May 10, 2008 Ship of Thieves! Stealing the Magic..AGAIN!!! Panama Canal FL to CA!!! Part 4

[UKANGEL]

To my UK friends . . .

Any help or suggestions would be appreciated. I think I had mentioned that our son, Alex, wanted to go to Europe this summer before he begins medical school. Originally, he was to go with a friend, but, for various reasons, he is now solo.

We were talking this weekend, and he has trimmed back his plans to visiting the UK (London) and Paris. Alex has been to France twice – once as an eighth grader, and once as a HS Junior. While he may be a bit rusty, his French is pretty good. He has never been to London (although his English is probably OK too! ).

Can you give me any help/suggestions on where he can/should stay keeping in mind the budget of a student? Are there youth hostels, etc. that would make sense and be safe for a 20 year old young man to stay in if he wants to tour London and then go over to Paris? He is thinking he will spend 2-3 weeks and then fly home. I may try to book him some time at DL Paris with DVC points. Is there a better time to visit during the summer?

I want him to have a good, safe, and fun trip. My only worry is that he will be on his own. While he is very independent and self-sufficient, I still worry as a parent. Feel free to pm me with any suggestions, or email too at john.halkias@mac.com.

Thanks!

Hi John!
We'll help all we can...we're only 25 minutes from London so should be able to be of some assistance! terrible to admit, I've never been to Paris although I'd love to go! Just be wary that our school summer holidays start around the 3rd week of July til the 1st week of September so places are busier then. August is when many UK families will choose to visit DL Paris.

There are Yh in London and DH Mark is just getting together some info on the ones he can remember being good. We think there are a couple in Kensington, West London that are better. The area is nice (Harrods, Natural History Museum, Science Museum etc) and safer for a student on his own.

We'll do some checking and let you know. When dd gets home tonight I'll pick her brain as well. Of course if Alex would like to see the area around Reading he is more than welcome to come and stop with us for a night or so....we don't have a palace but would make him very welcome! Alternatively we could meet him in London for a day to show him some sights and get him orientated if he'd like.

Feel free to email me on ukangel40@hotmail.com at any time.

Over the next couple of days we'll get some stuff together and email it you for a start.

I am way behind and I don´t think I am trying to catch up this time, but Carolyn told me that someone mentioned the earthquake we had a few nights ago.

We are all well, thank you, it was a big scare, but fortunately nothing happened, what makes any earthquake worse is that a lot of people remember the 1985 earthquake when a lot of buildings fell and lots of lives were lost.

When dh and I honeymooned in Acapulco, there was an earthquake (lots of earthquakes originate in Acapulco and that coast, so you can really feel them there) and our hotel room was in the 16th floor. DH and I ran to the stairs the moment it ended, we definetly didn´t want to catch another one in the elevator since earthquakes often have a replica.

Julie, I'm so glad you and your family are safe!

 

[disneylover5]

Tuesday, April 17th 2007(Last Update: 4:07AM)
List of confirmed deceased

Maxine Turner
Vienna, Va.
Senior, Chemical Engineering

Henry Lee
Roanoke, Va.
Freshman, Computer Engineering

Matt La Porte
Dumont, N.J.
Freshman, University Studies

Jamie Bishop
Instructor, Foreign Languages and Literatures (German)

G.V. Loganathan
Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering

Juan Ortiz
Graduate Student, Civil Engineering

Jarrett Lane
Narrows, Va.
Senior, Civil Engineering

Ryan Clark
Columbia County, Ga.
Senior, Biology, English, Psychology

Leslie Sherman
Sophomore, History and International Studies

Caitlin Hammaren
Sophomore, International Studies and French

Liviu Librescu
Professor, Engineering Science & Mechanics

Kevin Granata
Professor, Engineering Science & Mechanics

Reema Samaha
Centreville, Va.
Freshman

Emily Hilscher
Woodville, Va.
Freshman, Animal and Poultry Sciences, Equine Science

 

[Jhalkias]

Hi John!
We'll help all we can...we're only 25 minutes from London so should be able to be of some assistance! terrible to admit, I've never been to Paris although I'd love to go! Just be wary that our school summer holidays start around the 3rd week of July til the 1st week of September so places are busier then. August is when many UK families will choose to visit DL Paris.

