Bath and Stonehenge pictures are online! Check them out here: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=406648&id=701905001&l=2f73c2cc5b
I had to get those pics up this week, because this weekend begins a flurry of travel activity that will pretty much consume the month of April... and I am SOOOOOOO excited!!!!! Of the first 18 days of April, I will be working 6 of them. Pretty sweet deal, right? Two three-day weekends in a row courtesy of USAFE, then taking 4 days of leave to add onto the third weekend. Where am I going? I'm so glad you asked... ;-)
First up (in 3 days!) is Warsaw, Poland. My two excellent travel buddies (Alex and Martin) and I will be flying into Lodz, then taking a train to Warsaw. Exact plans for sightseeing are still slightly up in the air, but we have a hotel room two blocks from city centre and will be meeting up with a friend of Alex's who lives there and can show us around. I am a little nervous about knowing zero of the Polish language, but Alex was a Russian major in college and says Polish is similar... and I may pick up a Polish phrase book before we go.
Weekend #2 is tentatively planned for Newcastle, England. Supposedly a very cool town and a beautiful train ride to get there from here. No reservations have been made yet, but I am pretty sure it is going to happen... more on this as decisions are made! :)
The day after I get back from Newcastle (Monday April 12th), I will be working a half day at work... and then flying out of London to meet Carrie in Trieste, Italy!!! Originally, she was just going to visit here after her TDY in Italy, but we talked more and decided it would be fun to explore Italy together too! We will spend Tues/Wed sightseeing in Trieste and nearby sites, then both fly back to England on Thurs. Thursday night and Friday, I'll be showing her around the area and visiting some cool sites, then Saturday we will get to hang out in Cambridge with Carrie's cousins Mark and Kathryn (they were the ones who I visited in Cambridge when I first got here). Then Carrie will have to fly out on Sunday.
I AM SOOOO EXCITED!!!!! :-D I can't wait to hang out with Carrie again, and she will be my first visitor here! (Which reminds me, I need to clean the house... haha) April is just going to be amazing. There is a lot of work to be done before, during, and after, but I don't think anything is going to darken my mood in the near future. :) I ran 12 miles yesterday even though it was raining and I was minus my running buddy, but I did it and therefore am still on track for the marathon.
By the way, I am sure you noticed the change in the blog background... I thought it was nice and spring-y. :) Hope you like it!
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Monday, March 22, 2010
Spring!
Happy Spring, everyone! I celebrated with a beautiful 10-mile run yesterday on the official first day of Spring. It felt like spring, too… I ran in Bury St Edmunds again with Martin, and when we got to Abbey Gardens to stretch, there were people everywhere enjoying the sun and warmer weather – kids playing soccer (football if you’re British), several other runners, and people eating ice cream from the food stand. Even the Garden itself seemed to be celebrating the arrival of spring – the flowers are all starting to bloom and the grass is a much brighter green. Everywhere around here is starting to remind me of when I first arrived in August, with the longer days and greener vegetation. Can you believe it has been 7 months?!?!? I know I can’t…
I think I mentioned in the last entry that I wanted to do more traveling, so here’s an update: I am going to Poland the first weekend in April! How’s that for random? One of the intel girls, Alex, asked me if I wanted to go for our 3-day weekend. The idea surprised me, since Poland was not at the top of my destination list, but after a moment of thought… why not??? Why not take advantage of being somewhere that I can randomly decide to fly to Poland for the weekend and get cheap plane tickets? So I will be in Poland from 2-4 April. Woohoo! Not much specific planning has happened yet, but we are flying into Lodz and taking a train to Warsaw, where we have a hotel room two blocks away from the city center, where I am sure we will have no shortage of things to see and do.
Speaking of traveling, I also have to tell you about my Bath and Stonehenge trip a week ago! Pics have made it from my camera to my computer, but not from the computer to online yet, so I will have to post that link when I get them uploaded. The four of us girls left Lakenheath early afternoon on Saturday and arrived in Bath by late afternoon. We checked into our hotel and decided to walk through town and go to the spa that night.
So.... I was kind of nervous about the spa. I mentioned this last time, but... I just don't really see myself as the "spa" type of person. A spa sounds like a place for people who enjoy wearing not much in the way of clothing (if any), spending a lot of money to have weird things done to their bodies, and eating/drinking weird expensive things. Okay, so maybe that is a pretty bad stereotype. But I'm a T-shirt/jeans/flip-flops girl who (almost) never wears makeup or jewelry. I don't like the idea of people I don't know touching me, or the idea of walking around in a bathing suit. Give me a mountain to climb or a castle to explore while other people sit in spas.
But then we went to the spa... and I have to admit it was actually fun. We didn't get massages or anything, but the other girls and I spent a very enjoyable two hours watching the sun set from the rooftop pool, trying out all the scented steam rooms, and floating around the big bubbly hot tub. I decided that it would be a very good thing to do after a marathon, since it was so relaxing. So, I may or may not be planning to look up spas in Edinburgh. 0:-) Does this mean I am a "spa" person? Well... maybe I just learned the truth of the phrase "don't knock it until you try it"!
Anyway, we walked back to our hotel that night with plans to get up and sightsee in Bath in the morning before setting out for Stonehenge. We spent all morning and into the early afternoon touring the ancient Roman baths, walking around the town, and visiting several cute shops. Here is a picture of me from inside the Roman baths, with Bath Abbey in the background:
I was looking forward to seeing Stonehenge, though I had been told by several people that it was not very exciting. And, I can't necessarily argue that, after seeing it... but it's just one of those things I wanted to see, you know? It's world famous, even if it is "just a pile of rocks". We were lucky to have good weather, though it was very windy. It's kind of funny how quickly you come up on the site... you're just driving along the road, and then all of a sudden, there's Stonehenge. You could drive right by it if you weren't looking for it.
