Day 35 & 36 (8/1 & 8/2/16)

Day 35
Our last morning at the hotel. We had the continental breakfast.  Every time we have eaten here we have looked at these black, burnt looking items about the size of a hockey puck. So, I decided I would give it a try. When I cut into it, it looked like chocolate cake. It had an odd texture when eating it and was savory (not sweet). It was a different taste than anything I have ever eaten, not bad just different. Come to find out it is Black Pudding and one of the ingredients is pig's blood.

Off to the house for more cleaning. It seems like that is all I do at the house right now. But at least I know it will all be clean when our household goods arrive.

Grocery shopping was next, now that I can cook. This is a challenge since everything here is measured by grams. Thank goodness for smartphones with unit converter apps.  No 1/2 cup sticks of butter, no bricks of cream cheese. The brick of butter is approximately a 1/2 pound and there are no tablespoon measurements on it. The tub of cream cheese is 180 grams which is about 6.3 ounces. It's funny all the little things you don't think about when moving out of the country.

We had our first home-cooked meal in our own house. We don't have a table or chairs to eat at, so we ate picnic style.  These are the joys of a military move, making due with what you have.

I finally signed us up for Netflix, so we could watch tv on the laptop. I know, "Welcome to the 21st Century."

Day 36
Lazy day at home. We hung out in our pjs all day and watched movies.

Day 33 & 34 (7/30 & 7/31/16)

Day 33
Started off the morning with laundry as Ron heads back to training next week. Then over to the house for more cleaning.
For dinner we went to Prezzo, since I had a coupon for a free bottle of Prosseco for my 1/2 birthday. I personally don't acknowledge my 1/2 birthday, but hey if they want to give me a free bottle of wine I'll take it. The food was great. I had the Queen Margherita pizza and Ron had the spaghetti and meatballs. For dessert we tried the Banoffee Tiramisu. It was amazing!

In three sections - sun-blushed and cherry tomatoes; asparagus, spinach
and pesto dressed rocket (aka argula); béchamel sauce and burrata mozzarella. 

We stopped back by the house so Ron could show me how to run the heater. Then to the hotel for the night.

Day 34
Ron headed back to training. The kids and I took a car full of stuff from the hotel to the house. More cleaning.....there are soooo many cobwebs and spiders. Yuck!  I also hung our first piece of decor making it feel more like home.

We had dinner at Table Table. I tried the Beef & Merlot pie, which was delicious. For dessert I had the Salted Toffee Apple Crumble with custard, so good!

Day 32 (7/29/16)

Started the day with a trip to the bank. We finally have the necessary documents to fully open an account in Ron's name.  I still can't be on the account, but progress has been made!  We had lunch at HUBBOX. I had a pulled pork sandwich and root beer. This is the first time we have seen root beer since moving here. It was delicious!!  Ron had a burger and smoked beans with burnt ends. He loved it.  We will definitely go back.

After lunch we went to the house to clean. I spent a good chunk of time cleaning the fridge which is scary since it is the size of a mini fridge in the states. It was mildewed and not cleaned well previously, so it took some extra time.

For dinner we had Chinese takeaway.  Ron loves the honey mustard chicken. The name is deceiving because it doesn't warn you about the horseradish that is in the honey mustard sauce, which makes it very spicy.

Day 31 (7/28/16)

Laundry day......so exciting. The washers and dryers here tend to be smaller than those in the states, so it takes longer than I am used to because of the smaller loads. Plus there is only 1 working dryer at the hotel, so I can only do 1 load at a time.  Between loads I spent time researching internet providers. We will be living in the house with just the bare minimum therefore we only need internet service (no cable or phone). Found the best deal with Virgin Media and started the order process online.  I wasn't able to finish the order because like most businesses here that have monthly charges, they require direct debit. So, I stopped the order and will finish it later.

A little while later I get a text message from Ron saying a Virgin Media representative will be at the house at 4pm to install our internet.  Apparently when I stopped the sign-up process a message went to corporate indicating our account was a priority account. So we got the royal treatment with custom install at no charge. Yay us! And to top it off, Ron started his weekend from training a day early. (He was going to surprise us, but that was spoiled by the last minute internet installation appointment.)

