Week 30: London Recap Day 3

Seven months. It’s been seven months since Hawk left. And I can’t help but reflect on London and our time together there. Those 4 1/2 days were really what we needed to help see us through to the end. The days pass oh so slowly, but the months seem to pass by quicker. Soon, soon he will be home again. I can’t wait for that day!

Day 3 – August 30, 2013

We woke up early the next morning for another full adventurous day. Since we did the second day of the Double Decker bus tour we were able to hear the marching band as they went to march down to Buckingham Palace for the Changing of the Guard. It was one of the neatest things to literally walk right beside them as they headed toward the palace. I walked in place next to my man to the tune of the music and felt like that moment was one I was going to remember. And it was.

Our next adventure was driving around the cities of Westminster and London as we took in the history as we journeyed to the Tower of London. As a historical and English nerd, I was enthralled by the stories and myths of the great bloody tower. Our Yeoman Guard (beefeater) was hilarious as he told us the gory and perhaps exaggerated tales of the many monarchs’ dooms in the Tower. We saw the location of the execution of Queen Anne Boleyn and ohhhed and ahhhhed over the sparkly and magnificent crown jewels. We could have spent all day there.

Also at the Tower we came across the most perfect photo op of the Tower Bridge. Earlier in the day we took the bus tour under the bridge and took in its grand architecture. To actually be there, right in front of the iconic structure seemed like a dream, but it was reality and it was such a fantastic reality at that.

While the entire trip was incredible, this night was one of my favorites. I happen to love Farris Wheels. When I first dreamed of the possibility of meeting Hawk in London the top thing on my list of “Must Dos” was to go on the London Eye with him. For the first time in over five months, I was able to have a Friday night date with my love. We walked around the city holding hands and exploring taking a boat ride across the Thames to get on the Eye.

It was nothing less spectacular than I dreamed it would be. The blue lights for the Royal Baby Celebration illuminated inside the cab. I walked around the clear 360 degree room and took pictures of the city at night, lights glowing beautifully. It felt like you were on top of the city. I stopped taking pictures and just leaned back in Hawk’s arms, taking it all in. It still felt like a dream. An impossible dream. But, here I was, in his arms, in one of the most romantic places in the world. The thirty minute rotation felt all too short.

As we headed back to the Tube to call it a night, I walked by ever so slowly the brightened Big Ben, knowing it was the last time I would see it for this trip. I stopped in the hustle of the Londoners and tried to soak it all in one last time. The magnificence, the reality that here I was in a place I had only hoped to ever dream about, the fact that I was holding Hawk’s hand with such a beautiful landscape almost seemed too much. I squeezed my love’s hand tighter and looked into his eyes and thanked God for the Here & Now. The Here & Now of the city. The Here & Now of adventure. The Here & Now of His blessing. The Here & Now of togetherness.