We stopped and picked up an audio tour handset, then walked around the trail circling the stone formation. The audio tour made it more interesting, but I was distracted by the multitude of cute fuzzy sheep grazing in the fields surrounding us. After we all took a bunch of pictures to prove we had been there, we headed home. Here is what I think is my best picture of Stonehenge:
I don't have anything planned for this weekend (mainly because I'm on weather standby again), but in two weeks is Poland, three weeks is another 3-day weekend with several travel possibilities being discussed, and four weeks is when my college roommate Carrie will be visiting! I am super-excited about all of these things, and I hope the weather continues to cooperate. Marathon training continues, and I am pretty happy with how that is going. I am less sore today after 10 miles than I was last week after 8, so I think that means my body is catching up to my training pace. 9 weeks til marathon weekend in Edinburgh!
I have another big item to discuss, but I think I'm going to wait until next time when I may have more news... (I'll give you a hint: it has something to do with how much longer I get to live in England!) For now, I need to go ice a birthday cake for someone in the weather flight (gave me an excuse to bake my favorite Funfetti Spring cake mix!), and get to bed. Good night!
I think I mentioned in the last entry that I wanted to do more traveling, so here’s an update: I am going to Poland the first weekend in April! How’s that for random? One of the intel girls, Alex, asked me if I wanted to go for our 3-day weekend. The idea surprised me, since Poland was not at the top of my destination list, but after a moment of thought… why not??? Why not take advantage of being somewhere that I can randomly decide to fly to Poland for the weekend and get cheap plane tickets? So I will be in Poland from 2-4 April. Woohoo! Not much specific planning has happened yet, but we are flying into Lodz and taking a train to Warsaw, where we have a hotel room two blocks away from the city center, where I am sure we will have no shortage of things to see and do.
Speaking of traveling, I also have to tell you about my Bath and Stonehenge trip a week ago! Pics have made it from my camera to my computer, but not from the computer to online yet, so I will have to post that link when I get them uploaded. The four of us girls left Lakenheath early afternoon on Saturday and arrived in Bath by late afternoon. We checked into our hotel and decided to walk through town and go to the spa that night.
So.... I was kind of nervous about the spa. I mentioned this last time, but... I just don't really see myself as the "spa" type of person. A spa sounds like a place for people who enjoy wearing not much in the way of clothing (if any), spending a lot of money to have weird things done to their bodies, and eating/drinking weird expensive things. Okay, so maybe that is a pretty bad stereotype. But I'm a T-shirt/jeans/flip-flops girl who (almost) never wears makeup or jewelry. I don't like the idea of people I don't know touching me, or the idea of walking around in a bathing suit. Give me a mountain to climb or a castle to explore while other people sit in spas.
But then we went to the spa... and I have to admit it was actually fun. We didn't get massages or anything, but the other girls and I spent a very enjoyable two hours watching the sun set from the rooftop pool, trying out all the scented steam rooms, and floating around the big bubbly hot tub. I decided that it would be a very good thing to do after a marathon, since it was so relaxing. So, I may or may not be planning to look up spas in Edinburgh. 0:-) Does this mean I am a "spa" person? Well... maybe I just learned the truth of the phrase "don't knock it until you try it"!
Anyway, we walked back to our hotel that night with plans to get up and sightsee in Bath in the morning before setting out for Stonehenge. We spent all morning and into the early afternoon touring the ancient Roman baths, walking around the town, and visiting several cute shops. Here is a picture of me from inside the Roman baths, with Bath Abbey in the background:
I was looking forward to seeing Stonehenge, though I had been told by several people that it was not very exciting. And, I can't necessarily argue that, after seeing it... but it's just one of those things I wanted to see, you know? It's world famous, even if it is "just a pile of rocks". We were lucky to have good weather, though it was very windy. It's kind of funny how quickly you come up on the site... you're just driving along the road, and then all of a sudden, there's Stonehenge. You could drive right by it if you weren't looking for it.
We stopped and picked up an audio tour handset, then walked around the trail circling the stone formation. The audio tour made it more interesting, but I was distracted by the multitude of cute fuzzy sheep grazing in the fields surrounding us. After we all took a bunch of pictures to prove we had been there, we headed home. Here is what I think is my best picture of Stonehenge:
I don't have anything planned for this weekend (mainly because I'm on weather standby again), but in two weeks is Poland, three weeks is another 3-day weekend with several travel possibilities being discussed, and four weeks is when my college roommate Carrie will be visiting! I am super-excited about all of these things, and I hope the weather continues to cooperate. Marathon training continues, and I am pretty happy with how that is going. I am less sore today after 10 miles than I was last week after 8, so I think that means my body is catching up to my training pace. 9 weeks til marathon weekend in Edinburgh!
I have another big item to discuss, but I think I'm going to wait until next time when I may have more news... (I'll give you a hint: it has something to do with how much longer I get to live in England!) For now, I need to go ice a birthday cake for someone in the weather flight (gave me an excuse to bake my favorite Funfetti Spring cake mix!), and get to bed. Good night!