We had dinner at Frankie & Benny's. I had the Black & Bleu Burger, which was good although the burger had a different texture than I am used to, not bad just different. Ron had the Meatball Calzone and really liked it.

Day 30 (7/27/16)

We have been in England for 1 full month. The kids and I were up early as we had to be at the house by 8 am. Our express shipment which contains some basic necessities (pots, pans, air mattresses, towels, etc) to get us through until our household goods arrive was scheduled for delivery between 8 am and 5 pm. And I thought 4 hour utility service windows were bad. So we were prepared to hang out for the day.


The delivery arrived at 8:30 am. WooHoo!! We left the house around 10am and hung out at the hotel. I worked on some blog posts and the kids played.

For dinner we went to the Beefeater. I had the flat iron steak which was really good and cooked perfectly. Previous experience at the hotel restaurant with steak hasn't been good, they always over cook it. So, it was nice to find a place that cooked it to my liking.

Day 28 & 29 (7/25 & 26)

Day 28
We started out the day by having breakfast at a friend's house. Pancakes and real breakfast sausage. It was so good.  We hung out and helped organize the house from the move.  For dinner we headed to another Coastie family's house and had spaghetti.  Feeling a bit spoiled with the all home cooked meals after so many days of eating out.  Also feeling very grateful to have Coast Guard families open their hearts and homes to us even though they have only known us for short time.

Day 29
When you can't get good American food at local restaurants, you embrace the familiar, which for us was McDonald's today for lunch.  Headed back over to help our friend clean her former house and get the last few items out.  Dinner was homemade tacos. Yum!

Day 27 (7/24/16)

We were up early this morning to take Ron to the base. He is headed to training for the week.
The kids and I went to Boston Tea Party for breakfast. (I don't think the people here get the irony of having a cafe in England named for an event in which America was rebelling against England.) Lil Ron had the pancakes and he was very happy with them. They were much closer to American pancakes than the ones we had before. I had the eggs benedict and a latte.  It was delicious, although I am discovering that often times the yolk of poached eggs is fully cooked.  I prefer it runny.

As we were leaving breakfast we saw a street sweeper cleaning up the Barbican. I know that doesn't seem exciting, but it was so small it was cute. Tiny streets mean tiny street sweepers. LOL

Back to the hotel for awhile, then off to Jump for a couple of hours. The kids love playing there. Afterwards we headed to a friend's house for dinner. We had an all American meal of meatloaf, mac & cheese, corn & peas, and biscuits. It was sooo good.

Since Ron left that meant driving all day by myself. I did pretty well.  My only issue was getting into the wrong lane exiting the carriageway (aka freeway). In my defense, it was 3 lanes and I got into the middle lane, so not terrible.  I think the British need to adopt the color marking system we use in the states to distinguish the lanes.  Here all lanes are marked with white lines, so if exiting the carriageway to an unfamiliar 3 lane road you don't know if you have 1 or 2 lanes on your side.

Here is Google view of the intersection.

Day 26 (7/23/16)

Today we spent most of the day helping a fellow Coastie family move.  After a year of renting their landlord decided to sell the house.  Luckily a house just up the street became available. So it made moving that much easier.  And it was great to see so many local Coastie families come to help.  We do have a great support community amongst ourselves.

We had dinner at The Stable again.  It was just as good the 2nd time as it was the first time. I had the 'The Billy the Kid' pizza, which is marinated Norsworthy goats' milk cheese, caramelised* onions, field mushrooms, English spinach, fresh tomato sauce, and mozzarella. Topped with roasted hazelnuts. (*Note: the British don't use the letter z like we do in America. Any words ending in 'ize' in America are written as 'ise' in England.)

Makes my mouth water just looking at it. So Yummy!

