London: Walking in Marylebone

Saturday, 25 August, 2012 by Beachbums1

I love walking around London which is a good thing since we don’t have a car! Each evening after dinner, John and I head out for a walk around our new neighborhood, Marylebone.  I avoid Marylebone-High street and head over to the lesser walked streets. Don’t get me wrong, the High street is great for shops, pubs, restaurants and people watching but there’s so much history around every corner.  I like exploring new streets and alleys.

Each of the mansions/big houses had a mews behind them to house the horses.  Those mews have been transformed into flats and are super cute places to live.  We looked at a couple of them for us to rent during our year here but they were a little too cozy for us. Didn’t think our American sized sofa and love seat would fit up the stairs.  Here’s a mews behind the very large St James Catholic Church (we went to mass there last Sunday):

On my wandering, I came across The Wallace Collection ~ just the building looks fabulous to me and there’s no entrance fee!  Have marked that down as a London Must Do.

Throughout London, there are signs on the houses stating if someone famous lived there.  I’ve started taking photos of the signs so I can look up the names and see what their contributions were.  Hopefully it doesn’t creep out the owners of the house when I’m snapping photos up close.

On a morning walk, I stumbled onto the “Devonshire Arms” pub established in 1793.

I had no idea Ghost has been made into a musical. Not sure if I would go see it but it does look romantic:

These homes across from the Regent’s Park entrance are so beautiful and what I consider quintessential London:

For this evening’s walk, I’m dragging John and Logan on a “Ghost Walk” near St Paul’s Cathedral.  It’ll be dark, rainy and maybe there will even be a bit of fog rolling in…

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London: Our First Week

Monday, 20 August, 2012 by Beachbums1

After a smooth British Airways redeye flight, we arrived in London at 7 am.  Not being one to sleep on a plane, I was very thankful our temporary 2 bedroom/2 bedroom flat was ready for us! The flat is equipped with cable TV, telephone with free calls to the states, kitchen, washer/dryer combo and housekeeping services twice a week.  The location is great ~ right on Baker Street, only two blocks to Regents Park, close to the Baker Street tube station as well as bus stops.

It’s exciting to be living in Europe again.  I prefer to embrace the differences rather than attempt to compare or refer back to how things would be in the states.  I don’t even bother converting the celsius ~ I know 30 is HOT, 20-24 is pleasant and 0 is freezing.  The only item I haven’t found and am missing, is tofu. I’ll start an earnest quest today.

Speaking of food, I was pleased with the Marylebone Farmers Market ( Sundays 10-2).  Found all sorts of yummy items and almost all the fruits and vegetables sold there are organic.  It’ll definitely be a weekly stop after church.

 

Our first order of business when we arrived was to tour several flats which were available for rent.  At first, we were only interested in 3 bedrooms so we’d have a room for guests but the third room would barely fit a twin bed so it wasn’t going to work for a guest room anyway.  We decided to let a beautiful two bedroom.  Logan has agreed her room will be the guest bedroom when the need arises.  It’s a very private room with its own bathroom.  Perfect for a teenager!  The best part about our new flat ~ location, location, location!  Here’s a photo of the reception room (living room), notice the current tenant’s drying rack. Seems that’s the method of drying clothes since the mini dryers here take forever.  Took us almost 4 hours to do one load of wash the other night.

Being close to Regents Park has a lot of advantages. It’s a great running/walking route for John and I. There’s also an off lease area for Maya ~ not that she’s a dog I’d let off leash very often but maybe early in the morning when no one else is out yet.  And we stumbled onto a Tennis Centre with 12 courts.  No membership required and there are programs for adults/kids/beginners and more experienced players.  It’s only a 10 minute walk from our new flat.  We signed Logan up for the week-long tennis camp. She’ll be there daily from 10 -3 and seemed happy when we dropped her off this morning.  As we were shooed away, we noticed she’d already met another British girl her age.  New friends ~ very exciting.

When we aren’t doing things to get settled, we’re out exploring the city. The tube is so easy to use here in London so we hop on it more often than taking the bus.  Yesterday, we explored the Westminster area: The london eye, Big Ben, Thames River, Millenium Bridge, Trafalgar Square, etc

Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Thames River

John crossing the Millenium Bridge

The Thames River

Big Ben and the River Thames

The London Eye

Big Ben

Her Majesty’s Theater

London Film Museum

Paddington Gardens ~ used to be a church graveyard. Over 80,000 buried in the park.