Monday, March 8, 2010
More Daylight
I admit it… I have been a very bad blogger in the last couple weeks. Don’t feel left out, because apparently I have also been bad about checking my email, since I had two from my mom this morning asking if I was alive. Oops… sorry Mom. So here is a blog to prove to all of you that I am, in fact, alive. ;-) The base is doing a big exercise this week, and last week was crazy busy getting ready for it. Two weekends ago, I was on weather standby and got called in to work both Saturday and Sunday, which was not too fun and meant I didn’t do much else interesting that weekend. I did put Dover pictures online, so here is the link, though I am guessing most of you on Facebook have already checked them out: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=392098&id=701905001&l=5066889e9e (P.S. The link should work even if you are not on Facebook.)
Last week was good, though busy. On Wednesday, I had lunch with a bunch of other Lts, most of whom I have met through my intel friends from Red Flag. I really like getting to know new people, and it was a fun lunch hour that turned into a planning session for outings over the next two weekends. Friday morning, my squadron ran in a base 5K, which I was really excited about. Official marathon training for my May 23rd Edinburgh (Scotland) full marathon began last Monday, so I have been running more and was looking forward to a little competition. I was happy with how I ran, but irritated that the course turned out to be only 2.7 miles (a 5K is 3.1). Poor race organization, in my opinion, plus it should have been announced at the beginning so there weren’t people walking around afterwards thinking they took 4 minutes off their 5K time (not me, thanks to my Garmin GPS watch). Anyway, despite the distance foul and the frigid temperature, it was still fun to get out there and run with the squadron and others on base.
On Saturday, I went out to dinner with a bunch of my new friends at an amazing restaurant in Bury St Edmunds. You may remember Bury from my two sightseeing expeditions there back in August, most notably Abbey Gardens, St Edmundsbury Cathedral, and the extensive Saturday market. I now know three people who live in walking distance of the Bury town centre, so it is the perfect location to meet up and walk to all kinds of restaurants, pubs, and entertainment, not to mention the historical sites like the Gardens. Saturday night, we met at a restaurant called Benson and Blake’s, which had the most incredible sweet potato fries I have ever eaten. I should have taken a picture, they were that good… haha. :) After dinner, we visited a few pubs, one of which had a live band playing that wasn’t bad.
Sunday was my first “long run” day for marathon training, and Martin offered to do my 6-miler with me on a nice route he knew in Bury, so we went out to run in the late afternoon and it was GORGEOUS. Though it was cold, the weather was clear with little wind, and perfect for running. We ran to Abbey Gardens for a warmup, stretched in the shadows of thousand-year-old abbey ruins, then set off for 6 miles past the towering cathedral, through the picturesque town, and out a long paved trail past fields of sheep and some rolling hills. This was one of those runs that reminded me of why I love running, especially as the sun was setting on our way back and turned the sky pink and orange behind the fields and cathedral profile. Amazing. :-D
Believe it or not, it really is starting to feel like spring here. The most noticeable factor is the amount of daylight rapidly increasing. For several months, I have been driving to and from work in the dark, as the sun would rise after 0800 and set before 1600. Now, it is daylight by 0630, and stays light until after 1800. It is really motivating for running, and just puts me in a better mood overall. It also has me itching to start traveling more on weekends again! This weekend, I am going with a bunch of girls for “Ladies’ Weekend” at a spa in the historic city of Bath. We are going to tour Bath, hang out at the spa, and also visit Stonehenge, which is in the same area. Though I have never been to a spa and am not really sure it is my kind of thing, I’m excited for the new experience, sightseeing, and getting to know the other girls better.
I kind of feel like my life has been in a time warp since returning from Red Flag a month ago. Work has been so busy, and then with so many old friends gone and getting to know new ones, it is like life has never returned to “normal”… and that’s not necessarily good or bad, just something I am trying to get used to, and it has made the last month fly by. I’m excited about the possibilities coming with spring, like travel, races, and visitors. All that plus the good weather and daylight has me in a good mood even though it was a long Monday at work, so I hope it continues through the long week of this exercise!
Last week was good, though busy. On Wednesday, I had lunch with a bunch of other Lts, most of whom I have met through my intel friends from Red Flag. I really like getting to know new people, and it was a fun lunch hour that turned into a planning session for outings over the next two weekends. Friday morning, my squadron ran in a base 5K, which I was really excited about. Official marathon training for my May 23rd Edinburgh (Scotland) full marathon began last Monday, so I have been running more and was looking forward to a little competition. I was happy with how I ran, but irritated that the course turned out to be only 2.7 miles (a 5K is 3.1). Poor race organization, in my opinion, plus it should have been announced at the beginning so there weren’t people walking around afterwards thinking they took 4 minutes off their 5K time (not me, thanks to my Garmin GPS watch). Anyway, despite the distance foul and the frigid temperature, it was still fun to get out there and run with the squadron and others on base.
On Saturday, I went out to dinner with a bunch of my new friends at an amazing restaurant in Bury St Edmunds. You may remember Bury from my two sightseeing expeditions there back in August, most notably Abbey Gardens, St Edmundsbury Cathedral, and the extensive Saturday market. I now know three people who live in walking distance of the Bury town centre, so it is the perfect location to meet up and walk to all kinds of restaurants, pubs, and entertainment, not to mention the historical sites like the Gardens. Saturday night, we met at a restaurant called Benson and Blake’s, which had the most incredible sweet potato fries I have ever eaten. I should have taken a picture, they were that good… haha. :) After dinner, we visited a few pubs, one of which had a live band playing that wasn’t bad.