There are Yh in London and DH Mark is just getting together some info on the ones he can remember being good. We think there are a couple in Kensington, West London that are better. The area is nice (Harrods, Natural History Museum, Science Museum etc) and safer for a student on his own.

We'll do some checking and let you know. When dd gets home tonight I'll pick her brain as well. Of course if Alex would like to see the area around Reading he is more than welcome to come and stop with us for a night or so....we don't have a palace but would make him very welcome! Alternatively we could meet him in London for a day to show him some sights and get him orientated if he'd like.

Feel free to email me on ukangel40@hotmail.com at any time.

Over the next couple of days we'll get some stuff together and email it you for a start.

Mandy,

Thank you so much. I will share the information you give me with Alex. The timing is most helpful. I believe he is looking at mid to late June - Early July. August will be too close to the beginning of school.

Thank you once again, and if you or any of your family ever want to visit the great backwater of Ohio, we will help in whatever way we can!

(We do have the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame an hour away!)

 

[Jhalkias]

From our local paper . . . the VT family reaches far and wide -

Canceled class kept Jackson resident safe
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
By FELLICIA SMITH
REPOSITORY STAFF WRITER

Call it what you want: Fate, divine intervention, or just a canceled class.

Whatever it was, it may have saved a life.

When a professor's schedule resulted in a canceled class, it kept Carrie Weaver of Jackson Township out of the range of a gunman who killed at least 32 people in a dorm and at an engineering building at Virginia Tech on Monday.

"She is OK," Weaver's mother, Marsha, said. "We haven't been able to really talk. She should have been in that building at that exact time. The Lord has been so good."

The shooting spree is being called the deadliest in U.S. history. The gunman reportedly killed himself, and more than two dozen people were injured.

On the 2,600-acre Blacksburg, Va., campus that has 26,000 students, the impact of the rampage was felt by Stark Countians with family members there.

Besides the Weaver family, the Sovacools of North Canton and the Winklers of Dalton are two area families that have kept a close eye on the deadly incident.

According to the Associated Press, the shooting began on campus at about 7:15 a.m. at West Ambler Johnston, a coed dormitory. Two hours later, the gunman entered Norris Hall, an engineering building, and continued his killing frenzy.

"This is our home," said Weaver, 21, a senior chemical engineering student. "We're all connected. We didn't have anything to worry about. Then this happens in the center area of where I am. I don't know how someone could do this."

ANY OTHER MONDAY ...

On a normal Monday, Weaver would have been in a chemical engineering class at Norris Hall. It's a building where she spends plenty of time.

"I heard he shot people in room 200," Weaver said. "That is where I had a final exam Saturday morning. If my class hadn't been canceled, I would have been there (Monday)."

Weaver's family didn't hear about the shooting until Carrie Weaver reached her mother by cell phone at their Jackson Township home.

"I actually called my mom and told her, 'Are you watching the news? One person was shot in West Amber Johnson,'" Weaver recalled. "I told her, 'I'm OK, I'm at home.' I couldn't get any more phone calls out (for a while). When it went from one to 10 (dead), it really hit me.

"I got really emotional and called. I talked to her for about a minute or two."

Telephone and cell phone lines were distrupted in the aftermath of the shootings, leaving many people without a way to contact their family members on and around campus.

Benjamin Sovacool, a native of North Canton, an adjunct assistant professor at Virginia Tech, was about to head to his campus office when a co-worker called and said their building was on lockdown.

"What's kind scary is my office is close to Norris Hall," said Sovacool, who earned his doctorate at Virginia Tech in 2006. "It's the building in front of Norris Hall. My co-worker said don't come in. I immediately went to NPR, AP, CNN and MSNBC."

After finding about more about the shootings, Sovacool called his mother at work and began contacting other family members as he watched the death total rise to more than 30.