So much more to see…

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Hawaii: Oahu Top Five

Friday, 17 August, 2012 by Beachbums1

After a vacation, it’s tradition that we list our top 5 things about the trip. We went to Oahu for a quick three-day trip and here’s our Oahu top five:

1) Snorkeling at Shark’s Cove on the North Shore. The ocean is calm in the summer and we got to the cove early enough to get a prime spot on the beach. The snorkeling was fun and being back in the pacific ocean felt fabulous.

2) Spending time with our friends, The Karamaths and The Petersons. Always great to see Army family again.

   Heather, CJ and Hayden

 Jake, Shelley and Hoss

3) Parasailing with Hawaiian Parasail Inc ($62 per person and $30 for their photos) in Waikiki:

4) Paddleboarding in Haleiwa, lots of turtles in the river/bay:

5) Driving along the North Shore ~ checking out all the beaches such as Sunset and Waimea Bay. For a few days, I was no longer a Displaced Beachbum. I will never tire of being on a beautiful beach!

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At Least They Speak English…

Wednesday, 15 August, 2012 by Beachbums1

We love hearing the British accent everywhere.  I once googled information on an excel formula and the guy on the video tutorial had a British accent ~ I kept listening long after learned what formula I needed to use.

When we told people we were moving to London, the number one comment we got was “I love London, it’s so much fun.”  The second most common comment was “At least they speak English there.”  Regardless of the common language, there’s enough difference and I still don’t understand sometimes what’s being said.  But then again, I usually put on the subtitles when watching British movies.

I was expecting not to understand sometimes but I wasn’t expecting the Brits NOT to understand US! To me, the American accent is so flat and clear (no mesmerizing cadence like the lovely British accent)   John said “York Mansions” to the driver yesterday and the driver had no idea what John was saying.  John’s York didn’t have enough emphasis on the O.

But it’s only been 24 hours since we arrived and, I’m sure within a fortnight, we’ll be doing fine with how to pronounce specific words.

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Space Available

Tuesday, 7 August, 2012 by Beachbums1

During our current PCS (permanent change of station), John had more leave time than we had money so we decided to attempt a Space A vacation.  For those of you not familiar with Space A, The United States Air Force offers Space-Available (Space A) travel as a benefit to all active duty, dependents (with restrictions) and retired Uniformed Services members. There are different categories during travel depending on the circumstances.  For example, Cat 1 (highest category) would be for those on Emergency leave ~ they get picked first.  Rank does NOT factor into  category or selection.  To find your category, check the link below.

Space Available travel is a great benefit for Military families if you have a lot of leave time (something like block leave), are flexible, are willing to be patient while waiting for flights and would like to save a lot of money on airline tickets. It’s not for the faint of heart.  Ideally, you’ll have a place to stay with friends or family because making hotel reservations in advance is not an option.

In the 17 years I’ve been an Army wife, I’ve used Space A twice.  The first time, it was just Logan and I taking a hop from Germany to the states to visit with my mom.  It was in January 2002 and so easy to get on the flights because most kids were in school. The aircraft was a charter so it was just like flying commercial.  It’s much harder to catch a flight when schools are out whether it be for summer vacation,Christmas, New Years or Spring break.

A lot of the passenger terminals are on Facebook and update their flight status at least twice daily.  It’s also important to CALL and speak with an actual person at the desk for the absolute most updated info.  For example: we were planning to travel from Hickam AFB, Hawaii to Travis AFB, California. Unfortunately, even though there were four flights scheduled and we were very optimistic we would make it to Travis that day,  all four flights were cancelled and we ended up spending the day on the North Shore at the beach, paddle boarding.

Not only do you need to be flexible, have a backup plan. John has a  PACE plan which stands for Primary, Alternate, Contingency and Emergency plans.  Thankfully, we only made it to alternate plans or as I call it, Plan B.  I can’t thank our friend, Heather, enough for welcoming us to her home in Oahu.  When we landed in Hawaii there was a huge military exercise going on so there were no hotel rooms or rental cars available. We finally found a rental car after a long search.