Sunday was my first “long run” day for marathon training, and Martin offered to do my 6-miler with me on a nice route he knew in Bury, so we went out to run in the late afternoon and it was GORGEOUS. Though it was cold, the weather was clear with little wind, and perfect for running. We ran to Abbey Gardens for a warmup, stretched in the shadows of thousand-year-old abbey ruins, then set off for 6 miles past the towering cathedral, through the picturesque town, and out a long paved trail past fields of sheep and some rolling hills. This was one of those runs that reminded me of why I love running, especially as the sun was setting on our way back and turned the sky pink and orange behind the fields and cathedral profile. Amazing. :-D
Believe it or not, it really is starting to feel like spring here. The most noticeable factor is the amount of daylight rapidly increasing. For several months, I have been driving to and from work in the dark, as the sun would rise after 0800 and set before 1600. Now, it is daylight by 0630, and stays light until after 1800. It is really motivating for running, and just puts me in a better mood overall. It also has me itching to start traveling more on weekends again! This weekend, I am going with a bunch of girls for “Ladies’ Weekend” at a spa in the historic city of Bath. We are going to tour Bath, hang out at the spa, and also visit Stonehenge, which is in the same area. Though I have never been to a spa and am not really sure it is my kind of thing, I’m excited for the new experience, sightseeing, and getting to know the other girls better.
I kind of feel like my life has been in a time warp since returning from Red Flag a month ago. Work has been so busy, and then with so many old friends gone and getting to know new ones, it is like life has never returned to “normal”… and that’s not necessarily good or bad, just something I am trying to get used to, and it has made the last month fly by. I’m excited about the possibilities coming with spring, like travel, races, and visitors. All that plus the good weather and daylight has me in a good mood even though it was a long Monday at work, so I hope it continues through the long week of this exercise!
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Fun Stuff
Good news and bad news... Everyone asks for bad news first, so here it is: I do not have a photo album done for Dover yet. Good news? Vegas is finally finished! :) Here you go, let me know if the link doesn’t work: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=388730&id=701905001&l=232251b201
The first fun thing that has happened since my last blog is that I finally got my Mini back! It had been in a garage for quite a while getting a rusted floor panel replaced, and I am thrilled to have my bright yellow baby back. It is definitely a smile-inducer when the weather is cold and gray. I was worried I wouldn't remember how to drive stick after it was gone for so long, but it actually came back pretty quickly and I am having a blast driving it around. What a fun little car. I'll have to get another picture of it on here so you can smile at it with me. :)
This past weekend was the most relaxing since before Red Flag, but included a lot of fun stuff too. On Friday, my squadron had a Hail and Farewell at the base skating rink. Yes, a skating rink, and no, we are not in middle school. I was intrigued by the idea, since I used to love flying around the mile loop at the park at home on rollerblades, but I haven’t rollerbladed regularly in at least three years. I was also worried that it was one of those things where everyone would be too cool to get out there and skate. So I went, but wasn’t expecting much.
As soon as I walked in the door, however, it was like those three years evaporated… I saw people circling the rink and all of a sudden could NOT wait to get out there! I was thrilled to find that a) the rink rented rollerblades in addition to regular skates, and b) there were already people from my squadron lacing up! I couldn’t get my skates on fast enough, and probably looked like a kid on Christmas morning when I stepped out into the rink with my friend Alison and picked up speed. I forgot how much I love rollerblading! The rink was pretty tiny, so I couldn’t get going too fast without crashing into a wall, but it got me dreaming about going all-out down those beautiful quarter-mile long stretches at the park and wind flying past my ears… amazing feeling.
So, I think I am going to skate in a rollerblade marathon. You're laughing. Don't worry, I did too when Martin first sent me the website link about how Berlin runs a rollerblade marathon as part of their marathon weekend in September. But after Friday afternoon, I really want to do it!!! I would love to get back into skating regularly, and it gives me an excuse to go explore Berlin... what better combination could I get? The only issue is finding somewhere to train around here. Alison (who I think is in as well), jokingly suggested the flight line as the only long flat paved surface we could come up with, but I'm not sure that would go over too well with base security. We'll just have to keep brainstorming...
On Saturday, a bunch of people from the squadron went out to dinner and a couple pubs in Cambridge to celebrate Greg's last weekend in England. It was a great time, I missed those guys while I was in Vegas! Today was Greg's last day at work, and it was really sad to say goodbye. He is the last in a string of people to move away in the last couple months, and the weather flight "family" feels smaller every time. At the same time though, the timing amazes me, how this happened at the exact same time that the Vegas trip introduced me to so many new people and new friends... like God knew I was going to need an "extended family". :)
No plans for this weekend yet, but I'm on weather standby so I can't go anywhere too far away. Maybe I'll finish my Dover photo album! ;-)
The first fun thing that has happened since my last blog is that I finally got my Mini back! It had been in a garage for quite a while getting a rusted floor panel replaced, and I am thrilled to have my bright yellow baby back. It is definitely a smile-inducer when the weather is cold and gray. I was worried I wouldn't remember how to drive stick after it was gone for so long, but it actually came back pretty quickly and I am having a blast driving it around. What a fun little car. I'll have to get another picture of it on here so you can smile at it with me. :)
This past weekend was the most relaxing since before Red Flag, but included a lot of fun stuff too. On Friday, my squadron had a Hail and Farewell at the base skating rink. Yes, a skating rink, and no, we are not in middle school. I was intrigued by the idea, since I used to love flying around the mile loop at the park at home on rollerblades, but I haven’t rollerbladed regularly in at least three years. I was also worried that it was one of those things where everyone would be too cool to get out there and skate. So I went, but wasn’t expecting much.
