We left Cocoa on 21 August to head back to Tucson. Wonderful days spent with Tom's sister and husband and new kittens. Of course had to make time for our favorite restaurants and added more! Made homemade Apple Dumplings too. The kittens decided that we were OK so would even come and lay next to us. We kind of ATE our way through the last two weeks! We did not venture to Tampa this year as one of the kittens was not feeling good and had to go to the vet. He is fine now just did not want to leave him. We did go to Celebration, Florida and had some great food at the Columbia Restaurant that was named one of America's Most Historic Restaurants by USA Today. Spent some time walking about the picturesque lake town of Celebration. Also went to the Veterans Memorial in Cocoa....very nice as it honors not only all the military, but firemen, policeman and all first responders. Was so good to just spend time together. We are so blessed to have been able to spend several weeks with Maryann's sister Joan and Tom in State College, Pa. and then with Tom's sister Charlotte and Bill in Florida. They just always open their homes to us and just ask when we are coming but not how long we are staying!!!!
Then it was time to "get on the road" again heading to Tucson. We spent the first night in Biloxi, MS. Spent some time walking on the beach and of course having more seafood.
Then on to Baton Rouge, Louisiana and saw some of the destruction of the flooding. Also picked up some type of bolt in our tire so spent about 4 hours waiting for the tow truck and sitting waiting for the car in the Firestone Dealer where we purchased a new tire!! Our guardian Angel took care that God blessed us as we were in the city and not out on the road so only had to be towed about 6 miles!! Saw some amazing sunsets as we headed West. We then stopped in Houston to spend time with Fred and Belinda. Went out to eat at a great Mexican Restaurant....they had a female singer that night who had the most beautiful voice. Once again Fred and Belinda made us feel so welcome and like we were at home!! Then on to Northlake, Texas to spend a few days with Diane and Jerry Stapleton. They have a beautiful new home and we had the "West Wing"!! It was so good to see Jennifer and Rheanna and family too. We had not seen the girls since they were just in grade school in Cheyenne in 1982. We spent the time catching up and playing card and board games and of course Jerry and Diane kept our stomachs full!!!! What a fun way to end our trip with our Martinez and Stapleton Family!!!
We stayed at Ft. Bliss in El Paso on our way back to Tucson. Arrived to our Tucson Home about
2 PM. Love it when we gain hours when we travel due to time change. We thank God and our Gaurdian Angels for our safe travels ...and thank our friends and family for their prayers while we were "on the road".
4 March to 30 August equals 178 days on our road trip 2016. Or should we say road, airplane, car ferry, bus, taxi, subway, river boat, tram trip!! SO MANY BLESSINGS. We feel like we were given a treasure of gifts of not only experiencing so many countries, meeting and sharing conversations with so many people that we encountered , our family, and our friends that we call family. Thank you ALL who welcomed us into your homes and made us feel like we were "at home" and those we were just able to spend time with over dinner or lunch and also our Tucson Family who welcomed us home and helped take care of "stuffs" while we were gone. Hilda , you have our vote for number 1 mail person as you collected our mail and made sure you took care of all. (AND Susan who stayed at our Tucson home a few times for looking after our home while you were here). AND thank you to Kelly and Carrie for supporting our lifestyle of traveling ...and our grand girls who always are willing to "FACETIME" with us and welcome us home with the best hugs and kisses!!! We must ESPECIALLY thank Pat and Geroge who agreed to go on this journey with us....without the two of you it would have been "a trip" but instead it was a dream of a life time to spend this time with you and for the constant laughter that we share when we are together. We had belly-laughing events that were to be labeled. "What happens in Europe, stays in Europe". May have to share some of those events EVENTUALLY!!!!!
AND the four of us will never forget all those that suffered and lost lives during World War 2 ...the emotions and sadness we felt as we visited Auschwitz, the Jewish Ghetto and Jewish Cemetery, Luxembourg American and German Cemeteries and the Battle Fields of Normandy(Normandy was the main reason we traveled these many miles) was at times overwhelming. AND we need to honor all those who were so brave despite putting their lives and those of their families in danger trying to help their fellow citizens.
"ONE'S DESTINATION IS NEVER A PLACE, BUT A NEW WAY OF SEEING THINGS".
~ Henry Miller~
Until our next adventure. God Bless each and everyone of you!
Love and hugs,
Tom and Maryann
Tuesday, September 20, 2016
Sunday, August 14, 2016
14 August 2016 On the road in Florida
OH, just realized we have not posted since our return to the US.
We arrived at Maryann's sister and her Tom's new home in Zion, PA on 16 June. Was so fun to spend time with them in their new home. The day we arrived they were having a community yard sale so was fun spending the next couple days sitting and catching up. Rosanne and Maddie and Camyrn were also helping with the garage sale. Of course we planned some day trips. Went to Shanksville Memorial where Flight 93 crashed on 9-11. We were there last year but the visitor center was not open so we went back this year. Very emotional day walking through the memorial. They still have a 93 foot chimes tower they are building and it should be done next year. The wind seems to blow across the site all the time so should be amazing to go for a visit when the tower is complete. We also took a day trip to Asher Candy Factory in Lewistown, Pa. One of the owners gave us a very thorough tour with samples of course!! Yes we did buy "hurt candy" when we were there. "Hurt Candy" is what they call the candy that does not meet the criteria for selling....but it taste the same , just may not be shaped just right and is much cheaper!! We also bought some "hurt pretzels" for $1 per box that were able to share with all the kids and still have some left over!! Did you know you can put pretzels in a zip lock bag in the freezer and they will stay fresh for when you want to have them??? We also went to Indian Caverns which is a limestone horizontal cave that is the second largest cave in Pennsylvania and is about 500,000 years old. The caverns will close after this season after being open since 1929. Of course we attended our favorite 4th of July Party at Rosanne and Jeff's home and got to see all. What a full day of fun and spending with all their neighbors and family. We are there from 12 noon until nearly midnight and there is always so much great food.. Their driveway is the perfect place to watch the Penn State Fire Works. What a great family day! Joan and Tom's new home is so very nice and we always feel so at home with the them. Once again we played some fun card and dice games with Joan and Tom and Jeff's parents, Sonja and Ray. Also enjoyed having Sarah's kids Ethan and Emma who spent a day with us and we had a fun afternoon playing Monoply with them and all went to the park.
We also went to the Bellefonte Car Show as Jeff had his motorcycle in the show and won 3rd place!! Had wonderful BBQ there too at a local food stand. Also had more of the same BBQ when we went to the Boalsburg Art's Festival! Joan's granddaughter Alexis was in the 11-12 softball playoffs so we were so glad we got to go to two of her games. Her team made it to States and their team came in 4th in state competition. We drove a couple hours down the interstate to see one of their games too. Reese , Alexis brother stayed with Joan and Tom for a couple days so we were able to play more games and go back to the park to feed the fish and ducks. Such fun to be able to spend time with the kids on our trips. We also went to camp for a day. Joan and Tom and Jeff's parents, Sonja and Ray and us went to Tyrone , PA and went to see a dinner theater. We saw Bikini's and it was really cute and also the dinner was fantastic. We visited with Maryann's aunt and family in Karthaus and went to the annual Frenchville Picnic. It was nice seeing her Rolley cousins too. It was also fun to spend a couple Sunday's with Maryann's friend Janet and Dick in Katthaus. Maryann was able to meet her school friends, Janet, Rosemary, Linda and Susan and Patty for lunch one day too. They have all been friends since grade school!! Just so nice being with Joan and Tom. The four of us also took time to go to Saratoga Spring, New York to see Mihaley and Laurie. They are our friends that live in Tucson but spend summers in Saratoga Springs. We all went to the horse race track and took a behind the scenes tour of the stables , horses etc. Joan, Laurie and I went to the park and rode the merry-go-round that had just been refurbished. Joan and I did have some difficulty getting on and off the horses but helped each other!! They have a beautiful cabin in the woods and Mihaley has a beautiful garden so had fresh vegetables....fun just to sit out on the porch and enjoy our time together!
We left Joan and Tom on 28 June and headed for Lancaster, Pa. We stopped by and said hello to Aunt Fran and cousin Cindy and her family were visiting so fun to see them too. Then stopped to catch up with Aunt Ethel before we headed to Peggy and Larry's in Lancaster. Again, always so nice to spend time with our Reinhart Family! We were able to just spend time together and also visited with Auntie Doris who was in the hospital, Keith and Lisa had all over for a great dinner so got to see Amy and Dan and kids and of course the pets!! Keith had put in a zip line for the kids, so since we are just big kids....we had fun on the zip line too. Sunday we went to church and Sunday school with Peggy and Larry. We have gotten to know their Sunday School class so after church all went out to lunch!! Did I mention the sermon was about lasting friendships? Peggy and I were celebrating our 50th Anniversary of being friends this year in August!! Hmmm how appropriate was the timing of this sermon. Peggy and Larry took Tom and I out for a great dinner to celebrate our 45th wedding anniversary as we there for our anniversary. AND we are always so glad to be in Lancaster to go to 'the corn wagon" to get corn on the cob that just came in from the fields and once again , we are never disappointed with the taste of the fresh corn.
We gave our hugs and said or good-byes to Peggy and Larry on 1 August and headed South. We spent one night just South of Richmond at a military supply depot in a nice little cottage and our neighbors across the parking lot were about 30 Elk. There were even some baby elk. Then we left to head to Montgomery, Alabama to spend a night with Sybilla, Dough and Taryn Watkins and Manni the dog. It was so nice to see my God Daughter Taryn as she was leaving for New York City the next week to begin college! WERE so busy talking , forget to get pictures of Doug, Sybilla and Taryn and Manni !!!!! Then we went to Niceville Florida to spend time with Joe, Sandy and their dogs Hope and Lizzie Grace. Once again had great days catching up and sharing England stories etc. Also was nice to meet Sandy's Mom. Had some great food and also went out to eat at "our favorite German" restaurant. We were sorry we did not get to see our friend Ann on our way down to Niceville. On the 7th of August , we headed on to Cocoa, Florida to Charlotte and Bill's. We stopped on our way down to get some shrimp at Carribean Jack's in Daytona Beach. Once again we were not disappointed. This week has gone so fast as we are here with Charlotte and Bill and their 3 cats! Since our visit last year , they rescued a mama cat and her two little ones so we have new entertainment. This week we were able to meet with Mary Floyd who we were stationed with in Tucson. Mary is Chief Nurse at Patrick AFB now. ..was nice to see her again. Rob, her husband was on his way to PA so we did not get to see him. We also went over to Orlando to meet with Nancy who were stationed in Japan with in 1972. Chuck was not feeling well so did not get to visit with him this time. We are so blessed to be able to spend time with our "forever friends"! We have more favorite restaurants here than we do at home. Charlotte and Bill even had a new BBQ place for us to try this year and now have added one more to our list...we may have to extend our time here to get to all our favorite restaurants! Have also been to two of our favorite shrimp places this week. Like Pete Walsh says "so much food, so little time"!! Tom usually gets to mow yards when we are in Pennsylvania but did not this year so finally got to help Bill mow the last two days. Another something off the list for this trip's list!!
This week we are going to go to Tampa and Sarasota on the gulf coast to do some exploring for a couple days with Charlotte and Bill and of course have already found a couple of "must go to restaurants" to try.
Tom and Charlotte are making Live and Onions with Biscuits and Gravey for Sunday dinner today....also a must do when we are here.
Have been watching the Olympics and so exciting to see the USA doing so good.
We have been so blessed with our travels this year but it is time to head home ...we will leave here about the 22 August and stop near Dallas, Texas to spend time with Diane and Jerry Stapleton and see their family. We were stationed with them in Cheyenne, Wyoming in 1980's. We are so blesssed.
SInce our last post, Molly turned 12 in July and started school and is in 7th grade. Samantha started school the 17 July too and is in 5th grade and Kirsten is in 2nd grade!! AND Emme started 3 year old preschool at Country Day School. Time to go home and hugs our grand girls and our Tucson Family.
George and Pat are back in Denver with their grands and their kids too. What an adventure we have had this year. Was thinking the other day if could go back and change anything about our adventures these 6 months and could not come up with anything. Have had the best of days.
~Explore, Dream, Discover~. Mark Twain
Sending loves and hugs and our next post will be from our Tucson Home!
Keep us in your prayers for safe travels.
God Bless
Tom and Maryann
Please keep our friend's Jim and Cindy Roudebush and their family in your prayers as their sweet, strong Imogen who fought such a brave battle with cancer with her family in the past 12 months is now a dancing angel with our Lord.
We arrived at Maryann's sister and her Tom's new home in Zion, PA on 16 June. Was so fun to spend time with them in their new home. The day we arrived they were having a community yard sale so was fun spending the next couple days sitting and catching up. Rosanne and Maddie and Camyrn were also helping with the garage sale. Of course we planned some day trips. Went to Shanksville Memorial where Flight 93 crashed on 9-11. We were there last year but the visitor center was not open so we went back this year. Very emotional day walking through the memorial. They still have a 93 foot chimes tower they are building and it should be done next year. The wind seems to blow across the site all the time so should be amazing to go for a visit when the tower is complete. We also took a day trip to Asher Candy Factory in Lewistown, Pa. One of the owners gave us a very thorough tour with samples of course!! Yes we did buy "hurt candy" when we were there. "Hurt Candy" is what they call the candy that does not meet the criteria for selling....but it taste the same , just may not be shaped just right and is much cheaper!! We also bought some "hurt pretzels" for $1 per box that were able to share with all the kids and still have some left over!! Did you know you can put pretzels in a zip lock bag in the freezer and they will stay fresh for when you want to have them??? We also went to Indian Caverns which is a limestone horizontal cave that is the second largest cave in Pennsylvania and is about 500,000 years old. The caverns will close after this season after being open since 1929. Of course we attended our favorite 4th of July Party at Rosanne and Jeff's home and got to see all. What a full day of fun and spending with all their neighbors and family. We are there from 12 noon until nearly midnight and there is always so much great food.. Their driveway is the perfect place to watch the Penn State Fire Works. What a great family day! Joan and Tom's new home is so very nice and we always feel so at home with the them. Once again we played some fun card and dice games with Joan and Tom and Jeff's parents, Sonja and Ray. Also enjoyed having Sarah's kids Ethan and Emma who spent a day with us and we had a fun afternoon playing Monoply with them and all went to the park.
We also went to the Bellefonte Car Show as Jeff had his motorcycle in the show and won 3rd place!! Had wonderful BBQ there too at a local food stand. Also had more of the same BBQ when we went to the Boalsburg Art's Festival! Joan's granddaughter Alexis was in the 11-12 softball playoffs so we were so glad we got to go to two of her games. Her team made it to States and their team came in 4th in state competition. We drove a couple hours down the interstate to see one of their games too. Reese , Alexis brother stayed with Joan and Tom for a couple days so we were able to play more games and go back to the park to feed the fish and ducks. Such fun to be able to spend time with the kids on our trips. We also went to camp for a day. Joan and Tom and Jeff's parents, Sonja and Ray and us went to Tyrone , PA and went to see a dinner theater. We saw Bikini's and it was really cute and also the dinner was fantastic. We visited with Maryann's aunt and family in Karthaus and went to the annual Frenchville Picnic. It was nice seeing her Rolley cousins too. It was also fun to spend a couple Sunday's with Maryann's friend Janet and Dick in Katthaus. Maryann was able to meet her school friends, Janet, Rosemary, Linda and Susan and Patty for lunch one day too. They have all been friends since grade school!! Just so nice being with Joan and Tom. The four of us also took time to go to Saratoga Spring, New York to see Mihaley and Laurie. They are our friends that live in Tucson but spend summers in Saratoga Springs. We all went to the horse race track and took a behind the scenes tour of the stables , horses etc. Joan, Laurie and I went to the park and rode the merry-go-round that had just been refurbished. Joan and I did have some difficulty getting on and off the horses but helped each other!! They have a beautiful cabin in the woods and Mihaley has a beautiful garden so had fresh vegetables....fun just to sit out on the porch and enjoy our time together!
