Okay, so I'm in Doncaster....
Story time: I'll start from the beginning.
Today was just your average Wednesday. I went to work for half of the day. I spent the morning trying to figure out all possibilities on saving money for trains up the east coast of the UK. I calculated that, for our situation, purchasing 2 "Two Together Railcards" for the four of us on National Railway would save us a third of the price. So we bought the tickets. This afternoon, after class, all would be well, and we would be leaving for stop 1: York, England.
All I had to do was print out passport style photos of the four of us, pack my bag, and get us to the Kings Cross train station by 6:30 to collect our tickets and make our 7:19pm train. Sounds simple... Well, after class, I grabbed a quick sandwich from Paul (first meal of the day LOL) and had to go to another building about 10 minutes north from my flat to print out these photos. (Back to that sandwich real quick, I had the Croque Florentine with spinach and goat cheese, and it was heaven, okay carry on...). Basically everything that could go wrong, went wrong. The printer wasn't connected, I didn't have money on my account, the pictures printed in black & white, but I needed color, and time was ticking faster than you could imagine.
The girls were back at the flat getting ready and showering as I did this, and I texted them saying we needed to leave by 6pm to make it to the train station in time with enough room for any errors. I made it back to the flat around 5:52 and had 8 minutes to pack 5 days worth of clothes in.. er' Scotland? How to pack for that, I still don't know.
Well, we ended up not getting on the tube until 6:30, which was a problem, if you can't already tell by the beginning of the story... We hit two stops on the Piccadilly line straight to Kings Cross, and the tube just stops. Yep, just stops due to signal failure and doesn't continue to move for 12 minutes. So, we're 42 minutes behind schedule at this point...
We make it to the train station check-in to collect tickets at 7:08, and the train leaves in 11 minutes. We had to get our rail card passes sorted out and then dash to the train. Erin and I get ours done, and we head to the train to try to stall the conductors while the other two get theirs sorted out and take both cards with them. (P.S. stalling never works...) It's 7:17, and I get the call from Bridget I didn't sign the back of my card, so they can't give her my card, and that the printer is not cooperating. We had literally 1 minute and 23 seconds at this point to get on that train. I dart back to the check-in to sign the card and run back with it in my hand to Erin and my luggage sitting in front of the train and empty platform.
Twelve seconds before departure, and Erin and I are staring at the train doors, waiting for Bridget and Julia to come running our direction to hop aboard the train. The clock strikes 7:19, the whistle blows, the train door shuts, and the conductors signal the train to proceed. Erin and I literally watched that train leave our sight, and 30 seconds later, Julia and Bridget come running back our direction. Missed it by that much.
Because the tube was partially to blame for the situation, we were able to talk to customer service for Grand Central trains to hopefully get the next train to York. Unfortunately, that was the last one of the day, and our pass is invalid starting at midnight. Of course. We did, however, have the option to take a complimentary train to Doncaster to then purchase a train to York. Okay. Do we do it?
While all of this was happening, we had an apartment room for rent in York that we had to check in by 9pm no excuses (this was an extension of their original 6pm check-in time). We would not be able to make it to York any earlier than 10:30pm, so I called the apartment rental line, and of course, there was nothing they could do about our nonrefundable 1 night stay in downtown York except leave it completely vacant for the night.
Doncaster train leaves at 7:45pm, so what do we do? It was a struggle deciding, and with all of the crazy things that could go wrong, I'd be lying if I said we were all in good moods. We booked the train, and Bridget called a hostel. We lost some money in this, but you live and you learn right?
I was so stressed out on the train to Doncaster that I ate an entire Terry's chocolate orange. Yum, but ugh. We wanted to make the most out of this trip. Despite the issues and mishaps, we weren't going to let it get the best of us. We are a family who goes through thick and thin with one another. We forgive each other for our mistakes, and I really appreciate that.
Fun Fact: Louis Tomlinson, aka my bf, was born in Doncaster. Makin' history.
Celebratory dinner at "MACDONALDS," as the Doncaster folk call it, for making it to Doncaster and booking a train and SafeStay hostel in York for the first night. We also made some friends along the way! English people are so kind. This was an eventful evening to say the least, but I'm thankful that God brought us in the right direction. Difficult roads often lead to beautiful destinations....
