Cadillac & Gimont 18th, 19th & 20th Sept 08

18th, 19th & 20th Sept 08 - Cadillac & Gimont Cadillac Me outside the Church in Cadillac! Inside the Church in Cadillac A Church along the roadside en-route! Just one of the many pretty villages we have driven through.

Keith, Mal, Me & Helen - some great people we met in Cadillac!

An early start today to Bordeaux which meant we avoided paying for our camping fees for the night, as we were gone by the time the guy came around to collect! The day didn’t start too well, Mal got very cross with me when I tried to interfere with the speed we were driving at – uh oh got to bite my tongue! Anyway, we arrived in Bordeaux at about 10.30am & headed for the Hymer dealership. Fortunately they were very helpful & asked us to go around to the service area & they would take a look at the problem with the block. After a lot of testing & fiddling around the guy concluded, as Mal had 2 days prior that the electro block was caput! He went off to see if they had one in stock, unfortunately not. Mal asked what they could do as we were travelling, they thought they would see if their other place had one in Toulouse which was over 100 miles away……anyway they didn’t have one! Then the guy disappeared & arrived back with a new one (we concluded with our limited French that it was for another customer, but they would let us have it). So, Laurent (the hymer guy) set about taking the seat out amongst other things to get access to the electro block. Finally he had it fitted just after 12 noon, we were ready for lunch as we had skipped breakfast to set off early – but we decided to crack on the further 20 miles to our next destination Cadillac, stopping along the way to get some supplies. We arrived in Cadillac just after 1pm & I proceeded to unpack the shopping, only to find the fridge wasn’t working! Mal tried his best to diagnose the problem but was unsuccessful – part of the van instruction manual is in ‘German’! Back to Hymer we went…….we waited about 20mins to speak to Laurent, who then came out to look at the van. He diagnosed a missing fuse from the new block he had put in…….we said Au Revoir to Laurent……he said he hoped we wouldn’t be back soon. So, another 20 miles back to the site, which was only very small & by this time we were getting concerned there would be no room left! Luckily for us we managed to secure the same spot as earlier. I cracked on with some food as Mal was almost passing out from hunger by now. Mal had got chatting to a guy across from us called Keith & his wife Helen. After dinner we had another disaster, Mal knocked a glass of wine over the laptop, but I am pleased to say we dried it out after taking it to bits & it has survived……how much bad luck are we having at the moment!!??!! Next day we got chatting with Keith & Helen who had stayed here before, they told us there was a great market on Saturday & also advised us on camping in Spain as they had been doing it for years. Mal offered the services of our internet connection for them to send e mails to family in the UK. Unfortunately Mal discovered a virus on their laptop, so on he got with sorting it out. We had a bike ride into town, which I must say is a lovely little place with charming character. Keith popped round later to invite us into town for a beer which was lovely. Keith being a cockney regaled us with some very funny tales of his youth which I particularly found enchanting. The next day we went to the market which was a real cultural experience, the air was filled with a penetrating array of interesting aromas. There was a stunning display of fruit & vegetables, along with clothes, wine, the most delicately created cheeses which looked almost too beautiful to eat. Alongside all of this there was a menagerie of animals from live chickens, geese, a cat, kid – some of which I must say were not for sale! We met up with Keith & Helen for a coffee, as ever Keith entertained us with some great tales, then we said our goodbyes & exchanged contact details (hoping that we will meet up again sometime). We then set off for Gimont which was on our way to Carcassonne. We arrived in Gimont at about 2pm, so quickly cooked some Mackerel & knocked up a salad prior to our 3pm webcam call with Wendy & Jmel in New York. After our web call we took a cycle ride into the town – I must say I was disappointed, it was very run down. With the town being run down I was on edge as to whether it was a safe place to stay. But we concluded it was, but I set the van up ready to hit the road immediately if we needed to – as advised by Keith. Oh one thing I almost forgot Mal has taken to free wheeling down hills now to save on fuel, another of Keith’s tricks – I must say it’s like riding on the wild mouse!

Piriac, La Turballe, Jarde-Su-Mer & Mortagne-Sur-Gironde - 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th & 17th Sept 08

Mal collecting Oysters in Piriac! The sunset in Piriac from our camping spot - what a view! Me on my return from the launderette.... Our improvised washing line! The windmill on the front in Mortagne-Sur-Gironde.

13th, 14th, 15th & 16th Sept 08 – Piriac, La Turballe, Jarde-Su-Mer & Mortagne-Sur-Gironde –