We left Joan and Tom on 28 June and headed for Lancaster, Pa. We stopped by and said hello to Aunt Fran and cousin Cindy and her family were visiting so fun to see them too. Then stopped to catch up with Aunt Ethel before we headed to Peggy and Larry's in Lancaster. Again, always so nice to spend time with our Reinhart Family! We were able to just spend time together and also visited with Auntie Doris who was in the hospital, Keith and Lisa had all over for a great dinner so got to see Amy and Dan and kids and of course the pets!! Keith had put in a zip line for the kids, so since we are just big kids....we had fun on the zip line too. Sunday we went to church and Sunday school with Peggy and Larry. We have gotten to know their Sunday School class so after church all went out to lunch!! Did I mention the sermon was about lasting friendships? Peggy and I were celebrating our 50th Anniversary of being friends this year in August!! Hmmm how appropriate was the timing of this sermon. Peggy and Larry took Tom and I out for a great dinner to celebrate our 45th wedding anniversary as we there for our anniversary. AND we are always so glad to be in Lancaster to go to 'the corn wagon" to get corn on the cob that just came in from the fields and once again , we are never disappointed with the taste of the fresh corn.
We gave our hugs and said or good-byes to Peggy and Larry on 1 August and headed South. We spent one night just South of Richmond at a military supply depot in a nice little cottage and our neighbors across the parking lot were about 30 Elk. There were even some baby elk. Then we left to head to Montgomery, Alabama to spend a night with Sybilla, Dough and Taryn Watkins and Manni the dog. It was so nice to see my God Daughter Taryn as she was leaving for New York City the next week to begin college! WERE so busy talking , forget to get pictures of Doug, Sybilla and Taryn and Manni !!!!! Then we went to Niceville Florida to spend time with Joe, Sandy and their dogs Hope and Lizzie Grace. Once again had great days catching up and sharing England stories etc. Also was nice to meet Sandy's Mom. Had some great food and also went out to eat at "our favorite German" restaurant. We were sorry we did not get to see our friend Ann on our way down to Niceville. On the 7th of August , we headed on to Cocoa, Florida to Charlotte and Bill's. We stopped on our way down to get some shrimp at Carribean Jack's in Daytona Beach. Once again we were not disappointed. This week has gone so fast as we are here with Charlotte and Bill and their 3 cats! Since our visit last year , they rescued a mama cat and her two little ones so we have new entertainment. This week we were able to meet with Mary Floyd who we were stationed with in Tucson. Mary is Chief Nurse at Patrick AFB now. ..was nice to see her again. Rob, her husband was on his way to PA so we did not get to see him. We also went over to Orlando to meet with Nancy who were stationed in Japan with in 1972. Chuck was not feeling well so did not get to visit with him this time. We are so blessed to be able to spend time with our "forever friends"! We have more favorite restaurants here than we do at home. Charlotte and Bill even had a new BBQ place for us to try this year and now have added one more to our list...we may have to extend our time here to get to all our favorite restaurants! Have also been to two of our favorite shrimp places this week. Like Pete Walsh says "so much food, so little time"!! Tom usually gets to mow yards when we are in Pennsylvania but did not this year so finally got to help Bill mow the last two days. Another something off the list for this trip's list!!
This week we are going to go to Tampa and Sarasota on the gulf coast to do some exploring for a couple days with Charlotte and Bill and of course have already found a couple of "must go to restaurants" to try.
Tom and Charlotte are making Live and Onions with Biscuits and Gravey for Sunday dinner today....also a must do when we are here.
Have been watching the Olympics and so exciting to see the USA doing so good.
We have been so blessed with our travels this year but it is time to head home ...we will leave here about the 22 August and stop near Dallas, Texas to spend time with Diane and Jerry Stapleton and see their family. We were stationed with them in Cheyenne, Wyoming in 1980's. We are so blesssed.
SInce our last post, Molly turned 12 in July and started school and is in 7th grade. Samantha started school the 17 July too and is in 5th grade and Kirsten is in 2nd grade!! AND Emme started 3 year old preschool at Country Day School. Time to go home and hugs our grand girls and our Tucson Family.
George and Pat are back in Denver with their grands and their kids too. What an adventure we have had this year. Was thinking the other day if could go back and change anything about our adventures these 6 months and could not come up with anything. Have had the best of days.
~Explore, Dream, Discover~. Mark Twain
Sending loves and hugs and our next post will be from our Tucson Home!
Keep us in your prayers for safe travels.
God Bless
Tom and Maryann
Please keep our friend's Jim and Cindy Roudebush and their family in your prayers as their sweet, strong Imogen who fought such a brave battle with cancer with her family in the past 12 months is now a dancing angel with our Lord.
Tuesday, July 5, 2016
7 June -16 June 2016....our trip of a lifetime
We have been back in the USA for two weeks now. I will refer you to George and Pat's blog for their wonderful words on our days in Normandy. We also spent time thinking and talking about each day of our adventure together and discussed our days together which George was able to put into words on the way home on the plane....I watched movies on flight back!! SO it is a MUST READ. Go to Gpcannode.blogspot.comNow let me tell you about our trip after we left Normandy until we arrived back to the USA.
We left our rental home in Solier's France and drove a few hours up the road to just outside of Calais, France which is the port where we were taking the ferry back to Dover, England. We stayed in Grand Fort Phillippe at L'univers that was right across from the beach front. Great view of the sun-set and sun-rise! We arrived early so drove up to Dunkerque to explore. Returned to Grand Fort and finally were able to fine a place that served French Crepes....
We were up and at the Ferry early to turn in our car at the port. We were picking up another car in Dover, England so had to carry our luggage on the ferry with us. While unloading the car, a pigeon flew into the back of the car and took a snack with pretzels and chips and flew back out before the guys could get it back. After all the luggage was safely inside , George went back out and was able to retrieve the bag back from the Pigeon!! Had a good hour and half trip across the English Channel. It was beautiful coming into port on a clear day and seeing the White Cliffs of Dover.
We picked up another car in Dover and drove to the tops of the White Cliffs of Dover and had a nice view of the Dover Castle. George and Tom shared the driving on the continent but when we returned to England Tom was the driver as had more experience ...hmmmm...driving in Great Britian. It was a beautiful day so we walked around the paths above the White Cliffs. We stopped in Farnham, England for the night and spent the night at a place that had Peacocks roaming the grounds and found another little cafe to have dinner. The next day we arrived in Bristol, England to spend some time with our friends Louise and Alastair. What gracious host they always are..we took a walk about Bristol with them and Alastair and Louise gave us the history of the city tour. Alastair is from Bristol so he knows all the history of the city and shared with us. Another beautiful weather day to be able to stroll around and see all the different architecture and the Christmas Steps (the street was originally called Queene Street and then became know as Knyfesmyth Street after the tradesmen there). We then stopped by a fun pub down by the water and sat on the patio and had a nice meal together and just enjoyed the company. Louise has such a green thumb and what an amazing garden in the front and back of her flat. Alastair tried to help me figure out some issues with my IPAD as not able to send emails. It seemed the time went by so quickly before morning came and we were hugging them good bye again! Look forward to seeing them back in Tucson in January.
We spent the next few nights at Lakenheath Air Force Base as wanted to go to London and check some of the areas near Lakenheath. We took the train down to London from a station about an hour from Lakenheath. Of course we were dressed for rain and were glad that we did!! We took the train into London and then hopped on one of the Hop on Hop Off Double Decker busses. AND of course it was raining. They were handing out raincoats on the bus....hmmm.. We found some seats on the top deck that was under cover and started our trip through the streets of London with our ear pieces telling us about what we were seeing. We had all been to London before so it was fun to go back together. Tom and I talked about all the good times we spent with Nanny Kitt, Noreen's Mom who lived in London and a vacation we had with Peggy and Larry and kids in London. We would visit Nanny when we were stationed in Germany and got to know all the family and those memories we spent with Nanny Kitt will never be forgotten. After about 3 hours, we had stopped at a bakery to have some croissants and other items and decided that we would head back to the base since it was still raining. As we walked out of the cafe, the rain had subsided and we could see sun in the clouds...so we got back on the bus and did the tour again! Also took a boat ride on the River Thames. This time we had live commentary about what we were seeing and the history. We walked to Buckingham Palace where they were having another 90th birthday party picnic lunch ( by invitation only) for the queen and were able to hear the Marching Bands. The park and lots of roads were blocked off so we decided we would come back another time to walk about the gardens. After having some great Fish and Chips in a pub next to Victoria Station, we headed back to Lakenheath on the train. Another great day together.
The next day we traveled several miles North of Lakenheath to the village of Lavenham.
Lavenham is a village noted for its 15th century church and half-timbered medieval cottages. The town prospered from the wool trade making blue broadcloth for exportation until a cheaper and lighter broadcloth was produced. The trade grew so fast that the homes were built in hast with green timber. As the wood dried, the timbers warped causing the houses to bend at unexpected angles. By the time the timbers started twisting, Lavenham's families had lost its wealth and with no money to rebuild their homes, the homes were left as they were. In the past years, property owners from London have bought homes and are refurbishing them. The rhyme "There was a crooked man, and he walked a crooked mile etc." is believed to have been written after this town. The poem published in the 1840's. Also Jane Taylor who lived on Shilling Street in Lavenham wrote the poem "Twinkle-Twinkle Little Star". We had a lovely day walking around this little village and had a nice lunch in a restaurant in a "crooked house"...and of course had an ice cream!
We decided to go back to a little place for breakfast that we had visited on our first trip to Lakenheath in April....another great Breakfast Burrito! The owner had remembered us from when we were there in April and told us that we made her day with all the laughter and chatter from our table and she was happy that we were all still together and still seemed so happy to be together. We assured her that we all still like each other too after being together for nearly 3 months and she said that she could tell!!!
We found a couple great places to have dinner around Lakenheath before we checked out and headed to London on the 13th of June. We stayed at a little B&B near Heathrow Air Port...in fact it was directly in the flight path of incoming planes...but after about an hour, we were not even hearing the planes. We took the "Tube" into London before we left and spent the evening walking around Buckingham Palace and the gardens in the early evening and were able to see some of the lights around London at night. On the way home, Pat and Maryann laughed so hard as Tom and George sat next to each other across from us and were very entertaining!! I have video!! The day before we were to fly home, we went to Heathrow and got our boarding passes and checked out the terminal.
The last couple nights instead of planning our adventures for the next day, we sat and talked about our wonderful adventures together..unbelievable to have had such days together.
We traveled 13 countries, stayed in 33 cities, spent the nights in 30 different hotels, B&B, cottages , rental homes, one room family units, one Abbey, military billeting, micro hotel, apartments, during our time together. Traveled by train, ferry, boats,underground railway (Tube), bus, trams, cars, double decker buses, airplanes, antique car, smart car, and taxi... I think that is all and of course walked many miles. Pat and George traveled approximately 1415 miles to meet us in Linesville , PA. We traveled 2769 miles from Tucson to Linesville. Then round trip to Dulles Air Port and back to PA, we traveled together 556 miles.
We traveled 7342 air miles round trip to England, 224 miles by ferry, had four rental cars that we drove the roads of Great Britian, Ireland and all the countries on the continent which added up to approximately 13,000 car miles together. .We will continue to do our blog as we travel here in our America. Our plans are to be home in Arizona by the first week of September after visiting family and friends as we "are on the road" back to our Tucson Family.
We arrived at Dulles the afternoon of June 15th and stayed the night at Andrews Air Force Base where we had left Pat and George's car at the passenger terminal and then drove to Zion, Pennsylvania on 16 June to spend some time with Tom and Joan. We said a tearful good bye to Pat and George as they headed on to Ohio where they had left their RV and their family.
We keep trying to find words that could sum up the time the four of us spent together on this adventure ........ we feel so blessed to have been able to live these days together. Our adventure was filled with many blessings and memories but don't think that even today we realize all the memories that we shared each day and we were so glad to be together! We had several "belly laughs" and so many conversations about life and about "stuffs". I think we only had the radio on in the car once for a short time! We are so blessed to call George and Pat not only friends but family...and cannot wait until our next days together.
We know that this is now 15 days after our return and a late post but hope you enjoy our adventures. We were so blessed during our trip and thank you all for our travel prayers.
We thank you for continuing to keep us in your prayers during our travels home..
Hugs and Love,Tom and Maryann
"a journey is measured in friends, rather than miles"
SEE BELOW.....
YOU MUST GO TO GPCANNODE.BLOGSPOT.COM to see our list of BEST etc.
George and Pat have detailed some of the "BESTS" etc. so wanted to add some "just stuffs" that we were so glad to experience!!!
All the people we met, on the street ,in the pubs and eating establishments, staff in the places we stayed, on the public transportation , stores , bakeries, markets, towns where we visited to look up our ancestors, just to name a few were so willing to chat with us and help us out even if it meant stopping what they were doing to help us....and how many people came up to us (as we must have looked lost) and asked if they could help us! Staying in the little villages or just seeing a little village that looked interesting and taking the time to stop to walk around or staying for a night was also such a high light of our trip. Learned how to use several different ways to turn on the showers without getting freezing cold or very hot water ( we started to do tutorials the night before so would not get frozen or scalded when we took a morning shower) when we arrived at different places we stayed), different ways to flush toilets and after all the days, still did not totally master the use of the combo washer/dryer. Loved the towel warmers in most of the bathrooms and found that since we were having issues with the washer/dryer...the towel warmer was really great to dry our "mostly dry" clothes from the the washer/dryer. Hung clothes outside on the line or on the radiators at night. George and Tom became professionals as they were able to get all our luggage etc. in the trunk of our car. Pat and I did have to have a small suitcase between us in the back a couple of times...but usually was the snack bag. We all had our daily "car jobs"...Pat kept notes, and managed the trash bag and the snack bag, Maryann would ask about "the need for gas for the car at least daily", George was the Map reader when Tom was driving and Tom the Map reader when George driving. We did have Garmen but need to double check her directions at times. Pat would also set up our continental breakfast in their room on the days we would have our first meal of the day at the hotel before we ventured out for the day. Pat made sure we had enough butter and Jam and apple juice etc. We would pick up the rolls and croissants the evening before or George would go to the bakery down the street to get fresh early in the morning!! Learned how to use the washer and dryers in a self service laundry form a very nice young lady in Berlin. The bakery staff in the villages we stayed for more than a day, knew George by name!! Saw lots of fields that were planted but never saw anyone working in the fields. Learned that George could dance...Maryann has video!! Painful when George and Maryann sang..even though they did practice frequently. (No video!)The best phrase was from Tom...."We're outta here" which he said with attitude.... when we were in two large cities and he was driving in Ireland --and the streets were very narrow and the traffic was heavy. Tom seemed to have difficulty slowing down for us to get a pictures. Hmmmm. Such beautiful flowers such as Poppys and Daffodils etc. growing wild alone the streets and in the fields.
Best and only play we saw was Hamlet at the Shakespeare Theater in Stratford-on-Avon, England. Boat trips at the Loch at Stratford-on-Avon , Danube River , River Thames.
Learned different ways to order water in restaurants depending on the country...Still, Tap, Bubbly, Mineral, Natural, Sparkling and what kind of container,...caraf, bottle, decanter. Also learned that in several countries had to pay for water and it cost more than beer or soda!! Coffee Culture..no free refills on coffee and of course served in smaller cups and is meant to sip. Had the best after dinner drink in Bitburg, Germany in a gasthaus that was owned by two Crostian brothers. It is called Slivovitz which is a fruit brandy made from damson plums. Plum Brandy is made in Central and Eastern Europe. It is served warm and very smooth brandy. Losses: George had his pocket knife taken at customs in Dover, England and left his hat on the plane on the way over to England. When we returned to Lakenheath to come home, went to lost and found and they had a hat that looked like his hat so we went to the basement in Heathrow Airport to Lost and Found and we all cheered that he had found his hat and were walking out of the Lost and Found and he discovered was not his hat! SO returned the hat to Lost and Found. Always an adventure when we are together!!! SO many more "nit-not" memories that we will be talking and laughing about for years.
