After a fraught entry process, we spent the night in our Airbnb in Weybridge. A quick stroll through town and across the bridge and onto the tow path along the River Wey. Overcast and damp but pleasant walk we found a great dog park to run Ellis and met a lovely couple who sang the praises of Kew and Richmond and directed us to The Crown for lunch. Built in 1650 believed to have always been a bar, it used to have stables for the horses who would pull barges up the Wey canal, the second oldest canal in Britain.

We struggled to wake up this morning. Quite understandable since we struggled to get to sleep last night. Finally dragging ourselves out of bed at 10a, we threw open the curtains to find … sun! Since this was the first we saw of it, we were a bit worried we’d missed it until April.

Ellis and I quickly headed out for coffee reinforcements so we could return and sit on the rooftop terrance. Of course, by the time we returned, so had the clouds and light sprinkle. But it’s a mild day and the sun is threatening once again.

One thing about Airbnbs is the you never quite know what you’re in for. This place is lovely but didn’t know from the description that you enter from a second (first floor in the UK) rooftop. Schleppjng at 6 bags up the narrow stairs on Thursday was no small feat. And since we were delayed by two days - more on that later - we have the joy of doing it in reverse today. \240

Next stop Richmond for two weeks where we hope to finally secure a place to live. We’ll need two trips since the dog crate occupies the entire rear of the SUV we rented. Then we’ll go visit Hugo and make him dinner since he’s recovering from surgery.

Ellis is a hit of course. People on the street feel compelled to comment on how lovely he is. And we had lovely chats with a couple of folks at a fabulous dog park we found just off the canal by the lock. Meeting people is not going to be hard. Dogs and kids, the secret to social integration!