Traveling England

I can't tell you how nice it has been having Chris home!  We've spent the past few weeks watching movies, going on walks, running errands (going to the Commissary is so much more fun when you have a buddy!), and traveling around England.  Chris's mom, Gayle, and her best friend, Vicki, came out for a short visit as well.  Vicki had never traveled to Europe before, and it was so fun to get to see her get so excited about all the sights and sounds of England.  We saw Wicked (AMAZING!!), and toured London, my way.  I say "my way" because I have a special treat for all of our England visitors when we tour London...it's called the Tube Tour.  I feel like I have done the Big Red Bus Tour so many times that I can recite the commentary in my sleep.  So, when my friend Kara came out for a visit, I decided to do things a little bit differently.  I did some research, and have now mastered the art of tube riding.  Come along w/ me and I'll save you 22pds by riding the tube instead of the bus!  We'll pop out at all the monuments, you'll get some fab-o commentary, and we'll have plenty of time to shop at Harrods to our hearts content.  I think it's a win-win situation for all involved :)  Anyway, back to our guests...

So, in addition to touring London we went to Bury to see the Abbey, and to try out the cute new cafe'/wine bar, Stone Angel.  If you haven't been, it's a definite "must try".  Very cute, and really yummy!  We also went out to Henry Watson's Pottery to see if we couldn't find any fun new kitchenware.  Gayle & Vicki had to make a second trip out to Harrod's because, let's be honest, how can you possibly do that store in one afternoon?!  Then, we embarked on our 4 day road-trip! 

First, we drove to Bath.  What an amazing city!  It was so interesting to learn about their Roman heritage, and to view the old bathhouses.  We walked around the city and saw the Pulteney Bridge, the Circus (not our kind of circus, mind you), and made our way up to 1 Royal Crescent where we were delighted to find 4 hot-air balloons taking flight.  The next day, we drove up to the Lake District.  FYI, you might want to check the traffic reports before embarking on a 4 hour journey...we'll definitely note this in our "to-do" book for next time since ours turned into a 7 hour trek due to the M5 completely closing down the Northbound lane.  But alas, it didn't hamper our mood.  In fact, I think one of the best parts of the trip was our conversations in the car!   We finally made it to the Lake District, Bowness-on-Windermere to be exact, and to our lovely hotel.  We explored the town of Bowness, took a lake cruise, hiked up Post Knott (another "must try" if going to the Lake District), and even found time to do a little bit of outlet-shopping on our way out of town!  Leave it to 3 women to seek out the only outlet in 100 miles!!  The trip was awesome, and I am so glad to have shared the experience w/ two such remarkable women.  Enjoy some pics below...

The hot-air balloons in Bath

Vicki, Gayle & I on Bath's High Street

Pulteney Bridge

Chris & Gayle inside the Roman Baths

Looking down onto the Great Bath

A view of St. Theresa's

All is as it should be...

Besides my wedding day, Monday ranked right up there as the absolute best day of my life.  After five long months, my most favorite person in the entire world finally came home!!  On Sunday night, an email popped up in my inbox with the title: Jet Return.  Before I opened it, I laid my head down and prayed that it would be sooner, rather than later, and that Chris was actually still going to be on one of those jets.  When I finally opened it, my emotions got the best of me.  I couldn't believe that he was actually coming home, that I would finally be able to talk with him again (we were a little limited while he was gone), and that I would be able to hug him anytime I wanted to!!  Needless to say, I didn't sleep at all on Sunday night!!

On Monday afternoon, we all met up at the squadron to wait for the jets to arrive.  There was food & drinks galore, and the pub (our meeting place) was filled with signs, streamers, balloons, and plenty of excited families.  At around 2, we were all herded into the buses so that we could go out to the flight line to see the jets land. Getting to see 14 F-15's make their final approaches and land, right there in front of us, was something that I will never forget.  It was absolutely amazing to see!  Once they landed, we had to load back into the buses so that they could transfer us over to where the jets were lined up.  When we pulled up, people couldn't get out of the bus fast enough!!  We all tumbled out onto the flight line and anxiously waited for the canopies to open.  My friend Wendy's husband, Jason, flew back with Chris & it was so fun to experience the excitement with her and her girls.  It seemed to take forever, but FINALLY we were able to run to the jets to welcome back our heroes.  My sweet friend, Amber, agreed to take some pictures of this great day for me.  She was amazing, and really captured the emotions of the day, taking over 400 great shots!  Enjoy a few of my favs below... 

Wendy, Sydney, Me & Cara w/ our signs!

Jason & Chris were in the second plane from the top.

Finally!!

Sweet Kisses :)

Oh, I'm so happy!!

Chris, me, Wendy, Sydney, Jason & Cara in front of the jet.

Us, finally together again!

Yay for FALL!!

I am so excited that September is finally here!! I love the Fall, and I am so looking forward to another one in England! Summertime here just isn't very summery, and the Winter can get VERY bleak...BUT, Fall is absolutely perfect & I try to take full advantage :)

Okay...so, that's all I got!

Cheers!
Amy