Monday, June 6, 2016
France. 29 May to 7 June 2016
So we are now in France for nearly a week.. We left Spangdahlem, Germany for a short 2.5 hour ride to Saint Quentin, France however it turned out to be a nearly 5 + hour trip as the Garmen was taking us north to Belgium so decided that was wrong so adjusted...and finally realized that Garmen was taking us the SHORTEST route. Anyway we finally made it to Saint Quentin and checked into our hotel and went looking for supper. Most stores are closed on Sunday's here in France and the restaurants do not open until later. We found a little bar in the town center and it gave us a chance to walk around the old town square where the Basilica of Saint-Quentin was located. In September 1914, the city was overrun by the German Army and during the fighting 80% of buildings including their Basillica was also damage. We also found a bakery!! It seems that every time we decide to stop in a town there is a another piece of history to see. Did I also mention that it started raining when we left Spangdahlem and poured rain all the way to Le Havre, France? We arrived in Le Havre on 30 May and got settled into our hotel as we're going to be there for 4 days. We took the time to go to the Town Centre and check out the tourist office and have a late lunch. The clouds and the rain stopped for a time so we had a nice walk around the area after lunch. German forces had occupied Le Havre from the spring of 1940. The Germans lined the area with bunkers and artillery batteries in preparation for the invasion of the United Kingdom. Le Harve suffered 132 bombings by the "Allies" during the war which resulted in 5,000 deaths and devastated the infrastructure of the city.
We traveled along the local roads in Normandy to visit Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword Beaches All of these were involved in D-Day. Americans came ashore at Utah and Omaha, British at Gold, Canadians at Juno and the British and French were at Sword. We stopped at each beach and spent time reading the plaques and going to the museums that tell the stories of bravery, determination and tragedies of the D-Day landing and the time leading up to World War II. (1933- 1945). Germany surrendered to Allies on 7 May 1945 and Japan surrendered to Allies on 2 Sept 1945 ending World War II. Then the reconstruction began! Imagine how they coordinated with all the countries during the War back then without the modern communication that we have in this day! Also imagine all the people that were prisoners or towns people that had to put their lives back together. REMEMBER that an estimated 60 MILLION people were killed in Europe during World War II ( 25% allied military, 13% axis military, 4% axis civilians and 58% civilians). What words do I use to tell about the sadness and despair of those who lost so many family members and friends both in Europe and the United States. ..except "let us remember and educate our children and their children etc. so this never can happen again". I wonder and doubt if History is taught in the US and other countries to really tell of the bravery of men and women who fought and the human tragedy of these wars and the impact it should have so WE WILL NEVER FORGET!! Several private homes in the villages had American Flags flying. All the Beaches that were involved in D Day had memorials to all the countries that were involved in securing the Normandy Beaches on D Day 1944.
As we drove the country roads, we came around a corner and there was the Pegasus Bridge....the British taking of this bridge in the early hours of D-Day was a major triumph for the Allies. The control gave the Allies the opportunity to disrupt the Germans ability to bring in re-enforcements to the Normandy beaches. They had a nice little museum that we visited. On another day as we ventured out , we once again came to Pegasus Bridge and it was not raining so we explored across the bridge. While we were at Pegasus Bridge ..the bridge was opened for a Navy Ship that was taking part in the D-Day Celebration...how was that for timing!!
Along the beaches we could still see the caissons in the water that were the artificial harbor and docks put in place at Arromanches on Gold Beach to off load people, vehicles and supplies until the ports of Le Havre and Cherbourg were captured and restored. We went to Pointe Du Hoc and walked the area above the 100 foot Cliffs where the US Army Rangers Assault Group captured Pointe Du Hoc after scaling the cliffs. 225+ Rangers landed on the beach on the morning of 6 June 1944 and only 90 survived and held the area until they were releived by troops from Omaha Beach on 8 June 1944. We saw hedge rows , placement where guns were hidden, concrete pylons that were floated over from England , German underground batteries all that represented the historical sites of the Atlantic Wall. The Atlantic WALL was an extensive system of coastal defense and fortifications built by Nazi Germany between 1942-1944 along the coast of continental Europe and Scandinavia as a defense against an anticipated Allied Invasion of Nazi-occupied Europe from Great Britain during World
War II.
As we travel all of these historical sites and monuments there is a sadness for all of the lives lost, suffering of the wounded, families that lost not only their loved ones but also years of their lives whether as prisoners or war camps or that their freedom to live in their homes was changed by the forces that occupied their towns. Also a feeling of joy and amazement that after 72 years, there are so many locals and people from all over the world that come to remember D-Day 1944 and show their respect. AND as George said in one of his postings "nice to see our military will be on hand and participating in all the activities in the towns along the beaches and inland, they will be parachuting, marching, doing presentations, meeting and greeting visitors...they are playing a big part in the week leading up to June 6th. We are so glad that we planned this trip and ended our continent adventure here, it is an amazing spectacle to witness. We will be out every day to learn, to take pictures, to understand, and to admire the events of the Normandy landing and the days following June 6, 1944"
We have discussed between us if " the younger generations will do the same" as the tourist from all over the world we see are mostly "our age" or in their 50"s. When you think of the 60 MILLION who lost their lives for us...do they not deserve to have HISTORY remember them...ask yourself?
In the last few days, we were able to attend D-Day Celebrations at Sainte Marie Du Mont, Sainte Mere Eglis, Utah Beach, Ravensville, Picauville, Carentan and a few more, I am sure. We listened to a concert by the Iowa State Marching Band and Southern Arizona Ladies Choir while we had some local food of Bratwurst and Frys and of course the guys had a beer! We attended a parade in Saint Mere Eglise with Iowa State Marching Band, Southern Arizona Ladies Choir, Military Vehicles, Veterans from D-Day. We also went to Sainte Marie Du Mont to see the 82nd Airborne and French Paratroopers drop but due to weather the event was canceled but they had wonderful music from the 1940's ! We did attend the le Fiere Paratrooper jump with 500 men and 7 planes . They had about 20 paratroopers drop from the planes each time they passed over this little town. in one of the field where during World War. The German troops had flooded the fields during the war to slow down the attackers but also provided cover for the German troops defending the land.
Yesterday when we attended a D-Day celebration , we had parked in a field and walked into the town. We returned to our car after several hours and sat in the car and had a lunch before we left to go to see a German Battery we had yet to see. When we drove to go out of the field, the gaurds told us that the road was closed until 4 PM and it was only after 1130 hmmm. There were several other cars and motorcycles that also were trying to leave. After other cars doing a lot of horn honking and many cars moving forward to the gate and talking to the guards...they decided that we could leave the parking area. We were thankful that were only held up about an hour..it seemed there was not a plan for letting the cars leave before 4 PM when the celebration was over as it was a one lane dirt road!! We were beginning to think may soon have an altercation ...it was like a herd of cows all trying to get out of a one door pen at one time!!
We had a list of all we wanted to do while we were here in Normandy for D-Day 2016 ..and feel we completed that list plus more and being able to share this adventure with Pat ant George was the best of all. We especially enjoyed seeing the American Soldiers here to participate in the D-Day Celebration and spending time talking to them. They were here from the USA and some were stationed here in Europe.
We have been staying here in a small town called Soliers , France in a cottage for the past 4 days. It is outside of the city, Caen. We took time and walked around Caen Abbey and Castle.
Today we walked down to the grocery and to the pharmacy here in Soliers as we are having a "down day" getting rested and ready to leave for Calais, France tomorrow to turn in our "continent" car and take the ferry back to Dover, England on Wednesday where we will pick up another car for the last week in England before we leave for the east coast of the USA. We have had the most difficult time finding restaurants since here in France...either the restaurants are not open when we are Hungary or they are closed for the day! Not all the menus are in English too so when the wait staff does not speak English can present a problem...but we usually overcome. SOOO , we have been eating a lot of bakery foods or foods from the stands set up at the celebrations for D-Day.
~To our fallen soldiers...you have done your duty. To honor you is ours. ~
God Bless,
Tom and Maryann
We traveled along the local roads in Normandy to visit Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword Beaches All of these were involved in D-Day. Americans came ashore at Utah and Omaha, British at Gold, Canadians at Juno and the British and French were at Sword. We stopped at each beach and spent time reading the plaques and going to the museums that tell the stories of bravery, determination and tragedies of the D-Day landing and the time leading up to World War II. (1933- 1945). Germany surrendered to Allies on 7 May 1945 and Japan surrendered to Allies on 2 Sept 1945 ending World War II. Then the reconstruction began! Imagine how they coordinated with all the countries during the War back then without the modern communication that we have in this day! Also imagine all the people that were prisoners or towns people that had to put their lives back together. REMEMBER that an estimated 60 MILLION people were killed in Europe during World War II ( 25% allied military, 13% axis military, 4% axis civilians and 58% civilians). What words do I use to tell about the sadness and despair of those who lost so many family members and friends both in Europe and the United States. ..except "let us remember and educate our children and their children etc. so this never can happen again". I wonder and doubt if History is taught in the US and other countries to really tell of the bravery of men and women who fought and the human tragedy of these wars and the impact it should have so WE WILL NEVER FORGET!! Several private homes in the villages had American Flags flying. All the Beaches that were involved in D Day had memorials to all the countries that were involved in securing the Normandy Beaches on D Day 1944.
As we drove the country roads, we came around a corner and there was the Pegasus Bridge....the British taking of this bridge in the early hours of D-Day was a major triumph for the Allies. The control gave the Allies the opportunity to disrupt the Germans ability to bring in re-enforcements to the Normandy beaches. They had a nice little museum that we visited. On another day as we ventured out , we once again came to Pegasus Bridge and it was not raining so we explored across the bridge. While we were at Pegasus Bridge ..the bridge was opened for a Navy Ship that was taking part in the D-Day Celebration...how was that for timing!!
Along the beaches we could still see the caissons in the water that were the artificial harbor and docks put in place at Arromanches on Gold Beach to off load people, vehicles and supplies until the ports of Le Havre and Cherbourg were captured and restored. We went to Pointe Du Hoc and walked the area above the 100 foot Cliffs where the US Army Rangers Assault Group captured Pointe Du Hoc after scaling the cliffs. 225+ Rangers landed on the beach on the morning of 6 June 1944 and only 90 survived and held the area until they were releived by troops from Omaha Beach on 8 June 1944. We saw hedge rows , placement where guns were hidden, concrete pylons that were floated over from England , German underground batteries all that represented the historical sites of the Atlantic Wall. The Atlantic WALL was an extensive system of coastal defense and fortifications built by Nazi Germany between 1942-1944 along the coast of continental Europe and Scandinavia as a defense against an anticipated Allied Invasion of Nazi-occupied Europe from Great Britain during World
War II.
As we travel all of these historical sites and monuments there is a sadness for all of the lives lost, suffering of the wounded, families that lost not only their loved ones but also years of their lives whether as prisoners or war camps or that their freedom to live in their homes was changed by the forces that occupied their towns. Also a feeling of joy and amazement that after 72 years, there are so many locals and people from all over the world that come to remember D-Day 1944 and show their respect. AND as George said in one of his postings "nice to see our military will be on hand and participating in all the activities in the towns along the beaches and inland, they will be parachuting, marching, doing presentations, meeting and greeting visitors...they are playing a big part in the week leading up to June 6th. We are so glad that we planned this trip and ended our continent adventure here, it is an amazing spectacle to witness. We will be out every day to learn, to take pictures, to understand, and to admire the events of the Normandy landing and the days following June 6, 1944"
We have discussed between us if " the younger generations will do the same" as the tourist from all over the world we see are mostly "our age" or in their 50"s. When you think of the 60 MILLION who lost their lives for us...do they not deserve to have HISTORY remember them...ask yourself?
In the last few days, we were able to attend D-Day Celebrations at Sainte Marie Du Mont, Sainte Mere Eglis, Utah Beach, Ravensville, Picauville, Carentan and a few more, I am sure. We listened to a concert by the Iowa State Marching Band and Southern Arizona Ladies Choir while we had some local food of Bratwurst and Frys and of course the guys had a beer! We attended a parade in Saint Mere Eglise with Iowa State Marching Band, Southern Arizona Ladies Choir, Military Vehicles, Veterans from D-Day. We also went to Sainte Marie Du Mont to see the 82nd Airborne and French Paratroopers drop but due to weather the event was canceled but they had wonderful music from the 1940's ! We did attend the le Fiere Paratrooper jump with 500 men and 7 planes . They had about 20 paratroopers drop from the planes each time they passed over this little town. in one of the field where during World War. The German troops had flooded the fields during the war to slow down the attackers but also provided cover for the German troops defending the land.
Yesterday when we attended a D-Day celebration , we had parked in a field and walked into the town. We returned to our car after several hours and sat in the car and had a lunch before we left to go to see a German Battery we had yet to see. When we drove to go out of the field, the gaurds told us that the road was closed until 4 PM and it was only after 1130 hmmm. There were several other cars and motorcycles that also were trying to leave. After other cars doing a lot of horn honking and many cars moving forward to the gate and talking to the guards...they decided that we could leave the parking area. We were thankful that were only held up about an hour..it seemed there was not a plan for letting the cars leave before 4 PM when the celebration was over as it was a one lane dirt road!! We were beginning to think may soon have an altercation ...it was like a herd of cows all trying to get out of a one door pen at one time!!
We had a list of all we wanted to do while we were here in Normandy for D-Day 2016 ..and feel we completed that list plus more and being able to share this adventure with Pat ant George was the best of all. We especially enjoyed seeing the American Soldiers here to participate in the D-Day Celebration and spending time talking to them. They were here from the USA and some were stationed here in Europe.
Today we walked down to the grocery and to the pharmacy here in Soliers as we are having a "down day" getting rested and ready to leave for Calais, France tomorrow to turn in our "continent" car and take the ferry back to Dover, England on Wednesday where we will pick up another car for the last week in England before we leave for the east coast of the USA. We have had the most difficult time finding restaurants since here in France...either the restaurants are not open when we are Hungary or they are closed for the day! Not all the menus are in English too so when the wait staff does not speak English can present a problem...but we usually overcome. SOOO , we have been eating a lot of bakery foods or foods from the stands set up at the celebrations for D-Day.
~To our fallen soldiers...you have done your duty. To honor you is ours. ~
God Bless,
Tom and Maryann
Tuesday, May 31, 2016
Berlin, Germany to Spangdalem, Germany to Luxembourg 26-29 May 2016
We arrived in Poznan, Poland on 22 May. We decided to take a detour on our way to Berlin and thought this little town of Poznan would be a good place to spend the day and night. We found Poznan on the Map and thought would be a good stopping place so checked it out. We found a nice little boutique hotel that had rooms for a night at the last minute. Poznan was once the capital of Poland and is still the capital of the Wielkopolska region. Badly damaged in World war 11 the city has been beautifully restored. The Basilica of Satints Peter and Paul is Poland's oldest Chathedray. The architecture and design is so colorful and festive to walk around. We found the Croissant Museum was in this town in one of the oldest buildings. The building had the original interior it had 500 years ago. It also had a clock that on the hour , two fighting goats would appear on the hour. We went to the Live Show at the Poznan Museum and were volunteered to talk part in the fun performance. Pat and I were given aprons and bakers hats in Pink to put on for our part in kneading the dough. We looked like Lucy and Ethel!!! George was also selected to take part in making their chrossiants. Tom took the pictures. We were given one of the St. Martin's Crosissants to taste! What a fun time we had and were so glad that we decided to take a side trip to Poznan! We also had a lovely day of sun and blue sky so decided to sit in the square to people watch and have dinner. There was a young boy about 7 playing an accordion and going around to the eating establishments playing for money but he was being asked to leave by the wait staff. It was sad to see one so young begging for money. The next morning we had a nice breakfast at the hotel before we left for Berlin.
Arrived in Berlin from Poland and needed to do some wash. We checked into our hotel in East Berlin and then went to the neighborhood Waschsalon. Of course we had to have some nourishment while we waited so went next door to the bakery and sat outside. Fun doing people watching. Took us awhile to figure out how to get the washers and dryers to work!! There were some young girls in the Washsalon that gave us instruction. Once again, everyone is always so happy to help us. I guess we always look like we need assistance!!! Later we walked form our hotel to a local restaurant. What a lovely evening to sit outside. Of course George and Tom had their usual "different beer in each place we stopped". The appetizer was "sausage wrapped with rabbit meat". Pat and Maryann were glad to pass and give theirs to George and Tom! Tom will try any type of food, he even had pigeon on this trip. George did have the 'sausage wrapped with rabbit meat" too! We had a nice walk back to the hotel thru the local streets. There is so much graffiti all over...does not seem to be an attempt to clean up the graffiti...even in the tourist districts. In Berlin we went to the Brandenburg Gate, Holocaust Memorial to murdered Jews of Europe, Check Point Charlie and saw parts of the original Berlin Wall. Architecture of the buildings are amazing. Toured the Berlin Dom the biggest church in Berlin. It was just such an amazing church. It also had a Tomb below it where kings , clergy and family members were entombed in various styles of stone caskets. We walked from East Berlin to West Berlin. There is construction of new buildings or remodeling of old buildings happening in both East and West Berlin. It seemed on every street there were major building projects happening. We stopped for lunch at a street cafe down by the canal where we had Bratwrust and Curreywrust with Pommesfrits (french fries). There is just so much graffiti all over West Berlin too. The graffiti is not only on the walls but on the roofs of some very tall buildings. It was a rainy day in Berlin so we also took the Tram that stopped right outside our hotel for a couple of our adventures.
