! After many days of hardship, the Transatlantic leg of our perilous journey has come to an end. We awoke this morning to a view of Lisbon (and the refueling barge) from our veranda. In fact, we awoke to this view very early, as Mrs. Peacock felt these sights were worth pointing out at 5AM. Mrs. Peacock then went back to sleep, while Dr. Jones and I thought very uncharitable thoughts about her until we finally gave up on sleep and got in the shower around 7:00.

Perhaps this would not have been such a big deal had Dr. Jones and I gone to bed at a decent hour, but our final evening's convivial "last supper" was followed by an night of celebratory farewells and much discussion of how best to pack our watercolor portfolios.

The infamous Table 105, nicely posed. Back row: Alice the Adventurer, Dauntless Head Waiter Kevin, Captain Elizabeth. Front row: Johanna Jollitime, Franz the Ninja-Accountant Gourmand, Odessa the Art Instructor, Mrs. Peacock.

A more realistic rendering of the Infamous Table 105.

We breakfasted a final time on apple-ricotta pancakes with lingonberry creme fraiche, then took the ship transfer to the Lisbon airport--FOUR HOURS EARLY. Of course, as Mrs. Peacock insisted on packing a large bottle of water in her carry-on (lest we find ourselves stranded in the vast, barren desert of metropolitan Lisbon) and as this bottle was subseqently discovered by airport security, the large cushion of time came in pretty handy.

Dr. Jones and I spent the remaining three hours watching episodes of the first season of Angel (the only show your captain can really follow once dosed with Feel Alright pills) and that's pretty much all I remember until London. Despite the influence of the Feel Alright pills, my navigation skills were sufficient to locate the Heathrow Express, at which point Bryan the Bos'un rejoined our happy crew.