As soon as I walked in the door, however, it was like those three years evaporated… I saw people circling the rink and all of a sudden could NOT wait to get out there! I was thrilled to find that a) the rink rented rollerblades in addition to regular skates, and b) there were already people from my squadron lacing up! I couldn’t get my skates on fast enough, and probably looked like a kid on Christmas morning when I stepped out into the rink with my friend Alison and picked up speed. I forgot how much I love rollerblading! The rink was pretty tiny, so I couldn’t get going too fast without crashing into a wall, but it got me dreaming about going all-out down those beautiful quarter-mile long stretches at the park and wind flying past my ears… amazing feeling.
So, I think I am going to skate in a rollerblade marathon. You're laughing. Don't worry, I did too when Martin first sent me the website link about how Berlin runs a rollerblade marathon as part of their marathon weekend in September. But after Friday afternoon, I really want to do it!!! I would love to get back into skating regularly, and it gives me an excuse to go explore Berlin... what better combination could I get? The only issue is finding somewhere to train around here. Alison (who I think is in as well), jokingly suggested the flight line as the only long flat paved surface we could come up with, but I'm not sure that would go over too well with base security. We'll just have to keep brainstorming...
On Saturday, a bunch of people from the squadron went out to dinner and a couple pubs in Cambridge to celebrate Greg's last weekend in England. It was a great time, I missed those guys while I was in Vegas! Today was Greg's last day at work, and it was really sad to say goodbye. He is the last in a string of people to move away in the last couple months, and the weather flight "family" feels smaller every time. At the same time though, the timing amazes me, how this happened at the exact same time that the Vegas trip introduced me to so many new people and new friends... like God knew I was going to need an "extended family". :)
No plans for this weekend yet, but I'm on weather standby so I can't go anywhere too far away. Maybe I'll finish my Dover photo album! ;-)
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Race Postponed
So... the Dover Half Marathon did not happen on Sunday, thanks to ice and snow covering the course. The race organizers are working to reschedule it and we have not heard a new date yet. I must admit I was not devastated by this news, as I mentioned already that I was not as prepared for the race as I had hoped to be. So more training time for me, woohoo! Plus, even though the race was cancelled, we didn't get the news until we were already down there and I still got to spend an amazing weekend in Dover. Such a beautiful place... I am excited that I have an excuse to go back again for the real race!
As I mentioned before, friend and fellow runner Martin was my travel buddy for this trip, and our first stop after leaving Lakenheath on Saturday morning was actually in Canterbury, about half an hour from Dover. Canterbury is famous for Canterbury Tales, of course, and the Canterbury Cathedral, where people make pilgrimages to the shrine of martyred Thomas Becket. We parked near the cathedral but walked through part of the town before reaching the cathedral gate. I really liked the town, and we found an amazing restaurant for lunch where we enjoyed fun British food like sausages in Yorkshire puddings (I'll save the picture for the photo album...). After lunch, we spent a good couple hours exploring the inside and outside of the cathedral. I'll get a photo album online at some point, but here is the first view of the cathedral from walking in the gate:
Our hotel in Dover was an adorable guest house run by a very sweet older couple. And yes, by "adorable" I mean the rooms were about as big as a closet, haha, but I would totally stay there again. The owners were very friendly, the place was very clean, and breakfast was great! It was evening by the time we arrived from Canterbury and got checked in, so we then headed out to explore the town of Dover and find dinner. We were within walking distance of Dover Castle, and here is our view from walking around in town the first night:
The next morning, I was really excited to go hike the famous White Cliffs. My excitement was only dimmed somewhat when we got there and found the trails icy and snowy. The day was actually sunny, but this created the additional problem of melting snow = MUD. All of these factors made the hiking rather interesting and much slower than expected, but we made it through with only minor bruises and muddy jeans and shoes... so I'll consider that a success. :) Here is one of my favorite pictures of the cliffs:
We hiked all the way down the face of the cliffs on the trail I had found on my October visit, and explored the rocky beach. The most exciting part was discovering a small cave hollowed out into the cliff wall, which we had to scale some not-so-steady rock piles to reach. It was SO worth the effort, however. The view was incredible, and it made me think how cool it would be to camp out in that cave and wake up to the sun rising on the cliffs. But unfortunately, I am pretty sure camping is not allowed there, plus it would have been soooo cold! Here is a picture of me standing on a very large rock I scrambled up on at the beach (Martin gets the photo credit here, as well as credit for being the first one to climb on the rock, slightly more gracefully than I did):
After ascending the trail back up the cliff face, we continued on to the South Foreland Lighthouse. (This was the one I did not have time to get to in October.) It wasn't open, but we walked around it and I got this really good picture:
We made it back to the car by mid-afternoon, and after changing into dry jeans, socks, and shoes, we headed out into Dover again to find a late lunch. This time we took the recommendation of our hotel hostess and went to a really cool coastal-themed restaurant on a marina. The rest of the evening was spent walking around the town and taking in all the sights and unique shops and pubs.
Monday morning (hurray for President's Day!), we checked out of the hotel and were off to Dover Castle. We spent several hours exploring the wartime tunnels and every nook and cranny of the castle. I was slightly disappointed that the roof of the castle was closed due to ice, since that had been one of my favorite parts (amazing views!), but Martin reminded me we could come back and go on the roof when we return for the rescheduled race. We left the castle around mid-afternoon, and planned to stop in the town of Sandwich (yes, as in the "Earl of") for lunch.