Day 25 (7/22/16)

Not a good start to the day. We had another sick kiddo. This time it was Annette's turn for the flu. Crossing my fingers that the grown-ups avoid it.  So we are in for a relaxed day in the hotel room.
Ron told me he had a dream that the landlady called and said she got the wire, so we could have the keys. It is odd because of the 2 of us, I am the one who remembers my dreams, he almost never remembers his dreams. It is supposed to be 4 more days until the wire goes through according to the bank. Around 11:30 am he gets an email from the landlady, she got the money and wants to know when we want the keys.  So Bizarre! But we are grateful for making progress.

Ron headed out to see if he could get some Pepto Bismol for Annette.  The pharmacys here are nothing like those in the states.  Items we get over the counter in America you can not get here. So he had to talk to the chemist (aka pharmacist). They then inquire why you are requesting the specific item and then determine if you need it or another product.  Unfortunately, they determined she couldn't have Pepto Bismol and gave him re-hydration powder.  Of course, that isn't what we needed, we needed something to settle her stomach. (We will be picking up Pepto Bismol when we visit the commissary to have on hand for times like this.)  He picked up Subway for lunch and brought it back to the room.  Then he and Lil Ron headed to the house to pick-up the keys from the landlady.  Now we have to wait to hear from the shipping company for a delivery date of our stuff.

For dinner we had KFC. Not an exciting day or a new experience, but sometimes you need some comforts from home and right now that comes in the form of familiar fast food places.  The good news is that Annette started feeling better and ate some popcorn chicken.

Day 24 (7/21/16)

We started off the day at the bank. We are going to see if they will start the account process with electronic copies and finalize it when we get the originals in the post (aka mail).  They agreed!! Woo Hoo! One step in the right directions. So after an hour and 15 minutes at the bank we completed as much as possible until the original documents arrive. So happy to finally make some progress.

Wish my nails were always this long. One of the benefits
of hotel living, no housework to break them. :)

Then Annette and I headed to a friend's house for girls day which included lunch and doing our nails with Jamberry wraps.  If you haven't heard of them or tried them I recommend them.  They are a heat activated nail vinyl that lasts much better than traditional polish and is much less damaging than acrylics. It was fun and relaxing.

For dinner we ate at The Jack Rabbit. I had the slow-cooked ham hock with spring onion mash and peas. It was delicious. I will definitely order it again. Although once we get into our house it will be awhile before we eat out again. We are ready for some home cooked meals.

Day 22 & 23 (7/19 & 7/20/16)

Day 22
We spent a lazy day at the hotel.  We did laundry and finally were able to initiate the wire transfer to the landlady, although it won't be complete until 7/26. Nothing has been easy to get done, but we are slowly making progress.
We had a late lunch at Wildwood.  The baked spaghetti carbonara was delicious!

Day 23
After breakfast we headed to the Dartmoor Zoological Park (DZP) made famous by the book and movie "We Bought a Zoo." It is located on the edge of a little village and backs up to the Dartmoor National Park.  I had not seen the movie nor read the book before going, so I didn't have any expectations.

View from the front of the restaurant within the zoo

From the entrance you walk up a hill along several enclosures.  There are informational signs along the way that give animal facts in relation to the distance you have walked.  The first sign tells you that from the entrance to the sign is the length of a blue whale.  It is great because it translates an obscure number into something visually tangible.

Most of the enclosures had informational signs about the animals. The first animal we saw up close was the greater rhea, we thought it was an emu at first. There was a young rhea that came right up to the fence. It was really cool and we all loved it.

We continued through the park and saw wallabys, zebras & bears. One of the bears, a Siberian brown bear named Fudge is one of the original animals at the zoo having been there over 30 years.

As you walk around you can see that they are continually working to improve and upgrade the animal enclosures.  Recently, they successfully integrated the lion with the lioness after a year of getting them acquainted and comfortable with each other.  They even have a program currently running where kids between the ages of 6 and 12 can submit a enclosure design for a new animal. 5 kids will be selected to serve as Young Ambassadors for the next year to help with the new enclosure and other areas in the zoo.  Annette is entering. I am excited to see if she is selected.

