Day 1-San Diego to Dover, England

Parth

From the Airport to Dover

Our plane ride was uneventful besides the fact that I learned that I would be representing the team in a game of questions.  After a long bus ride from the airport to Dover, we went to eat dinner, which was good. As a surprise, we saw Chloe and Michael, the President of the Channel Swimming Association. Overall, today was great.

Faith

We Reached Dover

Our plane ride was ten hour. However, I was able to sleep for most of it, so it felt shorter. When we arrived in London it was pretty warm, but we were sitting again soon after. When we finally reached Dover, the White Cliffs were apparent right away, and they were awesome. We just finished eating and will now go check out the harbor.

Wesley

This Trip is Going to be a Blast!

I had a great plane ride! I saw with Noah and Dan. I slept well. It's hard to believe I am in England. It was a long ride from the airport so we sang songs to help the time go by. For dinner we played telephone at the table, and I had crab cakes and pasta. I am getting a little nervous for the swim but I know I can do it. I have a nice room with Matt and Noah. This trip is going to be a blast!

Noah

First Day

We had a great plane ride. I was with Wesley and Dan in the flight. I had trouble with the flight check in because I brought aerosol cans. The two I brought were sunscreen and shaving cream and they had to be thrown away because they are not allowed on the plane. I didn't watch any movies but I listened to my MP3 player and I slept on the plane. After we landed at the airport we took a 3 hour van ride to Dover. I was feeling jet lagged and I was trying not to sleep but I slept in the van. Tomorrow morning we are going to do a short swim in preparation for the English Channel. I hope I can do this and I miss you all.

Betzi

Landed

The fight was shorter than many of us anticipated-about 9 hours. I had forgotten that the driver sits on the right side of the car with shotgun on the left, and in the case of the vans we took to the White Cliffs Hotel there were actually two seats next to the driver's. This provided me with a lot of time to talk to Mike about the ear-piercing rendition of "100 bottles of pop on the wall" that Diana, Cheryl and Maddy started up from the back. The city quickly dissipated into countryside with a long, straight road flanked by bushy mounds of trunkless and uniformly green trees. The buildings surrounding our hotel look oddly  dignified and academic. Everything is all so consistent and upright-seeming I can definitely see how the early punk bands were so driven to break up the monotony. We met Chloe McCardel and Michael Reed tonight, and we can see the Channel from our rooms...it feels so weird that all these things we have been talking about at home are finally becoming real.

Kaylee

Arriving in London

 Our plane departed at around 8:45 pm and we arrived in London, England at about 3 p.m. The plane ride was very long and the flight attendants were pretty cranky. One accidently punched me in the head because I was resting my head a little into the row. He had a scared look on his face, pet my head, and then walked away without saying a word… awkward. Once we arrived, we grabbed our bags and split into two vans to drive 3 hours to get to Dover. For some reason, our van left 10 minutes early and arrived 10 minutes later then the other van. We are eating dinner at the hotel and we were able to meet Chloe and Michael who is the President of the Channel Association. It was really cool and I am super excited!

Maddy

The Smooth Journey

The journey from San Diego to Dover was smooth. Noah’s carry on contained inappropriately sized containers that were aerosol. It was taken away. The flight felt shorter than I anticipated. They announced on the plane that we were there and we are going to swim the Channel. Kaylee was punched in the head. Everyone here sounds like Harry Potter.

Zach

Great Flight

From San Diego to London, I will say that the plane flight was great. Although, I would say 2 things about the flight, one my chair didn’t recline and two I was told they poured a gallon or two of milk in the bathroom. From London to Dover we were crammed into a van. Now I ate dinner which was good.

Diana

Aerosol Cans

Today started out with going to the airport and getting ready. It was easy to get through the security except for Noah, who had three aerosol cans and were taken away. The plane ride was not the best, it was a little uncomfortable. I did not sleep and I am excited to sleep tonight. Great day overall. Good night.

Lauren

Just Arrived

Even though we have just arrived, our adventure has been filled with anxiety and excitement. Of course, as the Arch Academy, we know how to make a scene. The first scene was in the airport when Noah pulled out an aerosol sunscreen among a variety of other liquids. Security had to throw it out. On the plane, I slept like a baby in some strange positions. I’m not sure how the others slept but I hope they will have a good night sleep tonight. So far, this trip has been an amazing opportunity and I know that we can succeed in the channel swim. Wish us all luck!

Paul

Silliness

The flight was 10 hours, and most people had to sleep sitting up. I really want to finish watching Interstellar on the trip back. Finding all of the cars on the other side of the road and the steering wheel at the passenger side has been an interesting experience. I find it strange that there are many patriotic companies here.

Matt

The Journey From SD to Just D

Ello, we are in England right now and I would be lying if I didn’t say the transit here was really interesting. I had a lot of fun hanging out with my best of friends like Wesley and Noah. You know it’s going to be good trip when taking a ten hour flight and a 3 hour uncomfortable van ride is still fun. I also talked to Mr. Griswold, my old therapist, I was able to say sorry to him and make amends and I was very happy.

Cheryl

Seasick

Yes, we are all here and ready!! We have all been advised how seasick we will be.  Chloe and other swimmers have warned us about throwing up as a natural state of things in the English Channel.  It looks like the earliest we would go would be Monday at 3:00am.  Tomorrow we are off to the castle and then taking our first swim in the afternoon.  The food on the plane was awful and security was ok except for Noah’s aerosol cans being taken away from him. CJ slept, Maddy ate cookies, Kaylee laid with her head in the aisle, Faith slept, Parth slept, Diana slept, Lauren slept, Wesley slept, Paul did not sleep, Betzi slept and I remained wide awake!! We have finished dinner and will be going to check out the harbor and water tonight and off to bed. Shout out to Cooper and John (hurry up and get here!) I will keep you all posted!  Thank you Beth for holding down the fort!

CJ

Nightmares

I went on a plane. I had nightmares on the plane. Then I went on a bus. Now I am here. A waiter spilled food on my new shirt. Now I am going to bed.

Dan

Anxious

We’re here and it’s happening! J

It was a good trip over, fairly uneventful. But there’s much more time for that…

I’m excited and anxious to see Zombies swim The Channel!!

It’ll never be the same!