SQUEE! Research and Travel

So, while extensively researching Nottingham for the Robin Hood novel I'm writing, I went, ugggh I wish I could just see it!

And then I realized that I can.  And then I looked one tab over and remembered I'm currently planning a trip to the UK.  Which, you know, is where Nottingham is.  And then it occurred to me: I CAN GO TO NOTTINGHAM WHILE I'M IN THE UK! AND IT CAN BE A RESEARCH TRIP--WHICH MEANS A WRITE OFF!!!

Sorry for the all caps action.  So now I'm like flip-out excited, because I can fly into London/Cambridge and visit one of my favorite people in Cambridge, go to Nottingham for a weekend/long weekend (and the train's only about forty pounds if I buy far enough in advance) and then get a train from Nottingham to Leuchars (St Andrews, love of my international life) for about a hundred pounds.  It's an expensive detour (especially because otherwise I'd probably fly straight to Edinburgh) but it's unbelievably exciting!

Especially since if I spend the extra (roughly) 250 pounds all told, I can write off the plane tickets and travel costs to get to Nottingham and stay there!  YEAAAA!  Which will be especially sick whether or not I actually sell a book in 2010.

And I'm FREAKING OUT that I have a genuine plan to go visit some ROBIN HOOD action!!!!!

Now the real question is:  any of my UK (or US!) friends want to come with me?? We can play with bows and arrows....

And actually, the best question is:  WHY THE HELL DIDN'T I THINK OF THIS BEFORE?!!  Like, all that time I was LIVING in the UK?

Ok, I'm going to try and calm down so I can get to sleep sometime tonight.  Or I'll just right up a storm--whichever!