The tigers were not visible during our visit as they were laying on the backside of a wooden structure in their enclosure. We also weren't able to see the lynx as it escaped about a week and a half earlier and they hadn't caught it at the time of our visit. With the size of the Dartmoor National Park they haven't been successful in their search.  (Note as of 7/31/16 the lynx had been found and returned to the park.) We did see some Iberian wolves. They were riled up as there was a free roaming peacock near their enclosure.

At the otter enclosure we saw the otters calling for food and also witnessed their feeding. They are very chatty animals which isn't typical, but being hand-reared they don't adhere to the typical animal behavior.

There was an area where Mr. Pickles, a deer, roams free and you can enter and pet him. Within the area is also another enclosure you can enter and pet some goats.

The kids with Mr. Pickles

It is a very rustic zoo, nothing like the San Diego or Philadelphia Zoos, but it is evident that the staff and volunteers genuinely care for and love the animals.

We couldn't believe how large this leaf was.

Note: Since visiting, we have read the book and watched the movie.  I will say that while the movie is entertaining, it does not follow the book at all. The book gives you much more information about the hardship they endured in buying the zoo and all the work it took to get it up and running.

For dinner we ordered Chinese takeaway (aka take-out). It was delicious!

Day 21 (7/18/16)

We decided to visit our 1st castle or what is left of it.  We are taking advantage of the English Heritage Pass that Ron purchased prior to our visit to Stonehenge.  It gives us free admission to over 400 heritage sites in the country.  I highly recommend it to anyone who plans an extended visit or who plans to see a lot of historical sites during their visit.

Thank goodness Ron was driving.  The road we took to get there was super narrow and would have made me extremely anxious had I been driving.  I was pretty anxious just as the passenger.

One lane road with hedgerows on both sides. Notice there is no
where to pull over if another vehicle is coming from the other direction.

We went to the Berry Pomeroy Castle. It was built in the 15th century and is believed to be one of the most haunted castles in Britain. By the late 17th century the castle was abandoned. The audio tour provides great descriptions and history of the remaining ruins allowing you to imagine the grandeur that once existed. The fact that a painting on the wall in the chapel is still visible was very impressive.

The view as you come up to the castle

Inside one of the watch towers guarding the entrance

The loo inside another watch tower.
Glad I wasn't alive then.

The outer wall of the house

The painting that is still visible inside the chapel (I wish had a
better picture, my cell phone doesn't do it justice.)

In the garden with the south range kitchen behind them.

Day 20 (7/17/16)

Today we had lunch at a place called Frankie & Benny's. It is an Italian restaurant.  Ron and I shared a mac & cheese calzone and an ABC salad.  The calzone was filled with macaroni and cheese, pulled pork, and BBQ sauce. The filling was delicious, we just wished the calzone had been baked a little longer so that the crust was more crispy.  The salad was an Avocado, Bacon, and Chicken salad.  I didn't take a picture, but it was assembled like a traditional salad. The bacon was streaky bacon (similar to American bacon), but wasn't crispy.  Overall, it was good and I would order it again.

Afterward we headed to a shopping area near our new home called The Broadway. Unfortunately many of the shops were closed since it was Sunday.  We looked around the British Red Cross thrift shop.  I found some wine glasses and champagne flutes that were pretty and unique, so we purchased them along with a wooden mallet Ron found to use for wood working.

Then we headed to a park where we kicked around a football (aka soccer ball) and the kids played on the playground equipment. It was a gorgeous day and we enjoyed being outside.  I did all the driving for the day and without incident! I am comfortable on the 2 lane roads, I just get panicked on the narrow roads where it isn't wide enough for 2 cars, or where people are parked on the street not leaving room for 2 cars.

Day 19 (7/16/16)

Woke with a bad headache again. Hung out in the room for awhile.  It got a little better, so we headed out to go by the bank to open an account since we have a signed lease.  At the bank they tell us since the lease is from an individual and not a letting agent it won't work.  We have to get a letter from Ron's employer to verify our address and how long we will be in the UK. It is so frustrating that no one mentioned that before, but there is nothing we can do to change it. Ron said , "it doesn't happen like this in the movies. Wire transfers are done within 30 minutes to save the kidnapped kid's life and foreign accounts are acquired without any effort."

