This post is long overdue, but then, so are many others.

Many, many people – men and women – have given to me in a way has made this trip better.

I’d like to thank the individuals who:

• gave me the Nokia phone I’m using and enjoying! (Though I’ll discuss unrelated SIM card issues in a later post.)
• gave me a very thorough London guidebook, pocket-compass and REI card (which went to getting some very handy travel supplies)
• two different individuals who gave me Macy’s cards (which went to buying a very comfortable pair of walking/semi-dressy shoes, slippers, some needed makeup and some nice slacks)
• gave me the Bucky travel set (unfortunately I haven’t made peace with the pillow but still trying)
• gave a travel-fund donation

Many, many thanks to the huge variety of public and private suggestions of things to do, warnings, places to see and all sorts of travel-related info. I hope to return the favor by creating a repository of information on this blog for future travelers through my postings. You’re not just helping me, you’re helping others as well.

Many thanks to my London traveling partner Kimberlee Cline, for putting this trip together and finally blasting me out of my rut. She has a job to return to in a week but I’ll be moving forward out here.

A future thanks to all those I will be meeting through networking and private referrals. This is the sort of thing that will really make my travels better and safer.

It’s not as though I can’t do this on my own – many before me have. It’s simply that people often want to help. And everyone has different experiences, different perspectives. Why not value that and use it if possible? Why reinvent the wheel or make a stupid mistake I could’ve avoided? (Trust me, I’ve already made original stupid mistakes all on my own.) I try to do this with people that I know if they ask for input and I have something to give.

For all the talk of valuing time, I do value the time these people have spent on my concerns. Every time I refer to someone’s advice or use one of my gifts, I thank the person who offered it. This might sound hokey, but I’m a Southern girl and that’s how I was raised. It comes through every now and again. (Though I have the usual backlog of correspondence to catch up on.)