What a great place! We arrived mid morning onto a small Aire & secured a great spot overlooking the beach (there were only 3, so we felt lucky). Once we got settled we noticed numerous people coming back from the beach buckets in hand. Curious as we are we meandered down to the La Plage (the beach) to see what was going on. Mal spoke to a lovely French man who was on top of a mound of rocks with some sort of crustaceans attached to them, a pick axe type of tool in hand, chipping away at these things. He kindly informed Mal Huitre (Oysters to you & I) – WOW!! I was so excited & quickly conjured up what tools etc. we could use to harvest ours! Mal agreed so; we went back to the MH & collected – a claw hammer, screwdriver & chisel (our version of the speciality tools the other guys were using). Anyway undeterred by our improvised tools we set about collecting out Huitre. Half a bucket later & with the tide fast approaching, I concluded we had enough. We decided to cook them just to be safe as we hadn’t got a clue what we were doing & to go down with food poisoning was not something either of us relished. I consulted the internet for a recipe, whilst Mal cracked the guys open. I then cleaned them up added some garlic, butter, breadcrumbs & cheese, popped them into the oven & served them with some ‘French’ bread – delicious! Mal took himself off on a bike ride whilst I had a little siesta (it’s hard going all this travelling lark). Next day we decided to move camp further up the road at La Turballe. Again this was another great location – just across the road from the beach. We took a ride into town to find a launderette with success – we sussed out what time it was open until & how much change etc. we needed, then rode back to the MH to collect the washing. Loaded up with 2 bags, Mal had one I had the other on the back of my bike we rode back into town & spent the next hour or so doing the washing which cost €20. By the time we got back it was late afternoon, whilst I put the washing away Mal cooked a tuna risotto – we got our chairs out & ate lunch outside. Post lunch we decided on a stroll on the beach, it was a lovely day & there were a number of bathers. We copped a squat & soaked up the sun for a while, finishing off with a gentle stroll around the headland. Tonight we had our video calls to the USA & UK with our Sisters. P my Sister is taking her driving test tomorrow so we spent some time psyching her up for it. Next day we headed off for Jarde-Su-Mer I didn’t sleep well, so was pretty tired. We arrived late afternoon, so had a stroll to the beach & sunbathed. Later we walked into the town were they had a lovely marina. We had a visit from another Brit who was doing a similar thing to us, except they were off olive picking in Granada from Nov for 3 months. Spoke to my Sis tonight what a STAR!! She passed her driving test today, I am so proud of her. We caught up with Holly & Phil online too, they are planning a trip to see us towards the end of October, and it will be great to see them. We set off early this morning to La Rochelle, picked up some shopping en route. We also filled up with LPG which was a bit hairy the garage had a really tight area to get through to pay! I disembarked to guide Mal through closely helped by the cashier; thankfully with Mal’s skill he guided her through without a mark! La Rochelle – hmmm well we pulled up at the aire which was a very very busy car park in the centre of the city, there was not room to swing a cat never mind a 4 tonne MH! I had to bail out at one point because it was just too tight, so don’t rely on me if you’re in a tight spot! I decided this was not a very nice place, it had been vandalised & I didn’t want another sleepless night like Bayeux. We decided to continue on the journey to Mortagne-Sur-Gironde, what a good idea that was. Mortagne-Sur-Gironde is beautiful our site is overlooking a river marina which is full of prestigious sailing vessels along with a number of mating ducks. There are guys fishing, some riverside restaurants & a little shop selling regional products. On our journey here the landscape has changed again we have gone from all sweet corn in the north to sweetcorn & sunflowers to sweetcorn, sunflowers & vines! The grapes are ready for picking in October so they are fully laden like nothing I have ever seen before! Unfortunately when we arrived we connected up to 230 vaults but there appears to be something wrong with the electric block, i.e. it is not working correctly! Hymer here we come again…..I am getting sick of this! Anyway we put it behind us & went on a cycle ride of the area, I have a new basket for the back of my bike too, in order to carry my shopping/washing or whatever else will fit in – how organised am I. Mal settled in for the Liverpool match & I cooked dinner, we broke into our 5 litre box of wine which cost €6 what a bargain!

Quiberon

11th Sept 08 – Quiberon

We set off mid morning, amidst lots of rain. Our first stop was a Hymer dealer to try to get the door fixed – we arrived there at 12noon, to be told they had just finished for lunch (lunch break was 2 hours). We parked up & made our lunch, then amused ourselves on the internet. We finally got the door fixed, it took about 10mins max! We decided to continue on our journey to Quiberon which was about 90miles. Mal drove with his expert precision, what a comfortable trip. We arrived at our destination at around 5pm. We picked a spot overlooking the sea, which had huge rolling waves – Mal was in his element. We took a stroll along the peninsula then headed back to cook tea. A long day!!

12th Sept 08 – Quiberon

We awoke at 5am to the most torrential rain I think I’ve ever heard! It had woken us during the night too, but by the time we got up it had subsided to a bright sunny day! We had decided upon another day in Quiberon as we only arrived late yesterday. As I write this we are drinking the most wonderful cidre (cider to us folk in the UK), which Normandy is famous for. After breakfast we saddled up the bikes & took a ride to the nearest town, we spent a good portion of the afternoon relaxing in our chairs outside reading – it is a beautiful day! Mal spent some time trying to fix one of the doors on the garage as it was not shutting correctly & he found that the latch had worked loose – thanks again Hymer for such a quality product! We had a British guy across from us who came to ask if Mal needed any tools or WD40, little did he know Mal has half of Malpin aka Maplin it was re-named in honour of Mal’s patronage over the last few months - tee hee. Once he saw M n M’s stash of tools he went quiet, but offered any help should it be required – what a nice guy! Later in the afternoon we took a walk along the headland which was stunning the crashendo of waves one after another were breathtaking. Our neighbours tonight are from the UK & stopped by for a chat – seem like nice people.

Bayeux & Le Mont St Michel

Le Mont St Michel One of the many lovely buildings in Bayeux The Monastery housing the Bayeux tapestry. Another of the great sights around the town. Cathedral Notre-Dame - Bayeux One of the many beautiful houses in France!

9th Sept 08 – Bayeux

We headed off for Bayeux via a Hymer dealer whereby we hoped to get our habitation door fixed! (Every time we try to get in or out we have to do it with a special technique – which may appear to some as if we are breaking in…….luckily we haven’t been challenged on this). Anyway, finally got to the dealer, which didn’t look like a dealer……to be told, they had closed down in June! A pity Hymer can’t manage to keep their website upto date – why am I not surprised! We decided to motor on to Bayeux & re-evaluate the situation once we arrived. Bayeux is a beautiful place http://www.bayeux-tourism.com/ENG/index.html, our site was in the centre of town on a ‘regular’ town centre pay & display car park although it was free for us & there was water & waste disposal facilities available. We set off for a meander around the town & of course to see the tapestry……WOW, wow, wow, the tapestry is huge & was very impressive, definitely worth the €15.40 we paid to see it! We saw some lovely sights, buildings, streams, waterwheels & of course shops!! We decided to go to see one of the sights of the D-Day landings Arromanches the following day & thought we may stay another night in Bayeux.