For lunch Annette and I had pasties. She had a cheese and bacon (aka ham) and I had pork (aka sausage) and apples.  Annette's was like a ham and cheese melt with potatoes.  I liked hers better than mine as mine didn't have any apple flavour so it was just sausage and potatoes.  Ron had 2 sausage rolls, which are just sausages wrapped in pastry dough similar to a pretzel dog.  Lil Ron had an egg salad sandwich as he isn't a fan of the pasty.  We sat outside in a green area and listened to a street artist sing.

View from friend's house at 9:30 pm

Mid afternoon we headed to a fellow Coast Guard wives house and had a potluck/party with some of the local CG families as well as some of her British friends.  It
was a a great time of mingling and visiting.  When we left at 9:30 pm the sun was just setting, so it was still fairly light outside.  I am surprised at how late the sun stays up here during the summer.  I am told to enjoy it now because it sets before 5:00 pm during the winter.

Day 18 (7/15/16)

We started the day with breakfast in the hotel restaurant. Most mornings we have breakfast in our room because we have a mini fridge.  Then we took the kids to a place called Jump.  It is an indoor play area with some inflatables, slides, mazes, etc.  They love it!

Afterwards we went to the house to meet with the landlady and sign the lease. WooHoo! We have a place to live, now to pay the deposit and 1st months rent so we can get the keys.

Off to base to fill-out paperwork to get reimbursed for all the travel, hotels, food, etc.

Once we get back to the hotel we try to initiate the wire transfer for the deposit and rent, but it turned into a nightmare process. The online banking says we have to call the bank, a call to the bank phone tree informs us we have to process the request online.  Don't you love the run-around. Finally we get a person after several attempts through the phone tree and have wire transfers added to our online profile. I start the process, add data for the landlady and get an error that the account number is in an invalid format.  We call the landlady and confirm we have the correct account number. At this point we have been working on this wire transfer for at least 40 minutes.  Still getting the error, so I try the online chat since trying to get a real person on the phone tree is awful.  After 15 minutes chatting with the guy, he tells me that I have to call because he can't help me. Ugh! Back on the phone, through the tree to a person, but wrong department, so they transfer me.  They have me clear the cookies and I re-enter all the information again, but I still get the error.  The representative asks to verify account data and informs me we can't use the standard UK account number for an international wire we need an International Bank Account Number (IBAN) in order to continue. Remember we still have American accounts because we can't get a UK account without a lease.  Meanwhile it is now 6:40pm here, so all of the banks are now closed. We will have to try again tomorrow or Monday.  Seriously that was 2 hours of our lives we will never get back and we accomplished nothing.

The kids are starving, so we head downstairs for dinner.  3 bites into his Mac and Cheese and Lil Ron is off to the loo because he is getting sick.  Poor kid, not sure what keeps upsetting his stomach.  So him and I go back to the room while Annette and Ron finish dinner.

It wasn't a very exciting day, but we did get some things accomplished despite the wire transfer fiasco.

Day 17 (7/14/16)

Woke with a migraine.  I have been getting them quite frequently. I think it is a combination of tension/stress and weather.  So Ron and the kids went to breakfast downstairs while I rested some more.

Then we headed to Tavistock, which is about 10 miles away, for a public market.

View from the front of the public market

We ate lunch in the market. I had a ham, brie, and cranberry sauce sandwich.  The ham and brie were warmed, it was delicious!  We walked the market and checked out all the vendors and their goods.  I bought a pair of wool slippers.

Ahhh, comfy slippers!

I have been wishing I had my slippers in the hotel in the evening, so I decided to get some.  It is funny what things you truly miss when you don't have your stuff.

After walking the market we went to walk around the town. It has a very old world feel, much like the Barbican.

View of some of Tavistock

 Right down to the delivery truck off loading half cows and full pigs to the butcher shop.

