RAF Mildenhall

We drove away from Tinker AFB at 9 in the morning. Tinker had been our home for the last 4 years and to see it fade in the distance was a little hard but we knew there were new memories to be made and a new adventure awaited.

We boarded a very small jet plane with 3 seats in a row for our short flight from OKC to Chicago to catch our connection flight. The ride was a little rough especially flying into Chicago. Yet it didn't seem to bother Samantha (aka stink bug) due to the fact that she was asleep the whole flight.

We landed in Chicago and decided to sit down at a restaurant in the airport since our next flight wasn't for another 3 hours. So we found a Macaroni Grill and ate there. Samantha thought it was more fun to throw spaghetti around then to eat it. Of course everyone else but me thought it was funny, but they wern't the ones that had to clean her afterwards.

After the eating and waiting we boarded the B777 which was quite nice. There are 3 seats by the windows and 5 seats in the center. We had four to ourselves in the center. Every seat had its own TV and choice of movies to watch. I myself chose Due Date and RED where Samantha tried to watch Megamind but just chewed on the headset until she fell asleep. The flight was roughly 8 1/2 hours long and soon we landed in London.

A friend of mine that had gotten stationed out here 2 years ago was waiting for us and he helped us load our luggage up in the SUV and off we went into the pouring rain. The drive was a little unsettling because I'm not use to driving on the left side of the road in a US left hand drive car. But once we got out of London it wasn't so bad. The countryside was amazing. Very green and clean with lots of trees and farm land. After about 45 minutes of driving we took the exit that led us the small town of Mildenhall in Suffolk. There our home would be.

We drove onto the Base Known as RAF (Royal Air Force) Mildenhall which was styled in a historic way. All the buildings are red brick with the clay roof tops. And the roads are red brick with small grass growing threw the brick. There round abouts on every intersection that get confusing when driving on the left hand side. We arrived at our Hotel room that was more of an apartment with 2 bedrooms and living and dinning room with 2 shower rooms, and of course a TV for me to play XBOX on. I took a scenic drive around base and over to RAF Lackenheath to hit up the BX and commissary which is much bigger then the one at Tinker AFB. All and all my first day here in England has been a good one. I look Forward to spending the next few years here and am open to the new adventures that lie ahead.

Hotel Life

I lay half asleep in the waters of the hot tub. The water sits at a comfortable 102 degrees. The heat heals my muscles and my mind after an 11 hour day of moving all my house hold goods out and sent them on there way to the UK. The stress of packing and moving has finally been lifted off my back and is now swimming around the hot bubbling waters of the pool.

There were no more rooms at the Inn for my pregnant wife, little duaghter and me so we are put up at a nice hotel for the next 6 days. One with a 47in HDTV in the room that I have hooked my xbox360 to and am playing FIFA11 on, fridge, microwave, free breakfast, and of the course the indoor pool and hot tub. What a blessing this move has been for my family. Things were stressfull but now have become quite enjoyable.

Thanks for the prayers and support they are greatly appreciated.

God Speed.

Out Processing

Hey everyone I've decided to start this blog off early. At the moment I'm busy packing and out processing from Tinker AFB, Oklahoma. It is a long process but one that I must go threw in order to leave the Great Country Of the United States. Now that Passports, visas, and tickets are gotten all that's left to do is pack, have the movers load our stuff and get on the Plane for London Heathrow. There are two weeks left until the move so we will be forced to stay in the Temporary living quarters here on Tinker AFB due to the fact that we wont have any furniture anymore.

I have been looking forward to this move for some time now. Not just because the adventure involved but I am really looking forward to working on a new Military Aircraft called the KC-135 refueler. They are stationed out of RAF (royal air force) Mildenhall about 45 minutes north of London. It will be a much needed change from the aircraft I've been working on for the last four years called the Boeing 707 AWACS which is known to break down an awful lot.

So this is the first of many letters to you keeping you updated over the next four years of my life in Europe. I look forward to posting pictures and stories for you to see and read. I hope you enjoy.