10th Sept 08 – Bayeux & Le Mont St Michel

After the worst nights sleep we have had here, we decided we would not spend another night in Bayeux – predominantly because we had been woken numerous times throughout the night by rowdy people vandalising the recycling bins, amongst other things. This proved very disturbing & made me especially feel a little vulnerable, although there were a number of other motor homes too. I had read about a market which was on in Bayeux today, so we took an early stroll down to peruse their wares. It was an eclectic mix of food & anything else from leather goods to toy wooden trains. We came across a great fish stall & stood around watching them gut the fish mesmerised by their expertise. We noticed they had a huge crate of what looked like scallops, so we decided to buy 1kg for €3 – Mal was a little unsure as we didn’t know what to do with them! No worries we’ll consult Mr Internet. After lunch Mal couldn’t wait to have a go with the scallops, so as he started to get the little suckers from their shells, I challenged the internet to tell me what to do with them. But before that Mal thought we should check out the French word for scallops, it was not the same as what we had bought! After much deliberation we decided they could be babies as they ended in ecoles, so we did a translation on google & am pleased to say we were right. It took a while to de-shell them, I then proceeded to de-stomach them (not something I relished) – I did a great job, we decided to leave the de-sanding until later. We headed off to Arromanches the site of the D-Day landings

http://www.france-for-visitors.com/normandy/d-day-beaches/arromanches.html it was an awesome place! The beach is absolutely stunning in a weird kind of way because you can still see the remnants of the port. The Allies knew they would need a port in order to keep their forces adequately supplied, but after the fiasco of the Dieppe raid on August 19th 1942 (Operation Jubilee), it was obvious to one & all that German defences were too good for them to capture a working port. For this reason, the decision was taken to build two prefabricated harbours from sections towed across the channel. Although work on Mulberry A at Omaha Beach was abandoned after it was destroyed by the violent storm of June 19th-21st, Mulberry B at Arromanches, nicknamed Port Winston, went on to play an undisputed role in the advance of Allied troops in Normandy. We decided the museum was worth €16 & had about an hour in there. We mounted our bikes & rode back to the MH for the next leg of the journey to Le Mont St Michel. We arrived in Le Mont St Michel at around 5pm & we were pretty tired & so decided to get on & have something to eat. This place is awesome our spot for the night was right at the base of Le Mont St Michel – the view was breathtaking. http://www.lemontsaintmichel.info/ There were no hotels in such an enviable position as us – how lucky we felt!

Honfleur

Honfleur Honfleur Honfleur Honfleur Mal cleaning the van in Honfleur - our first 1,000 mile clean!

6th Sept 08 – Sat We arose to a lovely sunny day & listened to the crescendo of waves on the harbour wall, whilst lying in bed – it was pure indulgence! Mal fed us porridge for breakfast. A lady arrived in a van selling freshly baked croissant, bread & pan au chocolat we bought some bread for lunch & Mal treated himself to a croissant, which was absolutely divine! I spent the whole morning getting the on-line blog up to date. Mal relaxed outside on his reclining chair reading. Mal made lunch & then I joined him outside. The weather is so good I changed into some shorts! Another disaster today….the habitation door has started to stick again, so we are struggling to get it open – Mal has tried to fix it twice before. So, yet again Mal attempted to sort it out to no avail – he thinks it may be the handle, so we need to find a Hymer dealership to get it fixed (let’s hope the guys in France do a better job than the UK). We did not let this put us off & set about sunbathing again. We took a stroll into town where Mal showed me some beautiful buildings he had discovered on the hillside – one of them was a convent. We did some shopping to cover the next 2 days, & then sat out reading for a while with a nice beer. I cooked tea which was great timing as we had a rain shower. We had a knock on our door at about 7.30pm, Mal opened it to a little old man who was selling eggs, wine & marmalade – Mal kindly told him we didn’t need anything. When I saw him out of the window I felt sorry for him (he was so cute), so I asked Mal if he would go & buy some eggs, but by the time Mal got to him he had sold out – which made us feel better. We didn’t really need any eggs; guess I am just a softie! Later on in the evening we had an alarm going off from the inverter which was to say we were running out of battery, so……it was ‘lights out’ we thought we may scrape through with the electric until tomorrow am – guess that’s another learning curve! Anyway we watched a movie on the laptop which was perfectly acceptable – then off to bed. Mal of course found all this very frustrating & incessantly talked about voltage, amps etc etc......nothing profess to know much about! 7th Sept 08 - Sun The rain through the night was immense & it was still raining when we got up. We had run out of electric completely now......no big hassle as it would charge once we were on the road. But Mal as most preturbed & said it may have damaged the battery - no point crying over spilt milk! So, we packed up & headed off for Honfleur. We drove through some quaint villages which were drenched in flowers. The countryside is a veritable feast for the eyes with a smorgasbord of colour. The other day whilst travelling to St Valery en Caux we saw a deer at the side of the road, it was awesome! We decided to travel along the coast/country roads to our next destination which took us to Duclair, Jane (the sat nav lady) then said get the ferry! Mal said to me “what did she say….get the ferry?” my reply was yes & sure enough straight ahead was a small car ferry over the Seine! How exciting we thought, it was only a couple of minutes long & was a great experience which neither of us had done before. We carried on to Honfleur & found our next aire which had a lot of happy campers complete with travelling circus. Throughout our journey Mal asked me to check & re-check what voltage was now in the battery as it 'should be chargeing' on our journey! AArrggghhh I made a lovely lunch, then we settled back to watch the Belgium Grand Prix, Lewis won in a nail biting finale. Then we unloaded the bikes & set off to explore the town. WOW the town is stunning, it was also very busy with both pedestrians & traffic so much so that we decided to head back drop the bikes off, change into something cooler as it was very warm & pick up Mr Snappy (my camera). Then we took off again, stopping off at the fish market at the side of the harbour to peruse their wares; we decided we may buy some fresh fish in the morning as we had dinner planned for tonight. The town was gobsmackingly beautiful, we took a pew on the marina wall & watched the world go buy. Then meandered around the various shops gazing admiringly at the wonderful buildings. This is definitely a place everyone should visit & I can’t recommend it enough. We walked back slowly to the MH after a while to hook with my sister P, for a video call – which was great; it was fab to see my big Sis. We sank a couple of beers; the temperature in the MH on our return was 33 degrees! Later as we were discucssing yes you guessed it 'THE voltage' & battery issue Mal said he was disappointed it didn't last that long - I then reminded him we had not been on hook up since Tuesday & it was now Sunday so we had managed 5 nights on battery. Mal had forgotten about this & concluded it was rather good after all. As I type this Mal is checking the voltage input.....see what I mean when I say Arrgghhh! Happy Days.

