InvictaMoto's Family Travels

With over a 100 days before we go it would be tempting fate to use in GW Bush's words "job done" Travelup have confirmed the new flights and we have what we had asked for. AC 857 17MAY LHR-YYZ 1205 1450  AC1234 18MAY YYZ-RSW 0820 1128 AC1235 01JUN RSW-YYZ 1220 1523 AC 856 01JUN YYZ-LHR 1830 0625+1 The best of a bad job.

Although not ideal, we will have the 21 hour layover in Toronto after all!   The agents, Travelup, have secured us the best deal possible from the array of flights and hub interchanges on offer. We are just waiting for the confirmation and e-tickets to arrive. The idea of bouncing about the US from hub to hub didn't fill me with any enthusiasm. I will blame Simon Calder, as it was he, on TV and in the Daily Telegraph Travel Section that said to avoid massive queues at Homeland Security that regional airports would be better. Fewer flights etc. The fact that Fort Myers is nearest to where we are staying on the Gulf Coast for the first week goes by the board.  "Calder you plonker!"

To give some information on what I have planned for us to visit I have been googling. So here is Day 1 . Newfoundland Memorial Park: http://www.greatwar.co.uk/somme/memorial-newfoundland-park.htm   Ulster Memorial Tower:  http://www.greatwar.co.uk/somme/memorial-36-division-ulster-tower.htm Thiepval:  http://www.greatwar.co.uk/somme/memorial-thiepval.htm Pozières Tank Memorial: http://www.greatwar.co.uk/somme/memorial-tank-corps.htm Lochnagar Crater: http://www.greatwar.co.uk/somme/memorial-lochnagar-crater.htm With the best will in the world getting to all of these plus Albert and a lunch stop in the Tommy Cafe near Pozières might be a push. Still, I prefer to be over engineered and be able to drop things from the schedule than not have enough to keep everyone engaged.

The part of the Somme Battlefield we will be visiting is in the south-west corner of the entire area and a such we need to get there quickly and easily. So the first part of both outward and inward  journies will be on the toll motorway A26.  Please ensure that you have a full tank at Dover (there are stations on the A2 and A20 near the port).  Also, have cash or a debit card to hand for the toll booths.  I expect we will have to collect a ticket at the start of each leg and then make a single toll payment at the other end of the leg. As with all Kent Centre runs we will be using the "drop-off" system and with a fixed rear-sweeper (aka tail end Charlie). If you are unfamiliar with the system please ask before we arrive in France. The drop-off system doesn't allow for riders to constantly be wanting to overtake the guy in front. If this is you. Then maybe you picked the wrong trip. Although as a rule I don't wear hi-viz, as leader of the group I will be wearing a red ...

Due to the afore mentioned flight change, we now have another day in the US. ;-) With the apartment in Weston kicking us out on the Saturday morning we have a day to cross the state to the Fort Myers area. At the moment I think we'll pack the Charger (please Alamo don't eff that up!) and head across US41 back to Fort Myers. Unless Air Canada bollocks things up again, the flight from Fort Myers to Toronto is now around noon Sunday. Sensibly an overnight stay within easy reach would be a good idea. So a quick search on booking.com revealed the Beach Shell Inn at Fort Myers Beach. Looks good. The hotel scores 8.6 on the reviews. So I booked the last night of the trip.  http://www.beachshellinn.com I have also had to change the car hire. Shifting the hire to Sunday to Sunday and keeping the same car group came out £6 less for the fortnight. Fingers crossed.

Great. As far as I know we will get these flights. There was one email where the agent put a later flight from UK. AC 857 17MAY LHR-YYZ 1205 1450  AC1234 18MAY YYZ-RSW 0820 1128 AC1235 01JUN RSW-YYZ 1220 1523 AC 856 01JUN YYZ-LHR 1830 0625+1 On the way out we fly out from UK four hours later. The scheduled departure would have seen us  somewhere  over the north Atlantic as the second leg had already kicked off. So now an overnight stopover! On the way back we fly north 6 hours earlier than scheduled and hence get to LHR at the crack of dawn rather than a more leisurely 1125. So in effect we have a day missing at the start of the trip in Florida,  although the original timetable would have had us arrive at the resort late with maybe dinner then bed!   I have booked a hotel near Toronto Airport and they have a free shuttle to the hotel both ways and it's a matter of making sure we are back in time to check in for the second leg. We can decide later if we wa...

I suppose it was to be expected that something would eff up. Today I had an email notifying me of Air Canada schedule change that means the entire trip has been put back a day. Incredibly as we were booked through from London to Fort Myers with Air Canada with a stop over in Toronto of three hours, when the came to make a change they may have noticed the the onward flight now departs Toronto three hours before the London flight arrives. WTF! Although on checkmytrip.com we are both confirmed on Saturday AND Sunday's flights to Toronto.  It also shows a 21 hour layover to the second leg. I've never been to Toronto. Is the Seers Tower or whatever there? CN Tower? The booking agent is at work to sort out the flights. A 24 hour shift in the holiday wouldn't be too bad except we lose a day on the Gulf  Coast plus have to find a hotel at the end of the trip for an extra night.  All £££££s that Air Canada will dodge - small print rules! Plus changes to parking at the London end, ...

The run has been posted in the Suzuki Owners Club magazine and also on the website.  It is also an "event" on the Kent Centre FB page. Trip date is Saturday July 19th to Sunday July 20th. If you want more information you can email me at sockent@rocketmail.com  The details of the hotel is in a post lower down the blog. This one is filling fast but there is one next door. See below. Some information may be superseded so the lower down the page the older that posting was. I'll be updating soon to add more details on the planned stops to give a little background. The last update was to say I had located the Red Baron crash site. I have now been told that a proper monument has been erected.  Although from the screenshot from Tyre (lower down) you will see a short list of stops, there are some built in that can be dropped depending on time. Experience of leading trips to Ypres four or five times means that less is actually more. Cheers.

Not the rapper bloke but a bit more of detail on the places we will visit. The most difficult to pin down is the Red Baron's crash site. Loads of googling produced this: 49° 55′ 57.38″ N 2° 32′ 24.42″ E!!. Pop that into Google maps and see what you get. I have also added a new stop at a village called Fay. Destroyed in 1916 and then they moved the village a few hundred yards afterwards and there are remains for a few minutes contemplation.

Extensive use of Google and Tripadvisor for searches and forums threw up a couple of options. One was a small company that rented out used cars at what was claimed to be a low rate. Tripadvisor correspondents were almost worshipping the guy. In the end the rate was par for the course and when I emailed to see about the low mileage included, he replied and said that  his cars didn't leave the area. I won't bother to name the guy or his company, just leave him to his adoring followers! That left the usual companies and a bewildering array of offers and what is, and more importantly, not included in the rental package. In the end I opted for full-size with Alamo. This should get us a Dodge Charger or Chevrolet Impala or (please no) a Japanese option. Of the two, the Charger looks like a muscle car, but probably it is emasculated! At £305 for the duration it is quite cheap compared with UK rentals. Now to read all the paperwork and see what top-up cover I need.