We left Berlin, and just drove about an hour or so away to Weimar, Germany . This is where a National Assembly was convened and a new constitution for the German Reich was written and adopted on 11 August 1919. We stayed in a hotel just out side the city that had beautiful grounds. It had been built 300 years ago but had several renovations. We ate in the dining area that was part of the original hotel. The area we had dinner in used to be part of the vegetable cellar.
George had traced his Mom and Dad's ancestors back to two towns in Germany, Langenselbold and Huttengasse. We traveled to the small town of Langenselbold where we actually met a Mohn family there and George connected with them just like they were long lost family (which they may have been.) They told us there were still several Mohn families living In the area. The Cannode side came from a village 5 km away call Huttengasse. Isn't it odd that back in the 1600/1700s that these two families lived about 3 miles from each other in Germany and in the 1930s they would be united in marriage in Ohio? This trip has been amazing for all of us....Pat ancestral home in England, Maryann's ancestral hometown in Solvakia, and George's family in Langenselbold in Germany.
We then headed to Spangdalem, Germany again to spend a few days. Drove though the Grape Fields near the town of Wittlich where we used to go to the wine and pig festivals. During our time in Bitburg, we drove to the town where Pat and George used to live when we met them at Bitburg 30 years ago. We also took a trip to Irrel where we lived for several months before we moved to the base at Bitburg. We then stopped in Trier where the Roman Porta Nigra gate is on the square. It is the largest Roman City gate north of the Alps and is a World Heritage site. We stayed at the base and since we had a TLF with a washer and dryer, once again caught up on our laundry!
We spent Saturday afternoon at the American Cemetery in Luxembourg at the Memorial Day Ceremony. What a tribute to our fallen heroes. 5076 American Soldiers lie here at Luxembourg along with Gerneral George S. Patten and a memorial for 371 that are missing in action. We also went to the German Cemetery that is just a couple miles down the road. The German Cemetery is called "Sandweller German War Cemetery. It contains the graves of 10,913 German servicemen from the Battle of the Bulge in the winter of 1944. The bodies were moved here from 150 different cemeteries throughout Luxembourg. They had mostly lain in mass graves for which only incomplete records were available. The German war Graves Commission were able to identify 4,014 of the 4,829 that were in the communal graves. Felt so privileged to be able to attend this day of ceremony. WE MUST NEVER EVER FORGET all those who gave their lives and their families for the United States of America!
"Greater Love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his country!"~~
We are off to France....
Sending loves and hugs. Keeping all in our prayers
God Bless,
Tom and Maryann
Arrived in Berlin from Poland and needed to do some wash. We checked into our hotel in East Berlin and then went to the neighborhood Waschsalon. Of course we had to have some nourishment while we waited so went next door to the bakery and sat outside. Fun doing people watching. Took us awhile to figure out how to get the washers and dryers to work!! There were some young girls in the Washsalon that gave us instruction. Once again, everyone is always so happy to help us. I guess we always look like we need assistance!!! Later we walked form our hotel to a local restaurant. What a lovely evening to sit outside. Of course George and Tom had their usual "different beer in each place we stopped". The appetizer was "sausage wrapped with rabbit meat". Pat and Maryann were glad to pass and give theirs to George and Tom! Tom will try any type of food, he even had pigeon on this trip. George did have the 'sausage wrapped with rabbit meat" too! We had a nice walk back to the hotel thru the local streets. There is so much graffiti all over...does not seem to be an attempt to clean up the graffiti...even in the tourist districts. In Berlin we went to the Brandenburg Gate, Holocaust Memorial to murdered Jews of Europe, Check Point Charlie and saw parts of the original Berlin Wall. Architecture of the buildings are amazing. Toured the Berlin Dom the biggest church in Berlin. It was just such an amazing church. It also had a Tomb below it where kings , clergy and family members were entombed in various styles of stone caskets. We walked from East Berlin to West Berlin. There is construction of new buildings or remodeling of old buildings happening in both East and West Berlin. It seemed on every street there were major building projects happening. We stopped for lunch at a street cafe down by the canal where we had Bratwrust and Curreywrust with Pommesfrits (french fries). There is just so much graffiti all over West Berlin too. The graffiti is not only on the walls but on the roofs of some very tall buildings. It was a rainy day in Berlin so we also took the Tram that stopped right outside our hotel for a couple of our adventures.
We left Berlin, and just drove about an hour or so away to Weimar, Germany . This is where a National Assembly was convened and a new constitution for the German Reich was written and adopted on 11 August 1919. We stayed in a hotel just out side the city that had beautiful grounds. It had been built 300 years ago but had several renovations. We ate in the dining area that was part of the original hotel. The area we had dinner in used to be part of the vegetable cellar.
George had traced his Mom and Dad's ancestors back to two towns in Germany, Langenselbold and Huttengasse. We traveled to the small town of Langenselbold where we actually met a Mohn family there and George connected with them just like they were long lost family (which they may have been.) They told us there were still several Mohn families living In the area. The Cannode side came from a village 5 km away call Huttengasse. Isn't it odd that back in the 1600/1700s that these two families lived about 3 miles from each other in Germany and in the 1930s they would be united in marriage in Ohio? This trip has been amazing for all of us....Pat ancestral home in England, Maryann's ancestral hometown in Solvakia, and George's family in Langenselbold in Germany.
We then headed to Spangdalem, Germany again to spend a few days. Drove though the Grape Fields near the town of Wittlich where we used to go to the wine and pig festivals. During our time in Bitburg, we drove to the town where Pat and George used to live when we met them at Bitburg 30 years ago. We also took a trip to Irrel where we lived for several months before we moved to the base at Bitburg. We then stopped in Trier where the Roman Porta Nigra gate is on the square. It is the largest Roman City gate north of the Alps and is a World Heritage site. We stayed at the base and since we had a TLF with a washer and dryer, once again caught up on our laundry!
We spent Saturday afternoon at the American Cemetery in Luxembourg at the Memorial Day Ceremony. What a tribute to our fallen heroes. 5076 American Soldiers lie here at Luxembourg along with Gerneral George S. Patten and a memorial for 371 that are missing in action. We also went to the German Cemetery that is just a couple miles down the road. The German Cemetery is called "Sandweller German War Cemetery. It contains the graves of 10,913 German servicemen from the Battle of the Bulge in the winter of 1944. The bodies were moved here from 150 different cemeteries throughout Luxembourg. They had mostly lain in mass graves for which only incomplete records were available. The German war Graves Commission were able to identify 4,014 of the 4,829 that were in the communal graves. Felt so privileged to be able to attend this day of ceremony. WE MUST NEVER EVER FORGET all those who gave their lives and their families for the United States of America!
"Greater Love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his country!"~~
We are off to France....
Sending loves and hugs. Keeping all in our prayers
God Bless,
Tom and Maryann
Monday, May 30, 2016
Krackow Poland..catching up on my blog. 20-21 May 2016
Krackow, Poland. We walked to the Town Square that had had walls around the city. Another beautiful city with so many stories to tell. We saw people praying at a statue of the Black Madonna just off the town square.
We also had rain.... We stayed in an apartment at the Florian Rooms Apartments Building just outside the city square. We had to have three codes to get into our room... Pat and George stayed in the apartment across the hall. It was a spacious two room apartment with a nice living and dining space. But did not have heat....and it was cool and rainy so they gave us a heater and had the heat turned back on!! We visited the Jewish Cemetery in Kraków. The Russian Army and The Red Army destroyed most of this city and the grave stones were in piles in some areas so they made walls around the cemetery out of the pieces of grave stones. The only color in this cemetery is the green grass and occasionally a flower someone has left on a grave. When friends or family visit, they leave stones or glass.This simple act of putting small stones on tombstones when visiting has come to be a great sign of respect of their deceased loved ones. It has come to signify that the grave has recently been visited and that the deceased have not been forgotten. To make this simple ritual even more meaningful, some bring a pebble or stone from their own garden to place on the tombstone, or select a brightly colored stone to place at the grave. Placing a stone on the grave of a loved one is a tradition that may be personalized to create meaning and bring comfort. We also visited Shindler's Factory on this rainy day in Karkow. When we came out of the Factory, we decided to take an electric golf cart with plastic on the sides back to the city as it was raining and we had walked across the bridge and thru the factory. We had not ridden in an electric golf cart so decided we should experience especially since it was raining and the golf cart had plastic sides! We went to the beautiful town Centre and Market Place for shopping and checking out the history of the walls. We had a nice dinner in a restaurant in the Centre. Of course George and Tom had their beer with dinner. They are trying to taste all the different beers in the different countries and doing a great job of getting that done!
The next day we only traveled a couple hours from Krackow to Skidzin.
We arrived in Skidzin just outside of Oswiecim, Poland where we stayed for a night. We had lunch in the little village of Psyczyna while waiting for our room to be ready. Have seen many fruit and vegetable stands on our travels. All the little stands we see are packed full of what looks like really fresh foods. The B&B we stayed in at Skidzin, just outside of Oswiecim was beautiful with the large area of grass, flowers and "country feel". The place we stayed was like an old country home with beautiful stained glass and hard wood floors. We found out from the owner that the property and the one house next to our B&B had been used to assist families who had family members who were prisoners at Auschwitz Concentration Camp just down the road. Had a traditional Polish Meal at the bar just around the corner that was also owned by the same B&B. Had a lovely breakfast in a little glassed in patio area and felt like we were outside. We also visited Auschwitz Concentration Camp in Oswiecim. The words over the entrance "Work will keep you free." However the prisoners referred to it as "Gate of Death" as 1,100,000 Jews were sent to the camp, nearly 150,000 Poles, some 23,00 Roma from several European countries, over 15,000 Soviet prisoners of war and over ten thousands prisoners from other countries were sent to Auschwitz. The majority of them perished there. Walking around the grounds was very sobering and sad...to actually walk the paths, thru the dormitories and see where the hangings, fire squads shot groups of prisoners, torture and in humane treatment and where their bodies were burned was carried out by other human beings day in and day out. I wonder how could a human inflict these horrendous tortures on their fellow man. The medical experiments on certain prisoners to include children, newborn infants, males and females. I sat and wondered how would it be if could not have the freedom to express your opinion because you never could be certain if a friend, family member or even in the confessional someone was listening and reporting ...so they could stay alive. Seeing the roses that are taken and put in different areas of the prison after all these years brought tears to my eyes. Is this what we are seeing with ISIS attacks more often now? We need to pray for our country. The past couple days we had blue skies and sunshine.
We left Krackow and went to Warsaw, Poland. We parked our car at the hotel and took public transportation around this city. We stayed in a Micro Hotel in Warsaw...energy efficient and just enough space for a ergonomic chair, closet and bed and bathroom. But it was comfortable!! We walked the paths that was around the Jewish Ghetto as walked around all the memorials to honor the Jewish people who were placed in what was called the "Jewish Ghetto". We walked this path of suffering where 300,000 Jewish people were driven in 1942-43 from Warsaw Ghetto to the gas chambers of the Nazi Extermination Camps. It is so difficult to think how cruel one human and be to another. Amazing architecture....from ultra modern to historical. The town square was beautiful with all types of colorful buildings and interesting people.
Przemyslaw Kapitula is a Polish Virtuoso organist that was giving a concert in the church of St. Anne in Warsaw . Had never seen or heard a Baroque Organ played so we attended the concert. Had always wondered how they sounded as have seen many in the churches. Amazing! There was also a demonstration against Poland breeding horses and sending them to the Orient to be used in restaurants and for food. The demonstration was peaceful but continued for several hours. We were awed by all the colors of the buildings in the square. We went to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and saw the changing of the guard and also there was a memorial cross and plaques where Pope John the 2nd talked to the people of Warsaw. Interesting seeing several older adults standing and selling flowers or some type of fruits on the town Centre. Also saw mimes,children playing instruments and others doing tricks with balls etc. for gratuities. Also saw hundreds of "love locks" on the railings in Warsaw and different places in that area. This is a tradition of sweethearts when they lock these locks to a bridge, fence or gate to symbolize their love. The key is thrown away to symbolize that their love is unbreakable love.
We continue to have such great days and experiences together. When we look back at this trip, of course we will remember all that we have experienced but most of all will be so thankful in remembering all the moments of each day that we four have spent together just being "US" and having such fun in appreciating that we are blessed to have each other in our lives and have spent these days together.
"Travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent , in the ideas of living." ~ Martin Buber
We keep you all in our daily thoughts and prayers.
We also had rain.... We stayed in an apartment at the Florian Rooms Apartments Building just outside the city square. We had to have three codes to get into our room... Pat and George stayed in the apartment across the hall. It was a spacious two room apartment with a nice living and dining space. But did not have heat....and it was cool and rainy so they gave us a heater and had the heat turned back on!! We visited the Jewish Cemetery in Kraków. The Russian Army and The Red Army destroyed most of this city and the grave stones were in piles in some areas so they made walls around the cemetery out of the pieces of grave stones. The only color in this cemetery is the green grass and occasionally a flower someone has left on a grave. When friends or family visit, they leave stones or glass.This simple act of putting small stones on tombstones when visiting has come to be a great sign of respect of their deceased loved ones. It has come to signify that the grave has recently been visited and that the deceased have not been forgotten. To make this simple ritual even more meaningful, some bring a pebble or stone from their own garden to place on the tombstone, or select a brightly colored stone to place at the grave. Placing a stone on the grave of a loved one is a tradition that may be personalized to create meaning and bring comfort. We also visited Shindler's Factory on this rainy day in Karkow. When we came out of the Factory, we decided to take an electric golf cart with plastic on the sides back to the city as it was raining and we had walked across the bridge and thru the factory. We had not ridden in an electric golf cart so decided we should experience especially since it was raining and the golf cart had plastic sides! We went to the beautiful town Centre and Market Place for shopping and checking out the history of the walls. We had a nice dinner in a restaurant in the Centre. Of course George and Tom had their beer with dinner. They are trying to taste all the different beers in the different countries and doing a great job of getting that done!
The next day we only traveled a couple hours from Krackow to Skidzin.
We arrived in Skidzin just outside of Oswiecim, Poland where we stayed for a night. We had lunch in the little village of Psyczyna while waiting for our room to be ready. Have seen many fruit and vegetable stands on our travels. All the little stands we see are packed full of what looks like really fresh foods. The B&B we stayed in at Skidzin, just outside of Oswiecim was beautiful with the large area of grass, flowers and "country feel". The place we stayed was like an old country home with beautiful stained glass and hard wood floors. We found out from the owner that the property and the one house next to our B&B had been used to assist families who had family members who were prisoners at Auschwitz Concentration Camp just down the road. Had a traditional Polish Meal at the bar just around the corner that was also owned by the same B&B. Had a lovely breakfast in a little glassed in patio area and felt like we were outside. We also visited Auschwitz Concentration Camp in Oswiecim. The words over the entrance "Work will keep you free." However the prisoners referred to it as "Gate of Death" as 1,100,000 Jews were sent to the camp, nearly 150,000 Poles, some 23,00 Roma from several European countries, over 15,000 Soviet prisoners of war and over ten thousands prisoners from other countries were sent to Auschwitz. The majority of them perished there. Walking around the grounds was very sobering and sad...to actually walk the paths, thru the dormitories and see where the hangings, fire squads shot groups of prisoners, torture and in humane treatment and where their bodies were burned was carried out by other human beings day in and day out. I wonder how could a human inflict these horrendous tortures on their fellow man. The medical experiments on certain prisoners to include children, newborn infants, males and females. I sat and wondered how would it be if could not have the freedom to express your opinion because you never could be certain if a friend, family member or even in the confessional someone was listening and reporting ...so they could stay alive. Seeing the roses that are taken and put in different areas of the prison after all these years brought tears to my eyes. Is this what we are seeing with ISIS attacks more often now? We need to pray for our country. The past couple days we had blue skies and sunshine.
