THE COTSWOLDS

We arrived at our hotel in Moreton in Marsh, early on Monday afternoon.  We checked in and immediately went through the sweet town, leisurely enjoying the antique shops, thatched roof homes, and tiny roadways.  The town and the people were a dream.

We stopped to enjoy tea, scones and sandwiches on the patio of The Marshmallow Tea Room before setting out on the 100 mile pathway that winds through the fields of the English Countryside.

 We enjoyed a traditional pub dinner at The Swan Inn.  David had steak and ale pie along with a local beer and I had the most amazing fish and chips aaccompanied by a hard cider.  The meal was perfectly English and perfectly wonderful!

After dinner we strolled back to our hotel (The Bell Inn) to enjoy a few drinks from their pub.  The hotel has a garden where we enjoyed watching the sun go down and played a bit of x-large Jenga.  It was the most wonderful and relaxing evening of our trip! 

The next morning, we got ready and headed down to the market.  The Moreton-in-Marsh Market has been held every Tuesday for the past 200 years.  The people from all the neighboring villages come to gather their goods for the week.  It is like an open-air Walmart for the people of the small villages.

 There are fruit stands (David bought us amazing peaches and raspberries), plants, flowers, shoes, purses, dog supplies, toys, and clothes.  It is really impressive.

After a wonderful morning enjoying the locals and their weekly shopping routines, we grabbed our bag and headed for the train station.  What a perfect two days in the country it was.

LONDON

Our trip to Europe this summer could not have been any more perfect.  We truly had the most amazing vacation any two people could ask for!  Since the trip was broken into parts--so are the blog posts.  

We began by taking an overnight flight out of Dallas (stopping briefly in Houston) and arriving at London's Heathrow Airport at 9am.  We happened to know ahead of time (thanks Jen) that we could check luggage into storage at the airport so we stored our "Denmark" bags and headed into the city via the Heathrow Express.  20 minutes later we were strolling out of Paddington Station towards our hotel on Bayswater Road.

After checking into our Asian inspired Thistle Hotel (everything was so chic and sleek in the room design), David took a nap for a few hours and I read my book and enjoyed a cappuccino in the hotel bar.  Once refreshed, we hit the city streets to enjoy the perfect vibe of a sunny Sunday in London

Everywhere we looked there were enchanting pubs and shops bursting with
tons of "British Pride" paraphernalia 

We strolled along Kennsington High Street...shopping and browsing in the shops and
through parks full of trees, people and dogs. 

We took in the moments of bliss happening all around us...
these sweet old women simply "basking" in the sunshine.

We had Waggamama's for dinner--casual Asian inspired cuisine

The Queen's Jubilee Celebration decorations were everywhere.

We sipped on English beers outside on the patio of a pub while listening to the riots ensue
inside, (Italy was playing Spain in the Soccer finals).

Kennsington Gardens

The lake at Hyde Park...since it was a sunny Sunday afternoon the park was full of people laying on blankets, feeding the ducks, picnicking with their families...it was
both beautiful and relaxing.

We made it until about 9 o'clock before we couldn't stay awake any longer  and we made our way back to the hotel to prepare for the next leg of our journey--the Cotswold's.

After a solid night's sleep, we were ready to be on our way to the train station at 11 o'clock Monday morning.  It was a little hairy getting back to Paddington Station without a map, but we eventually found it and sat down to wait for our train that would take us into the English Countryside.

A breakfast of scones, shortbread, and strong coffee was just perfect to accompany our
people watching in the train station.

We made it onto our train around Noon and were set to arrive at Moreton-in-Marsh at 1:30pm.  The first days were seamless and with anticipation we set out to enjoy the beauty and the quiet rolling hills England had to offer us!

PCS PARTY

David was blessed to be a part of an amazing office at Sheppard and we are so thankful for the opportunities that we have had to develop relationships with these amazing men and women.

  

We celebrated our upcoming PCS (Permanent Change of Station) with a going away party at David's office.  Another Captain is PCSing as well, so the Colonel in the office said a nice word about each of them, they each said a word of thanks to the office, and we ate a wonderful meal of BBQ and sides provided by the kind members of the office.
 

It is tradition that as you leave an office you are given a token to remember your time--the plaque that David received has not only a map of Texas with Sheppard AFB marked, but also an Oregon Duck symbol because the entire office truly learned to understand his love of the Ducks!

It is always scary when you move forward for new chapters and take steps towards new adventures, but we have been lucky that our first assignment; our first real experience with the Air Force was a positive one.

In a few weeks the moving vans will arrive to get our things.  The car will be packed and we will drive out of Wichita Falls and away from Sheppard AFB.  This has become our home, these people have become our friends, but we know that the Air Force JAG Core is small so it is not goodbye--it is see you again, and for that we are thankful.