I landed an hour early at London Heathrow on Boxing Day morning. It was lovely to hear Christmas songs streaming at T5. After a swift check through customs I picked up a cup of coffee at Giraffe. My friend Sandy and her girls came to meet me, before we headed to Hertfordshire for Boxing Day celebrations.

My final afternoon in Miami I hung out at the pool, by the creek. It was a day of mainly wearing a jacket, but the sun did break through at around 2pm. I used the last of my $50 room credit and enjoyed a Christmas glass of sparkly overlooking the creek trying to spot the wildlife. Just before going to the airport I saw a bushy tail pass by. Initially I thought it was a tabby cat, but it was a very bushy tail and I saw a pointy type snout. It looked like some kind of raccoon. I paused my Skype call and ran to see what it was and to try and get a photograph. It was too fast and shot up a palm tree, but none the less it was great to see it. The large iguana also made an appearance sunning himself on the banks when the sun appeared. There was also occasional splashing in the creek, but when I looked over of course the fish or alligator had long disappeared.

The airport terminal was literally a two minute shuttle ride from my hotel, so I was there in excellent time. To my surprise all the shops were open pre-Passport check. I bought a hair piece (small and light to fit in my hand bag).

The flight was fine, but quite stressful for me as I'm not a keen flier. I prefer trains, but there are none from US to UK (obviously)! I didn't sleep for a 43 hour period (7am Christmas Day to 2.30am Boxing Day). It's now 30 December and I seemed to have picked up one of those post-flight throat infections.

I'm looking forward to the New Year. I'm already planning my next adventure. Meanwhile I'll post one more blog as an epilogue to close out my US-Canadian adventure.