Unfortunately, Sandwich fell very short of our expectations. The small town was pretty dead - most of the shops and restaurants were closed, and we saw very few people walking around. Also, there were barely any historical markers or monuments, and nothing to tell the story of what put Sandwich on the map, which was really weird. So much untapped marketing potential! Anyway, we decided that it was best to just go back to our new favorite restaurant in Canterbury, since we were still in the area. This proved to be a great decision, as the food and atmosphere were just as good the second time around.
We got back to Lakenheath Monday evening, and I went back to work on Tuesday morning. This week is a very busy one work-wise, as I have still been playing catch-up from the Vegas trip and also am working the forecast counter on day shift due to our current manning situation. Looking forward to the weekend for the chance to catch up on some sleep, plus Saturday night is a group outing to celebrate Greg's last weekend in England, as he prepares to move back to the US next Wed. I will be very sad to see him go, but I'm glad to have one more fun weekend first. For now, it is off to bed with me, early wakeup tomorrow!
As I mentioned before, friend and fellow runner Martin was my travel buddy for this trip, and our first stop after leaving Lakenheath on Saturday morning was actually in Canterbury, about half an hour from Dover. Canterbury is famous for Canterbury Tales, of course, and the Canterbury Cathedral, where people make pilgrimages to the shrine of martyred Thomas Becket. We parked near the cathedral but walked through part of the town before reaching the cathedral gate. I really liked the town, and we found an amazing restaurant for lunch where we enjoyed fun British food like sausages in Yorkshire puddings (I'll save the picture for the photo album...). After lunch, we spent a good couple hours exploring the inside and outside of the cathedral. I'll get a photo album online at some point, but here is the first view of the cathedral from walking in the gate:
It is HUGE, and the inside looks even bigger. There are gorgeous stained glass windows on every side, and they looked so bright inside even with cloudy skies outside. This was actually the point in the trip when we got the news about the race cancellation, via a call from the race organizer. No reason to turn back since we were already in Canterbury and had the hotel rooms for two nights in Dover, so on with the adventure!
Our hotel in Dover was an adorable guest house run by a very sweet older couple. And yes, by "adorable" I mean the rooms were about as big as a closet, haha, but I would totally stay there again. The owners were very friendly, the place was very clean, and breakfast was great! It was evening by the time we arrived from Canterbury and got checked in, so we then headed out to explore the town of Dover and find dinner. We were within walking distance of Dover Castle, and here is our view from walking around in town the first night:
The next morning, I was really excited to go hike the famous White Cliffs. My excitement was only dimmed somewhat when we got there and found the trails icy and snowy. The day was actually sunny, but this created the additional problem of melting snow = MUD. All of these factors made the hiking rather interesting and much slower than expected, but we made it through with only minor bruises and muddy jeans and shoes... so I'll consider that a success. :) Here is one of my favorite pictures of the cliffs:
We hiked all the way down the face of the cliffs on the trail I had found on my October visit, and explored the rocky beach. The most exciting part was discovering a small cave hollowed out into the cliff wall, which we had to scale some not-so-steady rock piles to reach. It was SO worth the effort, however. The view was incredible, and it made me think how cool it would be to camp out in that cave and wake up to the sun rising on the cliffs. But unfortunately, I am pretty sure camping is not allowed there, plus it would have been soooo cold! Here is a picture of me standing on a very large rock I scrambled up on at the beach (Martin gets the photo credit here, as well as credit for being the first one to climb on the rock, slightly more gracefully than I did):
After ascending the trail back up the cliff face, we continued on to the South Foreland Lighthouse. (This was the one I did not have time to get to in October.) It wasn't open, but we walked around it and I got this really good picture:
We made it back to the car by mid-afternoon, and after changing into dry jeans, socks, and shoes, we headed out into Dover again to find a late lunch. This time we took the recommendation of our hotel hostess and went to a really cool coastal-themed restaurant on a marina. The rest of the evening was spent walking around the town and taking in all the sights and unique shops and pubs.
Monday morning (hurray for President's Day!), we checked out of the hotel and were off to Dover Castle. We spent several hours exploring the wartime tunnels and every nook and cranny of the castle. I was slightly disappointed that the roof of the castle was closed due to ice, since that had been one of my favorite parts (amazing views!), but Martin reminded me we could come back and go on the roof when we return for the rescheduled race. We left the castle around mid-afternoon, and planned to stop in the town of Sandwich (yes, as in the "Earl of") for lunch.
Unfortunately, Sandwich fell very short of our expectations. The small town was pretty dead - most of the shops and restaurants were closed, and we saw very few people walking around. Also, there were barely any historical markers or monuments, and nothing to tell the story of what put Sandwich on the map, which was really weird. So much untapped marketing potential! Anyway, we decided that it was best to just go back to our new favorite restaurant in Canterbury, since we were still in the area. This proved to be a great decision, as the food and atmosphere were just as good the second time around.
We got back to Lakenheath Monday evening, and I went back to work on Tuesday morning. This week is a very busy one work-wise, as I have still been playing catch-up from the Vegas trip and also am working the forecast counter on day shift due to our current manning situation. Looking forward to the weekend for the chance to catch up on some sleep, plus Saturday night is a group outing to celebrate Greg's last weekend in England, as he prepares to move back to the US next Wed. I will be very sad to see him go, but I'm glad to have one more fun weekend first. For now, it is off to bed with me, early wakeup tomorrow!
