RAF Croughton (Day 1)

Thursday, June 19, 2008

RAF Croughton, Day 1

Well, today started much like yesterday. Waking up to the smell of mold on a rock hard bed. After taking a scalding hot/arctic cold shower, we went downstairs to eat, what we have pin-pointed as powdered eggs. Along with those powered eggs they gave us soggy bread caused by the water used to make the powder into eggs. Malinda whispered across the table, “I bet she has hardwood floors and granite countertops in her kitchen but neglects to put a dime into renovations for the business.” Sure enough she had it down to a “T.” We peered into the kitchen when she was cooking as we were walking up stairs, and what did we see? Hardwood floor and granite countertops. We paid around the same price per night as we did on our honeymoon. And we had such a wonderful stay in Savannah that it made us fall in love with the idea of owning our own B&B after retirement. After breakfast, we wasted NO time to get our luggage and were out the door in before 9:00AM. On the way out of town, some random dude was honking his horn and flashing his lights. I let him pass because what else could he want? Of course that got me paranoid as to WHAT ELSE could go wrong with this stupid rental car. As far as we can tell, the car starts to emit smoke when we turn on the Air Conditioner. Since the weather doesn’t get any warmer than 70 degrees, it isn’t a problem yet. Driving the 3 ½ hours from Kewick down to RAF Croughton was pretty uneventful. I had not problem with the drive, but Malinda was tense the entire time. There are three time as many big rigs on the interstate and they don’t seem to know how to stay inside their lane. With only an hour left on the road she began to tear up over all the stress of not feeling safe. I guess her pregger hormones are starting to kick in. She didn’t yell at me so I know I didn’t do any thing wrong. As long as she is not yelling at me, I’m good. During the drive, Malinda figured out that the English are paying roughly $9-$10/gallon. So America, quit complaining! Anyways, we arrived on Croughton, got into our room that has a kitchen and then went straight to the Commissary (The AF grocery store for you civilians). That was the turning point for us. All the food is sold in all the name brands we know. The few things we bought before at the English grocery store tasted like eating a bad off name brand…Nice try but nowhere the real taste. Remember a couple days ago we spent $20 on PB&J, bread, Pringles, cracker, and cheese? Well today we spent $45 dollars to stock up the entire fridge for the remainder of our trip. I’m just curious how the British live with even the most basic groceries so expensive. Also we had a few American civilians that worked at the commissary stop and crack jokes with us. We haven’t had the random friendly chic-chat in so long that I don’t thing I would have minded the red-neck with teeth missing dressed in camouflage (just like you see in Wal-mart) telling us he tried to join the military but they would not let him in because of his flat feet or his third grade reading level. We had BBQ sandwiches for lunch, while chocolate chip cookies baked in the oven. We bought a previously viewed DVD at the Shoppette for under $2 and relaxed in front of the flat screen. We were in our comfort zone. Did I mention we went crazy over the food at the commissary? We had steak, baked potatoes, and salad later that evening. After eating dinner, Malinda and I took a walk around base. There isn’t much here. It’s a communication base with huge antennae. We found ourselves taking a look into the bowling alley and meeting with the alley manager, Dave. As it turns out, Dave and his wife own and operate a Bed & Breakfast in Stratford-upon-Avon (Shakespeare’s hometown). So we ended up talking and trading stories for almost 2 hours. He was a wealth of info on how things are so different here in England. It’s kind of like having a spy on the inside.

Real Food!

A look at lunch

Awwww. This is us at dinner.