Story time: I'll start from the beginning.
Today was just your average Wednesday. I went to work for half of the day. I spent the morning trying to figure out all possibilities on saving money for trains up the east coast of the UK. I calculated that, for our situation, purchasing 2 "Two Together Railcards" for the four of us on National Railway would save us a third of the price. So we bought the tickets. This afternoon, after class, all would be well, and we would be leaving for stop 1: York, England.
All I had to do was print out passport style photos of the four of us, pack my bag, and get us to the Kings Cross train station by 6:30 to collect our tickets and make our 7:19pm train. Sounds simple... Well, after class, I grabbed a quick sandwich from Paul (first meal of the day LOL) and had to go to another building about 10 minutes north from my flat to print out these photos. (Back to that sandwich real quick, I had the Croque Florentine with spinach and goat cheese, and it was heaven, okay carry on...). Basically everything that could go wrong, went wrong. The printer wasn't connected, I didn't have money on my account, the pictures printed in black & white, but I needed color, and time was ticking faster than you could imagine.
The girls were back at the flat getting ready and showering as I did this, and I texted them saying we needed to leave by 6pm to make it to the train station in time with enough room for any errors. I made it back to the flat around 5:52 and had 8 minutes to pack 5 days worth of clothes in.. er' Scotland? How to pack for that, I still don't know.
Well, we ended up not getting on the tube until 6:30, which was a problem, if you can't already tell by the beginning of the story... We hit two stops on the Piccadilly line straight to Kings Cross, and the tube just stops. Yep, just stops due to signal failure and doesn't continue to move for 12 minutes. So, we're 42 minutes behind schedule at this point...
We make it to the train station check-in to collect tickets at 7:08, and the train leaves in 11 minutes. We had to get our rail card passes sorted out and then dash to the train. Erin and I get ours done, and we head to the train to try to stall the conductors while the other two get theirs sorted out and take both cards with them. (P.S. stalling never works...) It's 7:17, and I get the call from Bridget I didn't sign the back of my card, so they can't give her my card, and that the printer is not cooperating. We had literally 1 minute and 23 seconds at this point to get on that train. I dart back to the check-in to sign the card and run back with it in my hand to Erin and my luggage sitting in front of the train and empty platform.
Twelve seconds before departure, and Erin and I are staring at the train doors, waiting for Bridget and Julia to come running our direction to hop aboard the train. The clock strikes 7:19, the whistle blows, the train door shuts, and the conductors signal the train to proceed. Erin and I literally watched that train leave our sight, and 30 seconds later, Julia and Bridget come running back our direction. Missed it by that much.
Because the tube was partially to blame for the situation, we were able to talk to customer service for Grand Central trains to hopefully get the next train to York. Unfortunately, that was the last one of the day, and our pass is invalid starting at midnight. Of course. We did, however, have the option to take a complimentary train to Doncaster to then purchase a train to York. Okay. Do we do it?
While all of this was happening, we had an apartment room for rent in York that we had to check in by 9pm no excuses (this was an extension of their original 6pm check-in time). We would not be able to make it to York any earlier than 10:30pm, so I called the apartment rental line, and of course, there was nothing they could do about our nonrefundable 1 night stay in downtown York except leave it completely vacant for the night.
Doncaster train leaves at 7:45pm, so what do we do? It was a struggle deciding, and with all of the crazy things that could go wrong, I'd be lying if I said we were all in good moods. We booked the train, and Bridget called a hostel. We lost some money in this, but you live and you learn right?
I was so stressed out on the train to Doncaster that I ate an entire Terry's chocolate orange. Yum, but ugh. We wanted to make the most out of this trip. Despite the issues and mishaps, we weren't going to let it get the best of us. We are a family who goes through thick and thin with one another. We forgive each other for our mistakes, and I really appreciate that.
Celebratory dinner at "MACDONALDS," as the Doncaster folk call it, for making it to Doncaster and booking a train and SafeStay hostel in York for the first night. We also made some friends along the way! English people are so kind. This was an eventful evening to say the least, but I'm thankful that God brought us in the right direction. Difficult roads often lead to beautiful destinations....
CHEERS!
xoxo
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