Arizona - London Bridge

Have you ever heard the nursery rhyme about the London Bridge falling down?  We got to go see it!  No, we didn't go to London;).  We saw the London Bridge in Lake Havasu City, Arizona!

As the nursery rhyme says, the bridge was falling down.  Constructed in 1831, this bridge was the busiest in London.  After many years, all of the traffic caused the east side to sink about 4 inches lower than the west side.  When it was time for London to finally replace the bridge, they decided to put the old one up for sale.

It was purchased in 1968 by American Robert McCulloch for $2,460,000.00.  The bridge was then taken apart and each block was marked with numbers and/or letters so that it could be reconstructed in the same order.  The blocks were shipped overseas through the Panama Canal to California and from there trucked to Arizona.  Reconstruction was completed in 1971.  Pretty cool.

We first drove over the bridge and then back.  I have to admit, I was a little weirded out about it.  London sold it because it was falling down, so an American buys it and now it's safe to drive over?  Obviously it's safe, and I knew that...but still, makes you think :).

There is a visitor center and an English village at one end of the bridge.  After parking, you walk through a pretty gate and enter the little village.

The kids enjoyed checking out the fountain and sticking their hands in the water.  Of course :).

The phone booth...had to do it ;)...

The visitor center was small, but nice.  As soon as we entered, the lady at the desk greeted us with a smile and some free postcards for the kids.  There is the typical gift shop area and also an area with photos and descriptions of the bridge from when it stood in London, the demo and reconstruction, and then the finished project as it stands today. 

There was also a table with different rocks that the kids could touch.  Not sure why they were there, but the kids liked it :). 

Time to see the bridge.  We walked along the water beside the bridge, went under it, and then walked along the water on the other side.  Some of the number/letter markings were still visible from when it was taken apart. 

After peeking in a few of the shops, we were ready to go find something to eat.

Just across the street is an In-N-Out Burger.  The kids had seen it, so that is where we HAD to eat :).  They think it is so fun to order from the secret menu *giggle, giggle, giggle*.  Sillies.

Lake Havasu City on Dwellable