home again!

ok, short overnight trip to san diego for a dallas diamonds football game. they lost by 3 points! it was great being at a football game again. we still miss the aftershock but still love our time back.

while we were down there yesterday we went to the birch aquarium in la jolla. it's part of scripps institute of oceanography (they have probably renamed it tho). if you are ever in that area please don't miss it. they were doing a 'kids paint with wyland' day. it was wonderful seeing him work on a mural with groups of kids. we also had a chance to talk to his mom and found out that hopefully after 2008 he will be touching up several murals including the arena here in long beach.

i promise to post more pics on flickr. hard to believe that a week ago saturday we left england.

the girls are home from abroad!

ok now, we need faster airplanes! it was a rather uneventful flight, just a little turbulance when we got near the rockies then the cascades and such. it had rained in los angeles for a couple days so it was one of those days when the clouds were perfect, the air was clean and just gorgeous.

will get back to this very soon and try to get pictures where they belong. next trip you say? christmas at the beach! last year we stayed in our trailer at lake casitas over the holiday. this year no trailer so we've rented a 36' motor home and will be at bolsa chica state beach with jean. got a great deal and managed to get reservations. come on by if you don't have anything to do. give us a call for details. it would be fun to have a bring your own appetizer to share. no alcohol but i'm betting we can figure out something. i can take the blender for non alky margaritas. we'll have a fire in campsite so there isn't any trudging thru the sand.

i'm going back to bed now,....

time to come back to earth now?

hard to believe tomorrow is the day we come back to the states. this trip has been so wonderful in so many ways.
the trip to york was quite an experience. 2 different trains each way. went up into the hills to get there. york is so old and once in awhile you find very modern buildings hidden. medieval is old, very old. we will post some pictures tonight. these will be the last ones till after we get home.
carls mom and dad are bringing fish and chips for dinner tonight. yum! we are so glad for the chance to visit with them again.
while i am still on here, congratulations to darleen on her new grandson! we hope to see pictures wed. night!

hi all

carl's parents came to dinner today, wonderful couple. we are hoping that they will visit when they are over our way next time.
what can i say about buckingham garden centre? i want everything! don't know what half of the plants were but we don't get them at home. sarah finally got bit by the gardening bug and makes the most of a small garden area. we hope someday they will have a bigger house with a bigger garden. until then though she is a marvel at using the space she has.
tomorrow is our train trip to york. we make one train change then will take a taxi to where we are staying. i'm sure there will be many pictures to post. we won't have computer access till we get back so you will all have to wait!
we've decided that we have to travel more and not worry about leaving the states. we just always thought the usa would be enough until we came over here. it is really different, fun, and educational and the people are so nice. we really need to look up some english history now that we've been here.
well, going to relax a little then pack for tomorrow, it will be easy tho. until we get back to maids moreton......

more from maids moreton

my undying thanks to my daughter sarah! i am totally lost on a mac, I WANT MY RIGHT MOUSE BUTTON!
instead of oxford today, we stayed home and helped clean house, take a nap then go for a walk. you will see a theme interspersed thru pictures, doors, windows, gates, front gardens and flowers. this place is loaded with all of these.
we are going into buckingham in the morning for farmers market and the flea market. watch out, here i come! sunday carl's folks are coming for a bar b q. then the big adventure, going to york on our own.
we are having such a good time, we love it here and want to come back. sometimes when we go outside it's a shock, we forget we are in england. the fields here just seem more picturesque than at home.

oxford

oxford
Originally uploaded by cnjfrogs

not many of these booths left but we found one in oxford

we know where the dining hall is!

for those who can't figure the title out, it's the dining hall at christ church in oxford better known as the dining hall in harry potter! carole and i will take the bus back to oxford friday and go into the church and see it and many other sites to see. we used the park and ride, i wouldn't want to try to find parking in that town! we walked and walked then walked some more. we had lunch at a place in the covered market, yum! then we walked some more then took a double deck bus tour around oxford. you can get on and off all day long. there is so much to see and 2 trips won't do it credit.
i have utmost respect for mac users, you have far more patience than i do. i miss my right mouse button!!!!!! for some reason i can't get into today's pictures so keep your fingers crossed for tomorrow.
please tell me that we can get emmendale in the states, please, please, please!

pictures abound

i've uploaded some pics to the flickr site. sure glad we have 2gb memory cards! everywhere you turn are great pictures. don't know what todays adventure is but it might have something to do with going to a salvage type yard looking for 2 beams for the house. the tv room is newer and they want to add a couple beams to make it look more like the rest of the house. we're up for it no matter what, this is the fun way to travel, really get into the local life!

here starts the fun stuff!

we just uploaded some pics on flickr. think you'll like them. today i went in the morning with sarah, she had a job interview so i went shopping. it's an outlet mall and yes, she got thejob.
we then went back home, the plasterers were still working so i laid down on hte couch with a blanket and went to sleep.
then we took a ride, saw all kinds of things. a medieval bridge, burial mounds, more of buckingham. later sarah and i went back to buckingham and bought fish and chips and took them home. wow huge pices of cod freshly battered and very good chips.
after some tv, have to watch the nightly episode of 'emmendale'. even carl watches that one. american men blast ours, love the english men who get right into this one. please, someone tell me that we have it at home.
the days get more fun as we go. enjoy the pictures, more to come. london for sure on tuesday as sarah has to go interview for a higher wage level since she's very well qualified.
got my feet wet and bought something today, gettingin practice for london!

we're going we're going

we leave friday afternoon at 6:05pm, arrive london saturday at 12:25pm coming home is more interesting, we leave london around noon and arrive lax a few hours later! sounds good anyway.

watch sarah's site www.soupsake.com for more info. we are not able to take our cell phones as verizon is the only one that doesn't use simm cards. our roommate will have sarah's phone number. if it's something real important, call her, if not email us. sarah has a mac and carl has pc's.

a few last minute stuff to do tomorrow and we can start packing for real. we are beyond excited believe me.

we will be going to york, london, milton keynes, buckingham and a few other spots.

keep watching, we're on a roll!

whee yipppeeeeee

ok, the girls are going! this time next week we will be in jolly old england or better known as the united kingdom.
my passport came yesterday morning via fedex, then we went to the auto club. we are set, we can start packing, we are going!!!!!