Vacations and Celebrations

On the last weekend in June, Jordan and I decided to take a quick overnight trip to the coast. We found a cozy little dog-friendly bed and breakfast in Great Yarmouth, and packed our bags to stay for one night. We walked around the coastal town, saw the attractions along the pier, and made some friends at a little pub in the afternoon. The next day, we went for a 5-mile hike along the coast, which Cooper absolutely loved! It was really nice to get out of town and have a change in scenery, even if it was just for one night.

Cooper enjoying Great Yarmouth.

Hiking

Beautiful view! So worth the hike!

I had planned on telling all about my new job in this blog post, but guess what?? I got ANOTHER new job! Two weeks after I had started working at the University of Maryland, I was just beginning to get to know my new co-workers really well. It was then that I received a call from the Marketing department at RAF Mildenhall to inform me about a position opening. I scheduled an interview, and was offered a job as a Marketing and Commercial Sponsorship Coordinator for the base! It's a full-time government position, and it sounds like it will be a lot of fun! So far, I know that I will be responsible for helping to publish a monthly magazine, updating a website, and going out and making contact with local business owners to gain sponsorship for base events. My first day of work will be on the 27th, so I'm getting really excited to start!

Two Friday's ago, (July 3rd) we went down to visit Leed's Castle with a bunch of friends. All six of us piled into a friend's old Land Rover Defender, and drove about an hour and a half to the castle. Much to our surprise, they offered segway scooter tours around the castle grounds! We decided to give it a try, and had tons of fun. We rode through herds of sheep, over a couple bridges, and up and down hills in order to see the beautiful castle from many different angles. After the segway tour, we ate lunch, found our way through a hedge maze, and walked through the entire castle.

How do you take a picture on a segway without looking cheesy?!

Leed's Castle from a distance.

On the 4th, we had some friends over for a barbeque, and then went to base to watch fireworks. It was a little ironic to be celebrating our independence day in the country we gained our independence from, but we managed to have a good time! The weather held out, so we were able to spend a good part of the day playing yard games and hanging out in the sun.

Playing Polish horseshoes

Somehow these guys always find a way to throw something over the hedge rows...

The following weekend, Jordan and I had hoped to celebrate our anniversary with a trip to Bath. Unfortunately, he was put on the schedule at the last minute for a trip to Spain! The base he stayed at was near Seville, so they spent both nights out and about exploring the city. Too bad I had to work, otherwise I would've gone in a heartbeat! Luckily, he came back Saturday evening, so we were still able to spend all day Sunday (our anniversary) together! We didn't do anything too remarkable...just hung around for most of the day, enjoying eachother's company. We did play a lot of Grand Slam Tennis on the Wii... and I highly recommend it! :) We both had sore shoulders the next day! That night, we dressed up and went out to dinner at a really nice restaurant called the Boathouse in a nearby town called Ely. The food was fantastic, and the scenery was unbeatable. I wish I had pictures to show, but our camera was laid to rest on Jordan's first night in Seville. :( Anyhow, it was a great way to spend our first anniversary! For our gifts to eachother, we both stuck with the first year "paper" theme. I gave Jordan tickets to an Arsenal football match, and he gave me tickets to see "Wicked" in London's West End.

Four short days later was my 25th birthday! The 15th was my last day of work at UMUC, so I was fortunate enough to have the day off on my birthday! Jordan had to fly early that morning, so I spent the day working in the garden, running a few errands, and relaxing. That night, I opened my gifts, and then we went to an Indian restaurant for dinner. Jordan gave me the Wii fit, and a promise to take me shopping sometime soon. :)

Today, we are off to see Arsenal beat the pants off of Barnet in a pre-season match! The forecast is calling for rain, so hopefully we won't get too wet! We bought kits (jerseys) yesterday, so we are guaranteed to look like true fans! Go Gunners! :)

And now, I just wanted to post some random pictures that we have taken recently:

We see hedgehogs like this one all the time on the roads at night! Isn't he adorable?

This is a picture of the smallest pub in all of Great Britain, appropriately named The Nutshell. It's located in Bury St. Edmunds, which is about 10 minutes from our house.

Jordan came home looking like this one day, and scared the crap out of me! He had to do a refresher course on survival and evasion that day.