We left Krackow and went to Warsaw, Poland. We parked our car at the hotel and took public transportation around this city. We stayed in a Micro Hotel in Warsaw...energy efficient and just enough space for a ergonomic chair, closet and bed and bathroom. But it was comfortable!! We walked the paths that was around the Jewish Ghetto as walked around all the memorials to honor the Jewish people who were placed in what was called the "Jewish Ghetto". We walked this path of suffering where 300,000 Jewish people were driven in 1942-43 from Warsaw Ghetto to the gas chambers of the Nazi Extermination Camps. It is so difficult to think how cruel one human and be to another. Amazing architecture....from ultra modern to historical. The town square was beautiful with all types of colorful buildings and interesting people.
Przemyslaw Kapitula is a Polish Virtuoso organist that was giving a concert in the church of St. Anne in Warsaw . Had never seen or heard a Baroque Organ played so we attended the concert. Had always wondered how they sounded as have seen many in the churches. Amazing! There was also a demonstration against Poland breeding horses and sending them to the Orient to be used in restaurants and for food. The demonstration was peaceful but continued for several hours. We were awed by all the colors of the buildings in the square. We went to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and saw the changing of the guard and also there was a memorial cross and plaques where Pope John the 2nd talked to the people of Warsaw. Interesting seeing several older adults standing and selling flowers or some type of fruits on the town Centre. Also saw mimes,children playing instruments and others doing tricks with balls etc. for gratuities. Also saw hundreds of "love locks" on the railings in Warsaw and different places in that area. This is a tradition of sweethearts when they lock these locks to a bridge, fence or gate to symbolize their love. The key is thrown away to symbolize that their love is unbreakable love.
We continue to have such great days and experiences together. When we look back at this trip, of course we will remember all that we have experienced but most of all will be so thankful in remembering all the moments of each day that we four have spent together just being "US" and having such fun in appreciating that we are blessed to have each other in our lives and have spent these days together.
"Travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent , in the ideas of living." ~ Martin Buber
We keep you all in our daily thoughts and prayers.
Saturday, May 28, 2016
28 May 2016 Catching up on my blog...Budapest to Valkey Folkmar to Kosic Slovakia.
Good Morning,
I think it is time for me to catch up on my blogs...I have been putting pictures on my Facebook but have neglected my blog!! Since my last blog, have visited Budapest, Hungary. We spent the first day walking around and happened upon the Parliament Library, 1956 Uprising when the Communist killed 2500-3000 civilians and over 13,000 wounded that started with a student demonstration that attracted thousands and then the crowd was fired on by tanks and soldiers on top of buildings that caused a river of blood thru the streets in the square where the Parliament building were. We took a private tour of the of the memorial of the 1956 memorial. While in Budapest, we became very familiar with taking the Metro, Tram and City Bus. We did have a few days that were rainy but we still managed to see what we wanted. While in the subways, we saw lots of people who apparently we're living in the Budapest. We saw the Chain Bridge, Liberty Bridge, Fisherman's Bastion that was built in 19th century to serve as a lookout tower. Matthias Catholic Church built in 1015. Another city with beautiful architecture. They also have a Statue of Liberty that is Black and Gold that sits atop one of the higher hills. We enjoyed the street musicians playing the violin and accordion as we walked around the town centers. Buda was the city on the West Bank of the Danube and Pest was on the East Bank of the Danube. They unified the two cities in 1873 and named it Budapest. We were going to take a trip down the Danube but it was a rainy/cold day so we decided to take the tram home!! Budapest is cited to be one of the most beautiful cities in Europe.
We decided to take a day to go to Velkey Folkmar, Slovakia as this is the town where my Mom's Dad was born and where he lived before he came to America. It is a windy road up the mountain from Kosice, Slovakia. Once we arrived , we went to the only grocery store there and asked about the names that my Mom had written down of her Dad's parents. The women in the store did not speak English but there was a man in the store and he said to come with him and he took us to the city manager. The city manager was in his car going somewhere but he got out of his car and took us to his office. He only spoke a little English but he called his son and he was translating. After some time, he said he would go and pick up the translator. While we waited he had his secretary come and give us refreshments. He returned with his son and we spent about an hour or so with them. They could not find my great grandparents names but he gave us a contact in another city that may have records. He also gave us a beautiful book that he had written about life in Velkey Folkmar. Of course it is in Slovakian but has lots of pictures. My Mom and Sister had visited with my Zeda back in the 70"s to Valkey Folkmar. The manager told us that American's rarely come to their town. We would have stayed there overnight but there was not a hotel. We left them with heartfelt thanks and gave them our addresses to come visit with us if they ever want to come to the states. What amazing people to just stop their day and help us!
As we traveled to the country side of Poland, we found Kosice where we spent the night in a different sort of hotel that had a solarium like atmosphere on the first floor and the hotel rooms on the second floor. We found St. Elizabeth's Church just around the corner from our hotel. It is the largest Cathedral in Slovakia. Kosice is the 2nd largest city in Eastern Slovakia. We walked around the square and once again found great food in a local restaurant and amazing buildings. As we traveled to Kosic, we saw these birds sitting on very large nests on a couple of telephone poles. Not really sure the type of bird. It seems that Cannoli Oil is a crop that is also grown in Poland. As you can see by our smiles....we are still having fun moments and lots of laughter!!
On the road again out of Kosice, Poland....so many castles in the countryside. They liven up their landscaping with the purple and blue guard rails. Traveled through lots of small villages and we came thru this town that had all these older homes made of wood and wood carvings. We had rain and then saw snow on the mountains. In just such a short drive, we are seeing amazing scenery...and again, pictures cannot show the beauty that we are seeing.
We have almost daily planning sessions to see what we have seen and where we want to go next which makes it such a fun trip for all of us.
Please go to George and Pat's blog or my Facebook to see pictures. I will research putting pictures on my blog for next years adventures.
~" A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step."~
We send our love and our prayers to each of you in our daily prayer.
I am trying to catch up on my posts......some of you may have seen this travel news with pictures on my Facebook!
Hugs,
Tom and Maryann
I think it is time for me to catch up on my blogs...I have been putting pictures on my Facebook but have neglected my blog!! Since my last blog, have visited Budapest, Hungary. We spent the first day walking around and happened upon the Parliament Library, 1956 Uprising when the Communist killed 2500-3000 civilians and over 13,000 wounded that started with a student demonstration that attracted thousands and then the crowd was fired on by tanks and soldiers on top of buildings that caused a river of blood thru the streets in the square where the Parliament building were. We took a private tour of the of the memorial of the 1956 memorial. While in Budapest, we became very familiar with taking the Metro, Tram and City Bus. We did have a few days that were rainy but we still managed to see what we wanted. While in the subways, we saw lots of people who apparently we're living in the Budapest. We saw the Chain Bridge, Liberty Bridge, Fisherman's Bastion that was built in 19th century to serve as a lookout tower. Matthias Catholic Church built in 1015. Another city with beautiful architecture. They also have a Statue of Liberty that is Black and Gold that sits atop one of the higher hills. We enjoyed the street musicians playing the violin and accordion as we walked around the town centers. Buda was the city on the West Bank of the Danube and Pest was on the East Bank of the Danube. They unified the two cities in 1873 and named it Budapest. We were going to take a trip down the Danube but it was a rainy/cold day so we decided to take the tram home!! Budapest is cited to be one of the most beautiful cities in Europe.
We decided to take a day to go to Velkey Folkmar, Slovakia as this is the town where my Mom's Dad was born and where he lived before he came to America. It is a windy road up the mountain from Kosice, Slovakia. Once we arrived , we went to the only grocery store there and asked about the names that my Mom had written down of her Dad's parents. The women in the store did not speak English but there was a man in the store and he said to come with him and he took us to the city manager. The city manager was in his car going somewhere but he got out of his car and took us to his office. He only spoke a little English but he called his son and he was translating. After some time, he said he would go and pick up the translator. While we waited he had his secretary come and give us refreshments. He returned with his son and we spent about an hour or so with them. They could not find my great grandparents names but he gave us a contact in another city that may have records. He also gave us a beautiful book that he had written about life in Velkey Folkmar. Of course it is in Slovakian but has lots of pictures. My Mom and Sister had visited with my Zeda back in the 70"s to Valkey Folkmar. The manager told us that American's rarely come to their town. We would have stayed there overnight but there was not a hotel. We left them with heartfelt thanks and gave them our addresses to come visit with us if they ever want to come to the states. What amazing people to just stop their day and help us!
As we traveled to the country side of Poland, we found Kosice where we spent the night in a different sort of hotel that had a solarium like atmosphere on the first floor and the hotel rooms on the second floor. We found St. Elizabeth's Church just around the corner from our hotel. It is the largest Cathedral in Slovakia. Kosice is the 2nd largest city in Eastern Slovakia. We walked around the square and once again found great food in a local restaurant and amazing buildings. As we traveled to Kosic, we saw these birds sitting on very large nests on a couple of telephone poles. Not really sure the type of bird. It seems that Cannoli Oil is a crop that is also grown in Poland. As you can see by our smiles....we are still having fun moments and lots of laughter!!
On the road again out of Kosice, Poland....so many castles in the countryside. They liven up their landscaping with the purple and blue guard rails. Traveled through lots of small villages and we came thru this town that had all these older homes made of wood and wood carvings. We had rain and then saw snow on the mountains. In just such a short drive, we are seeing amazing scenery...and again, pictures cannot show the beauty that we are seeing.
We have almost daily planning sessions to see what we have seen and where we want to go next which makes it such a fun trip for all of us.
Please go to George and Pat's blog or my Facebook to see pictures. I will research putting pictures on my blog for next years adventures.
~" A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step."~
We send our love and our prayers to each of you in our daily prayer.
I am trying to catch up on my posts......some of you may have seen this travel news with pictures on my Facebook!
Hugs,
Tom and Maryann
Friday, May 13, 2016
Tihany , Hungary. 12 May 2016
Hello, Today was a day of on and off rain and downpours on our way here to Tihany , Hungary. It is a little village about 60 miles from Budapest, Hungary. We were on our way to Budapest via the Autobahn but since it was raining and it was to be raining in Budapest for a couple of days, we decided to venture onto the country roads . We had met "someone" in England, I think and he had recommended that we come to this area so we did. We will stay here for a couple of days before we head to Budapest.
We had spent 2 nights in Prague, Czech Republic. We stayed just outside the city and took the tram into the city. We decided to do a "hop-on-hop-off" bus tour. Even though we did just that, we did a lot of walking. We walked about Prague Castle area that is to be the largest castle in the Czech Replubic and is still used for government business and meetings. We then took a river cruise on the Vltava River and went under the famous Charles Bridge that was built in 1357. Stopped at a street vendor outside the Prague Castle and had a lite lunch. The view of Prague from the Castle area is beautiful. Amazing how big the city is. We also were able to watch the changing of the guard for the castle and apparently the Soviet Prime Minister was visiting and we saw his motorcade and then he exited his car and walked and shook hands with some people standing near by on the way into the castle. We took the tram back to our hotel. We had taken the wrong tram into the city...went the wrong way but had plenty of time so saw some other parts of the city...but were sure to take the correct tram back to our hotel!! The hotel was actually part of the sports stadium walls, so can now say "we spent two nights in a stadium"!!! Apparently you could book a room that had a window that looked out onto the field. The staff at the hotel were once again more than happy to assist us with our questions. As we left Prague, we decided to stop in Brno, Czech, Republic. We walked around and saw a beautiful church.....each city has so many old beautiful churches. We also will see crosses with Jesus Christ crucified either near a town entrance or exit or just out in the country on a routine day trip. We were told that 60% of people in the Czech Republic are Atheist but there are always several churches in each town and city , plus these crosses on the roadside.
We also had a nice lunch on the plaza as was a beautiful sunny day. We next ventured to the Brno Undreground. This is a medieval and mysterious underground. Within it's walls is a Kostnice which houses the second largest ossuary in Europe built in the 17th Centrury .It consists of three burial chambers which contain the remains of over 50,000 people who died during the Thirty Year War, the Swedish Siege of Brno as well as cholera and plague epidemics. There are walls built of bones and skulls in an art-like way. The skulls were placed in this art like gallery as all the city graves were full and there was no places to bury them .
We went into the tunnels and it was very sobering and sad.
We decided to head for Budapest on the 11 May and decided we would find a small village to spend the night vs. city. We ended up going over the Solvakia Mountain Range and found a nice bed and breakfast at the bottom of the mountain in Seneca. The owner was very helpful and we had a nice dinner in the local Solvakian restaurant just around the corner. It was nice to have a nice walk to the restaurant...passing by some nice homes that had vegetable gardens, grape vines and fruit trees. One of the homes had a really detailed irrigation system.
We will be here in this small village of Tihany on Lake Balaton another day before we head for Budapest and whatever adventures we find around the next curve!
We are still having great days and laughing a lot....sometimes not sure why! Tom and George are taking turns driving now too.
13 May 2016..add on. After yesterday's rain and clouds , we woke up this morning to a bright blue sky and sunshine. We decided to go to a little town about an hour from here that is known for it's spas called Heviz. On the way we drove around Lake Balaton. We had a nice walk around Heviz and found some nice little shops and they also had a local craft fair. Maryann was talking to a shop owner and he told her that the weather was to change from sunny to pouring down rain at 2 PM. Just as we were finishing our gelato , we noted a very black cloud and rain drops...it was 20 minutes to 2! We headed to the car just in time and arrived back in Tihany in time to go up to the Church that was built on an old volcano at the top of the hill and had amazing views of Lake Balaton. We had left the rain behind in Heviz and drove back into the beautiful blue sky and sunshine!!
Yesterday we celebrated Emme and Eiza's 3rd birthdays. We were able to FACETIME with Emme and sing happy birthday to our happy girl who was at the zoo with her Mom who took the day off to spend the special day with Emme. We also gave Eiza hugs in our hearts.
We continue to keep you all in our daily prayers.
~ALWAYS REMEMBER THAT YOUR PRESENT SITUATION IS NOT YOUR FINAL DESTINATION, THE BEST IS YET TO COME~ unknown author
Our Love and Hugs,
God Bless
Tom and Maryann
We had spent 2 nights in Prague, Czech Republic. We stayed just outside the city and took the tram into the city. We decided to do a "hop-on-hop-off" bus tour. Even though we did just that, we did a lot of walking. We walked about Prague Castle area that is to be the largest castle in the Czech Replubic and is still used for government business and meetings. We then took a river cruise on the Vltava River and went under the famous Charles Bridge that was built in 1357. Stopped at a street vendor outside the Prague Castle and had a lite lunch. The view of Prague from the Castle area is beautiful. Amazing how big the city is. We also were able to watch the changing of the guard for the castle and apparently the Soviet Prime Minister was visiting and we saw his motorcade and then he exited his car and walked and shook hands with some people standing near by on the way into the castle. We took the tram back to our hotel. We had taken the wrong tram into the city...went the wrong way but had plenty of time so saw some other parts of the city...but were sure to take the correct tram back to our hotel!! The hotel was actually part of the sports stadium walls, so can now say "we spent two nights in a stadium"!!! Apparently you could book a room that had a window that looked out onto the field. The staff at the hotel were once again more than happy to assist us with our questions. As we left Prague, we decided to stop in Brno, Czech, Republic. We walked around and saw a beautiful church.....each city has so many old beautiful churches. We also will see crosses with Jesus Christ crucified either near a town entrance or exit or just out in the country on a routine day trip. We were told that 60% of people in the Czech Republic are Atheist but there are always several churches in each town and city , plus these crosses on the roadside.
We also had a nice lunch on the plaza as was a beautiful sunny day. We next ventured to the Brno Undreground. This is a medieval and mysterious underground. Within it's walls is a Kostnice which houses the second largest ossuary in Europe built in the 17th Centrury .It consists of three burial chambers which contain the remains of over 50,000 people who died during the Thirty Year War, the Swedish Siege of Brno as well as cholera and plague epidemics. There are walls built of bones and skulls in an art-like way. The skulls were placed in this art like gallery as all the city graves were full and there was no places to bury them .
