In Love Already!!!

I mean in love with England already, of course... ;-) Seriously though, I was so excited this afternoon after checking into my hotel that I literally could not sit still, even though I was exhausted after sleeping maybe 3 hours on the plane. I am new to this blogging thing, and I realize it might be bad blog ettiquette to write long posts, but I have SOOO much to talk about! Just consider yourself warned, hehe.

First... the plane ride. This was my first international flight, so all of you seasoned travelers please bear with me as I was fairly excited about this experience. I had a window seat, which was awesome, but it was above the wing so I couldn't see directly below me. I majorly lucked out with my seat partner, a friendly middle-aged man who had lived in London for 4 years, and who was very patient with my cluelessness about international travel. I'm sure he thought I was crazy because I was taking pictures every other minute of the randomest things, and I was practically bouncing in my seat with excitement over all the cool stuff on the plane (did you know you can play Tetris on your own little TV? And pick your own movie from a list, in which there is a chick flick category???). The only downside of the plane ride was the so-called "seat cushion"... I had a sore tailbone after 3 hours, and this made it fairly impossible to find a comfortable sleeping position. But anyway, here is the flight data screen that was displayed while eating breakfast... note the time in Dallas:



It was too cloudy to see much of Ireland as we flew over, or really anything until we were below the cloud deck in London. Bags all arrived in one piece, and after coming through customs and finding Jose, it was off to Lakenheath! Most of the cars here are tiny, and there are a lot of VWs; mine will fit right in except for the steering wheel on the other side of the car. The drive to Lakenheath was about 2 hours with traffic and rain, but it was really pretty with lots of green rolling hills and old-style houses and cottages.

So here comes the good part... no room in lodging on base, so I am staying at the Lakenheath Hotel, built in 1655 and every bit the quaint and historic and GORGEOUS place you could expect from that time period! I am on the ground floor with three windows right on the street, a beautiful view. I just have to show off some pictures here:


As you may note in the last picture, my computer is set up... because this place has free wireless internet!!! Can you believe that? I was shocked and ecstatic to find out, because now not only can I communicate with people back in the States (no phone yet), I can househunt online and generally not be so helpless, even though I can't drive yet (I take the driving class next Wed).

After check-in, it was around 2:00pm, and the plan was for me to take a nap before going to the OSS softball game with Jose and his family. However, I was bouncing off the walls with excitement about the hotel, so I decided to go for a walk down the street to take some pictures first. There are so many beautiful buildings and churches and gardens that look straight out of another time, I was the complete tourist and took pictures of everything. There was even a red phone booth! I plan on uploading all of these to Webshots or something... I'll post the link when I do, pics take up too much space in the blog for more than a few.

My walk was cut short by a thunderstorm, which actually dropped small hail all over the street, luckily after I was back inside. I did take a nap then, and woke up in time to go to the OSS softball game. Jose has two of the cutest kids I have ever seen, and the 3-year-old girl is even picking up a British accent, which is adorable. Hung out on the bleachers with them and Jose's wife Janice during the game, and we were joined by the OSS/CC's wife, who was so friendly and fun to talk to. There is a hail and farewell tomorrow, when I will be officially introduced and get to meet more of my co-workers. Other than that, house-hunting is the main item on the agenda.

I better wrap this up, your eyes might be crossing by this point... in summary, I am in love with the scenery and atmosphere of England, and absolutely cannot wait to find my own little piece of it in a cottage or house. The search begins tomorrow!