Friday, February 12, 2010
Back In England
This is going to have to be short and sweet since it is almost midnight here and I have not packed for the weekend yet, but I wanted to let everyone know I was alive and back in England. :)
The last few days of Red Flag were awesome, and I was a little bit sad to leave all the excitement, but I am very happy to be back at Lakenheath with my friends here. I have hundreds of pictures to sort through and will try to get a "Best Of Vegas" photo album online by next week. The trip back was a disaster from start to finish, but since there is a happy ending (my luggage and I eventually got back to England, though not together or on time), I won't go into detail.
This weekend (Sunday) is the Dover Half Marathon, and though I am not as prepared for the run as I'd like to be, I am still excited about spending the weekend in one of the most beautiful places I have been in England. I can't wait to see the White Cliffs and Dover Castle again, and I am also planning a visit to the famous Canterbury Cathedral nearby. My Vegas travel buddy Martin is also running the half marathon, so I will have a travel buddy for this Dover expedition as well. :)
Better get to packing, and I will make a serious attempt to be a better blogger next week. Happy President's Day Weekend!
The last few days of Red Flag were awesome, and I was a little bit sad to leave all the excitement, but I am very happy to be back at Lakenheath with my friends here. I have hundreds of pictures to sort through and will try to get a "Best Of Vegas" photo album online by next week. The trip back was a disaster from start to finish, but since there is a happy ending (my luggage and I eventually got back to England, though not together or on time), I won't go into detail.
This weekend (Sunday) is the Dover Half Marathon, and though I am not as prepared for the run as I'd like to be, I am still excited about spending the weekend in one of the most beautiful places I have been in England. I can't wait to see the White Cliffs and Dover Castle again, and I am also planning a visit to the famous Canterbury Cathedral nearby. My Vegas travel buddy Martin is also running the half marathon, so I will have a travel buddy for this Dover expedition as well. :)
Better get to packing, and I will make a serious attempt to be a better blogger next week. Happy President's Day Weekend!
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Red Flag
Whew, what an exhausting and amazing week (and a half). With working 14-hour days beginning at 4am, hanging out with my parents the first weekend and friends the second, AND trying to fit sleep in there somewhere… blogging never made it to the top of the priority list. As expected, Red Flag is incredible to be involved with… mainly because it is just so BIG! There are over a hundred aircraft here for the exercise, more than double that number of aircrews, and of course support personnel numbering over a thousand. This includes aircraft and people from USAF bases all over the world, plus we have a squadron of RAF aircrews with their Harriers.
Green Flag was great to do first because it was just our fighter squadron from Lakenheath, and it gave me a chance to get to know all the aircrews and squadron leadership better. At Red Flag, I am doing mass briefs every day to an auditorium of over 100 people, as well as fielding questions and support requests from every aircraft and mission type going out. It’s busy and exciting and like a firehose of learning. I’ve gone to every planning meeting and debriefing I can to pick up on every aspect of what is going on out there on the ranges.
With only minimal work commitments the first weekend, I was able to enjoy my parents’ visit and do some sightseeing. On Saturday, we went to Red Rock Canyon, one thing I was desperate to do while I was here. We got there in the later afternoon, so we didn’t have time to do a hike before the sun set, but we drove around the 13-mile “scenic drive” from the visitor center and got out at all of the overlook points to take pictures. Here is one:
Other highlights of “Parents’ Weekend” included the live stage show “The Lion King” at Mandalay Bay, watching circus acts and playing Skeeball at Circus Circus, enjoying the view from the top of the Stratosphere, and the music-synchronized fountains at the Bellagio.
This past weekend, I expected to be somewhat more relaxed with maybe a little more sleep… but I guess you don’t come to Las Vegas to sleep, do you? On Saturday, a group of us embarked on a mission to conquer the rides and roller coasters of the Strip. We began around noon with the Manhattan Express roller coaster at New York New York. CeCe and I sat in front and enjoyed the amazing views while hurtling through loops and corkscrews above the Strip. After a long lunch at the Hard Rock Café, we took a photo-op break at the famous “Welcome To Las Vegas” sign. Next up was “Speed: The Ride” at the Sahara, a roller coaster famous for launching you from 0 to 100-something in a matter of seconds… then at the end of the track (yes, the track ends), you do the whole thing in reverse.
It was dark by the time we headed for the Stratosphere, which meant another gorgeous view from above of the city all lit up. You know, they call Paris the “City of Lights”, but I would think Vegas must be somewhere in the running. Thanks to a military discount, we got unlimited ride bracelets for the 3 thrill rides on the top of the Stratosphere (1152 ft high). Try Googling “Stratosphere rides” if you want more detail, but basically the 3 rides include 1) dangling you off the side of the building while spinning, 2) a bobsled dive over the edge of the building, and 3) launching you skyward from the top of the building. Pretty awesome. We spent a good couple hours re-riding and just enjoying the view.