"I haven't comprehended it," he said. "It is surreal. All these big events, Columbine, 9/11, and this is right down my street. It's here. I can open the door and see the EMS. They've closed down streets. It's weird to be experiencing it."

IDENTITIES WITHHELD

The identities of the victims haven't been released and all classes and activities on the Virginia campus have been canceled through today. A vigil is set for today for the victims.

"At first, it didn't seem like it was a big deal," said Weaver, who as a freshman lived in the dorm where the first shootings happened. "I was sad someone was hurt. Then I learned 30 people had been killed where I should have been. I have to go back there in a few days. I have to resume normal life. It's scary."

Evan Winkler, 20, of Jackson Township was on campus at the time of the shooting. He is the son of Jackson Local School District business manager Doug Winkler.

The Virginia Tech senior was not injured in the melee.

"He's fine," said his sister Anna Winkler, a senior at Central Christian. "I talked to him briefly. ... I think he was in class when it happened."

The outpouring of support to local families with family members at Virginia Tech has been overwhelming. Marsha Weaver said her daughter's friend stationed in Kosovo called to make sure his friend was unhurt.

"All the prayers have been overwhelming," Marsha Weaver said. "I know there are wonderful people in this world."

Sovacool said being able to talk about the shootings and the support shown by friends and family has made all of the difference.

"These events, while they're certainly horrible, also provide moments of clarity about what's important in life," he said.

 

[UKANGEL]

Mandy,

Thank you so much. I will share the information you give me with Alex. The timing is most helpful. I believe he is looking at mid to late June - Early July. August will be too close to the beginning of school.

Thank you once again, and if you or any of your family ever want to visit the great backwater of Ohio, we will help in whatever way we can!

(We do have the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame an hour away!)

No problem John, really happy if we can help in any way at all.....and I'll keep that in mind about Ohio! Becky's exams will be over by mid June, so she could always introduce Alex to London/Reading life with some of her friends.

From our local paper . . . the VT family reaches far and wide -

Canceled class kept Jackson resident safe
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
By FELLICIA SMITH
REPOSITORY STAFF WRITER

Call it what you want: Fate, divine intervention, or just a canceled class.

Whatever it was, it may have saved a life.

When a professor's schedule resulted in a canceled class, it kept Carrie Weaver of Jackson Township out of the range of a gunman who killed at least 32 people in a dorm and at an engineering building at Virginia Tech on Monday.

"She is OK," Weaver's mother, Marsha, said. "We haven't been able to really talk. She should have been in that building at that exact time. The Lord has been so good."

The shooting spree is being called the deadliest in U.S. history. The gunman reportedly killed himself, and more than two dozen people were injured.

On the 2,600-acre Blacksburg, Va., campus that has 26,000 students, the impact of the rampage was felt by Stark Countians with family members there.

Besides the Weaver family, the Sovacools of North Canton and the Winklers of Dalton are two area families that have kept a close eye on the deadly incident.

According to the Associated Press, the shooting began on campus at about 7:15 a.m. at West Ambler Johnston, a coed dormitory. Two hours later, the gunman entered Norris Hall, an engineering building, and continued his killing frenzy.

"This is our home," said Weaver, 21, a senior chemical engineering student. "We're all connected. We didn't have anything to worry about. Then this happens in the center area of where I am. I don't know how someone could do this."

ANY OTHER MONDAY ...

On a normal Monday, Weaver would have been in a chemical engineering class at Norris Hall. It's a building where she spends plenty of time.

"I heard he shot people in room 200," Weaver said. "That is where I had a final exam Saturday morning. If my class hadn't been canceled, I would have been there (Monday)."

Weaver's family didn't hear about the shooting until Carrie Weaver reached her mother by cell phone at their Jackson Township home.

"I actually called my mom and told her, 'Are you watching the news? One person was shot in West Amber Johnson,'" Weaver recalled. "I told her, 'I'm OK, I'm at home.' I couldn't get any more phone calls out (for a while). When it went from one to 10 (dead), it really hit me.