Here’s a link for the FAQs re: Space A  http://www.military.com/Travel/Content1/0%2C%2CSAF_faq%2C00.html

Lessons Learned from our Space A adventure:

  • Things change frequently ~ check the facebook updates, call directly or hang out in the terminal. Sometimes unlisted flights go out and allow space A folks to hop on.
  • All the aircrafts we were on (C5, C17 and a KC10) were COLD and loud. Be sure to wear lots of layers.  I’m talking ski hat and gloves wouldn’t be inappropriate :).  Ear plugs are a must.  On most flights, the crew will pass out ear plugs but take your own just in case.
  • You must wear close toe shoes.
  • Luggage weight can’t exceed 2 bags and 70 pounds (less on smaller planes). Pack light!
  • Buy the in flight meals for about $5.00 ~ they’re substantial. Our meals included a sandwich, chips, fruit, soda, water and granola bar.
  • Be flexible ~ we got “stuck” in Travis AFB, CA but really enjoyed visiting San Francisco, Muir Woods, Stanford and UCDavis.
  • Be prepared to rent a car one way in order to reach your final destination.
  • Make sure you understand the sign up procedures. You’re put on the list according to when you sign up so it’s important to email all the terminals you may use during your trip.
  • Don’t bother venting your frustration if a flight cancels.  You’ve got to be able to roll with the punches.  It’s all about what the mission requires not about transporting passengers.  One thing I noticed while traveling ~ people were disappointed but no one got angry.
  • Be prepared to spend money on a cab, rental car and/or lodging.
  • Enjoy where ever you end up ~ whether it be California, Alaska, Illinois, etc… Enjoy the journey!!!!

If anyone else has done Space A and has additional lessons learned, please leave a comment with your advice.  It’s such a great benefit but takes a little planning.  For those of you who have never tried it,  it’s a lot of fun and can lead to unexpected adventures.

Posted in Hawaii, Oahu, Travels, US Military | Tagged , , | 1 Comment »

Dogs

Sunday, 12 February, 2012 by Beachbums1

It’s not a good sign when your laptop makes a sound as though it’s getting ready for take-off or when John asks “what’s that noise” and it’s the laptop 😦   I’ve been attempting to save all photos, videos and documents onto an external hard drive.  Came across some video of Maya with her friend Hoss.  It was a snowy October in 2008 and they both enjoyed romping in the snow:

Big as he is, Hoss was careful not to hurt Maya when they played:

Posted in Animals, Pets | Tagged | 2 Comments »

Favorite Girl’s Birthday Week

Tuesday, 31 January, 2012 by Beachbums1

Timing for celebrating a birthday which falls on a Monday doesn’t work well due to busy school and work schedules.  We did take Logan out for a birthday dinner on the big day but decided to wait until following Saturday to have a small party with a few friends.

 

It ended up being a “birthday week”  ~ no complaints from Logan.

On Saturday, Favorite Girl invited a few friends over to have dinner, play few games and, of course, enjoy cake (or in her case cupcakes).

Her friends are so sweet:

Cupcakes were requested instead of a cake on both days (the actual birthday and the party day) so John made several trips to our favorite cupcake place, Georgetown Cupcakes.

Happy Birthday to my Favorite Girl!

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Burns’ Supper

Thursday, 26 January, 2012 by Beachbums1

…or Scottish for the night.

We were thrilled to be invited to a Burns Night Dinner which is a celebration of the life, works & cultural heritage of Robert Burns who was born in Scotland on 25 January 1759.  He was a Scottish poet and lyricist. His most popular song being “Auld Lang Syne” which we sing every New Year’s Eve.  Old habits die hard and, being a Protocol person, I looked up etiquette for the event, going so far as checking out the “Selected Poems of Robert Burns” and “The Poetical Works of Burns”  from the local library.  His poems were written about everyday life in everyday language (language of the time) which was the first of it’s kind back in the late 18th century.  He was a poet for “the common people”.  For much more accurate information about Burns’ Night, click here.

The Burns’ supper we attended last night was so much fun ~ our very gracious host and hostess didn’t force us to participate in any readings. Whew!  He addressed the haggis with a long Burns’ poem and I think these words were included: “Fair fa’ your honest, sonsie face, Great chieftain o’ the pudding-race! Aboon them a’ yet tak your place, Painch, tripe, or thairm: Weel are ye wordy o’a grace As lang’s my arm” (Burns).  And one of the Scottish guests recited the Selkirk Grace: “Some have meat and cannot eat,  Some cannot eat that want it; But we have meat, and we can eat, Sae let the Lord be thankit.”

The other guests were from a variety of countries and it was so enjoyable to see everyone’s reaction to learning about a Scottish tradition.  It’s safe to say the scotch whiskey was probably a favorite part of the tradition amongst the men.  Kilts were optional and there were a few men sporting them.

