Last call: All stations to Stratford...

Family,

And a good evening to you from THE LAST DAY in the Mother Country. That’s right, sports fans – this is the FINAL post for Team Taylor on English soil. How did we celebrate our last day in the UK? With a dinner at La Tasca, of course! That's right - the bloody Spanish have struck again, dealing me a final blow in the form of a craving for a little more jamon y queso prior to departure. Consequently, Jenny and I went for a "light" tapas dinner - the picture pretty much speaks for itself.

So seriously, now that it's all said and done, how on EARTH do you sum up this experience? How do you describe everything that you've seen, the emotions you've gone through, and how it's changed you as a person and as a couple? I think the short answer is: “you don’t.” However, to cite a favorite quote: “We don’t remember days – we remember moments.” And so, as a trip down memory lane, dear friends, here are the memories that, as I sit here in a now barren flat with only a final Brewdog IPA, 6 pieces of stuffed-to-the-brim luggage, and my soul mate around me, surface to mind as the best of this amazing, incredible, unbelievable chapter in our lives that closes tomorrow at 10:55 AM GMT when we board Singapore Air Flight 317 to Asia.

1. The look on Jenny’s face when we first walked into Flat 303, 10 Weymouth Street, and the squeal that she just couldn’t suppress...

2. The chills along my spine when Elphaba “defied gravity” – for the second AND third time...

3. That first landing in Charlotte Douglas in October, seeing the “Beacon” (also known as the Bank of America Corporate Center) in the distance and realizing how proud I am to be an American and how many things about home I will forever appreciate all the more...

4. That first GREAT run in Regent’s Park with a healed foot, surrounded by soccer, cricket, and all the colors of England in bloom...

5. “Into the Woods, and out of the woods, and home before…there are Giants in the Sky…”

6. England 35 – Australia 18 – SWIIIIIIIIIIING LOOOOOOOOOOOOW……SWEEEEET CHAAAAAAARIOOOOOOOOT….

7. Standing at the Treasury of Petra…and repeating lines from “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” over and over…

8. Opening a $60 package of Mountain Dew – forever known as the most expensive sugar rush in HISTORY...

9. The moment I realized (5 seconds too late) that the 9 pin bowling was actually TEN pin bowling…DONKEYS.

10. Skafell Pike on a day you could see forever...

11. That first pint in a 3 table bar in Prague, heart full, body warm, and soul at peace...

12. The moment I discovered that Heineken WAS different in the Dam!

13. Finally, finally, FINALLY – making good on my promise of getting my mom to the Sistine Chapel...

14. And amazing week with an old friend from Down Under – after WAY too long of a dry spell...

15. The laughter of good friends and fellow combatants at the April celebration...

16. A waterfall, no towel, some Japanese cats who couldn’t speak English, and a guide who didn’t really expect to live until 30 – all culminating in me jumping into a Norwegian river...

17. The moment Jenny said, “We’re staying at some place called the Freitheim,” with me staring at a hotel of the same name that basically looked like the MGM Grand of Norway...

18. Miller joking at the Lamb & Flag "Hey, can you believe we might really pull this off?", and then smiling, proud in the knowledge that we knew we already had...

19. "Everything you say to me takes me one step closer to the edge.....SHUT UP WHEN I'M TALKIN' TO YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU" - and then noticing the look in Goodyer's face...

20. "We regret to inform you that Gatwick airport has closed due to snow in the Home Counties."

21. The Keg in Ottawa - do I really have to say any more?

22. My first ever $500 chip with "the Shootahs!"

23. Oysters, bubbly, and perhaps THE BEST photo of 2010 - Reddingtons, Taylors, and Powells in front of Tower Bridge...

24. Tait Robinson saying, "I think I need one more pastry" after we'd just LAID WASTE to Borough Market's food stalls...

25. A Friday night email from the Hitman just before stepping on the Jubes with the title: "We will be extending your assignment- FYI going into the weekend..."

26. The look of composure on Andrew Harwood's face when I told him, "Dude - I just peed in your toilet that doesn't flush."

27. Sitting in dad's hotel room with dad and mom, Trader Jose's Light in hand, drawing lots for the Kentucky Derby (which I won, for the record)...

28. The day I first was introduced to Selwyn...

29. Matt Miller taking a sip of his beer and then saying, "This tastes like feet. This is feet ale."

30. Sitting outside with Muffin on our balcony that first Sunday, absolutely in shock that we were here and wondering what foolishness we'd get into...

So there you have it – a year and a half crystallized into some of the best memories of our lives. I have no lie to tell – this past year and half has been, WITHOUT A DOUBT, the best 18 months of my life, made all the more special by the fact that I’ve made so many WONDERFUL friends here, been supported by a cast of CRAZY Americans making myriad trips over, and had my AMAZING wife beside me through it all.

But the good news is that, whilst this chapter is closing, the next one is opening. I’m sure most of the followers of the blog know, but for anyone who doesn’t – TEAM TAYLOR IS MOVING TO SINGAPORE!!!!! That’s right, campers – you’ve got ANOTHER year of misadventures, “lost in translation” moments, and (most likely) first hand discussions about the joys of caning comin’ at you in 2011.

Oh, and I would simply be remiss if I didn’t say HAPPY BIRTHDAY BROTHER OWAIN MORGAN!!!!! Here’s hoping you got that dinner and have a GREAT day off tomorrow.

Lovely Lisa - the desk is now yours - take good care of it (translation - POWER WASH IT TO REMOVE THE BACTERIA). I also realized, admittedly a little too late, that I still have the key. Oops...check your interoffice mail in about a week...

Okay, whether it's enough or not, that's all I've got left to print. We're flying tomorrow, so no blog from Team Taylor until AT LEAST Friday. However, I'd say that Sunday's a more realistic assessment.

Again - to all those that have laughed with us, cried with us, and read with us this far - thank you. I really hope you'll continue the journey with us into Asia. After all, if you thought I stuck out here, just WAIT until I start asking folks if they're descended from Ghengis Khan...

Chat soon!

Love,

Sam and Jenny