8th Sept 08 - Honfleur

A glorious day – the sun shone throughout. Mal took himself off for a bike ride at 8am, whilst I cleaned the ‘house’, yep you still get household chores – it’s not all a breeze! Upon Mal’s return we cleaned the outside of the MH for the very first time (she has done 1,000 miles now), she came up gleaming! We had a leisurely lunch, then did a bit of had washing, then sat out for the afternoon oscillating between snoozing & reading – we are spoilt. We decided upon a bike ride prior to dinner. Mal cooked a mouth-watering risotto, whilst I caught up on a bit of essential admin. A very relaxing, re-energising day indeed! We called Holly this evening to open our mail, some pleasant mail & not so pleasant – we had got a speeding fine for doing 37 in a 30 (we had thought it was a 40) – so a £60 fine & 3 points……can stomach the fine but the points are unreasonable! Thank goodness we are no longer in the UK!

France

St Valery en Caux St Valery en Caux St Valery en Caux

4th Sept 08 – Thurs Up at 5.30am & set off for Dover at 6.00am. We had a smooth trip with a minor delay near Luton. I spent most of it in the back so as not to stress Mal with my constant twitter (hopefully I will get over my car accident in a couple of months). Arrived in Dover at about 10.15am we quickly got some Diesel & LPG we had used 1 bottle of LPG in 7 weeks & it only cost £7 to fill it up again! Booked our 12.20pm crossing with Seafrance £73.75 (concluded next time we will book on the internet). The kind lady said there was a ferry leaving at 11.05am & if we were quick we could get that one at no extra cost. There was no stopping us we were off!! Determined to get the 11.05am – which we did. We made a couple of au revouir phone calls then settled down for some food which was just acceptable. A couple of games of German whist & a stroll around & we were arriving in Calais. The first thing on the list was a supermarket, we bought pizza & salad along with 3 litres of rose wine (the wine cost £4). We headed for our first aire (campsite) at Cap Nez Gris it looked like a great site in a lovely location. However, Mal was not too tired so we decided to head on a bit further, to Quend – Plage – Wow what a beautiful location, right overlooking the beach! We had driven 255 miles at an average of 30.2mpg today. We had a stroll on the beach then I cooked tea which we devoured in no time! After another stroll on the beach & a our toes dipped into the Atlantic we settled down for a relaxing evening & watched a movie. We rang the family via the skype phone for just 1p per minute – how fantastic. 5th Sept 08 – Frid We headed off after breakfast towards Normandy, the trip was great – the roads are nice & smooth not too much heavy traffic. We meandered through some stunning villages, stopped off at the Champion supermarket for some supplies and diesel. Getting diesel was an interesting task there were no wide spaces but Mal amazingly got us filled up with about 1inch to spare between pumps on either side – talk about a tight fit! Our next destination was St Valery en Caux which was described as one of the nicest aires in France albeit it was a single lane track to get to it, complete with falling rocks & a 3.5tonne weight – I was little reserved to say the least. Mal reassured me it didn’t matter that we were 4tonnes ‘it’s just to put people off ‘cos it’s so nice’. Yes Mal was right the single track road was not even as narrow as some of our lanes in the UK, the weight limit was not an issue either and boy is it a beautiful place. The weather was mixed but brightened up later, we had a stroll around the town which has a lovely marina. I cooked a curry for tea, using up our supplies then we had a stroll on the beach & dipped our toes into the Atlantic. We may stay for another day tomorrow, because we have all the time we want we will leave that decision for tomorrow!

Midlands

2nd Sept 08 – Tues Up early to get ready for the off. We were meeting up with Greg & JB Mal’s friends for a coffee at 11.30am. So we stowed all bits & bobs, double checked the passports etc. Then it was time to say goodbye, P & I were very sad (but we will see her again very soon). We exchanged cards & I said bye to Chris & the dogs. Then one last farewell to my Mum & we were off on our way to meet our friends. I opened one of the 2 cards P had given me which had me in floods of tears, so I am waiting to open the other one later, otherwise Greg & JB will think I am an emotional wreck! Greg texted to say he’s running late, but we decided to wait anyway. It was great to see Greg & meet JB & his wife Megan. We then headed for Birmingham to stay at Jay’s (one of Mal’s ex work colleagues). Mal made a great chilli for tea, Jay joined us in the MH but we later watched a film in his house so as not to leave (chops the dog) on her own for too long. 3rd Sept 08 – Weds Up to a sunny day – albeit a little tired after perhaps one glass of wine too many. Felt a little sad P is not here with her smiling face to say good morning! However, Jay did pop in to say good morning whilst taking chops for a stroll. Jay was the perfect host & let me use his washer. We went out at lunchtime to call on some of Mal’s work colleagues in Coventry & Mona one of my friends in Rugby. Jay cooked us a fabulous meal tonight (it being our last meal in the UK). We said our goodbyes to jay before bed, as we planned an early start tomorrow.

