We knew what we were getting into but it sure felt like the longest day ever despite the anticipation. The good news is that the transportation to the airport in LA and the whole airport experience went off without a hitch. We arrived 2 1/2 hours before our flight and were checked in and through security in 30 minutes. We somehow are known as trusted travelers so we often get to go though the TSA pre-check line which is 75% shorter and we don't have to remove shoes, laptops or liquids. A big advantage at a large airport like LAX. We took our time walking to the gate since we were in the Bradley International Terminal we had the luxury of browsing in the very large "Mall" they call Duty Free. We even got to do some Scotch Whiskey tasting.

The Flight on British Airways was excellent. We were on a new Airbus 380 which has 2 decks with 500 passengers. We were fed dinner and breakfast along with complimentary wine with dinner. The flight attendant even slipped Scott a Glenlivet when he mentioned single malt. We never sleep well on a plane so we had a very long night but the flight was smooth and comfortable for the most part. Our luck held out until we landed. Although immigration, luggage pick up and customs went smoothly, the rental car experience was a disaster. It all worked out in the end but after a 45 minute wait in line we found out that they did not have the car with an automatic transmission that we had reserved. We along with 5 or 6 other couples were quite upset by this. We learned in Ireland and Scotland that it is advantageous not to have to try and shift with the left hand whilst driving on the left side of the road from the right side of the car. We loaded up our luggage in the manual transmission Suzuki that we were assigned and turned the corner in the parking lot when a Mercedez pulled in and unloaded. We stopped and asked if it was an Automatic. Sure enough it was. Scott worked his magic with the agent and 10 minutes later we drove out with a significant upgrade, all for the added price of a box of chocolates for the woman at the counter.

Since we arrived at 10 in the morning, despite the delays getting the car, we still had several hours before we could check into our Airbnb so we headed up to Cambridge to walk around and grab a few groceries. It is a really beautiful town with 2 historic Colleges right next to each other. We also had a late lunch at an historic Pub in the town of Duxford that will be our home base for the next 3 nights. We found our lodging without difficulty, unloaded our luggage and spent part of the evening with our hostess and her son both wonderfully English. Off to bed early for hopefully a full night of restorative sleep. Off to Ridgewell tomorrow....the primary reason for this trip.