We went into the tunnels and it was very sobering and sad.
We decided to head for Budapest on the 11 May and decided we would find a small village to spend the night vs. city. We ended up going over the Solvakia Mountain Range and found a nice bed and breakfast at the bottom of the mountain in Seneca. The owner was very helpful and we had a nice dinner in the local Solvakian restaurant just around the corner. It was nice to have a nice walk to the restaurant...passing by some nice homes that had vegetable gardens, grape vines and fruit trees. One of the homes had a really detailed irrigation system.
We will be here in this small village of Tihany on Lake Balaton another day before we head for Budapest and whatever adventures we find around the next curve!
We are still having great days and laughing a lot....sometimes not sure why! Tom and George are taking turns driving now too.
13 May 2016..add on. After yesterday's rain and clouds , we woke up this morning to a bright blue sky and sunshine. We decided to go to a little town about an hour from here that is known for it's spas called Heviz. On the way we drove around Lake Balaton. We had a nice walk around Heviz and found some nice little shops and they also had a local craft fair. Maryann was talking to a shop owner and he told her that the weather was to change from sunny to pouring down rain at 2 PM. Just as we were finishing our gelato , we noted a very black cloud and rain drops...it was 20 minutes to 2! We headed to the car just in time and arrived back in Tihany in time to go up to the Church that was built on an old volcano at the top of the hill and had amazing views of Lake Balaton. We had left the rain behind in Heviz and drove back into the beautiful blue sky and sunshine!!
Yesterday we celebrated Emme and Eiza's 3rd birthdays. We were able to FACETIME with Emme and sing happy birthday to our happy girl who was at the zoo with her Mom who took the day off to spend the special day with Emme. We also gave Eiza hugs in our hearts.
We continue to keep you all in our daily prayers.
~ALWAYS REMEMBER THAT YOUR PRESENT SITUATION IS NOT YOUR FINAL DESTINATION, THE BEST IS YET TO COME~ unknown author
Our Love and Hugs,
God Bless
Tom and Maryann
Sunday, May 8, 2016
Ramstein Germany 8 May 2016
Good Morning,
We spent a couple of days in Bristol, England with Louise and Alaistair. We stayed just around the corner from where Louise lives in their friends "flat". Louise and Alaistair fixed a nice dinner and breakfast for us. The streets where they live are very narrow and have cars parked on both sides of the street so driving down between the cars was very interesting. When we arrived, it was raining but Alaistair had requested that we bring the sun and so we did! The next couple days we had sun!!
We all went to the Tyntesfield Castle in Bristol and spent the day walking around the beautiful flower gardens. The castle is a spectacular Victorian Gothi Revival house built on an extravagant estate with many gardens and a wonderful view. We had a nice lunch in a building that used to be the barn so ate in an area that used to be a "pig pen". Alaistair gave us a guided walking tour of downtown Bristol. Tom was able to have a ride in Alaistair's 1930 Austin. Alaistair's dad had purchased the car new in 1930! Tom had been waiting to get a ride for a few years ever since Alaistair had told him about the car!! We left Bristol on the 3 May and drove to Dover, England to spend the night before we were to take the ferry to Europe. We had lunch on the pier overlooking the English Channel and with the Cliffs of Dover just behind us. The next morning we turned in our rental car and made our way to the Ferry. We had downsized our luggage and left some with Louise in Bristol as we were going to pick up another car in Calais, France. It took us 1.5 hours on the P&O Ferry to get to Calais, France. We picked up our rental car and were off to Spangdalem Air Force Base. The weather was sunny and warm and the country side was small rolling hills and green with many fields of Yellow Flowers (canola fields). We arrived in Spangdalem about 5 hours later and checked into billeting and then had a nice dinner in a restaurant in Gondorf. We used to take the girls there when we were stationed in Bitburg for picnics as they had a nice animal park. The next day we walked around Birburg and had a nice lunch. We also drove around Bitburg Air Force base where we used to live and talked about our memories!! We remembered the time we spent in Bitburg with Peggy and Larry in the area 5 years ago. The years do go buy quickly.
Today we are in Ramstein Air Force Base. We arrive yesterday and met with John, Penny and Alysia who are living here now. We have known Penny since 1980 when stationed with her parents in Cheyenne, Wyoming. John had proposed to Penny in our backyard in Hawaii! They will soon be married 30 years! It was so nice to spend the day with all of them and catch up on the past years! We had lunch at a castle on top of the mountain in Landsthul with a great view.
We are staying at TLF on base here in Ramstein Air Force Base.
Tomorrow we will head to Prague...we think. We are discussing our route this afternoon.
~"I don't know where I'm going from here, but I promise it won't be boring"~ Anonymous ~
We send our love and our thoughts to you and are keeping all in prayer.
Please keep us in your prayer for safe travels.
God Bless,
Tom and Maryann
We spent a couple of days in Bristol, England with Louise and Alaistair. We stayed just around the corner from where Louise lives in their friends "flat". Louise and Alaistair fixed a nice dinner and breakfast for us. The streets where they live are very narrow and have cars parked on both sides of the street so driving down between the cars was very interesting. When we arrived, it was raining but Alaistair had requested that we bring the sun and so we did! The next couple days we had sun!!
We all went to the Tyntesfield Castle in Bristol and spent the day walking around the beautiful flower gardens. The castle is a spectacular Victorian Gothi Revival house built on an extravagant estate with many gardens and a wonderful view. We had a nice lunch in a building that used to be the barn so ate in an area that used to be a "pig pen". Alaistair gave us a guided walking tour of downtown Bristol. Tom was able to have a ride in Alaistair's 1930 Austin. Alaistair's dad had purchased the car new in 1930! Tom had been waiting to get a ride for a few years ever since Alaistair had told him about the car!! We left Bristol on the 3 May and drove to Dover, England to spend the night before we were to take the ferry to Europe. We had lunch on the pier overlooking the English Channel and with the Cliffs of Dover just behind us. The next morning we turned in our rental car and made our way to the Ferry. We had downsized our luggage and left some with Louise in Bristol as we were going to pick up another car in Calais, France. It took us 1.5 hours on the P&O Ferry to get to Calais, France. We picked up our rental car and were off to Spangdalem Air Force Base. The weather was sunny and warm and the country side was small rolling hills and green with many fields of Yellow Flowers (canola fields). We arrived in Spangdalem about 5 hours later and checked into billeting and then had a nice dinner in a restaurant in Gondorf. We used to take the girls there when we were stationed in Bitburg for picnics as they had a nice animal park. The next day we walked around Birburg and had a nice lunch. We also drove around Bitburg Air Force base where we used to live and talked about our memories!! We remembered the time we spent in Bitburg with Peggy and Larry in the area 5 years ago. The years do go buy quickly.
Today we are in Ramstein Air Force Base. We arrive yesterday and met with John, Penny and Alysia who are living here now. We have known Penny since 1980 when stationed with her parents in Cheyenne, Wyoming. John had proposed to Penny in our backyard in Hawaii! They will soon be married 30 years! It was so nice to spend the day with all of them and catch up on the past years! We had lunch at a castle on top of the mountain in Landsthul with a great view.
We are staying at TLF on base here in Ramstein Air Force Base.
Tomorrow we will head to Prague...we think. We are discussing our route this afternoon.
~"I don't know where I'm going from here, but I promise it won't be boring"~ Anonymous ~
We send our love and our thoughts to you and are keeping all in prayer.
Please keep us in your prayer for safe travels.
God Bless,
Tom and Maryann
Wednesday, April 27, 2016
24 April 2016. Tipperary, Ireland
IT IS A LONG WAY TO TIPPERARY!!
This is a song that was written by Jack Judge who was a British music hall writer. AND on our journey from Scotland to Tipperary we have made many new memories. We stayed at a B&B near the port of Carynryan Scotland where we took the Stena Ferry to Belfast. The B &B used to be a Vicar's house over 200 years ago. We could see the church from the window in our room. Once again the staff were so welcoming and the food in the Pub was perfect....especially the Carmel Banana Split was enough for 4 but Tom and I managed to eat it all. The next morning we had our A wonderful breakfast...and a fun talk with the cook. The B&B was secluded in the country...in fact on our way there we came upon a large tractor on the back road so had to back up a fair distance to let the tractor pass as ..."it was bigger than our car"!!
The next morning we arrived at the Stena Ferry and were one of the first cars to board. The accomadations on the Ferry were great. Had comfortable seating with a buffet with cakes, fruits, breads, coffe, teas and anything else you might want to drink. Even though we had a large breakfast, we felt obliged to eat more!! There was even a theater on board and WIFI with computers that we could use. The trip took about 2.5 hours and then we were at the port just outside of Belfast. We had made reservations just outside of Belfast and found that George had made another great choice in booking. We settled in and then went to the Titantic Museum...did you know that the Titantic was build in Belfast? Really enjoyed the self guided tour. The next day we traveled to The Giant Causeway which is in Northern Island on the Atlantic Ocean. What wonderful views. We walked down the trail along the water and were amazed with the structure of the round and the vertical rocks that the ocean waves had formed over the years. OF course we took the shuttle bus back up to the visitor center. Then we drove thru some country roads to the "rope bridge". Tom and I walked down the path and enjoyed the views but did not attempt the steps to the bridge. Pat and George did take the walk and walked on the rope bridge that connected to an island that was used by the Salmon fisherman. Maryann saw a lady struggling when coming up the steps so offered assistance and made sure she was OK...then we offered to walk back to the visitors center with her. We then took a drive to Donegal though the country side. Saw lots of sheep and some cows and amazing country side. Once again we found ourselves on roads that were more like bicycle paths!! The next day we headed to County Mayo. On the way we stopped by the Marble Arch Caves. Marble Arch Caves is one of the finest caves in Europe. We were guided thru this fascinating natural underworld of rivers, waterfalls, winding passages and lofty chambers with beautiful cave formations. At the end we climbed 175 steps to come out at the top and beautiful green forest. We stopped at The Three Way Inn that was out in the country and had another great Irish lunch and best part was spending time talking with the owner. Our encounters with the people we meet and have conversation with are some of the best times on this adventure. Amazing the friendly people that we have had the pleasure to just chat with. We then traveled to Ballina which is in County Mayo where we met Mary and Pete at their granddaughter's pub "Katie's Corner". Mary and Pete are cousins of our friend Gerri Cass in Tucson. What fun it was to spend time with them in this typical Irish Pub. They were so welcoming and we had such a nice visit just getting to know them and of course ..the guys all had a "pint" of beer!!
We then headed to Dublin and found lodging in a little town on the way to Dublin. The next day we arrived in Dublin and were driving around as wanted to go to the Guinness Brewery but finally just left as the traffic was crazy.....so decided to drive down the coast to Dalkey. Beautiful beach town but were unable to find a place to stay and once again the traffic was crazy with narrow streets....so we moved on and arrived in a town called Cashel and found a lovely B&B on Main Street that overlooked The Rock Castle. The B&B was called Baileys and the staff were again outstanding. The Rock Castle had been a High Cross and Romanesque Chapel in the 12th Century , Gothic Chathedray in the 13th Century and 15th Century Castle. We walked around the town and up to the Rock of Cashel. We decided to stay in Cashel for 2 nights. Once again we had some Irish food in a local Pub. Where do we find these neat pubs, you might ask....well we either ask the very friendly staff at the front desk or of the places we stay or we just stop on the street and ask someone....and so far they have Always been very pleased to eat in these places that the locals frequent!!
Our next stop was Tipperary. We are staying at Ballykisteen B&B here. We booked a week here. We have been singing "It's a Long Way to Tipperary" a few times per day . AND George and I were singing the part that we knew at the tourist information center this morning and one of the girls gave us a copy so would have the correct words! We were singing "It is a long way to Tipperary , it is a long way to go"..(but could not remember the rest so ..Maryann added another line) "when you go from Sagninaw, Michigan"!! Now we can learn the correct words. Pat and Tom were not really excited about us practicing in the car when we are "on the road"!!
We are staying at a B&B that is also a golf club here in Tipperary Junction. So are able to enjoy the pool etc.
We visited the a delightful Swiss Cottage that was built by Richard Butler, the 1st Earl of Glengall in the 1800"s for family The Butler family lived in the Cahir Castle just down the road but used the Cottage to entertain friends or as a country house for outings for the day. Once again we were amazed at the country side and the small roads that we traveled. Tom continues to be an amazing driver with George in charge of the Garmen and occasionally taking a different route using a map!!
Pat and I do give input but it seems that mostly our voices do not carry to the front of the car!! Hmmm. We celebrated our one month traveling together and we are all still friends and seems that we are laughing more ...hmmm. Tom and I attended Mass at a beautiful Catholic Church near by.
Sunday we drove down to Blarney and walked up to the castle. Pat and George walked up into the tower of the castle and George kissed the Blarney Stone. Tom and I had done several years ago when we traveled to Ireland with our girls. Now Tom said George is definitely certified in talking Blarney!!
We also visited the Jameson Irish Whiskey Distillery in Middleton, Ireland. Really a fun tour of Tom's favorite whiskey.
Tom and George were selected to participate in being an official whiskey taster at the end of the end of the tour and received the coveted certificate for "achieving the envied status of official Jameson Irish Whiskey Taster! We also stopped to taste some great gelato in Blarney and stopped by the woolen mill near Blarney before we headed back to our B&B.
On to Galway was our next day's outing and went to the Clifts of Moher and took a boat to get up close to the Clifts. As ALWAYS, we had some fun discussing prices with a couple of Irish boat tour companies and were able to get a nice discount on the tour. It was a beautiful day on the Atlantic Ocean...were even able to be outside while on the water. The sun seems to come out when we are doing activities .. We then drove down the Wild Atlantic Way thru the small towns and even smaller roads...seems to be more cows than sheep in this area. On the way we stopped in Ennis and walked around and found a nice older lady going home from the grocery and she recommended a local pub for dinner. Once again the food was amazing. WHO NEEDS TRIPADVISOR when you have such friendly local residents that can help us!!
Yesterday we drove the Wild Atlantic Road to Dingle. On our way to Dingle we had to wait in "cow traffic". We came around a curve on another "one track road" and there was a dog herding about 30 or more cows down the road...what at scene!! We did not mind waiting. We followed slowly behind until the cows turned off to find that there were several cars waiting for the cows to go into their barns for milking. This is another reason to travel the back roads. We arrived in Dingle which is a quaint little fishing town in County Kerry and the only town on the Dingle Peninsula. It sits on the Atlantic Ocean Coast.The homes in the town are all colored bright colors and makes for a unique picture down by the waters. We stopped by Harrington's to have late lunch and were not disappointed with the fresh fish and chowder. AND once again able to spend time talking to the locals. After a nice walk about, we drove to Kilarney trough the mountains and once again were in AWE of the scenery . We walked around Kilarney and of course had ice cream /gelato before heading back to our Ballkisteen B&B where we have been staying.
Today was a day to spend here at Ballkisten and the town of Tipperary. We went for a walk this morning but started to sleet so came home and spent time in the pool.
I will try to add some pictures to FACEBOOK again as tried to do a few days ago and they did not go.
Just wish could capture the colors and the scenery on film but cannot capture the beauty of the country side or the fun times we have just talking to the local folks. Their friendliness is absolutely unbelievable ...whether on the road or in the hotels or in the pubs...always willing to talk and engage in conversation no matter what subject. We are getting a lot of comments about "what is going on with your American politics". Had an experience with ER medical care here in Ireland and was really was not a positive experience.
We have three more days here and then will leave for the port to take the Ferry to Wales and to spend a couple days in Bristol with friends before we leave to go to Dover to get the Ferry to Europe. We take the Ferry on 5 May to Calais France to head to Germany and beyond.
Have taken time to talk to people on the streets as we walk about...lots of travelers from the United States seem to be on tours here in Ireland. Everyone we meet whether on the streets, in stores or hotels continue to be so friendly and helpful with whatever we may need or with helping us find the best local eateries.
We are so blessed to have had such safe travels and to be able to travel with Pat and George. We know that St. Christopher and our guardian angels are with us everyday.
We are not always able to have WIFI or ability to FACETIME with our family but when we do it is so good to spend time with family via this IPAD. Love the time spent with the grand girls on line.
