GABIT attendees thread

[lame moose (mocha)]

ditto on that. whoever took pictures of the whole table(tables) can you pass them along. i'd like to add that to my photos. just for myself-have no plans to do anything with them. i will be sending a link for my photos here in the next few days. i almost remember how the apple guy told me to do it. soon.

starsong...will you be at AT5? I CAN'T REMEMBER IF I ASKED YOU BEFORE. oops, didn't mean to shout. i keep hitting the caps lock thing by mistake.

[lame moose (mocha)]

samjackshiplover -- it just dawned on me how to add my name to the list...copy and paste, right? see, i'm not a hopeless ludite. it just takes me a while. also i've had my starbucks(with caffiene) since then. thanks for taking care of that for me tho. now i'm confident i'll be able to do it myself for AT6 or TSE2...whichever comes first. can't believe they just told me my message was one character too short. i've posted shorter?!?

[Celandine]

It's never too early! I'm already trying to decide how long to be in London for... I'm probably going to take the overnight Tuesday from NYC, but not sure when to go home.

That's the hard part. Leaving.

i've been giving that a lot of thought too. i thought of driving to wales for a few days, but, i'm not sure i can do the "drive on the other side of the road" thing. AND, someone told me that there is more likely to be snow in feb. than there was in nov. , so that may not be a good plan. i spent 2 days zooming around london at AT4 and had a blast. it wasn't terribly cold, but did rain most of the 1st day. the cab ride from the Ren to london and back was pretty costly. at least it didn't cost as much as renting a handicap accessible vehicle which was about $150/day + taxes,insurance and gas. maybe i'll just bring my winter coat this time and taxi my way to london again. this time i could see the insides of places, like westminster abby, tower of london and some museums. ya think it would be too cold to go to the zoo? i remember seeing a pamphlet on tours going to stonehenge. i should look into that.

Would public transit work for you? I know you have a few more challenges to deal with, but if your able to manage it, it's surely the way to go. London has a phenomenal system and the Underground which I rode pretty much all over the place was speedy and very organized. Very user friendly.

If you need info on getting to Stonehenge on your own without a costly tour group, let me know. A few of us last year rode a train down to Salisbury then caught a cab out to the site. Was such a wonderful experience, especially with the cabbie who gave us such a brilliant deal. Free fare for the return trip!

Can't agree with you more about visiting museums and whatnot in Feb, but the London Eye is again on my list as are a few sights I seen last Nov. Will be all new for someone else traveling with me.

179 days

Woo!

[lame moose (mocha)]

i'm going to have to do some investigative research on london's handicap accessible transportation. probably easier if i just call and talk to them. i really would like to see stonehenge. had planned to go there and the town of bath last nov. but after almost being hit by cars several times because i couldn't get my brain used to looking for traffic in the opposite direction(even tho it was printed on the sidewalk), i decided it may not be safe to put me behind the wheel. i figured i'd probably kill myself and didn't rent. need to do some research before i decide when to leave. although, i was just browsing the airlines and noticed that flights on the monday before AT5 were a little cheaper than the other days of the week. but i don't want to make any decisions before i do my research. it would be fun to go to stonehenge/bath and stay overnight, but i don't want to drag my luggage with me. research, research.

[antoa]

The problem with the London Tube is that not all stations are accessible (i.e. have elevators). This turned out to be an inconvenience with our giant suitcases, but would be much more difficult in a wheelchair/scooter. You'd either be limited in the sites you see based on the accessible stations or you would have to maybe use the buses.

[lame moose (mocha)]

exactly. when i talk to the tube/train/transport people, i'll ask them to send me maps with the handicap accessible routes marked on them.

[Chelle DB]

If you need info on getting to Stonehenge on your own without a costly tour group, let me know. A few of us last year rode a train down to Salisbury then caught a cab out to the site. Was such a wonderful experience, especially with the cabbie who gave us such a brilliant deal. Free fare for the return trip!

But remember the cost of the train fare back to Waterloo Station? We had to look for the candid camera's we thought it was a joke. One way from Waterloo to Salisbury booked online cost us 6 pounds each...the return, not booked online cost us 30 pounds each...or was it 20?? Either way we were somewhat stunned at the counter when the lady told us how much to get home.

I wish I could go to AT5 but I've just had to re start my AT savings as I dipped into that for NZ and other necessities. So I'm going to be at AT6 with at least one of my close friends in tow. And then I will get to see my family again in Germany. After AT6, I might save for Vanctuary...but will have to see what life brings. I just miss everyone so much. Weird to feel that way after having met everyone for the first time last year. But I do...I miss everyone and all the fun we had...can't wait for AT6!

[Skydiver]

i do remember, from my time in london, that maybe every 5th or 6th station was handicap accessible.

now, maybe this would work, i'm pretty sure that hte heathrow tube stop was handicap accessible. It's a 4 pound Hopper fare from the hotel to there. Get on the tube at Heathrow and see if there's a tube stop close enough. Or I think the overland busses are handicap accessible. So, at least around London, that might be an option.