Lancashire Part 3

6th August 08 – Weds Our early morning cockerels woke us at a very unsociable hour! It didn’t rain in the night. Mal called at the farm shop for some freshly laid eggs & we enjoyed scrambled eggs for breakfast. We packed up & decided to visit the Lakeland shop, then head down to stay at P & Chris’s. The weather was not good. Mal paid our fees for the 2 nights £11.20 in total, what a bargain! The drive down the country lanes to a main road were a little hairy in my opinion, although I feel sure Mal will disagree. Anyway we arrived back just after lunch & Mal proceeded to sort out the problem with the underside. We both paid my Mum a visit later in the afternoon. Tea was late tonight, but we had a welcome visit from P with some chocolate. 7th August 08 – Thurs We woke very early 5.30am but stayed in bed trying to get back to sleep. Mal had too much on his mind with the van being damaged & had to get up. Anyway by the time I got up he had it all worked out. I went off to see the consultant about my car accident – I must say I felt deflated afterwards & thought it was money for old rope, but perhaps I am too cynical! After lunch we headed off to Ormskirk to collect more of our belongings with P at the wheel. We came back via Manchester where we collected a generator which Mal had bought on e bay. With Mal settled back at home complete with new toy, I set about cooking up a curry for tea. We spent the evening checking e mails, watched some T.V & did some reading. How did we ever find time to work? 8th August 08 – Frid Had a good nights sleep, the first one in a while! I cleared the garage out & got stuff ready for storage, then off to Mum’s to do her hair. The Olympic Games opening ceremony in Beijing was on T.V. Mal & I went to put additional stuff into storage, then to buy more…. Stuff for the MH. We went to Mum’s for Chinese food for tea – it was really lovely. Mal did lots of brilliant jobs on the MH today he fitted a safe, repaired the underside amongst other things. 9th August 08 – Sat Off food shopping this morning with my Mum& P. Then a big clean of the MH & did some more sorting out. The tubs we bought for storage do not fit the intended space. Boy we have tubs coming out of our ears! With a few minor adjustments we got them to fit & I packed them full with books & games. Hol & Phil are coming over tonight for tea. We bought some leads & extra memory for Michael’s laptop. Then off to Mum’s to sort out the above, which took Mal quite a while. Arrived back just prior to Hol & Phil’s arrival - Wow the days just fly by. We had a great evening plying cards & drinking copious amounts of alcohol, finally went to bed at 2am! 10th August 08 – Sun Arose at 10am everyone still a tad tired, had breakfast followed by a movie - the weather is awful. Hol & Phil left around 1pm, we discovered we had a puncture on the Yaris. Once we had tidied around we headed off to get the tyre fixed, we had to buy a new tyre! Had a lazy afternoon, Mal cooked a lovely fish pie for tea. Then we settled in for an early night. 11th August 08 – Mon Had a great nights sleep, still feels very luxurious not to have to go to work on Monday mornings! Pottered around with general household chores, then I had some work to do for A4e……wow!! Work!! Whilst I worked for the next 6 ½ hrs Mal read, watched the Olympics & cooked. I asked if he minded me working? But he was quite happy & said I could work more if I liked! Think he is after being a kept man! 12th August 08 – Tues Woken by yet another rainy day! The weather is truly awful at the moment. Well we took the MH to Leisure Tech in Clitheroe for the satellite/internet, alarm & solar panel fitting – fingers crossed they do a good job. Quite odd leaving our new baby with strangers! Next job was to clear the garage at Mal’s Mums & sort out the estate agents. After which we had a nice relaxing bath (not had one in a while) as we only have a shower in the MH, then an earlyish night. Sleeping at Mal’s Mums tonight. Mal’s birthday tomorrow! 13th August 08 – Weds “Happy Birthday Mal”. What a busy day – didn’t have time to write. Started off with a tidying spree at Mal’s Mums prior to a visit from a potential new estate agent, who stayed for 2hrs. We decided to go with them & gave notice to the other guys. We then headed off to storage to unload another car full – once completed next stop P’s, we dropped more stuff off here. I went shopping for a birthday cake for Mal & some stuff for tea, as P was cooking a birthday tea for Mal. After shopping we went to collect the MH at 7pm. The guy (Phil) talked us through all the teckie stuff. Next was our first disaster…….. when pulling up at P’s Mal clipped Chris’s car! This scratched our bumper & broke the rear light, it also scratched Chris’s bumper. Chris was absolutely cool about it & said don’t worry it would be easy to fix. So, more stuff to sort out! As we have broken a seatbelt in the Yaris too! Mal was absolutely gutted & it took a lot of cajoling to entice him to let it go. P made a lovely meal, we had good wine & a chocolate birthday cake! 14th August 08 – Thurs Mal was up very early playing with his new toys (satellite & internet). He vey kindly woke me too as he was changing stuff on the satellite & it kept moving the dish around on the roof (which is a little noisy when you are sleeping). But I am getting used to the lack of sleep now – unfortunately people tell me I look tired most of the time! Oh dear! Mal’s not happy the internet won’t work this morning…..could just be the signal? Next hassle one of the kitchen drawers was stuck & wouldn’t open properly. Looks like the guys yesterday have had it out. So, it took about ½ hr for us to fix it – a right hassle with so little space, but at least we know how the drawers are put together now! Mal has spoken to Hymer & the back light is all one unit & will cost about £180! I wonder if we will ever get on the road at this rate – we seem to have to spend money on things we don’t want to. Oh one last thing the screen for the reversing camera keeps coming unstuck! Went to Mum’s for tea, Michael had made a lovely Birthday curry, chicken tikka the works! We enjoyed a few glasses of wine & shared various tales between us. Margaret regaled us with a number of both funny & interesting stories. 