Home away from home.

We've just returned from one of our triannual (sometimes more) trips to RAF Lakenheath and RAF Mildenhall. These bases have become our home away from home while living in Oxford. It's about a 3 hour drive but worth it when you consider living on the economy in England can be tough for Americans. This is where being military is a HUGE advantage for us! We can stock up on American grocery items you can't find here like peanut butter, maple syrup, chocolate chips, USDA approved beef! :) etc. and pay U.S. prices. We usually stay overnight and catch a movie or go bowling and take advantage of the fantastic playgrounds we don't seem to have in the Oxford area. A big favorite is the American fast food. Taco Bell and Baskin Robbins especially. Living here without so many of our chain restaurants back home leaves us craving whatever we can get that tastes like it does back in the U.S. It's also hard when we're used to the community life on Air Force base to adjust to living in a different country, culture, and way of life, especially in Oxford. Some would say we should dive in to the culture here and live as the British do and for the most part we do (British home and car and tiny washer and dryer) but it's nice to find what we can here of those familiar comforts of home in the U.S. For anyone who thinks Americans and British aren't too different and speak the same language should check out the website www.english2american.com

My Birthday

Last week we celebrated my 28th birthday and instead of doing something for me we took the kids to Drayton Manor. An amusement park with an area called Thomas Land with rides made to look like all the characters from the Island of Sodor. A dream come true for my boys! :)






The park was packed and we waited in lines most of the day just to ride about 8 rides. Since I couldn't go on most of the rides, Daddy was feeling a bit queasy by the end of the day! :)

We had a great time in Ireland last week. We spent a week in Sligo with my parents enjoying the coast and sights and even an O'Dowd castle.

Europe trip - Berlin, Prague, Salzburg, Zurich, and Paris

After 3,000 miles driven and 76 hours spent in the car our whirlwind Europe trip is over. It's good to be home. Where the road signs are in English. People aren't passing us on the Autoban going 100 miles an hour (at least). Having to pay for toll coupons to stick in the window to drive through the country. Oh and the language barrier. What an experience!
We really did have a fantastic time seeing all those places you grow up learning about in history books. We spent a day sightseeing in Berlin.

This is the Brandenburg gate and the Reichstag (Parliament)

Here is what remains of the Berlin Wall, and Checkpoint Charlie.


We took a quick drive through Prague. We didn't get there until 5pm and it was heavy with traffic so we didn't get any pictures in the city center. We were more worried about getting out of the country to find somewhere to camp back in Germany! We stopped in Salzburg and got some pictures though.


From there we went to Garmisch, Germany right in the heart of the Bavarian Alps. It was beautiful! We stayed in a cabin at the Edelweiss Resort, a military recreation area. We drove through the Alps and into Lietchenstein and then Zurich. This castle is Neuschwanstein which was the inspiration for the Disney castle.

We stayed a night at Ramstein Air Base in Germany and then drove to Paris. We saw the Eiffel Tower that evening. We didn't go up it because of the lines but we waited around until it was all lit up when it got dark.
We didn't realize how much of a tourist trap Versailles is but it was on the top of our list of things to see. We waited in line (outside in sunny 78 degrees) 2 hours and 45 minutes to buy tickets and get in to the palace. It was packed with people but this was fulfilling my childhood dream so we had to see it! This place is huge and very ornate and the gardens are spectacular! Since this was our last day we didn't have time to see any other sites in Paris. We had to get to the ferry.

Road Trip, Europe

Well, we finally made it to Berlin after 3 days of driving and camping, seeing the sights along the way.

Thursday evening we took a ferry to Calais, France and spent the night in a hotel. What a shock to go from driving on the left side (in England) to immediately driving on the right side in a right hand drive car! We soon got adjusted and were on our way up the coast through Belgium and into Amsterdam. We didn't spend much time there but drove through the city and got out to

let the kids play in a park along the river.

We then headed southeast towards Germany and found a campground in the little town of Kleve. With our German phrase book in hand we were able to reserve a site for the night.

The next day we drove to Koblenz, Germany and traveled the scenic route along the Rhein down to Mainz. The walls or hills of the valley were dotted with castles surrounded by vineyards. We stopped at a park again to let the kids play.

In Mainz we toured the Gutenberg museum and saw the Gutenberg Bibles and the press with a demonstration on how it was used. From Mainz we drove to Eisenach and found another campground where no one spoke any English but again with our little book and a lot of pointing we could set up camp for the night. Located in Eisenach is Wartburg Castle where Martin Luther was exiled. We climbed the vey long steep hill to the castle and took the tour. It was in German but we could pick up a few words and got to see Luther's room and desk where he translated the Bible. From there we drove to Wittenberg to see the famous church doors where Luther posted the 95 Theses. There was a Luther festival going on we didn't know about so there were many booths selling items or food from the medieval era. Many people were in costumes from the time.

We will now be in Berlin for a few days while Devin attends the ASME Turbo Expo. I'll post more when we've done some sightseeing!

White Horse Hill

Last Saturday we went for a hike on a warm - but incredibly windy - day up White Horse Hill. In the side of the hill is a chalked form of a horse over 374 feet in length. There used to be a castle atop one of these hills. It was a fun hike up these rolling green hills with sheep grazing and horseback riders surrounded by farmland.

Our Neighborhood

Some of you (my parents really) have asked to see pictures of our walk to school. Austin is attending Elms Road Nursery school which is a 3/4 mile walk from our house. I make this trip twice a day, five days a week totaling 3 miles of walking. It's great when it's not raining and I get in a workout!
Here is the first picture, heading down our street, then through the hedges on the footpath.



Then around the a few corners through the neighborhood. Most of these homes have beautiful flowers year-round. Daffodils and crocus, then tulips and hyacinths. Now lilacs, phlox, daisies, forget-me-nots, roses, magnolias.....just to name a few. My favorite is a house with wisteria overhanging one end. The beautiful purple flowers that look like grape clusters. So pretty!


Around the next corner and past our bus stop we take into the city. I had to take a picture of this cottage. We walk by it each day. You don't see many of these in the city!


Down the busy street, past another bus stop and the Botley shops. Then Elms road on which the school is located.


Here is Austin in front of the school. Of course the day I bring the camera they are busy repairing the shingles or something! Austin loves his new school hat too which he's required to wear on sunny days while at school.