Southend-on-Sea

The past two weekends we spent at the shore. Yes, we are very close to the beach - about a 25 minute drive or train ride. Southend-on-sea is a seaside resort and is located on the north side of the Thames Estuary. (The Thames Estuary is a large estuary where the River Thames flows into the North Sea. The estuary is one of the largest inlets on the coast of Great Britain.)

SUNNY DAY OUT

On Sunday, March 20 we drove down to spend a leisurely afternoon on the boardwalk. We passed lots of pubs, small casinos, ice cream stands, and other seaside vendors. The Southend Pier is one of the longest pleasure piers in the world, but we decided against the 1.34 mile walk as you had to pay to enter onto it. We're told that people sunbathe here in the summer, but that is hard to imagine as the beach area is rather rocky. On this day the tide was in, the sun was out, and it was a great day all around. There is a small amusement park, Adventure Island, an aquarium, a performance theatre, miniature golf, and a short walk away is the High Street lined with shops. Matt's company will have a party at Adventure Island in late June and I'm looking forward to the rides!

SOUTHEND AIR SHOW

Over the holiday weekend, there was an Air Show in Southend. One of Matt's coworkers invited us down to meet her and her family on Sunday for the show. Unfortunately the weather was not as lovely as it had been the previous weekend. It rained all day and was rather cold. The tide was out as well, so instead of crashing waves we saw beached boats. Aside from that, the Air Show was fabulous. Although, I do think the schedule was cut back a bit due to the weather. The highlight for us was the Red Arrows (Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team).

It's Our Anniversary!

Picture 1: Our Engagement Picture - Don't we look so young?!
Picture 2: Day after our engagement (July 2000)


Today is our sixth wedding anniversary! (And, May 16th marks nine years altogether!) So much has happened during that time and what a wild ride it has been. There are definitely many more years full of adventures to come.

We started the day off with some yard work - not my favorite thing to do. We finally bought a new lawnmower and cleared the forest we had growing in the backyard. Cheyenne would disappear out there. After a mid-afternoon nap we freshened up and went out for dinner. We went to a nice Italian place one town over. It was nice to get out of the house and focus on ourselves for a bit. Following dinner we decided to see what was playing at the local movie theatre. We decided on a British film called This Is England. It was set in England in 1983 and gives a lot of insight into the country during that time (fall out of the Falkland's war). Finally we are settling in for the evening around midnight. Matt can get Nascar (FOX) on his laptop through a tv web service, which should be starting soon. While it can mean for some odd hours to enjoy the race, Matt is just excited that he doesn't have to go without it for two years.


P.S. Happy Mother's Day weekend to all of you "Mums" out there!

Night Out on the Town

Matt and I took a train into London last night to meet up with several of his colleagues. An Account Rep was in town and treated us all to a fantastic evening. We started the evening with cocktails at On Anon Bars & Club in Piccadilly Circus. Then walked over to Beni Hana (yes, we have those in the states) for dinner. Boy, Brits sure do love their dirty humor. Anyway, then we ended the evening with after-dinner drinks at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club in Soho. Jane Monheit, from the states, was the jazz vocalist. This was mine and Matt's first experience in a jazz club. Usually, I'm not a fan of jazz (more a blues fan) but it was a delightful performance. At midnight we left the group to head home. Everyone else was staying downtown for the evening (sharing rooms or staying on business), but we had Cheyenne at home and didn't feel it was necessary to dish out the extra expense for a room.

It would have been nice to have a room downtown, though. We could've been to sleep within an hour of leaving. Unfortunately we had a bit of trouble getting home. We took a cab to the rail station and missed one of the trains by minutes. We didn't think we'd catch that one anyway. So, we waited for the 12:50 train. Once we left the station that is where the trouble began. Ten minutes into the ride we stopped abrubtly between stations because there was a train in the station ahead that was having some issues. I'm not exactly sure what the problem was, but our train was stationary for 50 minutes! At 1:50am we started the rest of the journey. Finally, around 2:30 we arrived at our final station. There we shared a cab with two other "blokes" back to Noak Bridge. (One of the guys actually knew someone named Mike Hunt - say that three times fast - and the whole taxi cracked up laughing when he mentioned it.) I think we were sleeping by 3am. What an evening!

Our boxes arrived yesterday so once we get unpacked and organized this week I can finally begin to settle in...just in time for our first guests to arrive at the beginning of June.

A Little English Humor

An Irishman applies for a job, but the foreman won't employ him until he passes a little maths test. "Here's your first question, the foreman said. "Without using numbers represent the number 9." "Without numbers?" the Irishman says, "Dat is easy." and proceeds to draw three trees. "What's this?" the boss asks. "Haven't you got a brain? Tree and tree and tree makes nine," says the Irishman. "Fair enough," says the boss. "Here's your second question. Apply the same rules using the number 99, this time." The Irishman stares into space for a while, then picks up the picture that he has just drawn and makes a smudge on each tree, "Dere you go." The boss scratches his head and asks, "How on earth do you get that to represent 99?"... ...."Each of da trees is dirty now. So, it's dirty tree, and dirty tree, and dirty tree. Dat equals 99." The boss starts getting worried that he's actually going to have to give the Irishman the job, so he says, "All right, final question: same rules again, but represent the number 100." The Irishman stares into space for a while, then picks up the picture again and makes a little mark at the base of each tree and says, "Dere you go. One hundred." The boss looks at the illustration and bursts out: "You must be nuts if you think that represents a hundred!" Whereby the Irishman leans forward and points >> to the marks at the base of each tree, saying: "A little dog came along and crapped by each tree. So now you've got dirty tree and a turd, dirty tree and a turd, and dirty tree and a turd, dat makes one hundred.... So, when do I be starting the job?!"

Today is the first day of the next chapter in our lives! We arrived in England earlier this morning and Cheyenne soon followed. Our personal items should arrive by the end of next week. Let me tell you (as if I haven't enough already) it has been a long (6 months) and frustrating process, but one that brings great opportunities. We are looking forward to learning a new culture, travelling throughout Europe, and taking advantage of this time in our lives. It is going to be a big adjustment, but we are trying to go into it as aware as possible and with an open mind. In the end we'll be able to say this was a great experience.

We ask that friends and family keep in touch with what is happening in your lives while we are gone. We'll be missing out on a lot of those experiences with you, so we want to hear from you as often as possible. We'll try to keep this site regularly updated as well. We'll keep a Denver phone number with Vonage, so let us know if you would like that number.

Cheers!