"I got really emotional and called. I talked to her for about a minute or two."

Telephone and cell phone lines were distrupted in the aftermath of the shootings, leaving many people without a way to contact their family members on and around campus.

Benjamin Sovacool, a native of North Canton, an adjunct assistant professor at Virginia Tech, was about to head to his campus office when a co-worker called and said their building was on lockdown.

"What's kind scary is my office is close to Norris Hall," said Sovacool, who earned his doctorate at Virginia Tech in 2006. "It's the building in front of Norris Hall. My co-worker said don't come in. I immediately went to NPR, AP, CNN and MSNBC."

After finding about more about the shootings, Sovacool called his mother at work and began contacting other family members as he watched the death total rise to more than 30.

"I haven't comprehended it," he said. "It is surreal. All these big events, Columbine, 9/11, and this is right down my street. It's here. I can open the door and see the EMS. They've closed down streets. It's weird to be experiencing it."

IDENTITIES WITHHELD

The identities of the victims haven't been released and all classes and activities on the Virginia campus have been canceled through today. A vigil is set for today for the victims.

"At first, it didn't seem like it was a big deal," said Weaver, who as a freshman lived in the dorm where the first shootings happened. "I was sad someone was hurt. Then I learned 30 people had been killed where I should have been. I have to go back there in a few days. I have to resume normal life. It's scary."

Evan Winkler, 20, of Jackson Township was on campus at the time of the shooting. He is the son of Jackson Local School District business manager Doug Winkler.

The Virginia Tech senior was not injured in the melee.

"He's fine," said his sister Anna Winkler, a senior at Central Christian. "I talked to him briefly. ... I think he was in class when it happened."

The outpouring of support to local families with family members at Virginia Tech has been overwhelming. Marsha Weaver said her daughter's friend stationed in Kosovo called to make sure his friend was unhurt.

"All the prayers have been overwhelming," Marsha Weaver said. "I know there are wonderful people in this world."

Sovacool said being able to talk about the shootings and the support shown by friends and family has made all of the difference.

"These events, while they're certainly horrible, also provide moments of clarity about what's important in life," he said.

Thanks for the update John. I imagine much of the US (& the world) is reeling from this news still. I know I am. That last quote is especially true.

 

[amesmom]

Reema Samaha, from Lisa's hometown and one of the victims from yesterday's shooting, was featured on the Today Show this morning. Her brother was interviewed by Matt Lauer. They showed many photos of this lovely girl. You can view the video on msnbc.com.

 

[UKANGEL]

John, email on its way about an idea for Alex

 

[lillygator]

I am so sorry to hear about Reema. Prayers and thoughts go out to her family as well as all the families effected in this tragedy.

 

[pahrumpgirl]

The Virgina story brings home to all of us with children what a dangerous world we live in and how even places to most of us seem safe can suddenly become dangerous.

I talk to my daughter about relationships. I assume the rest of you have all done the same. All we can do is by example and by conversation help our children through this terrible time.

I am just honestly so numb from reading all of this.

Amy and I went up to Cleveland tonight to the Apple store there, after three years the hard drive finally failed in our old Powerbook, and I made a trip to the genius bar to get it confirmed, and sent off for repair.

On the way up we were talking about the events of today, and how we all want to know more details so that we can try to understand why this happened. The sad truth is that even when we get these details, we will all still wonder why this could happen.

For many parents, the thing that we all fear the most has happened to their children. It will take great faith, and lots of love and prayer to make it through such senseless tragedy. Whether they know it or not Lisa, your friends and the families in Virginia have the prayers o f parents around the country hoping to give them strength to pull through.
Tomorrow night we are attending an honors ceremony at our son's college. He is being inducted into the equivalent of Phi Beta Kappa at his University. I am sure that the young people there will all be in a somber mood, as they will be at colleges and Universities around the country.

I became a parent and grandparent the day I got married. I have not had a child in college yet but I can tell you this, even those of us with no biological children have felt this very deeply and wonder about the safety of not only the world's children but ourselves, too, in today's world. I know that I love my steps like my own and if anything were to happen to any of them it would just about kill me. My prayers and thoughts are with all of those affected, either directly or indirectly, by yesterdays tragedy. I only pray that our world will come to its senses someday.