15th August 08 – Frid Finally got a lie in until 8am – well done Mal! Spent the day getting shopping supplies for our trip, a new pair of glasses for me. Then collected the new part from Hymer, which Mal fitted upon our return. We headed off to Helen & Neil’s for tea & an evening of Rugby Wigan v Wakefield (Wigan won). Helen gave us a box from DD & Jmel, Helen, Neil, Sam & Chris – it contains lots of gifts which we can open on our travels if we are missing home. It was a lovely gesture & I almost cried. The reality of going is growing ever closer! 16th, 17th, 18th August 08 – Saturday we went over to stay with Holly (Mal’s daughter) & Phil (Holly’s boyfriend) – we finally got to meet up with Rob (Mal’s son) after his trip to Brazil, it’s 2 months since we last saw him! He was looking good, tanned & not as thin as I thought he may be. Holly cooked a wonderful meal, we didn’t have one of our usual late nights! Sunday we breakfasted with the kids, then headed home for Sunday lunch. Getting our final bits sorted ready for our departure. Monday Paula & Mal went to pick up Rob from Skipton whilst I finalised our admin prior to departure.(Mal’s driving licence has gone AWOL with DVLA) so we can’t go anywhere without that! Rob is staying with us for a few days prior to us leaving. We thought we may go off travelling somewhere in the UK, but may be due to living off crackers in Brazil for a couple of days). 19th August 08 – Tues Another ‘final’ trip to Ormskirk to get the rest of our stuff for storage – but a quiet day overall. We are still pondering an the idea of buying a ‘buy to let’ property. If we do then this may delay the start of our trip ‘cos it needs work doing on it – but we will know more when we go to view it again tomorrow. Whilst I was off on a late night visit to our neighbours ‘The accident’ happened! I left Mal & Rob setting up to watch some stand up comedy off the laptop. Guess what??? The external hard drive dropped out of the overhead cupboard onto the laptop & smashed the screen!! How many more things can go wrong?? I could have cried…..but I remained positive. 20th August 08 – Weds An early start! Booked the house viewing for 11.15am, whilst Mal set about sorting out the laptop. We went to view the potential rental property with Michael & Rob. But subsequently decided not to put an offer in as we had an uneasy feeling there was some underhand dealing going on (it was a repossession). I spent the afternoon completing paperwork in relation to my car accident, which I must say was perplexing & took a long time. I also did some work for A4e – guess it will pay towards the laptop being fixed! We don’t have too much to do now so hopefully we will be off soon!!! If nothing else gets broken….. 21st, 22nd, 23rd & 24th August 08 – The next few days were spent, finalising jobs. Showing potential buyers around Mal’s Mums house, having dinner with friends, fixing the tent (pleased to say the tent was one thing we didn’t break). Rob went home on Saturday, he has decided not to come to France with us, as he needs to prepare for his return to Uni. We are just waiting for DVLA to sort out Mal’s licence…..then we can go. It’s a bank holiday weekend so we can’t speak to them until Tuesday!! Mal has slowly driven Rob & I insane with his early mornings so I am thoroughly knackered. Mal is learning how to use his new gadgets. With the T.V dream box I think I will be fluent in Dutch & German by next weekend!! 25th & 26th August 08 – Mal the electrician spent some time putting up light fittings for P – which she loved & was immensely grateful. We headed off to Hol & Phil’s for tea & a few bevies in Colne at the 19th Blues Festival. Mal gave us a rendition of ‘don’t you want me – Human League’ on the laptop karaoke eagerly followed by me! We had a scary moment when Fred (the cat) on the roof was sliding down the glass of the velux window….at speed…..Hol shouting get him in it’s treacherous out there! The next day was spent sorting out our ‘final job list’ which is mainly admin jobs, but they seem to be taking forever! The wait for Mal’s driving licence continues – they promise it will be here by Thursday. But we have been waiting for 4 weeks now!! Spent some quality time with P walking the dogs – just the 2 of us. As the departure day looms she gets sadder & sadder. But we are trying to reassure her it will open up lots of visiting opportunities for her – I do hope she will be ok. 27th August 08 – Weds Mal & P took my Mum for a hospital appointment this morning, whilst I tried to do some work. Mum had lunch with us In the MH, kindly supplied by P. We went to leisure village to buy a bike cover in the afternoon, then to the Solicitors to write our wills. (Something we should have done a long time ago)! P did all the driving & did a super job. P joined us for an evening of scrabble closely followed by monopoly (Mal won both games) but P was hot on his heels at the monopoly. I went bankrupt – hope that’s not a sign of things to come! We thoroughly enjoyed our evening, the driving licence should arrive tomorrow, so looks like we will head south on Friday afternoon. Much to P’s dismay – she is concocting plans to delay us leaving! 28th, 29th, 30th & 31st August 08 – Mal’s driving licence arrived on Thursday. We still had a number of things to finalise & I wanted to see a few old friends prior to departure – so I got Mal to agree to stay until Mon/Tues. I also had some work to complete & wanted to box that off too. I arranged to meet up with friends on Friday night in Preston, we had a few bevies & caught up on old times as well as their future plans – not a late night. We also played monopoly with P again – so I set up a tournament for Saturday night, I won in spectacular style! On Sunday we had tea with Helen & Neil then did our emotional goodbyes……hopefully we will see them at Christmas.

