Wag Wednesday

Luna - the lap (Lapp) dog. I've never in all my life met a pup that loves to cuddle so much, oh my goodness! She is sweet and sassy... and especially snuggly, all the time! 

So Much Nature!

This long weekend was the weekend of the outdoors - and also, was blessedly a three-day weekend! Friday evening started the outdoors; we went to West Oaks Farm Market to listen to the Chris Darlington Band with our couple's group from church. Before we headed out - we were able to sneak a peek at one of the bunnies that has been making my parent's yard their home.

 

I have zero pictures from West Oaks but the band was good and we had dinner from the Nonni's Eats & Sweets Food Truck, which was all quite tasty... even if the wait was almost thirty minutes! I think half of the county was at West Oaks on Friday night! We saw some friends, enjoyed our food and had a nice time! Thankfully we had no concrete plans on Saturday - so there was no rush to get up early! 

After sleeping in (sort of) and having a little breakfast, we ran to Wal-Mart to look at hiking boots for me and ended up having lunch at TGI-Friday's before heading home. We'd planned to visit with a friend from church, but our plans didn't quite work out - so we moved into the latter portion of the day: taking Luna to the Arboretum!

I can't believe our Luna had never been to the Arboretum before! Her big brother Watson was a huge fan and we figured she'd also love it; she likes to be outside, although honestly if we are there - she's thrilled to be wherever. We attempted the three-mile loop but only got about two and a half, the sun was warm and Luna was not sure she wanted to walk three miles, ha-ha! We made chorizo burgers and corn ribs for dinner and watched Cocaine Bear - which was a lot less funny than we thought it would be...

On Sunday, we'd planned to only attend first service but ended up staying for both - so Ryan could usher @ the end of second service. It all worked in the end though, because we ended up having lunch with some wonderful friend at a nearby Mexican restaurant! The food was tasty and the company was fantastic! We were pretty lazy on Sunday afternoon; we both took small naps, and then we had a feast of all our leftovers from the weekend before watching some Citadel.

Monday, we headed to Sky Meadows State Park to hike the Lost Mountain Trail with a hiking group from church! There ended up only being three of us (Ryan and I being two of the three) but we still had a great time! The trail was classified as difficult, so I was pretty impressed with myself for completing it! 

 

The weather was overcast on and off - we saw a whole herd of cattle and thirteen salamanders, as well as bunnies, orioles and a chipmunk! The views at the midway point of the hike were really stunning and it was really nice to be out in nature for the morning! If you live near Sky Meadows - I'd definitely recommend this hike, it was great!

 

After the hike we went to get lunch at Red Robin and then headed home! I wasn't feeling 100%, so Ryan went and completed our Wal-Mart pick up order, returned home with the groceries and flowers and then proceeded to cook dinner! What a sweetheart I have! We chilled for the evening, watched a little more Citadel and called it an early night!

I'm glad it's already Tuesday afternoon and we have already almost made it to the middle of the week, aren't you?

Oxford - Our Final Stop

It's a special Friday Favorites - as I close out our time in the United Kingdom! Our final stop was in the town (city) of Oxford - home of Oxford University. Happily after our AirBnB debacle on Saturday, we found a great hotel right at the edge of the city limits, got a good night's sleep, a good breakfast and we were ready to check out Oxford! 

 

 

Our stellar tour guide and chauffer (my sister, ha-ha) parked us in the perfect spot and we set out to explore, walking just a wee bit before we turned a corner and we were in the heart of the college - the Bodleian Library, the Radcliffe Camera and the Bridge of Sighs all spread out in front of us. We wandered and snapped pictures and generally just enjoyed taking in the beautiful architecture!

Of course - we popped into shops along the way too, which were filled with plenty of Harry Potter, Chronicles of Narnia and Lord of the Rings merchandise, since portions of Harry Potter were filmed at Oxford... and C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien were both professors and contemporaries at Oxford University. My sister led us along twisting walkways, alongside extravagant buildings laced with wisteria and history... to a very special destination... 

... the oldest coffee house (The Grand Café) in the United Kingdom! It was a cute, quaint little spot and we all ordered coffee (or tea) and a pastry and took a breather from all our walking around. The coffee was delicious (and the saucers all touted the coffee house as the oldest in the UK) and the almond croissant was to die for! I also have to tell you - they had the tiniest bathroom I have ever been into in all my life - and that includes an airplane restroom! Fueled by our mid-morning snack, we headed back out! 

 

My sister took us to see the old castle and prison of Oxford - and to our great surprise, the old prison is now a hotel and we were absolutely wowed by it! The hotel is called Malmaison and you can actually stay in a room that was once a cell on the cell block... but trust me, the rooms are far from being sparse and inhospitable! Unfortunately we didn't have time to tour the castle, but we were glad all the same for the chance to see it all!  

Our final stops were the Eagle and the Child Pub - this was where C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien used to meet to critique one another's work. They called themselves the "Inklings" and this pub is such a piece of history! We were saddened to learn that the pub is closed (because of COVD) and while there have been multiple plans for restoration, so far nothing has taken off! I hope someone is able to restore the pub - it would be a shame to lose! We also wandered through the Oxford Covered Market before making our way back to the car to head toward Heathrow!

We arrived with plenty of time to spare, rode the tube to our terminal and said our good-byes and then Ryan and I were able to eat a quick late lunch before it was time to board our flight and head back across the pond to the US.

What a trip - what an experience to be able to have with my wonderful husband, my little sister and my MIL - memories that we will have for a lifetime!