When we went to go and see Hampton Court Palace, we were going to take the tube, but the concierge said 'just take the bus, no need to go to and from central London', which we did.

it worked and was even an interesting window into London life as we got out just at mid morning, when all the housewives were heading out for their shopping trips

Anyway, if the tubes aren't accessible, check out the busses. Might be a cheaper option for you

[Celandine]

But remember the cost of the train fare back to Waterloo Station? We had to look for the candid camera's we thought it was a joke. One way from Waterloo to Salisbury booked online cost us 6 pounds each...the return, not booked online cost us 30 pounds each...or was it 20?? Either way we were somewhat stunned at the counter when the lady told us how much to get home.

I wish I could go to AT5 but I've just had to re start my AT savings as I dipped into that for NZ and other necessities. So I'm going to be at AT6 with at least one of my close friends in tow. And then I will get to see my family again in Germany. After AT6, I might save for Vanctuary...but will have to see what life brings. I just miss everyone so much. Weird to feel that way after having met everyone for the first time last year. But I do...I miss everyone and all the fun we had...can't wait for AT6!

But...if we had known a time we might be leaving, we could have booked that online as well and avoided the surprise fare. Actually we should have. After the ride back from Stonehenge, we spent the rest of the afternoon browsing through the quaint shops the town had to offer and having an awesome dinner at the local pub. Giving ourselves a few hours leeway to do all this would have worked just as well. Anyway, I don't regret it. It was an amazing day with you and Lies! So. Much. Fun.

I'd pick up your ticket for AT5 if you'd let me, but I know the airfare is a kicker. If you might be able to manage it, let me know! I would so love to get the band back together. *squishyhugs*

[MidwifeOnBoard]

That's the hard part. Leaving.

I know! And ATM, I have no idea what I'm coming back to, lol. I am going to be "self-employed" at that point, so it's somewhat uncertain. Right now I'm leaning towards T-T (which I guess would be Wed-Tues since I'd actually arrive weds am) or Tues-Weds. Well, there's certainly time to decide!

[lame moose (mocha)]

i do remember, from my time in london, that maybe every 5th or 6th station was handicap accessible.

now, maybe this would work, i'm pretty sure that hte heathrow tube stop was handicap accessible. It's a 4 pound Hopper fare from the hotel to there. Get on the tube at Heathrow and see if there's a tube stop close enough. Or I think the overland busses are handicap accessible. So, at least around London, that might be an option.

When we went to go and see Hampton Court Palace, we were going to take the tube, but the concierge said 'just take the bus, no need to go to and from central London', which we did.
it worked and was even an interesting window into London life as we got out just at mid morning, when all the housewives were heading out for their shopping trips

Anyway, if the tubes aren't accessible, check out the busses. Might be a cheaper option for you

for AT4 i took a cab from the airport to the Ren, but the concierge told me i could go by bus back to the airport. wish i had known that before. it would have saved me some money. i'll have to get a lot of info from their transportation people to avoid spending 125gbp to get to london each day.

when you guys went to stonehenge by train, does it go walking distance to the place or to a nearby town or what? what town was it that you spent time at and had dinner at? was it Bath?

[XFchemist]

I was wondering if you will stay in the hotel of AT5...I think that I'll looking for a cheaper hotel.

[Celandine]

I know! And ATM, I have no idea what I'm coming back to, lol. I am going to be "self-employed" at that point, so it's somewhat uncertain. Right now I'm leaning towards T-T (which I guess would be Wed-Tues since I'd actually arrive weds am) or Tues-Weds. Well, there's certainly time to decide!

Oooh! Self-employed is a hard one. Yes you have the freedom to set your own hours, but you also need to plan out acquiring your own health insurance and finding ways to keep the influx of money coming in. It's a good move though as I'd imagine nothing beats being your own boss. Good luck with it!

I'm not certain at the moment either on days. We're planning on doing L.A. for a few days then heading down to Tijuana, Mexico for a few before flying over to London, but we want to take a few days before and afterward as well to explore here as well. However we figure it, it's going to be a blast for sure.

[Celandine]

when you guys went to stonehenge by train, does it go walking distance to the place or to a nearby town or what? what town was it that you spent time at and had dinner at? was it Bath?

Oops! Sorry for the double post! So much for thoroughly reading a thread.

We took a train down from London directly into Salisbury. There was actually a tour bus available that we could have taken out to Stonehenge from the station (it's at least a 30min ride, so definitely need some means of transportation) but it was leaving on a schedule that we didn't want to wait on. We pooled our money instead for the cab which amounted to the same that the tour bus was charging. There is a bit of walking at the actual site, so be ready for that, though there is a nice paved walkway out there and around the famous rocks. The town we ate dinner at was Salisbury, too, which was nice. Once we were there, everything was within a good distance so we were able to make the most of our day out.

[dipsofjazz]

I was wondering if you will stay in the hotel of AT5...I think that I'll looking for a cheaper hotel.

You will receive an email from Gabit which will give you a code to get rooms at a special rate.