We are keeping you all in our daily prayer and thank you for your prayers for our safe travel. Please continue to keep Imogen in your prayers and all who have no one to pray for them.
Please check out Pat and George's Blog too at gpcannode.blogspot.com. Pat and George's Backyard for more details on our travels together.
We are certainly aware that you are praying for us in our daily travels..
Sending loves and hugs to each one of you.
God Bless,
Tom and Maryann
~~ "Remember that happiness is a way of travel, not a destination"~~
This is a song that was written by Jack Judge who was a British music hall writer. AND on our journey from Scotland to Tipperary we have made many new memories. We stayed at a B&B near the port of Carynryan Scotland where we took the Stena Ferry to Belfast. The B &B used to be a Vicar's house over 200 years ago. We could see the church from the window in our room. Once again the staff were so welcoming and the food in the Pub was perfect....especially the Carmel Banana Split was enough for 4 but Tom and I managed to eat it all. The next morning we had our A wonderful breakfast...and a fun talk with the cook. The B&B was secluded in the country...in fact on our way there we came upon a large tractor on the back road so had to back up a fair distance to let the tractor pass as ..."it was bigger than our car"!!
The next morning we arrived at the Stena Ferry and were one of the first cars to board. The accomadations on the Ferry were great. Had comfortable seating with a buffet with cakes, fruits, breads, coffe, teas and anything else you might want to drink. Even though we had a large breakfast, we felt obliged to eat more!! There was even a theater on board and WIFI with computers that we could use. The trip took about 2.5 hours and then we were at the port just outside of Belfast. We had made reservations just outside of Belfast and found that George had made another great choice in booking. We settled in and then went to the Titantic Museum...did you know that the Titantic was build in Belfast? Really enjoyed the self guided tour. The next day we traveled to The Giant Causeway which is in Northern Island on the Atlantic Ocean. What wonderful views. We walked down the trail along the water and were amazed with the structure of the round and the vertical rocks that the ocean waves had formed over the years. OF course we took the shuttle bus back up to the visitor center. Then we drove thru some country roads to the "rope bridge". Tom and I walked down the path and enjoyed the views but did not attempt the steps to the bridge. Pat and George did take the walk and walked on the rope bridge that connected to an island that was used by the Salmon fisherman. Maryann saw a lady struggling when coming up the steps so offered assistance and made sure she was OK...then we offered to walk back to the visitors center with her. We then took a drive to Donegal though the country side. Saw lots of sheep and some cows and amazing country side. Once again we found ourselves on roads that were more like bicycle paths!! The next day we headed to County Mayo. On the way we stopped by the Marble Arch Caves. Marble Arch Caves is one of the finest caves in Europe. We were guided thru this fascinating natural underworld of rivers, waterfalls, winding passages and lofty chambers with beautiful cave formations. At the end we climbed 175 steps to come out at the top and beautiful green forest. We stopped at The Three Way Inn that was out in the country and had another great Irish lunch and best part was spending time talking with the owner. Our encounters with the people we meet and have conversation with are some of the best times on this adventure. Amazing the friendly people that we have had the pleasure to just chat with. We then traveled to Ballina which is in County Mayo where we met Mary and Pete at their granddaughter's pub "Katie's Corner". Mary and Pete are cousins of our friend Gerri Cass in Tucson. What fun it was to spend time with them in this typical Irish Pub. They were so welcoming and we had such a nice visit just getting to know them and of course ..the guys all had a "pint" of beer!!
We then headed to Dublin and found lodging in a little town on the way to Dublin. The next day we arrived in Dublin and were driving around as wanted to go to the Guinness Brewery but finally just left as the traffic was crazy.....so decided to drive down the coast to Dalkey. Beautiful beach town but were unable to find a place to stay and once again the traffic was crazy with narrow streets....so we moved on and arrived in a town called Cashel and found a lovely B&B on Main Street that overlooked The Rock Castle. The B&B was called Baileys and the staff were again outstanding. The Rock Castle had been a High Cross and Romanesque Chapel in the 12th Century , Gothic Chathedray in the 13th Century and 15th Century Castle. We walked around the town and up to the Rock of Cashel. We decided to stay in Cashel for 2 nights. Once again we had some Irish food in a local Pub. Where do we find these neat pubs, you might ask....well we either ask the very friendly staff at the front desk or of the places we stay or we just stop on the street and ask someone....and so far they have Always been very pleased to eat in these places that the locals frequent!!
Our next stop was Tipperary. We are staying at Ballykisteen B&B here. We booked a week here. We have been singing "It's a Long Way to Tipperary" a few times per day . AND George and I were singing the part that we knew at the tourist information center this morning and one of the girls gave us a copy so would have the correct words! We were singing "It is a long way to Tipperary , it is a long way to go"..(but could not remember the rest so ..Maryann added another line) "when you go from Sagninaw, Michigan"!! Now we can learn the correct words. Pat and Tom were not really excited about us practicing in the car when we are "on the road"!!
We are staying at a B&B that is also a golf club here in Tipperary Junction. So are able to enjoy the pool etc.
We visited the a delightful Swiss Cottage that was built by Richard Butler, the 1st Earl of Glengall in the 1800"s for family The Butler family lived in the Cahir Castle just down the road but used the Cottage to entertain friends or as a country house for outings for the day. Once again we were amazed at the country side and the small roads that we traveled. Tom continues to be an amazing driver with George in charge of the Garmen and occasionally taking a different route using a map!!
Pat and I do give input but it seems that mostly our voices do not carry to the front of the car!! Hmmm. We celebrated our one month traveling together and we are all still friends and seems that we are laughing more ...hmmm. Tom and I attended Mass at a beautiful Catholic Church near by.
Sunday we drove down to Blarney and walked up to the castle. Pat and George walked up into the tower of the castle and George kissed the Blarney Stone. Tom and I had done several years ago when we traveled to Ireland with our girls. Now Tom said George is definitely certified in talking Blarney!!
We also visited the Jameson Irish Whiskey Distillery in Middleton, Ireland. Really a fun tour of Tom's favorite whiskey.
Tom and George were selected to participate in being an official whiskey taster at the end of the end of the tour and received the coveted certificate for "achieving the envied status of official Jameson Irish Whiskey Taster! We also stopped to taste some great gelato in Blarney and stopped by the woolen mill near Blarney before we headed back to our B&B.
On to Galway was our next day's outing and went to the Clifts of Moher and took a boat to get up close to the Clifts. As ALWAYS, we had some fun discussing prices with a couple of Irish boat tour companies and were able to get a nice discount on the tour. It was a beautiful day on the Atlantic Ocean...were even able to be outside while on the water. The sun seems to come out when we are doing activities .. We then drove down the Wild Atlantic Way thru the small towns and even smaller roads...seems to be more cows than sheep in this area. On the way we stopped in Ennis and walked around and found a nice older lady going home from the grocery and she recommended a local pub for dinner. Once again the food was amazing. WHO NEEDS TRIPADVISOR when you have such friendly local residents that can help us!!
Yesterday we drove the Wild Atlantic Road to Dingle. On our way to Dingle we had to wait in "cow traffic". We came around a curve on another "one track road" and there was a dog herding about 30 or more cows down the road...what at scene!! We did not mind waiting. We followed slowly behind until the cows turned off to find that there were several cars waiting for the cows to go into their barns for milking. This is another reason to travel the back roads. We arrived in Dingle which is a quaint little fishing town in County Kerry and the only town on the Dingle Peninsula. It sits on the Atlantic Ocean Coast.The homes in the town are all colored bright colors and makes for a unique picture down by the waters. We stopped by Harrington's to have late lunch and were not disappointed with the fresh fish and chowder. AND once again able to spend time talking to the locals. After a nice walk about, we drove to Kilarney trough the mountains and once again were in AWE of the scenery . We walked around Kilarney and of course had ice cream /gelato before heading back to our Ballkisteen B&B where we have been staying.
Today was a day to spend here at Ballkisten and the town of Tipperary. We went for a walk this morning but started to sleet so came home and spent time in the pool.
I will try to add some pictures to FACEBOOK again as tried to do a few days ago and they did not go.
Just wish could capture the colors and the scenery on film but cannot capture the beauty of the country side or the fun times we have just talking to the local folks. Their friendliness is absolutely unbelievable ...whether on the road or in the hotels or in the pubs...always willing to talk and engage in conversation no matter what subject. We are getting a lot of comments about "what is going on with your American politics". Had an experience with ER medical care here in Ireland and was really was not a positive experience.
We have three more days here and then will leave for the port to take the Ferry to Wales and to spend a couple days in Bristol with friends before we leave to go to Dover to get the Ferry to Europe. We take the Ferry on 5 May to Calais France to head to Germany and beyond.
Have taken time to talk to people on the streets as we walk about...lots of travelers from the United States seem to be on tours here in Ireland. Everyone we meet whether on the streets, in stores or hotels continue to be so friendly and helpful with whatever we may need or with helping us find the best local eateries.
We are so blessed to have had such safe travels and to be able to travel with Pat and George. We know that St. Christopher and our guardian angels are with us everyday.
We are not always able to have WIFI or ability to FACETIME with our family but when we do it is so good to spend time with family via this IPAD. Love the time spent with the grand girls on line.
We are keeping you all in our daily prayer and thank you for your prayers for our safe travel. Please continue to keep Imogen in your prayers and all who have no one to pray for them.
Please check out Pat and George's Blog too at gpcannode.blogspot.com. Pat and George's Backyard for more details on our travels together.
We are certainly aware that you are praying for us in our daily travels..
Sending loves and hugs to each one of you.
God Bless,
Tom and Maryann
~~ "Remember that happiness is a way of travel, not a destination"~~
Saturday, April 16, 2016
16 April 2016. St. Augustus Abbey , Scotland
Hello all,
We are now blessed to be in St. Augustus Abbey, Scotland for a few days. The Abbey is on the shores of Lock Ness. We may have seen Nessie but cannot be sure as Nessie swims very rapidly and mostly underwater. St. Benedict's Abbey used to be a fort that was constructed on the Lock Ness between 1729 and 1742 during the uprising of 1745. In 1867 the Estate was leased to the Benedictine Order of Monks and they converted it from a fort to this Gothic Abbey. In future years a church was built and also Gothic cloisters and a lawn. It was used as a school until 1993 and the monks taught in the school. It is now home vacation cottages and apartments. The walls were falling down so had to rebuild some of the walls. We are renting a two bedroom apartment in one of the newer areas connected to the Abbey. We have access to a pool, outdoor chess board, activity room with a huge pool table and reading area. The pool is located where the old Abbey Chapel used to be in the Abbey. Our apartment looks out upon a nice green lawn and just a short walk from Lock Ness. We took a walk this morning. Before we returned from our walk along the lock, we had rain, sleet and snow within a 10 minute time span. We had a relaxing time in the pool and sauna area this morning and then returned to our apartment and made a nice breakfast before we drove along Lockness to Inverness . We stopped at the ruins of an old castle on the bank for Lock Ness and then spent some time in Inverness before we took the scenic "track" road back to Fort Augustus. On the way back we saw about 20 or 30+ Red Deer fairly close to the road.
Had a very nice dinner at the Boathouse here on the Abbey property while we looked at the beautiful mountains and waters of LockNess.
Now to tell you about our trip here from Lakenheath. We stopped and walked about a town called HOPE and then traveled over the mountains to Lancaster. We stopped in Lancaster on our way north as Pat had traced her relatives back to that area. The Lancaster Golf and Country Club which used to be Ashton Hall where Pat's relatives were traced back to. We were just in luck as met a gentleman who was just finishing his golf game so took us into the private club and we were able to walk about the inside of Ashton Hall. ( please see George's blog) for more information. We were looking for a place to eat in Lancaster and found a man named Richard who was walking down the street and he walked with us several blocks and took us to this neat restaurant called the Merchant that was build in an old wine cellar. We then headed toward Edinburgh Castle and spent the night on the way. Walked around Edinburg and had a nice breakfast in one of their pubs that was recommended to us
by Norin, a person we just stopped on the street AGAIN and asked about a place. He walked with us several blocks to take us to the correct area. It seems that everyone that we meet and ask questions is just so glad to walk with us even if out of their way to show us where to go. He also told us about THE ELEPHANT HOUSE where J. K. Rollins would sit in the second floor and write her Harry Potter books. SO of course we visited the Elephant House Cafe. We left Edinburgh and went to St. Andrews Golf Course...where golf began in the 1800's. Then we headed to Oban where we had reservations at a B&B. SO...we drove from the East Coast of Ireland to the West Coast in about 3+ hours. When we arrived at Grove House, we were greeted by Billie who was a gem. Bille showed us our room and brought wine and warm towels to refresh ourselves. Then told us where we could get a good local meal. The Grove House was immaculate and the rooms were all decorated with beautiful linens, fresh flowers and lovely sitting rooms. Our room had some pink color so even our hairdryer was pink!! We also had some homemade candies with water in our room. What a cozy room. Billie wrote down the information that we would need to catch the ferry in the morning and other information that would help us discover the Island of Mull. The next morning , Karen, the owner made us a delicious fresh breakfast and there was a cereal and fruit and smoothie bar that was amazing. Karen even had fried Tomatoes just like Nannie Kit would make us when we visited with her in London when we were stationed in Germany and would go to London to see Nannie Kit! Karen was also just so welcoming and full of knowledge about the area. We had a nice ferry ride to Mull and took the scenic routes about the island...(the roads were like bicycle paths). Saw beautiful countryside and many more sheep and the Highland long haired cows. We did not make it to the ferry to got to Iona Island, we had missed the ferry and would not be able to make it back in time to catch our ferry back to Oban so we took another scenic route back to the ferry and returned to Oban on an earlier ferry. Billie recommended another local place for dinner and it was such great local food. We were having our dinner and Karen and her husband came in and so we chatted for abit.
Imagine being at a restaurant in Oban and meeting someone we knew!! Another wonderful breakfast was made for us by Karen the next morning and we also found out that Billie sang so with lots of encouragement , Billie sang for us and the other guest at our breakfast table. Brought tears to our eyes as her voice was just so beautiful. Encouraged her to go on "England's got Talent"!! We hope to see Billie and Karen in Tucson when they come to visit America. We felt so at home that we could have stayed at Grove House for several more days.
We left to travel to Fort Williams which was about an hour up the road on our way to Fort Augustus. We had stopped at Glenco as were going to take the scenic route north. We were on the road from Glenco amazed at all the beautiful mountains and water falls when we were going to pull into a roadside parking to take pictures when all at once we were sitting on the side of the road wondering what happened. The van had decided that we were sighseeing so he was going to go around us in a "no passing" zone and hit us which sent us to the oncoming traffic lane and he went and ended up on the guard rail. Tom desperately worked to keep control of the car as he lost the breaks as the car just shut off. We certainly had St. Christopher and our guardian angels with us. The drivers door and back door were smashed in and Tom's window shattered and there was glass all over the car. It also looked like the frame may have been bent. We were just blessed that there were no cars coming around the corner when we went into the oncoming lane. The police were amazing and helped us by calling the tow truck and ambulance to check us out. They also helped Tom call our insurance. The other driver was not injured either thank goodness. The police sited the other driver for reckless driving. The tow truck driver and the staff at the office helped us get a taxi to take us to our hotel. The taxi driver also said he would drive us to Inverness the next day to pick up another car. Maim who was the taxi driver was so nice and he is also a tour guide and shared with us that he was the driver for "the crew of the Harry Potter" when they filmed in the area. He was the personal driver for the producers. We told him about Molly liking Harry Potter so the next day he brought us a film schedule and signed it so we can give it to Molly. We were so blessed to not have been injured except for muscle aches. We thank you all for all the travel prayers as know that helped keep us safe , the Lord looking out for us and also Tom's awesome driving to try to keep control to keep us safe. We picked up another car in Inverness on Thursday and drove back here to the Abbey.
Today, we drove back down to Glenco and finished taking the drive we were taking when we were hit.
Today we had another nice dinner at a local pub that was recommended to us...and once again we were not disappointed.
Tomorrow we will leave the Abbey early in the morning and go south again to Cairnryan to catch the Ferry to Belfast, Northern Ireland. We will spend the night near the port tomorrow night as will be leaving to go to Belfast at 1130.