Butcher Delivery

 The kids were intrigued by that and insisted we walk down to the truck and look.  There were lots of great shops and boutiques to visit.

We came back to town and went to the base to get my access card.  The kids ran around the football (soccer) field to burn some energy.  We picked up some pizza on the way back to the hotel.  It was awful!! Their version of sausage was sliced hot dogs. ICK! Even without that, it was bad. We will not go back there.

Day 16 (7/13/16)

Oreston Academy called and they don't have room for our kids. We are totally bummed because we have heard good things about the school and it is super close to our house. So, we went to the Local Authority (equivalent to the district office) and applied for other schools.  The prospect isn't good as all the schools in the area by our house are at capacity (because they are highly rated schools). So we will wait and see.  I did learn that the Year 2 is equivalent to 1st grade and Year 6 is equal to 5th grade, so the kids will be at similar levels to where they were in the states.

We had lunch at Bar Burritos in the Barbican.  It is similar to Chipotle where you get to build your own burrito. I must admit we were skeptical given our experience with how differently food is prepared here, but we were pleasantly surprised.  It was very similar to the burritos we get back home and we will definitely return. (I'll try the margaritas next time JoLynn.)

We took the kids to a playground and let them burn off some energy.  To our surprise we ran into a coastie wife we had met during our 1st week here.....not what you expect when you have been some place for less than a month, especially a bigger city like this.

We checked out another strip mall which had a home improvement store similar to Lowe's.  Once we move into our new home we have to get a lawn mower, lamps, desk, and possibly an entertainment center. So, we are scoping out stores and prices.

Day 14 & 15 (7/11 & 7/12/16)

Day 14
Went to the school (Oreston Community Academy) closest to our new home and applied for admission.*  They are saying the kids will start as Year 2 and Year 6 which worries me since in the states they should be in 1st and 5th grade.  The system works differently here and there isn't the flexibility we have back home for placing kids in different grades. So, I am hoping it all works out and they don't end up in classes that are above their level.

*Just because this school is closest to our home doesn't mean we will get in.  There is no requirement to place children close to your home.  If the schools near you are full, the kids could be assigned to a school on the other side of town.  There is also the possibility that they could be assigned to 2 different schools depending on the availability at the schools.

After that Ron had to go to work. So, that left me to drive. Yikes!! I managed to get us to Drake Circus (shopping mall) after I got lost trying to find a pharmacy.  Lucky for me there is a pharmacy at the mall. And I got us home without incident. Yay me!!

Day 15
We checked out a local home & garden store. Then had lunch at Bella Italia, which was really good Italian food.  Afterwards we let the kids play some games at an arcade, although it is much more expensive here.  At first you don't realize the cost different, but once you convert it back to dollars you see it.  Currently it is $1.30 for £1.00.  Most of the games were over £1.00 to play, so we didn't stay long.

The management company that performs the reference checks for our landlady called and said we cleared all the checks.  So, now it is just a matter of signing the lease and paying the deposit.  One step closer to having a house.

Day 13 (7/10/16)

Today we decided to visit Stonehenge. It is about 2 hours from Plymouth. On the way we stopped at Route 5 American Bar & Grill.  I am finding humor in the Brits attempts to replicate American dishes.  The kids and I ordered pancakes. I am not sure how they were prepared, but part of them were rock hard and the part that wasn't required a knife to cut.

Stonehenge was awesome. Make sure that if you visit, you include the audio tour.  The audio is informative, but not too verbose, it even kept Lil Ron's attention.

From the entrance, you have the choice to visit the exhibit hall or head to the main attraction. The kids were excited to see Stonehenge, so we headed there first.  You can either take the bus or walk through the countryside up to it. Since we weren't sure how much walking we would do once we got to the stones we opted for the bus ride. There are markers in the ground which indicate which option to select on the audio tour. Once the basic audio is done at each marker there are options for additional information if you so desire. I liked that if a particular topic wasn't of high interest to you, you didn't have to listen to it in order to get the information you desired.