1st Sept 08 – Mon Busy busy day getting all our last bits done ready for the off. Mal had to collect a new water cap from Hymer as ours had broken for the second time!! The quality is not great for such an expensive vehicle. He also had to fix the front grill as they hadn’t repaired it correctly last time! We had tea at Mum’s, then after a very emotional goodbye we headed to P’s for my last bath – it was pure luxury! We also visited my Aunt & Uncle to say goodbye and we had a visit from my other Aunty. I gave P & Mal a paraffin wax treatment as P’s hands are very sore.

Cumbria

4th August 08 Mal was up early like someone on Christmas day, clearly excited that we were going away for a couple of days to practise. Fed on porridge we set about preparing the MH for our journey. Quack expertly guided Mal out of our spot, which had been home now for about 2 weeks, we said our goodbyes & headed off. First stop, Clitheroe for a weigh in! We had no idea what we weighed – the kind chap did it for a donation to the bacon buttie fund! Front1520kg back 2340kg total 3860kg. Our maximum load can only be 4 ton front 2100kg & back 2400kg so we are under on both. Some rearranging on both the front & back is required. For those of you (like me) who don’t understand payloads the front of the MH weighs the same as a mondeo!! Next stop Leisure Tech to check out where we are having our satellite & other things fitted, they appear to be a good outfit – we will see!! Then off to Preston to leisure village to check out their wares. We bought a couple of useful items. Then on to Hymer were they sorted out our items on the snagging list, for any potential buyers this was namely the freezer lock, trim outside, trim inside, extractor fan & lockable water cap, all in all it took them about an hour. Then off to Cartmel for our first ‘solo’ camping. Journey was great, weather first class. We arrived in Cartmel at about 6pm after some narrow lane manoeuvres. Anyway we came to a stop & concluded we were lost! With a tiny mobile signal Mal rang the campsite guy. He said “oh did you follow sat nav” yes Mal replied “ah that’s what the problem is, I’ll come & get you”. Thankfully Norman as we came to know him arrived to guide us round to the site. He told us ‘pick’ our spot in the field. There were a couple of other caravans & 1 MH, oh & a resident gaggle of geese along with some hens & cockerels! We found a nice spot with great views of the Lakeland hills. Once we had filled up with water kindly aided by Norm we settled in & I cooked up a storming meal, washed down by a nice bottle of rose. We chose a film to watch & settled down for the night – the film went into our rubbish category! 5th August 08 Arose to a nice sunny morning. Mal prepared breakfast& we planned our day. We headed off to Grange over Sands on our bikes, cautiously advised by Norman it was uphill coming back! I assured Norm I may call upon him to collect me…. He kindly checked if we wanted anything from the supermarket & if we had a good nights sleep, he had been awake in the night with pigs & piglets in the barn. Our trip to Grange was quite hilly & as I currently have a bad chest I was out of puff & wheezing……but I kept at it, only to be almost mowed off my bike by a bonkers BMW driving woman! She clipped a car wing mirror on her way past & a guy driving a van exclaimed “what a stupid woman”. Mal quickly spotted she had pulled over & went to have a word’. Explaining she had almost caused a serious accident & she had hit another car. She was completely oblivious that she had almost hit me – she told Mal to go away as she had done nothing of the sort! Mal took her reg & that of the car she had hit & we headed down to the police station. The officer took her reg & said he would go to visit her, commenting she was probably one of the morning sherry brigade! We did not let this spoil our trip out & headed down to the promenade, which was beautiful. We saw lots of glorious flowers & caught their heady scent on the warm breeze. We had a light rain shower but it was kind of nice in such fine surroundings. Our bike trip was about 6 miles & we arrived home just before the big rain. Prior to lunch we embarked on a best of 3 backgammon game, Mal was crowned the overall winner (I am sure this will be a common theme throughout our trip) – but that’s the joy of being with Mr competitive! It rained for most of the afternoon, stopping momentarily for us to enjoy a bit of exercise playing in the field with the frizbee. We enjoyed our time reading & sorting through a couple of tubs of books. With the continued rain I asked Mal if we would be able to get the MH out tomorrow he assures me we will – time will tell. Well, just as we were settling down to watch a film we had a visit from Norm – to say due to the incessant rain & the farmer going out early tomorrow to the Cartmel show, he wondered if we wanted to move the MH tonight. We agreed to this, may be a good idea. Our first plan was to reverse up the hard standing track behind us; if we got stuck the farmer would pull us out. Mal set off reversing with Norm & I giving directions (me dressed in a pale pink velour tracksuit & pink crocs – not ideal attire)! There was a sudden clunk & something dropped down from underneath the MH, what appeared to be a metal stanchion. Mal got stuck in the mud & after another failed attempt decided to try turning around & driving up, he did this with success. A number of other campsite residents came out to offer their support. Mal investigated the piece which had dropped down which was part of the switch for the grey water waste. Norm & I quickly got buckets of water & set about cleaning the copious amounts of mud from the MH. Once finished Norm & I looked like we had been in a mud wrestling competitionn. Norm & the other chaps went back off to their respective homes - we later learned Norm's wife had made him sit in his wet clothes all night 'cos he wasn't due for a clothes change until tomorrow.....oh the joy of travelling. Mal taped up the offending broken underside & I decided to go inside only to find the door wouldn’t open – talk about comedy of errors! Mal took a look & found it was the striker plate on the door which had come undone. I must say I am feeling a little disappointed with the quality of the MH at the moment! So no wonderful Lakeland view tonight, we are in where the chickens, geese & cockerels live – so an early cock-a-doodle-do for us tomorrow!