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Book Signing in Arlington

Monday, 16 January, 2012 by Beachbums1

Update:

It was definitely worth the drive to see Brad and, BONUS, we got to see his lovely wife, Elaine.  Brad’s talk before the signing was very informative (& funny).  He spoke about character development, how he selects locations, and how he takes precautions to protect those who are still serving.  I’m happy to see they are both doing so well and wish all good success for Brad’s future novels.

Here’s John and Brad at the signing:

I wasn’t quite so impressed with the Book Store 😦   I emailed a week ago and specifically asked if I could have a copy of All Necessary Force set aside along with the David McCullough book, The Greater Journey ~ Americans in Paris.   Unfortunately, they sold out of the book and decided to sell MY copy before I got there.  I know you Kindle readers are laughing at me because all you have to do is click a button for your book, but I still like reading hardback books.  It’s easier on my eyes.

If you’re looking for a good read, I recommend you start with One Rough Man. 

I’ve always wanted to attend a book signing/author talk but, for some reason or another, have never make it.  But I’m determined to go to One More Page bookstore this Wednesday (18 Jan) for Brad Taylor’s book signing for his new book, All Necessary Force.  Brad is the twin brother of Scott Taylor, who was the best man at our wedding.

Brad’s first book, One Rough Man, is an action packed story of a Special Forces soldier who finds himself on the edge after his family is murdered.  For the first few chapters, I had a hard time not imagining Brad as the main character but, as the story went, I became so engrossed I forgot all about Brad and just enjoyed the rest of the novel.  All Necessary Force continues the adventures of Pike Logan and I’m looking forward to reading about how he gets in and out of predicaments.

The author, Brad is a former Special Forces officer and I can’t help but wonder how those who are still in Special Forces feel about his book. It contains A LOT of,  what seems to me, insider information.  If that were my profession, which relies on anonymity for safety reasons, I’d been a bit put-out but as a lay person, I found the book to be interesting and fast-paced.

One More Page promises to be an interesting book store to visit ~ they not only sell books, but they sell wine (and have wine tasting on site) and chocolate.  Can’t go wrong with books, wine and chocolate!!

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Houseguests

Saturday, 22 October, 2011 by Beachbums1

We love having houseguests ~ it’s always fun to reconnect with family and friends.  Last weekend, we had a visit from Arnis, who was a friend of my mom’s and is now a friend of ours. 

Arnis Patti and Logan Welcome to DC

It was a short visit but we squeezed in as much DC sites as we could.  First stop ~ the Pentagon. Then it was on the metro to Rosslyn for a quick walk over the Key Bridge into Georgetown.  Had a wonderful lunch at The Tombs then walked along the Potomac to the Lincoln Memorial.  Got a good view looking back towards the Washington Harbor:

Unfortunately, the reflecting pool is still ugly under renovations:

We ran into a few “Occupy Wall Street” protesters and John decided to join in (not really but…)

     

Next stop was The National Archives for John and Arnis. Logan and I went to The Gallery of Art’s outdoor park. We’d both been to the Archives twice so we decided to enjoy the wonderful fall afternoon and people-watch in the park.  We ended the day with a wonderful dinner at a Thai restaurant in Old Town. 

The next day, Arnis and I went to Mount Vernon and took Maya (my dog) along with us. The nice thing about the Mount Vernon Estate is they allow dogs on the grounds (everywhere except in the House and the visitor center/museum).  Again, couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful fall day. 

Arnis left on Sunday afternoon and, on Sunday evening, I got a call from my Uncle Jules (my mother’s brother) and he said he, my Aunt and cousin would be in town on Wednesday for an overnight stay.  Last time I saw my Uncle and Aunt was at my mother’s funeral which was a year and a half ago and I hadn’t seen my cousin in YEARS!!!!  I was so thrilled to see them.  And it made me miss Hawaii A LOT! I t was a rainy afternoon so we ate and went down memory lane 🙂  My Aunt is a ardent gardener and spent a lot of time discussing my garden.  It was nice to get some expert advice.  Here I am with my Uncle and Aunt (and the Hawaii Ginger plant):

My cousin Jade and my Aunt:

And another nice surprise was that my Aunt’s niece was in DC with her husband who was on a business trip.  They came to the house for dinner and we enjoyed hearing about their travels.  They make us look like homebodies!

The biggest raves I got was for my eggplant/zucchini casserole and the “dump cake”  which is always a big hit 🙂

I have to say seeing my Aunt and Uncle makes me realize it’s been way too long since I’ve been to Hawaii ~ time to start planning a spring trip!

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