England–The Eagle Pub

My first weekend in the UK turned out great.  We got a little bit of rain on Saturday and a lot of my pictures have gray skies, but they are still beautiful.  We can’t control the weather.  We got up early Saturday, drove to Cambridge, and started our walking tour.  It was a little cool without the sun shining.  We spent two days of walking.  By the end of Sunday night my legs and hips were hurting and I had a blister on the bottom of my foot! 

We ate lunch at one of John’s old crew’s hangouts, The Eagle Pub.  Of course, I had to try the classic Fish and Chips.

 

This pub is famous as the meeting place for those who discovered DNA, but is also a well-known military hangout.

  

 

You have to zoom in to read this, but it says it is the location of the meeting where they discovered DNA.

 

The patches along the walls represent all the different flights, squadrons that have been in the pub. 

 

The ceiling is writings of two air forces, WWII US 8th Air Force and Royal Air Force.

 

John’s Combat Sent crew patch is among the patches found here.

John’s friend, Jason, who has lived and worked here the past five years met us for dinner at Jamie’s and then we walked to a couple different pubs.

 

  

 

 

Soda or pop, as some of us call it, such as 7-Up or Sprite is known as “lemonade” here.  This botanical blend was infused with real roses which I wasn’t real sure if I liked it or not.  Kind of reminded me of drinking hand soap…just slightly!  A free house is a pub that is allowed to sell all variety and company of beers.  They are not sponsored by the state and pay heavy taxes for their products. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

England Trip

The trip started off well from St. Louis with a small 1/2 hour delay to NY JFK airport.  Although, I think I was on the smallest plane I’ve ever been on with lots of creaking and squeaking!  When I got to JFK, I had to ask to find out where to go for my connecting flight to London which ended up being in a different terminal.  I had to take a bus to the new terminal.  There I waited the remaining 3 1/2 hours in the Sky Club Lounge, which was really nice…free food, free drinks, comfy seating, outdoor sky deck.  My flight to London was about 6 hours.  Except for my seat partner who couldn’t resist hogging my space with her elbows, the trip went smoothly.  I didn’t sleep near as much as I had hoped so I was pretty tired landing in London at 6 am.  John picked me up and we drove an hour and a half to RAF Alconbury where he is staying in base lodging.  I can’t say it’s the best accomodations, but it’ll do.  When John dropped me off, the power went off for a few hours.  We almost got to move to a hotel in Cambridge, which actually would have been really nice.  Because of the cooler weather, there is no AC here so you must resort to open windows and battle the bees each morning because they do not use screens here! 

John came back from work and took me to lunch on that first day at a little pub called the Black Bull in the village of Brampton, where I experienced my first English chicken and mushroom “pie”, like an American pot pie, and my first pear “cider.”

That night we had dinner in the cutest little pub, The Brampton Mill, in Huntingdon.  It turns out I had the completely wrong idea of what a pub was.  They vary from local neighborhood bars to full sit down restaurants.  There is a pub in probably every neighborhood, like we used to have corner grocery stores in the states.  Here they have pubs within walking distance where the locals hang out for entertainment, socializing, eating and drinking.  You don’t have to walk far to hit one.

We had beautiful views of the River Great Ouse that ran right beside the restaurant. 

I had a delicious pulled pork lasagna after appetizers of bread and olives.

I loved this shot of the moon’s reflection and I also caught the train flying by in the background.  You have to click on the picture to see it larger.

I was fortunate enough to sleep through the night on my first night, so I adjusted well to the time zone change.  We are 5 hours ahead of the Eastern time zone. 

She’s "21"

When your children hit certain milestones, one often wonders where the time disappeared to.  With Ari’s 21st birthday, there was no exception.  I’m amazed how fast we have come to this time in our lives and sometimes wish I could push a magic button and stop time.  She’s a special young lady, with a heart for God, and compassion for people.  We spent the weekend visiting with her and her husband, Anthony, and Beki.  The weekend really didn’t go as planned, life rarely goes as planned!  But, regardless, we had a nice dinner downtown at the Springfield Brewing Co. Restaurant to celebrate. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Do you ever feel like you could just be swallowed up in sadness?

I miss my girls so much, things just aren’t the same without them around.    You know what’s the hardest,  it’s missing out on the everyday things…

hearing their daily stories, talking and laughing together, just knowing if they are ok or not.

 

Sometimes I feel like I’m just sitting in a dark room waiting for little glimpses of light.  Waiting for a note or call that says…

 

“Hey, you’re not forgotten.” 

 

 

Crepes, Etc.

 

There are so many little places to explore down here in the West End.  One of our favorites is this French crepes restaurant.  The first time we visited,  we were with friends.  We went back this past weekend and shared a breakfast.  It was great weather for hanging out on the patio.  The crepes are to die for…perfect every time! 

 

 

 

The Cup

Ahhh….we finally made it to The Cup, where we indulged ourselves in wonderful cupcakes. We tried the Peanut Butter Cup, Smore, and Peach Cobbler.  The Peach wins so far with a cream cheese frosting!  This is the original location here in the Central West End, St. Louis. They aren’t jumbo cupcakes, but they are bigger than what you make at home. They also made me a darn good Pumpkin Spice Latte!

An Urban Weekend Part 2

….went to a new pizza joint, “PI” Pizza, and tried their deep dish pizza.  It was very good!  We walked through a really fun antique store, took pictures at sunset of the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis, and had dessert at the Majestic Restaurant.

 

 

An Urban Weekend Part 1

We did so much I have to break it up into smaller posts.  Here’s a look at the urban life in a typical weekend.  Started with a trip to the zoo, a shopping trip to the mall, breakfast at Crepes, Etc., a high school cross country meet at Forest Park, a stroll through the St. Louis Art Fair, coffee at Starbucks, and a walk through the Central West End. 

We checked out the new Sea Lion Exhibit at the zoo…loved it!  The gorilla and I had a little connection.  His eyes followed me as I walked the pathway around the exhibit.  The boys from our local school came in 1st place…way to go guys!  When we were walking out of the park, we came across these giant mushrooms.  I had my first Pumpkin Spice Latte of the season at Starbucks and saw the world’s largest chess piece outside of the St. Louis Chess Club.  It goes on…