moving day: from english crumpets to american cookies to french mousse

Today was the last day I woke up as a resident of Merton Ave, and fortunately we got to take it slow. We didn't have to catch a train until 4:30pm, so we finished packing up all the bits and bobs we had left, and emptying out the fridge and cupboards. Bill and I toasted up crumpets and savored the last of our good butter on them. Then I found a forgotten bag of frozen cookie dough and decided to just throw them in the oven, which due to the timing of that decision accidentally became my lunch. Today really made me appreciate just how many string lights we hung up here.

The morning didn't feel too emotional because we're not leaving for SF yet, so that still feels far off. There were waves of thunderstorms passing through so I didn't feel too vexed about not making it out for a stroll on the High Road, especially since when we return to London in 6 days we're staying at the hotel just down the street from Merton. Once everything was finally packed, I looked around at the house in empty quiet and then Ben and I left after James and Bill took the bags in a car to the Kiwi's.

We took over one of their bedrooms with all of our bags, and the boys played video games until we were ready to head out. Our rowdy group of 9 walked towards Stamford Brook station and only got caught in one big downpour of rain just as we turned down the passageway. Then onto the tube train and off at Westminster to change to the Jubilee for only one stop to Waterloo. Our train was at 4:30pm, and we boarded in the midst of a torrential downpour which the awnings mostly protected us from. Then it was an hour and a half of disruptive train behavior until we arrived at Portsmouth.

We caught taxis from the station to the ferry terminal, and then elaborately plotted being early in the queue to be competitive for the best window-side dinner seating. We did manage to be among the first of the pedestrians onto the boat, but they let all of the vehicles and cyclists on first so I rushed everyone to drop bags in their rooms and then go straight to dinner. We had achieved our goal of a great table and were then told by the maître d’ that we were in the wrong restaurant. Oops.

So we went one deck higher and I was relieved to recognize the dining room because I had been momentarily convinced that they were running a different and less fabulous ferry this time. Nope. We didn't get window seats but that made sense because we needed a lot of seats together and ended up with a great spot by the buffet. We all swarmed the food and found things we liked, and Ben got two of the oysters he had been looking forward to. Gina got all of us very excited about the cheese display so we ended up doing a cheese course before dessert which was really a treat. Then I got a plate of eight desserts and was fairly satisfied with most but thrilled with the chocolate mousse.

The kids had built up crazy energy during dinner while showing each other memes and photos, so when we finished we dragged them up to the viewing deck to get some fresh air. We all took turns doing crazy poses in the area with wild wind, and then Ben and Sully found a playground to climb on. After that the Kiwis went to tuck in some kids while our crew wandered around a bit to explore the bar and the store and the "plage" beach-themed lounge. Eventually Gina, Dave, and Sully found us in the bar and we chatted for a bit before all admitting we were exhausted and heading to bed.

Bill took James and I took Ben in neighboring cabins, and Ben wanted to sleep on a lofted bunk so I set it up for him and he fell asleep easily. It was my first real moment of quiet since I woke up this morning on Merton Ave, and I realized I've had very little time to process that today. It really feels ideal to have moved out but still be based in Chiswick, with a couple nights there next week making this feel more like just another side trip. Baby steps back towards SF!