Southampton

Wednesday, June 4, 2014

We have two missions for today – give Stevie and Hannah more time to play and do laundry. We drove into Southampton and after going in circles a couple of times due to road closures, we managed to park in front of the Play Shack – an indoor playground. We paid for parking for 2 hours and the kids ran out to play.

The Play Shack had a large maze out of ropes and nets and inside the maze were slides and other play equipment. The kids had a blast and Steve and I relaxed on the couch sipping hot chocolate.

After play time, we found the street with the Laundromat (or launderette as they call it here) and parked right in front of it. One load of laundry was 6.50 pounds! That is 11 or 12 dollars. Luckily, the washers were large and everything fit into a single load. While the laundry was washing, we walked down the street to find a place to have lunch. We came across an Indian restaurant. It was not the cleanest place on the planet but the food was alright. It was also the least expensive meal we have had in the UK - $40 for a lunch in a little hole in the wall type of place.

I walked back to the Laundromat to move the laundry into the dryer while Steve, Stevie and Hannah waited in the restaurant. When we returned to get our laundry, we only had a few minutes left on the dry cycle. The dryer cost 50 pence (about a dollar) for 4 minutes.

Once the dryer stopped, we put all of the little stuff in a bag laid the shirts flat. Some of the items were a little damp but we were ready to head back.

We rested in the hotel, the kids played and we Skyped with everyone before we get on the ship tomorrow.