 

[granmaz]

Good morning to you all. I didn't manage to post much this morning before the Dis went down and then my daughter arrived for our shopping trip - well her shopping trip really!!! Plenty of small bits 'n bobs for the children - socks, undies, shorts etc. She actually managed to get everything on her list!!!

So, thank you John for the update on yesterday's horrendous happenings. How sad.

Lisa, when you see the names in print it makes it all the more real - real people with real grieving relatives and friends.

There are many supportive comments on websites I go on over here - I want you to know that!

John - I knew Mandy would be able to be more helpful than us up in the north of England, but whatever help we can be we will. I did find this whilst browsing, but not sure what your son would want.

http://www.piccadillyhotel.net/london-hostels-english/london-hostels-main.html

And also

http://www.hostelseurope.com/

 

[UKANGEL]

Hi Maz!
How did your shopping go for yourself though?

 

[fourmcds]

Tuesday, April 17th 2007(Last Update: 4:07AM)
List of confirmed deceased

OMG...Lisa, they just said on the news that the shooter is believed to have connections in Centreville, VA....isn't that where you are from?

Seeing the list of names is just so sad and devastating.

Hope you were able to sleep well last night.

 

[granmaz]

Hi Maz!
How did your shopping go for yourself though?

Oh Mandy, it is so frustrating. I did manage to buy a skirt which is quite nice and was in the sale, and some smarter cropped trousers, but not really what I was hoping to get. Tops, now that is another matter and I always have problems and am not really happy with any of them!! At least I won't know anyone in Lanzarote so it doesn't really matter what I look like.

I really must get the weight off as it will help with the clothes. We went to M&S for lunch and I had a lovely chocolate muffin. It had a runny chocolate centre!! My it was soooo good!!!

Busy washing, tidying, ironing, dusting and Dising!!!

Got our quote from DU for our POFQ reservation in November, so will be paying the deposit tonight. That is one thing organised - well two really with the cruise. Just the 4 nights at the end of the holiday now.

 

[granmaz]

Being new to the cruising, does anyone know approximately when they let us know what excursions etc will be available for our cruise?

 

[granmaz]

Do they call it OCP? Obsessive Compulsive Planning???

 

[mom_of_2_princesses]

Being new to the cruising, does anyone know approximately when they let us know what excursions etc will be available for our cruise?

They probably wait long enough to make us crazy.

 

[EllaEnchanted]

Lisa, the news just said that the shooter's parents owned a dry cleaning business in Centreville. Wow...that's too close for comfort.

How are you doing today? How is Daniel? Did anyone get any sleep? Are you eating anything? Remember you have to take care of yourselves even if you don't feel like it.

Prayers and hugs to all.

 

[disneylover5]

OMG...Lisa, they just said on the news that the shooter is believed to have connections in Centreville, VA....isn't that where you are from?

Seeing the list of names is just so sad and devastating.

Hope you were able to sleep well last night.

I am broken up all over again. Cho Seung-Hui (the killer) lives about a mile a way. He went to Westfield HS. My son texted me that the school is covered with news media and grief counselors. Fox News is at his home.

This just gets crazier.

 

[granmaz]

I am broken up all over again. Cho Seung-Hui (the killer) lives about a mile a way. He went to Westfield HS. My son texted me that the school is covered with news media and grief councelors. Fox News is at his home.

This just gets crazier.

Oh dear Lisa. More and more for you to cope with.

 

[birkner]

I am broken up all over again. Cho Seung-Hui (the killer) lives about a mile a way. He went to Westfield HS. My son texted me that the school is covered with news media and grief councelors. Fox News is at his home.

This just gets crazier.

I am so sorry that your son is caught up in all of this media frenzy. The media will do virtually ANYTHING to get a story.

On top of of all of this it must be horrible for the shooters family to be subjected to all the cruel speculation.