I’m good at a lot but not planning a vacation, but that’s why we have Dad Knows Better. Dad Knows Better is a pro at travel. Flights? He knows the day that flights are cheapest. Hotels? He has a knack for finding the best hotel in a sea of mediocrity. Tourist attractions? He books them before we travel. 
But even the best-laid plans can fail. On our England trip, my husband’s travel plans were en pointe. A true masterpiece of travel planning. Except for one huge issue. The rental car. We needed two. For some bizarre reason, a major rental car company had no cars at its London office on that August Saturday morning. No cars at London Heathrow, either. No cars anywhere in England. No cars in Scotland or Wales. We were a party of 7…2 grandparents, 2 parents, and 3 children…a kid, a preteen/tween, and a teen. We needed 2 rental cars for the 17 pieces of luggage. We actually packed light! On that August Saturday at the London rental car office, it was Dad Knows Better who called it and declared that we needed to make our way north using ground transportation. So began the Planes, Trains, and Automobiles portion of our England vacation. Have you ever seen the movie?
After a glorious 5 days of sightseeing in London…Tower of London, Double Decker Bus Tour of London, Hampton Court Palace, Madame Tussaud’s, HMS Belfast, Shakespeare’s The Globe Theater…we had a grueling journey ahead of us. Getting 7 people on and off buses, taxis, and trains was an ordeal. Did I mention we had 17 pieces of luggage?! But, we made it to my hometown of Manchester…the part of the trip that was of paramount importance to me. I needed my kids to see my hometown, my schools, the places I loved to visit, foods I loved to eat, childhood memories, family friends, and relatives. Having rental cars would have made the second part of our trip easy. Instead, we had to rely on taxis, trains, and buses.
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