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Published: September 2nd 2017
Geo: 51.3347, 1.41787
June 5th was the 11th anniversary of Kim and I getting married. It seems like just yesterday. Boy time flies when your having fun. On our anniversary, I usually take Kim out for a nice dinner and get her a small present. This year I was having a hard time finding that certain something special. So instead of buying her another piece of jewelry that she would not wear I decided to take her for several surprises that I thought she would enjoy. Saturday afternoon we hopped in the car and drove into Sandwich to take a boat ride down the Stour river in hopes of seeing some seals. This is something we have wanted to do for a long time but for what ever reasons we had not done. The boat ride was about 2 hours long and included the captain telling us the history of the river and surrounding area and pointing out any wildlife we encountered on our voyage. At the beginning of the River Stour, at the North Sea at Pegwell Bay, is a favorite spot for the seals to rest on the banks. This is something you can only see from the water.
From the shore we have never been able to spot any seals. After seeing 2 seals we headed back to Sandwich for the conclusion to the wildlife river tour. We came home changed our cloths and walked into town to go to Age & Sons restaurant for dinner. If a restaurant in Ramsgate were to get a Michelin star this would probably be it. We had not been in here to eat before but had heard both good and bad reviews. I was time to let the real critics decide. After a minor delay in finding or reservation we were sat at a great table near the windows and were presented with menus. The prices were very fair and the descriptions sounded great. We ordered a bottle of wine and our first course arrived. The food was cooked to perfection using local ingredients and perfect sized portions. Our server was a young girl who was obviously new and very nervous but did a good job. After dinner we meet up with some friends in town for a couple of pints then came home and relaxed on the patio before turning in for the night. The other part of my surprise
to Kim was a plane ride over Thanet. I found a man who owns a couple planes in the area and has a company towing banners. He agreed to take Kim and I up for a ride but he could only do it on Sunday. Well wouldn't you know it the weather had been great all week and when Sunday arrived it looked bad. I had called the Pilot, Simon, and he said he thought there would be a break in the scatted storm clouds and to head out to the airport in the next hour. As we were getting into the car to go to the airport he called back to say it was raining hard at the airport and we would need to reschedule for another time. So out of the car and down to the promenade at the end of the street we went. Today was the annual bucket and spade car run. People with old cars from all over the area drive to the sea side at Ramsgate. It is a amazing collection of some great cars. As we finished looking at the cars and took Lily down to the beach for a run we came
home and were watching the Tigers play when Simon called back to say the sun was shining at the airport and if we were up for it we could head out there for our flight. Back in the car we went and headed to maypole air field. A small grass runway about 25 min away. Kim has no idea at this point where we are going. When we got to the air field it didn't take her long to figure out what was going on and I could tell she was getting a little nervous. The sun was shining but there was a light sprinkle coming down. A rainbow appeared and we could see the weather was moving to the east. There was a nice break in the storm cells and we would just have to wait a few minutes to take off. We buckled into out seats in a plane that made Buddy Holly's plane look big and before we new it we up in the air. Because of the storm cells in the area we did not have full choice of where we could go. We were basically trying to avoid the storms. We headed over to Canterbury
and circled around the Cathedral. After leaving Canterbury we headed to Dover and had a great view of Dover Castle and the port. We then headed over Deal heading back toward Thanet and flew over Thanet Earth. This is a massive green house complex where they hydroponically grow peppers, tomatoes, and cucumbers. As we were circling back around to head back to the air field, we were pretty close to Manston airport where we heard the tower talking to other pilots and say there were 3 Spitfires and 1 Hurricane getting ready to take off. As we waited to get this once in a life time sight we circled around Reculver (a Roman fort that guarded the north end of what were then the broad waters of the Wantsum Channel, which separated the Isle of Thanet from the rest of Kent.) Before we knew it we heard the tower clear these World War II fighters for take off. Although it is nearly impossible to see in the video and even hard to see in the photos it was a real thrill to share the sky with them. We headed back to our grass runway for what had to be the
smoothest landing ever. Although we did not get to fly over Thanet because of the weather, Thanks to Simon we have a anniversary memory we will not soon forget.
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The best sister in law ever!!!
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What a great husband!!!! Well sis you gotta Love em. :0) Glad you guys had a great time. Love yaKris