Due to the upcoming changes within TNK-BP we traveled to London in July to investigate the next job assignment. It was great fun to do some shopping, see a play and enjoy some of our favorite restaurants in London.
After the business was taken care of we rented a car, and landed in Liverpool. We enjoyed the Beatles Museum and some wonderful Chinese food in the city. We were a bit surprised to discover that Liverpool has a huge Chinese influence. Liverpool is a pretty seaside town, and we had a great day exploring where Beatlemania originated.
Then we were off to Wales for a couple of days of life in the slow lane, and enjoyed a neat little B and B in Snowdonia National Park. Wales is beautful country and a true hidden treasure of the United Kingdom. At one point we felt like we were on top of the world.
This is one of my favortie photos of our trip to the UK as it shows Ron writing post cards to Andy and Ashley. Although they are 26 and 29 with lives of their own they are never far from our thoughts and prayers.
After a few days in the UK it was back to Moscow for a final round of goodbyes within the expat community, packing and visiting with adoptive couples . It was our pleasure to meet Meghan and Bill who fought off jet lag on their first night in town to join us for dinner with Vernon, Christa and Andrew at our favorite restaurant - Gogul Mogul!
We were thrilled to learn that Meghan and Bill brought a scrapbook of their new son to dinner, and Bill goes down in my book as SUPERDAD since he created the book! As an avid scrapbook fan I think the scrapbook will be a special treasure for their new son! Way to go Bill!
We also had a chance to meet up with the Jeff, Sarah, Maya and Tristan for lunch at McDonalds, and a photo opp in Red Square. We are praying that Ian and Michelle will return to Moscow in early August. Hopefully, on August 17 we will have a chance to welcome one last couple to Moscow on their first day of Trip 2 and our last day in the country. I can't think of a better way to end our time here in Moscow.
Early August we took a short trip to St. Petersburg for some sightseeing. For anyone traveling to Russia to adopt I highly recommend that you consider a side trip in St. Petersburg. We even have a wonderful guide to recommend to you. One day after my 54th birthday we will start packing out. Ron gets kudo's for delaying the packing until after my birthday. Ron and I are from the deep South, and this was our first opportunity to truly experience living in snow for months on end. One thing for certain about Russia is that you can experience snow!
We have loved everything about the weather here from the sunshine,rain, snow and especially the fall colors have all been awesome here in Russia. It has been a wonderful experience to live in Russia and we leave with many fond memories of this country.
We will arrive back in the states August 18 and enjoy a few days in Texas with our son and his new bride. Then it is off to Alabama and the Retirement House where we will once again be waiting news from BP. Life is indeed very good!
Life goes on and change is certainly a part of life so we are now looking forward to our next adventure. At this point, we are still considering an assignment in Angola but no firm decision on that until we make a recee trip sometime late August or early September. Currently there are over 100 BP expats living in Angola so we are thinking it would not be that bad and it would only be for 2 years. It would be a great opportunity to see South Africia and go on a photo safari. HMM! We shall see what develops!
Our main purpose in this blog was to introduce ourselves and communicate with adoptive couples, and since we are now leaving Moscow perhaps it is best to end our Moscow adoptive blog at this point. Maybe we will start one in the future about our next assignment or the new grandbaby. It has indeed been a blessing for us to meet, at last count 17 couples since January 2008, and witness your journeys to your forever families. You are our heroes and we consider it a honor and priviledge to have been a small part of your adoption journey. Although we will be out of Russia as of August 18 please feel free to contact us via email if you should have any questions about this wonderful country. We will be thrilled to hear from anyone traveling to Russia, and will gladly pass along "Ron's Map" of the Arbat area with some of our favorite restaurants marked to anyone interested. All the best!
