Bury St. Edmonds

Tuesday, August 11 we took our first real sightseeing tour to the nearby town of Bury St. Edmonds. It was about a half-hour drive through the Suffolk countryside. The town is fairly large with a large center with pedestrian-only streets full of shopping and restaurants. We walked through town to the Abbey gardens and through the gate and into the area that was once the town abbey. When we heard about the "ruins" we expected a dug out area of one building, but these were spread out over a couple acres and were very extensive. The abbey dates from the 11th century and the more modern (14th century) cathedral stands next to it. The kids had a fabulous time running all through what were once all the buildings which made up the abbey and climbing the walls. This was once a fairly prominent Abbey; Kent and Ethan read the plaque which explains that it was here that several barons committed in 1214 to coercing King John to sign the Magna Carta. It was a beautiful day, made even more fun by the happy coincidence of a Children's Fair being run on the grounds. Madeleine, Bronwyn, and Colin all took turns "jousting." We ended with a walk through the stunning gardens while we slurped our ice cream cones with Cadbury Flake bars stuck in them. Now we are just trying to figure out what to do next...

The Eagle (aka United Airlines Flight 918) Has Landed...

We left Dulles Airport in DC at about 6 pm on Saturday, August 1st. On boarding, we were delighted to discover that we had been put in "Economy Plus" but then less delighted to find that that was most likely because Kent's seat was missing a tv screen and Alyson's audio was overruled by whatever he was listening to in his seat. But those extra few inches of legroom more than made up for any technical difficulties. The kids enjoyed their movie, hated their dinner, and hardly slept at all. Colin finally fell asleep across my lap, mostly immobilizing me, but since he did get a few hours of sleep, it was worth it! We landed just after 6 am London time (five hour time difference and a seven hour flight). Here we are in the London Airport waiting for our shuttle to Lakenheath Royal Air Force Base. We met up with the Norcrosses; she is the new nurse midwife and Kent and Christie knew eachother at Travis. We just happened to be on the same flight and made fast friends. The shuttle arrived around 10 am, and we all hopped aboard for the two and a half hour ride to base. I really tried to stay awake to see the countryside, but I (and I think everyone else on the bus) zonked out. We arrived at base close to 1 pm and were met by CJ Snow, who is Kent's "sponsor," another OB/GYN, and a member of the ward. We checked into our TLF (thankfully, a four bedroom townhouse type room) and got a little settled. Then, we headed off on our first adventure. Not having the energy (or a car) to go far, we just walked around base, checking things out and stopping at a park where the girls climbed to the top of the "spiderweb." We headed home, had some dinner, and went to BED! Everyone slept for about 14 hours--definitely a Meldrum family record!

At last...

We FINALLY got our VISAs today. For something that took so long and caused so much stress and anxiety, they are pretty unspectacular, just a piece of paper pasted into our passports. But, they look beautiful to our limbo-weary eyes. We have made hotel reservations, shuttle reservations, plane reservations, temporarly lodging facility reservations. We leave Saturday at 6 pm. I don't think I'll believe it until I lay eyes on Big Ben, but it seems that we are really going!

Getting away from it all...

We were able to take a few trips while we were here in DC.  These are the highlights:  Colonial Williamsburg, Kent and Alyson in Germany, K and A in Philly for the King Tut exhibit at the Franklin Institute, a girls' cruise in Mexico, Philly again with the Slabaughs for the Star Wars exhibit (we went back yet again for a Chronicles of Narnia exhibit...we love that place), Hershey Park, Niagara Falls, Chicago (with the Meldrum cousins and the Slabaughs), NY for the Bounce House and Strong Museum, and--last but not least--Disney World with the Mianis.  Fun!

While We've been in DC...

We've gotten to soak up a lot of history and fun while living in the nation's capital--here's just a sampling:  4th of July fireworks at the Washington Memorial, Peering through the bars at the White House, Dipping in the fountains at the WWII Memorial, cozying up to Abe, our first half-marathon around DC, at Mt Vernon on President's Day, at the National Aquarium in Baltimore, enjoying the Cherry Blossom Festival, contemplating again at WWII, with FDR at his memorial (Alyson's favorite),  at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, and in front of the Temple.

Will we ever leave?

Still in Maryland...

Well, after MANY missteps, bad advice, and constant pestering of the visa staff, we are still waiting for our UK visas to come through.  They are (supposedly) in Crystal City being processed before being sent on to the British Consulate General in NY.  We are hoping for a quick turnaround!  We have pushed the movers back yet again, and are now planning on them coming July 15, 16, and 17.  I refuse to change this again!  Limbo is tiresome.