Christian's 38th Birthday

Christian's birthday present was a suprise, and Kelly worked very hard on keeping it that way. At 5pm we left work on Friday and took the train back to Orpington. Kelly took the GPS unit and plotted the course, by post code, to where we were going. We had nothing but the address, and Christian, who was driving, had no idea.
It took us about an hour to drive to the adorable Olde Moat House B&B Kelly had found online. The proprietors were out, so a kindly neighbor let us in, showing us to our gorgeous room with the enormous four-poster bed and charming, large ensuite bathroom. Kelly had bought a bottle of champagne, so there were 2 glasses left out for us, and a minifridge to put the bottle in for the next day. We loved our room.
After photographing it, we left to find something to eat for dinner. We drove about 4 miles where we found a quaint 15th century pub called the New Star Inn, where we had a fabulous dinner.
The next morning, we had a lovely breakfast in the dining room with the other guests. Unfortunately, the weather was not going to be any better than the cold, rainyness it was already displaying, so I downed about 14 cups of tea before we ventured out. The world was our oyster; we could choose between Canterbury, Hastings, Battle, Rye, the seaside, you name it, but Christian already knew what he wanted to do the minute we stepped foot in that part of England..."Choo Choo train".
35 years ago Christian's family took him on the Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch Railway for his birthday. That was exactly what he most wanted to do this birthday as well.
We left the B&B and drove to the Romney Marsh railway station, which was unbelievably charming. We were both so inadequately dressed for the weather, so we grabbed the blanket from the trunk and got into this adorable steam engine train. It chug chugged up north for about 45 minutes to the end of the line. We were in the open part of the train, so we had the freezing rain beating down on us from all directions. But just seeing Christian's face made it more than worth it. By the time we reached Hythe, it was pouring outside so we had to stay in the station for a short while.
We walked around the village for a few hours, taking it all in. Kelly was wrapped in our lovely blanket to protect her from the cold. Whilst walking on the high street we saw an owl display, as they were raising money for the Hythe Owl Sanctuary. The owl guy let us hold any owl of our choice. Kelly got to hold a barn owl (her favo(u)rite), and Christian held a stunning eagle owl.
After that, we walked the streets exploring till we decided it was time to see more of what the train had to offer. We also decided against pub food for lunch, which was prevalent in Hythe, so we walked back to the station and got back on the adorable steam engine. We had to walk past all the people sitting in the lovely enclosed carriages and climbed back into the first open one.
We decided to return to where we started, Romney Marsh, for lunch. It was again pouring at this point and never let up. We walked about 10 minutes to the main road and finally gave in to the cold. We ducked into a charity shop and bought a few sweaters for the remainder of the trip, since the now wet/cold blanket wasnt cutting it. We bought a bunch of pasties at a bakery for dinner, then sat in a lovely tea room for a quick, warm lunch.
By the time we went back into the rain, now falling in buckets, Kelly had just about had it. We got to the station and got back into the train bound for Dungeness. Christian gave in and allowed an enclosed carriage this time, which, while it isnt heated, does cut the wind out.
Bleak is a word that describes Dungeness. It was flat, cold, gray. It consists of a lighthouse, a few houses dotting the landscape, all at the foot of an enormous power station. When we got there and realized that the next train wasnt for 40 minutes, we jumped right back on that train and returned to Romney Marsh.
We decided to nix dinner out and have a romantic evening in in our lovely B&B. We returned to our room, and Kelly's feet were so filthy from wearing Teva's in the rain that she used the conveniently placed Bidet to clean them. We then both took long hot baths, and put our fluffy bathrobes on. Christian popped open the champagne and we each enjoyed a glass in the warm. We then went downstairs, in our robes, and offered the remainder to our hosts, whom were kind enough to sit with us and we talked for over an hour. At that point we went back upstairs to bed. It was a lovely, lovely day.