I had no idea how big the stones really were until I was there. The man power it took to move them 100's of miles to the site, shape them, and place them is difficult to imagine especially without modern equipment. And then to rearrange them at the site, it is unbelievable. Yes, they believe that the stones were placed one way and then rearranged several times over the years.  The mystery behind the purpose of the stones is intriguing. I enjoyed hearing the differing ideas.  The kids even came up with their own theories, which was great.  The only thing that was disappointing is that you can't walk close to the stones.  That is 2 fold, one for your safety as some of the stones are unstable due to erosion and two to prevent damage to any artifacts that might be in the ground around the stones.

Looking toward the east

Looking toward the west

The exhibit hall was great too.

The kids in front of a virtual Stonehenge that cycled through the seasons.

They had artifacts that have been found around the area and models of the different arrangements that they believe the stones have been in based on their discoveries around the site. It was a great day and well worth the drive.  I even drove us home....without incident.

Day 12 (7/9/16)

We looked at another house this morning.  It was really nice although smaller than our other 2 favorites.  Then we spent a little time with a coastie wife, her baby and their dog. Lil Ron loved playing with the dog and wore the little pup out.

After that we headed back over to the house we applied to rent to meet the landlady.  She liked us and agreed to let (rent) the house to us.  WooHoo!!  The next step will be another meeting to sign the contract.  In the meantime, here are a couple of pictures from the listing.

Front of house

Enrtyway

Kitchen

Garden (aka Backyard)

It was a foggy day here, so we decided to take the kids to see 'The Secret Life of Pets'. We got to the theatre and learned that you chose your seat ahead of time when you purchase your tickets, rather than finding your seat upon arrival. Which is nice because you can arrive at any time knowing you have the seat you want.  It was cute movie and the kids enjoyed it.

Day 11 (7/8/16)

We headed out to lunch at Wagamama, which is an Asian noodle house. It is a chain restaurant that has several locations throughout Great Britain as well as Boston and New York.  It is located in a very cool historical section called the Royal William Yard.

One of several building located here.

Ron had the Pad Thai and I had the Chicken Teriyaki Donburi.  I even tried the kimchee that was served on the side.  The kimchee was okay, I probably wouldn't eat it again, but the Donburi was delicious. I loved all the vegetables and the flavor was awesome. I foresee a return visit to try different items from the menu.

Chicken Teriyaki Donburi w/Kimchee side

After lunch we headed out to look at another house.  The layout was different than the typical UK home in that it was a tri-level with a 1/2 bath and bedroom on the intermediate level. It had a nice size yard.  It is our 2nd choice if we don't get the house we applied for yesterday.

Dinner was at JD's Grill which claims to be an American steakhouse.  One thing we have learned quickly since arriving here is that lemonade is not our traditional lemonade, but rather a lemon-lime type of soda similar to Sprite. They have 'cloudy' lemonade that more closely resembles our lemonade, but it is fizzy (aka carbonated).  The food was good, but definitely not as American as we had hoped.

Day 10 (7/7/16)

We started the day looking at a house to rent.  The kids loved running around the garden (aka backyard).  They were deciding who got what room, even though we haven't made a decision on it. This house was our favorite of the ones we had seen online and we were happy with what we saw in person.  So, we headed back to the hotel, got our documents, and went to letting office to put in an application for the house.

We had lunch in the Barbican and checked out the Mayflower monument which commemorates the launch of the Mayflower.  We got some ice cream and walked around looking at the different shops. We found the Plymouth Distillery where they make Plymouth Gin. We will tour it another day without the kids.

We looked at another house in the afternoon.  The kids and us were much less excited about the 2nd house.  Keeping our fingers crossed we get the one from this morning.

We had dinner in the hotel restaurant.  I ordered the chicken, bacon, avocado salad.  I keep forgetting that bacon isn't like bacon in the states, but beyond that it was seriously lacking as a salad in my opinion.

I'm not sure how 2 pieces of lettuce qualify as a salad.  Although I was happy with the quanity of avocado.  (I have ordered other salads here and at other restaurants since then that were true salads.)