On Sunday, I was determined to explore some of the more outdoors-y sights of the area. My friend Martin from intel was the only one brave enough to attempt this venture with me, but he was an excellent travel buddy, especially since he grew up in the Vegas area. We first headed southeast to the Hoover Dam. The scenery on the drive was spectacular… massive rock formations, sheer cliffs, spiky Joshua trees, bright blue Lake Mead – I was lucky Martin was nice enough to take pictures on my camera while I drove, or I might have driven off the road. We parked on the Nevada side of the dam and walked across the lake side to Arizona, then back across the other side. Pictures do not really do the size of the dam justice (you can’t possibly get the depth perception of standing at the top and looking over the edge), but here is a pic from the lake side:
We ate lunch at a tiny diner in historic Boulder City – so much fun to find small-town experiences so close to a city as big as Las Vegas. Then we set out for Mount Charleston, an 11,918ft peak in the mountains northwest of Vegas. As we climbed higher, we stopped at several overlooks to take pictures. The snow along the side of the road got deeper and deeper, and by the time we reached 7000ft elevation, it was plowed several feet high on the road shoulders. It was late afternoon and the sun was on its way down, but we were determined to attempt a hike, even in the deep snow. Here is a picture of the trailhead sign (which I would assume is normally at eye level), and Martin next to a No Parking sign (which I would assume is normally taller than he is):
The hike was quite an adventure, and could have easily made it onto America’s Funniest Home Videos if recorded. Any misstep from the narrow packed trail resulted in sinking or tumbling into the several feet of snow below our feet. On the way back, dark was quickly overtaking us, but walking faster only caused more slips and falls. I wiped out pretty hard at one point and came up covered in snow, then Martin slipped and performed a hilarious juggling act trying not to drop a couple pinecones he was holding (while falling). So much fun… who needs casinos? ;-)
Green Flag was great to do first because it was just our fighter squadron from Lakenheath, and it gave me a chance to get to know all the aircrews and squadron leadership better. At Red Flag, I am doing mass briefs every day to an auditorium of over 100 people, as well as fielding questions and support requests from every aircraft and mission type going out. It’s busy and exciting and like a firehose of learning. I’ve gone to every planning meeting and debriefing I can to pick up on every aspect of what is going on out there on the ranges.
With only minimal work commitments the first weekend, I was able to enjoy my parents’ visit and do some sightseeing. On Saturday, we went to Red Rock Canyon, one thing I was desperate to do while I was here. We got there in the later afternoon, so we didn’t have time to do a hike before the sun set, but we drove around the 13-mile “scenic drive” from the visitor center and got out at all of the overlook points to take pictures. Here is one:
Other highlights of “Parents’ Weekend” included the live stage show “The Lion King” at Mandalay Bay, watching circus acts and playing Skeeball at Circus Circus, enjoying the view from the top of the Stratosphere, and the music-synchronized fountains at the Bellagio.
This past weekend, I expected to be somewhat more relaxed with maybe a little more sleep… but I guess you don’t come to Las Vegas to sleep, do you? On Saturday, a group of us embarked on a mission to conquer the rides and roller coasters of the Strip. We began around noon with the Manhattan Express roller coaster at New York New York. CeCe and I sat in front and enjoyed the amazing views while hurtling through loops and corkscrews above the Strip. After a long lunch at the Hard Rock Café, we took a photo-op break at the famous “Welcome To Las Vegas” sign. Next up was “Speed: The Ride” at the Sahara, a roller coaster famous for launching you from 0 to 100-something in a matter of seconds… then at the end of the track (yes, the track ends), you do the whole thing in reverse.
It was dark by the time we headed for the Stratosphere, which meant another gorgeous view from above of the city all lit up. You know, they call Paris the “City of Lights”, but I would think Vegas must be somewhere in the running. Thanks to a military discount, we got unlimited ride bracelets for the 3 thrill rides on the top of the Stratosphere (1152 ft high). Try Googling “Stratosphere rides” if you want more detail, but basically the 3 rides include 1) dangling you off the side of the building while spinning, 2) a bobsled dive over the edge of the building, and 3) launching you skyward from the top of the building. Pretty awesome. We spent a good couple hours re-riding and just enjoying the view.
On Sunday, I was determined to explore some of the more outdoors-y sights of the area. My friend Martin from intel was the only one brave enough to attempt this venture with me, but he was an excellent travel buddy, especially since he grew up in the Vegas area. We first headed southeast to the Hoover Dam. The scenery on the drive was spectacular… massive rock formations, sheer cliffs, spiky Joshua trees, bright blue Lake Mead – I was lucky Martin was nice enough to take pictures on my camera while I drove, or I might have driven off the road. We parked on the Nevada side of the dam and walked across the lake side to Arizona, then back across the other side. Pictures do not really do the size of the dam justice (you can’t possibly get the depth perception of standing at the top and looking over the edge), but here is a pic from the lake side:
We ate lunch at a tiny diner in historic Boulder City – so much fun to find small-town experiences so close to a city as big as Las Vegas. Then we set out for Mount Charleston, an 11,918ft peak in the mountains northwest of Vegas. As we climbed higher, we stopped at several overlooks to take pictures. The snow along the side of the road got deeper and deeper, and by the time we reached 7000ft elevation, it was plowed several feet high on the road shoulders. It was late afternoon and the sun was on its way down, but we were determined to attempt a hike, even in the deep snow. Here is a picture of the trailhead sign (which I would assume is normally at eye level), and Martin next to a No Parking sign (which I would assume is normally taller than he is):
The hike was quite an adventure, and could have easily made it onto America’s Funniest Home Videos if recorded. Any misstep from the narrow packed trail resulted in sinking or tumbling into the several feet of snow below our feet. On the way back, dark was quickly overtaking us, but walking faster only caused more slips and falls. I wiped out pretty hard at one point and came up covered in snow, then Martin slipped and performed a hilarious juggling act trying not to drop a couple pinecones he was holding (while falling). So much fun… who needs casinos? ;-)
/
And so we have now entered the second and final week of Red Flag, which is bittersweet. I will miss the excitement of the large-scale exercise and being around so many aircrews and airframes, but I am also looking forward to going back to England. I miss my weather flight, my Bible study group, my house, and my cars, to name a few. This has been an amazing trip so far, and I am looking forward to making the most of the next 3 days.
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