When we arrived, we found the food court, and helped ourselves to some Taco Bell and Baskin Robbins! What a treat! Both of these bases have hotels that we can stay at for a really reasonable price. I think it was only $45/night, and we had a 2 bedroom suite with a full kitchen! It was fabulous!
These bases also have larger stores than what we have at our base; one specifically had a much larger selection of toys! So, we spent some time our first morning wandering around the aisles with the kids so we could get a feel for what they might be interested in for Christmas. (And later that night, Ethan went back and did a big chunk of our Christmas shopping, while I was putting the kids to bed!)
It was a really nice weekend to get away, and get a little US fix without spending a ton of 0money. But the best part of our weekend had nothing to do with these bases, but with a little air field about an hour away.
Ethan's grandfather, Roger William Stryker, served in the US Army Air Corps (Air Force during WWII as a navigator. He was stationed at what was called Debach Air Field when he was only 18 years old. When Ethan's uncle came to visit the UK, he was able to see Debach Air Field, so we thought we would give it a try.
We looked it up on-line, and found that there was a museum at Debach, and that they had a few events each year, mostly in the summer. http://www.493bgdebach.co.uk/
They listed a contact number, so I gave a call the day before we left, not really expecting much.
Well, we drove to the air field, and when I checked my voice mail on the way, I found a message from the proprietor saying that they would be glad to meet us there. We were surprised, and again, not quite sure what to expect. While we were waiting for them to arrive, Ethan walked around a little bit, and then we went to see the memorial. (In this photo, Ethan is holding his grandfather's Bible which he kept in his pocket during missions.)
By that time, the couple arrived who were the owners of the air field. We learned that the airfield was passed down to them from his father, who owned it before and after the war. This couple has made it their personal hobby and passion to restore the air field, and collect items of interest from during the war. They were unbelievably kind and gracious to meet with us and give us a personal tour of the air field.
We started in the control tower, 
where we were able to see a model of what the air field would have looked like. 
And amazingly, we were able to find a picture of Ethan's grandfather on the wall with his flight crew (he's in the upper left - it incorrectly says "Strykes"). They only had a sampling of photos displayed, and his was there. Words couldn't describe our joy to have been able to make this connection, so far from home.
Next, we toured the infirmary where there was a large display of models and artifacts from the time period. 
They also took us to see a collection of automobiles from the war that the owner was restoring. 
It was very impressive. They even had a model of a bomb shelter.
If all of this weren't enough, the owners made a call to their archivist, Darren, who practically dropped what he was doing to come and meet with us. He took down Ethan's contact information, and for a month or so following our visit, he forwarded Ethan everything he had with Roger Stryker's name on it. So now, Ethan has an extensive collection of information regarding his grandfather's missions, promotions, etc. What a treasure!This whole visit turned out to be so much more than we ever expected. We thought we would go, take a few pictures, and that would be it. Never did we imagine to get an in-depth, enthusiastic, personal tour by the owners. We never imagined we'd see a picture of Ethan's grandfather there. And we certainly never imagined to be linked up with someone who could provide us with such an extensive written record of his grandfather's activities during the war. It was a Veteran's Day weekend we will never forget.