Day 9 (7/6/16)

Ron headed up to Croughton AFB with all the other new members to take care of some paperwork, getting an APO address, setting up a bank account for his paychecks to go into, and getting his international driver's license.  Note: This bank account is only a clearing account to get Ron's paycheck over here into Pounds (£). We still have to get a local account, so all my posts relating bank experiences are to get a local account.
Anyone interested in our APO address, which doesn't require any additional postage than mail within the states, send me a PM on FB and I will give it to you.

The weather is beautiful today, so the kids and I decided to walk to Crownhill Fort which is only a mile from our hotel (Yes, we picked something close, so mom didn't have to drive).  Unfortunately, when we got there we found out it isn't always open to the public.  We will have to make a return trip to see inside.  There was a trail around the perimeter that we walked.  The kids enjoyed walking in the woods seeing the holes in the walls where the old cannons used to set.

While our food adventures have been fun, sometimes it is nice to have something familiar, so for lunch we ate at McDonald's.  For dinner we dined in the hotel restaurant.

Day 8 (7/5/16)

We spent the better part of the day in an 'In Doc' (Indoctrination) meeting.  We got to meet the other new members and families that are stationed here in Plymouth with us for the next 3 years.  We also got information about the services available on base, Ron's training schedule for the next 3 months, and a brief overview of the Royal Navy.
Lunch was provided and I had my first Pasty.  They are a big deal here and Devon (the county Plymouth is in) is credited for creating them....although there is debate as to whether they were originally created in Devon or neighboring Cornwall.  The best way to describe it is a hand-held meat and potato pot pie.  The ones we had at the meeting were beef, but in town there are many different varieties offered at local shops even vegetarian.

After the meeting was concluded and Ron changed out of his uniform we headed out to take the kids to a park.  Ron made me drive, even though I didn't want to given my incident from the day before.  I got us to the park without incident, but I hated every minute of it.  I have no confidence, especially being in an unfamiliar place.  It is so overwhelming considering I am on the wrong side of the road and the wrong side of the car.  Then you add the fact that the streets are narrow especially when there are cars parked along the kerb (yes that is how it is spelled here, not curb).  And to complicate it even more, you don't have to park facing the direction of the traffic flow.  So, sometimes you are heading down the proper side of the street and the parked cars on your side are facing you, causing you to question whether you are on the correct side or not.  Ugh!! I better start looking into bus passes.

The highlight of our day was dinner.  We decided to try a pizza place called 'The Stable' that had been recommended to us by several different people.

It is a seat yourself restaurant with indoor and outdoor seating and is located in the quaint Barbican section of town.  We headed for the upstairs, outdoor seating, but without sweaters we got chilly pretty quickly so we moved inside still upstairs.

There is a bar both upstairs (seen here) and downstairs.  I assume
during busier times both are open.

Ciders are very popular here, much more so than beer and they
had quite a selection.

There are menus on the table for you to look over and decide what you want to eat and drink, then you head to the counter to order.  They give you a number and deliver the food to your table once it is ready.  All the pizzas are individual sizes, so everyone gets to have what they want.....no compromises necessary.  I chose the Margherita pizza, a simple cheese pizza with basil.

Each pizza arrives on it's own pizza board with a pizza cutter.  The crust is a thin cracker style crust with a good crisp to it.  The pizza was delicious.  I just wish it had more basil on it.

Ron ordered the Barbican Blaster, which is spicy chopped pork, Naga chillies, garlic, red onion, basil leaves, field mushrooms, fresh tomato sauce and mozzarella.  It looked amazing.

He wasn't familiar with Naga chilies when he ordered the pizza, but as a lover of spicy food he went for it.  About halfway through the pizza his mouth was on fire.  A quick google search revealed that it is one of the hottest chili peppers ever measured and in 2011 it was considered the hottest chili with a rating of 1,382,118 Scoville Heat Units. (Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naga_Viper_pepper). Even after learning that fact he was a trooper and finished the pizza.....although I think he probably regretted it the next morning.

It was absolutely delicious and we'll definitely be back. (My mouth has been watering just writing this post.)