 |
 |
| Dover Castle & The White Cliffs of Dover ~ Nov. 2005 ~ |
 |
 |
| Kenilworth Castle in Coventry is now in ruins, but once entertained Queen Elizabeth. You can see the castle grounds, stable, man-made moat surronding the castle now grass and the grand bridge leading across the moat to the castle. ~ |
 |
 |
| PK at the grave of John Gillespie McGee, Jr., the author of "High Flight," in Scopwick (about 15 minutes from our village) |
| Shakespeare's House in Stratford-Upon-Avon |
 |
| Here we are in Sherwood Forrest in front of the Major Oak, the famed Oak tree that is said to have been the meeting place of Robinhood & His Merry Men. |
 |
| I joined PK for about 2 wks at the beginning of January so we could see Wales together. The Chaffees joined us for one of the weekends. We explored many of the neat castles in North-Mid Wales and also hiked a little in the Snowdonian Mtns. Wales is a beautiful area! |
 |
| PK and I in the Snowdonian Mountains on a wet and windy afternoon |
 |
| View of the bay from the Beaumaris Castle ruins................ and view of the inside courtyard of Beaumaris |
 |
| View from atop a tower at Conwy Castle in Wales |
 |
| Oct '05 - I had only been in the UK for a matter of hrs (just arrived from Boston) and while we were waiting for PK to arrive from Germany the Attridges who graciously picked me up at Heathrow took me to see Windsor. I was exhausted, but so thankful they picked me up not having met us before! Jana is from CA and they were married while Jez (RAF pilot) was doing an exchange in the US flying F-18s in CA. They even let us stay with them until we found a house to rent! |
 |
 |
| ~Window of Caernarfon Castle~ In 1968, the castle was the setting for the investiture of HRH Prince Charles as Prince of Wales |
| Our Adventures in the UK, Wales & Dublin... |
| WALES |
 |
| DUBLIN, IRELAND |
 |
 |
 |
| We took a ferry from Holyhead, Wales on the tip NW tip of the Isle of Anglesey (where PK was training at RAF Valley), over to Dublin so we could tour around the city for a day. We did a bus tour and saw the entire city in that one day! We toured the Guiness Factory at St. James Gate - the famed brewery started by Arthur Guiness that continues to this day. The factory is as old as The United States of America! We also went to St. Patrick's Cathedral and walked in some parks (green grass in the middle of January!). We were a little surprised that he city itself seemed dirty, but we had just toured London 2 wks prior so maybe that was why! It was easy to tour Dublin in a day but we are looking forward to going back to Ireland to see the rest of the country. |
| Touring the Guiness Storehouse |
| St. Patrick's Cathedral |
 |
| C O N W Y |
| B E A M A R I S |
 |
 |
| Paul & and I stopped by Stonehenge in March when his training took him to RAF Boscombe Down for a few days. We saw Stonehenge on a beautiful day.... however, these pictures are from when my friend Katie visited us in July. The day reminded me of the day Paul & I had visited with clear blue skies. The rocks are an ancient landmark and it is not clear what they were intended for, although many scholars believe it was some sort of solar calendar. |
| The Seal Sanctuary in the North Sea town of Skegness... |
 |
 |
| The Saturday of Memorial Day Weekend, Paul took me over to a town on the North Sea called Skegness . They had a Seal Sanctuary where they rescue baby seals who are orphaned from their mothers and give them medical attention until they are old enough to be released back into the Sea. Little did Paul know that I fell in love with seals when I was younger one summer that my family took a trip to Bar Harbor, Maine He just laughed at me as I was like a little kid again watching the seals.... what a great date! (he definitely filed that one away for future reference!) *** |
| ....Stonehenge.................................................................... |
| High Flight Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of earth And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings; Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth Of sun-split clouds - and done a hundred things You have not dreamed of - wheeled and soared and swung High in the sunlit silence. Hov'ring there I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung My eager craft through footless halls of air. Up, up the long delirious, burning blue, I've topped the windswept heights with easy grace Where never lark, or even eagle flew - And, while with silent lifting mind I've trod The high untresspassed sanctity of space. Put out my hand and touched the face of God. Pilot Officer Gillespie Magee No. 412 Squadron, RCAF Killed 11 December 1941 |
| *** |
| ~ Battle Proms at Burleigh ~ |
 |
 |
 |
| Spitfire Demo |
| 1812 Overture with live cannon fire! You can see teh flag waving! |
| Fireworks while the crowd sings, "Oh, Britannia..." |