We are keeping you all at home in our daily prayer and thank you for keeping us in prayer as we know that prayer keeps us safe. Still have to have George show me how to do the pictures on my blog as Alaister helped him.
We were able to FACETIME with the grand girls today....always makes our day.
We continue to laugh a lot as we continue our adventures. We do realize that our pictures cannot do the scenery we are seeing justice but we will continue to keep trying to get the best photos we can.
We are also still continuing our adventure of figuring out how to use the various showers and washer/dryers in the places we stay.
We are so glad that we decided to stay here at the Abbey for a few days...certainly a piece of history looking about the halls, grounds and the grave yard along with each having Lock Ness just across the yard.
LORD, CONTINUE TO KEEP US SAFE ALL THE WAY THERE AND BACK HOME AGAIN. AMEN ~Unknown author~
Sending our love and hugs,
God Bless,
Tom and Maryann
We are now blessed to be in St. Augustus Abbey, Scotland for a few days. The Abbey is on the shores of Lock Ness. We may have seen Nessie but cannot be sure as Nessie swims very rapidly and mostly underwater. St. Benedict's Abbey used to be a fort that was constructed on the Lock Ness between 1729 and 1742 during the uprising of 1745. In 1867 the Estate was leased to the Benedictine Order of Monks and they converted it from a fort to this Gothic Abbey. In future years a church was built and also Gothic cloisters and a lawn. It was used as a school until 1993 and the monks taught in the school. It is now home vacation cottages and apartments. The walls were falling down so had to rebuild some of the walls. We are renting a two bedroom apartment in one of the newer areas connected to the Abbey. We have access to a pool, outdoor chess board, activity room with a huge pool table and reading area. The pool is located where the old Abbey Chapel used to be in the Abbey. Our apartment looks out upon a nice green lawn and just a short walk from Lock Ness. We took a walk this morning. Before we returned from our walk along the lock, we had rain, sleet and snow within a 10 minute time span. We had a relaxing time in the pool and sauna area this morning and then returned to our apartment and made a nice breakfast before we drove along Lockness to Inverness . We stopped at the ruins of an old castle on the bank for Lock Ness and then spent some time in Inverness before we took the scenic "track" road back to Fort Augustus. On the way back we saw about 20 or 30+ Red Deer fairly close to the road.
Had a very nice dinner at the Boathouse here on the Abbey property while we looked at the beautiful mountains and waters of LockNess.
Now to tell you about our trip here from Lakenheath. We stopped and walked about a town called HOPE and then traveled over the mountains to Lancaster. We stopped in Lancaster on our way north as Pat had traced her relatives back to that area. The Lancaster Golf and Country Club which used to be Ashton Hall where Pat's relatives were traced back to. We were just in luck as met a gentleman who was just finishing his golf game so took us into the private club and we were able to walk about the inside of Ashton Hall. ( please see George's blog) for more information. We were looking for a place to eat in Lancaster and found a man named Richard who was walking down the street and he walked with us several blocks and took us to this neat restaurant called the Merchant that was build in an old wine cellar. We then headed toward Edinburgh Castle and spent the night on the way. Walked around Edinburg and had a nice breakfast in one of their pubs that was recommended to us
by Norin, a person we just stopped on the street AGAIN and asked about a place. He walked with us several blocks to take us to the correct area. It seems that everyone that we meet and ask questions is just so glad to walk with us even if out of their way to show us where to go. He also told us about THE ELEPHANT HOUSE where J. K. Rollins would sit in the second floor and write her Harry Potter books. SO of course we visited the Elephant House Cafe. We left Edinburgh and went to St. Andrews Golf Course...where golf began in the 1800's. Then we headed to Oban where we had reservations at a B&B. SO...we drove from the East Coast of Ireland to the West Coast in about 3+ hours. When we arrived at Grove House, we were greeted by Billie who was a gem. Bille showed us our room and brought wine and warm towels to refresh ourselves. Then told us where we could get a good local meal. The Grove House was immaculate and the rooms were all decorated with beautiful linens, fresh flowers and lovely sitting rooms. Our room had some pink color so even our hairdryer was pink!! We also had some homemade candies with water in our room. What a cozy room. Billie wrote down the information that we would need to catch the ferry in the morning and other information that would help us discover the Island of Mull. The next morning , Karen, the owner made us a delicious fresh breakfast and there was a cereal and fruit and smoothie bar that was amazing. Karen even had fried Tomatoes just like Nannie Kit would make us when we visited with her in London when we were stationed in Germany and would go to London to see Nannie Kit! Karen was also just so welcoming and full of knowledge about the area. We had a nice ferry ride to Mull and took the scenic routes about the island...(the roads were like bicycle paths). Saw beautiful countryside and many more sheep and the Highland long haired cows. We did not make it to the ferry to got to Iona Island, we had missed the ferry and would not be able to make it back in time to catch our ferry back to Oban so we took another scenic route back to the ferry and returned to Oban on an earlier ferry. Billie recommended another local place for dinner and it was such great local food. We were having our dinner and Karen and her husband came in and so we chatted for abit.
Imagine being at a restaurant in Oban and meeting someone we knew!! Another wonderful breakfast was made for us by Karen the next morning and we also found out that Billie sang so with lots of encouragement , Billie sang for us and the other guest at our breakfast table. Brought tears to our eyes as her voice was just so beautiful. Encouraged her to go on "England's got Talent"!! We hope to see Billie and Karen in Tucson when they come to visit America. We felt so at home that we could have stayed at Grove House for several more days.
We left to travel to Fort Williams which was about an hour up the road on our way to Fort Augustus. We had stopped at Glenco as were going to take the scenic route north. We were on the road from Glenco amazed at all the beautiful mountains and water falls when we were going to pull into a roadside parking to take pictures when all at once we were sitting on the side of the road wondering what happened. The van had decided that we were sighseeing so he was going to go around us in a "no passing" zone and hit us which sent us to the oncoming traffic lane and he went and ended up on the guard rail. Tom desperately worked to keep control of the car as he lost the breaks as the car just shut off. We certainly had St. Christopher and our guardian angels with us. The drivers door and back door were smashed in and Tom's window shattered and there was glass all over the car. It also looked like the frame may have been bent. We were just blessed that there were no cars coming around the corner when we went into the oncoming lane. The police were amazing and helped us by calling the tow truck and ambulance to check us out. They also helped Tom call our insurance. The other driver was not injured either thank goodness. The police sited the other driver for reckless driving. The tow truck driver and the staff at the office helped us get a taxi to take us to our hotel. The taxi driver also said he would drive us to Inverness the next day to pick up another car. Maim who was the taxi driver was so nice and he is also a tour guide and shared with us that he was the driver for "the crew of the Harry Potter" when they filmed in the area. He was the personal driver for the producers. We told him about Molly liking Harry Potter so the next day he brought us a film schedule and signed it so we can give it to Molly. We were so blessed to not have been injured except for muscle aches. We thank you all for all the travel prayers as know that helped keep us safe , the Lord looking out for us and also Tom's awesome driving to try to keep control to keep us safe. We picked up another car in Inverness on Thursday and drove back here to the Abbey.
Today, we drove back down to Glenco and finished taking the drive we were taking when we were hit.
Today we had another nice dinner at a local pub that was recommended to us...and once again we were not disappointed.
Tomorrow we will leave the Abbey early in the morning and go south again to Cairnryan to catch the Ferry to Belfast, Northern Ireland. We will spend the night near the port tomorrow night as will be leaving to go to Belfast at 1130.
We are keeping you all at home in our daily prayer and thank you for keeping us in prayer as we know that prayer keeps us safe. Still have to have George show me how to do the pictures on my blog as Alaister helped him.
We were able to FACETIME with the grand girls today....always makes our day.
We continue to laugh a lot as we continue our adventures. We do realize that our pictures cannot do the scenery we are seeing justice but we will continue to keep trying to get the best photos we can.
We are also still continuing our adventure of figuring out how to use the various showers and washer/dryers in the places we stay.
We are so glad that we decided to stay here at the Abbey for a few days...certainly a piece of history looking about the halls, grounds and the grave yard along with each having Lock Ness just across the yard.
LORD, CONTINUE TO KEEP US SAFE ALL THE WAY THERE AND BACK HOME AGAIN. AMEN ~Unknown author~
Sending our love and hugs,
God Bless,
Tom and Maryann
Saturday, April 9, 2016
8 April 2016. Lakenheath
Hi from RAF Lakenheath.
We left our comfortable home at Kate's Cottage yesterday and arrived here at Lakenheath about 3 hours later. If you or anyone you know are going to be traveling to Cotswalds, Nicola who owns Kate's Cottage and is renovating several old building next door is very accomadating and would give them a 10+ rating... The new ones in the old buildings will also have American Washer and Dryers! We seemed to have some issues with the English washer and dryers and they are very small. The area is just couple blocks off the town square in Stow-on-the-Wold. And From our dining area and living area, we could look out and see a nice country field. We feel like we have a friend in Stow now. Already miss the stone fences and small rural area with all the beautiful little cottages...sheep and lambs all over the green countryside. BUT now we are seeing a different kind of beauty here in Lakenheath.
Before we left, we visited Twekesbury Abbey which was built from 1102 to 1121 to house the Benedictine monks. It was a huge Abbey and the grounds and the inside were amazing. We are traveling with Flat Kirsten so are having fun with her and taking pictures to send back to our "regular" Kitsten!!!
We are now seeing a different kind of beauty here in Lakenheath and this part of East Anglia which is East of England which borders the North Sea to the north and east. In fact yesterday we spent the day driving to Cromer and walking about the town and down around the beach. When we left Lakenheath the sky was cloudy and looked like rain but when we arrived at Cromer Beach, the sky was blue and the sun was out. We had a lovely walk around this neat little town with old style buildings. Cromer is know as the "gem of the Norfolk Coast". Even though the sun was out it was only about 50 degrees so we were amazed to see how many little ones were playing in the ocean waves. We even visited the Henry Blogg Lifeboats Museum down on the wharf. It was quite interesting. As we walked the pier, we saw several people fishing for crabs. We found a nice little restaurant for lunch that was on the second story overlooking the North Sea and had a lovely lunch..of course had to have crabcakes from the local area. Tom then drove us to Great Yarmouth which is another beach town but we were not impressed. Enjoyed Cromer much more. Great Yarmouth was very commercialized and we are now beyond the age of enjoying a carnival atmosphere. Although the beach seemed very nice.
This area of East Anglia is mostly flatlands. We see lands separated by green hedges and trees planted that seem to section off properties vs. the flat stone fences . We are seeing lots of fields planted with what looks like yellow flowers but it is "oilseed rape". I researched this and it seems that they can get more for this crop than vegetables etc. As the oilseed is being used in mayonnaise, margarine, salads and has low saturated fat and high in omega-3 and some even claim it is better than sunflower oil so brings a better price. (Rapeseed is one particular type of canola) We also saw a lot of this planted when we traveled throughout Canada several years ago.
We are just enjoying our days with Pat and George. Still lots of laughing. It seems odd to be staying in two different rooms since we shared the cottage for 2 weeks!! Today it is raining out . We went in town and had a nice breakfast this morning. Our plans for tomorrow are to head north to Hope and Lancaster , England before we head to Scotland. Pat and George do geniology and some of Pat's family came from Lancaster, England.
Maryann was seen again at the base for her stomach and started on a new medication. She is able to eat more in the last couple of days. We continue to follow our plan for what we are going to do on our adventure...maybe we should have added another month!!!! Tom is still doing great driving ...only had two episodes the entire trip when we noticed that we were not on the correct side of the road and wondered why a car was coming directly towards us. Of course on most of the roads , we have been traveling...they are one track roads so if another car is coming...must find a pull out or back up to proceed. George is still doing great monitoring the Garmen. Pat and I are still monitoring all from the back and give input as we feel needed.
We want to let you all know that we love and miss you and keep you all in our daily prayers.
Our friend's daughter Imogen is having a better day but still needs prayers as she proceeds with her chemo treatments.
"AS WITH ANY JOURNEY, WHO YOU TRAVEL WITH CAN BE MORE IMPORTANT THAN YOUR DESTINATION". ~~Unknown
And Tom and I have always found this such a truth!!! Thank you Pat and George for taking this adventure with us.
George has been able to post pictures with the help of Alaistair so can check his blog at gpcannode.blogspot.com
Love and hugs.
Tom and Maryann
We left our comfortable home at Kate's Cottage yesterday and arrived here at Lakenheath about 3 hours later. If you or anyone you know are going to be traveling to Cotswalds, Nicola who owns Kate's Cottage and is renovating several old building next door is very accomadating and would give them a 10+ rating... The new ones in the old buildings will also have American Washer and Dryers! We seemed to have some issues with the English washer and dryers and they are very small. The area is just couple blocks off the town square in Stow-on-the-Wold. And From our dining area and living area, we could look out and see a nice country field. We feel like we have a friend in Stow now. Already miss the stone fences and small rural area with all the beautiful little cottages...sheep and lambs all over the green countryside. BUT now we are seeing a different kind of beauty here in Lakenheath.
Before we left, we visited Twekesbury Abbey which was built from 1102 to 1121 to house the Benedictine monks. It was a huge Abbey and the grounds and the inside were amazing. We are traveling with Flat Kirsten so are having fun with her and taking pictures to send back to our "regular" Kitsten!!!
We are now seeing a different kind of beauty here in Lakenheath and this part of East Anglia which is East of England which borders the North Sea to the north and east. In fact yesterday we spent the day driving to Cromer and walking about the town and down around the beach. When we left Lakenheath the sky was cloudy and looked like rain but when we arrived at Cromer Beach, the sky was blue and the sun was out. We had a lovely walk around this neat little town with old style buildings. Cromer is know as the "gem of the Norfolk Coast". Even though the sun was out it was only about 50 degrees so we were amazed to see how many little ones were playing in the ocean waves. We even visited the Henry Blogg Lifeboats Museum down on the wharf. It was quite interesting. As we walked the pier, we saw several people fishing for crabs. We found a nice little restaurant for lunch that was on the second story overlooking the North Sea and had a lovely lunch..of course had to have crabcakes from the local area. Tom then drove us to Great Yarmouth which is another beach town but we were not impressed. Enjoyed Cromer much more. Great Yarmouth was very commercialized and we are now beyond the age of enjoying a carnival atmosphere. Although the beach seemed very nice.
This area of East Anglia is mostly flatlands. We see lands separated by green hedges and trees planted that seem to section off properties vs. the flat stone fences . We are seeing lots of fields planted with what looks like yellow flowers but it is "oilseed rape". I researched this and it seems that they can get more for this crop than vegetables etc. As the oilseed is being used in mayonnaise, margarine, salads and has low saturated fat and high in omega-3 and some even claim it is better than sunflower oil so brings a better price. (Rapeseed is one particular type of canola) We also saw a lot of this planted when we traveled throughout Canada several years ago.
We are just enjoying our days with Pat and George. Still lots of laughing. It seems odd to be staying in two different rooms since we shared the cottage for 2 weeks!! Today it is raining out . We went in town and had a nice breakfast this morning. Our plans for tomorrow are to head north to Hope and Lancaster , England before we head to Scotland. Pat and George do geniology and some of Pat's family came from Lancaster, England.
Maryann was seen again at the base for her stomach and started on a new medication. She is able to eat more in the last couple of days. We continue to follow our plan for what we are going to do on our adventure...maybe we should have added another month!!!! Tom is still doing great driving ...only had two episodes the entire trip when we noticed that we were not on the correct side of the road and wondered why a car was coming directly towards us. Of course on most of the roads , we have been traveling...they are one track roads so if another car is coming...must find a pull out or back up to proceed. George is still doing great monitoring the Garmen. Pat and I are still monitoring all from the back and give input as we feel needed.
We want to let you all know that we love and miss you and keep you all in our daily prayers.
Our friend's daughter Imogen is having a better day but still needs prayers as she proceeds with her chemo treatments.
"AS WITH ANY JOURNEY, WHO YOU TRAVEL WITH CAN BE MORE IMPORTANT THAN YOUR DESTINATION". ~~Unknown
And Tom and I have always found this such a truth!!! Thank you Pat and George for taking this adventure with us.
George has been able to post pictures with the help of Alaistair so can check his blog at gpcannode.blogspot.com
Love and hugs.
Tom and Maryann
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