Lancashire part 2

3rd July 08 We were met at Manchester airport by P & Quack in the little blue car. P being so organised had prepared a flask of coffee. Unfortunately in all of the excitement we didn’t stop for the coffee, instead we decided to pour it on our journey. P with her steady hands (not) had the flask, I got the short straw of holding the cup. One successful cup for Mal, now onto mine. Ooopps!! Coffee all over me….welcome home!! P made some great bacon butties, we then headed down to my Mum’s. We decided to stay for a while, if we went home we felt sure the lure of bed would prove too much - mum made us a nice lunch. Then we headed off to see the Wilson’s then it was over to Ormskirk. We unpacked quite a lot & went to bed at 11pm (5am in US time). 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16th July 08 We had arrived back to Hymer telling us our Motor home (MH) was not going to be delivered for at least a week! The next week or so was spent doing a mix of things – household chores, gardening, cleaning, tip runs & admin. We visited a number of our family for tea the Wilson’s, Holly & Phil, my Mum & Michael. P also passed her driving theory test – well done! 17th July 08 Well the day had arrived!! The new home was being collected from Hymer. We picked up P & Quack then headed off to Preston (they were taking the little blue car back with them). We had our ‘induction’ into the Motor home from Andy at Hymer. Then we were let loose on the open road! Mal drove with precision & expertise, whilst I sat in the passenger seat in a cold sweat clenching my hands. First stop Ormskirk to load some of our essentials, second stop the Wilson’s, whereby we were joined by Helen & Chris for a ride to Asda for diesel. Dropping Helen off invited an inquisitive Woggie into the MH. Chris scooted off for some supplies & whilst I poured him a coke he opened the crisps! He was so excited & had no end of questions. We departed Dingle Road much to Bob’s (Helen’s neighbour) dismay as he had wanted to have a look inside, but was on his way out……we promised to return. Next stop my Mum’s…..they thought the MH was great. Mal had to entice Margaret out from behind the wheel, she was so enamoured by it all. Final destination P & Quack’s campsite. As we approached the driveway I felt sure we would never get such a big beast down it – Mal & Quack told me different! After a lot of tooing & frowing Mal successfully positioned her into our (commissioning spot).We excitedly set about unpacking our belongings in our new home! We tried out every item & found a couple of snags (a return trip to Hymer was required). Our first night in the MH was a success, the bed was of ample size & comfy, with our cosy duvet & feather pillows we were very snug. 18th July 08 Today we carried on unpacking & had a date booked with Holly & Phil camping in Skipton – how exciting! We set off late afternoon to collect Phil from Colne. Once all aboard we made our way to skipton. We set up camp & got the chilli on, Holly arrived at 7.20pm, we enjoyed our chilli & cracked open a bottle of Frexenet (our new champagne on a budget). We played cards & roulette until the wee small hours, I won a fortune (plastic money of course). We had an interesting episode of running out of ice….not to worry there was a pub nearby, so off Holly set plastic food bag in hand to beg ice at the pub – she returned with a bag full of ice! Next we ran out of water….only having just collected the MH we had no hose…..so with empty coke & water bottles Mal & Phil set about trying to fill up with water – this was no easy task at about 1.30am after consuming a copious amount of alcohol. Mal told me later he had been worried due to the lack of light they might fill up using the tap which they clean the bog out with….but assured me they didn’t – welcome to our new life!! After plenty of don revvies we retired for the night after getting our visitors settled. 19th July 08 We had a reasonable sleep, although the rain on the roof proved a bit too much to allow me to sleep soundly. It was bacon butties all round. After breakfast we cleared up & decided to veg out & watch a film. At approx 1pm Holly & Phil got on their way, closely followed by the Silverfox & his moll. We headed back to our commissioning spot. Getting parked – well Chris (Quack) was out so, Mal decided P & I could guide him into his spot! Something I was not happy with. Anyway after a lot of manoeuvring & some choice language (from me) P & I successfully got him in position – never again! But I doubt I can enforce that one….. P asked if we would go to asda with her later (she is learning to drive & wanted to drive the little blue car) – we agreed. We had plans to go out later to a do at the golf club. Off we went to asda at 5pm, P proved to be quite elusive on the isles, I spent most of my time looking for her! Finally we checked out & set off for our campsite. Arriving back to a welcoming Chris who instructed us to drop the bags in the kitchen. As I walked into the kitchen I was greeted by a lot of familiar faces who chorused ‘Surprise’. My Mum appeared to say “you are not going to the golf club, we are all going out for a meal”. Mal & I were shocked but pleased everyone had gone to so much trouble. Whilst everyone enjoyed a drink, Mal & I went off to shower & change. Once suitably washed & brushed up Mal & I joined the party. We went to a super restaurant & enjoyed great food, champagne, whilst chatting endlessly. Then all back to P & C’s to continue the party. People started to mill off to bed, I finally went at 2am leaving Helen & Neil with P & Chris. We ended up with 6 of us in the MH – Sam & Chris (Mal’s nephews) just couldn’t possibly stay in the house when there was our MH outside. 20th July 08 I think most people got up a little tired. Mal, P & I cracked on with bacon butties all round. After everyone was fed they started to depart. Mal & spent a lazy day pottering around the MH. 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27th July 08 We spent the week commissioning the MH. Collecting stuff for the MH from Ormskirk, buying bits & bobs. We cooked for P & C, them returning the favour. Mal tried booking the MH in for the satellite & other items fitting – no success at the moment! 28, 29, 30, 31st July & 1st August 08 This week was similar, still commissioning the MH. But Mal did get booked in for the additional bits fitted. We also had Sam & Chris (Mal’s Nephew’s) to stay for 2 nights, we had a day trip to Lytham St Annes where we played crazy golf & ate ice cream. The boys watched numerous films, whilst enjoying popcorn & sweets. We went for 2 walks with Fearn & Bracken (P & Chris’s Springer spaniels) where the boys saw deer & rabbits, they thoroughly enjoyed it. 2nd August 08 We had planned to have Mum & Michael round for tea, but Mum wasn’t well so we cancelled it. We spent the day reading, cleared the garage out (in the MH) & doing the washing. In the afternoon we took Fearn & Bracken for a walk with P. We got lost in the woods; I got stung on the face by some nettles – thanks P (she flung them back in my direction)! My advice, if P asks you to go down to the woods today – say NO!! Her sense of direction is poo…. The dogs decided to bathe in what appeared to be sewage hmmmm lovely. After bathing the ‘kids’ (dogs) we got ready to go out. We had decided to go out for tea to the Indian. 3rd August 08 Got up at 9am & proceeded to catch up on my diary whilst listening to the archers. We are doing a mini carvery for tea in conjunction with P & Chris. Popped down to catch up with my Mum. Spent some of the afternoon watching F1 in Hungary, Lewis didn’t win! Mal & I cooked Sunday lunch for P & Chris then played on the Wii. Tomorrow we are off to Cartmel for a couple of days.

USA

9th June 08

Up at 5.30am didn't have a good nights sleep! Set off for P's arriving at 6am, a quick coffee then off to T3 Manchester with quack at the wheel. Arrived at T3 at just after 7am said our farewells to P & Quack, leaving our little blue car with them for P to enjoy. Checked in & went through to departures with ease. Had breakfast at costa coffee. Flight BA1503 was good, food, refreshments & entertainment excellent! Arrived at JFK to 100 degrees reception, boy was it hot! Waited as instructed by Wendy (DD) on the central area for a couple of minutes then Jmel arrived in the all singing, all dancing Toyota Prius (v nice). We loaded our bags after exchanging hugs & kisses with Jmel. The air con in the car was a welcome relief. Jmel being the perfect hots as she always is had prepared refreshments waiting in the car, iced tea & iced water, which were fab. We settled in at the house with ease & went with Jmel to collect DD from the station (hiding in a doorway as a surprise). We had a great chicken salad for tea, followed by fruit & cheese/biscuits this was all enjoyed with constant chatter. We went off to bed at 9.45pm which was a late night considering it was 2.45am in the UK.

10th June 08

Mal was up at 5am after getting me to agree he was 'a good boy' for staying in bed for so long! I got up about 6.15am, then after making coffee proceeded to lounge in my P.J's reading magazines, eating a wonderful breakfast prepared by Mal of oatmeal, apple, raisins & cinnamon. I continued to lounge whilst planning our Washington DC adventure. We depart on Sunday for 3 nights at the Harrington. Mal prepared the 2 cycles for us to explore on later. Eventually I showered & liberally applied suncream as it's very hot again today. I then helped Jmel prepare a shrimp salad for lunch. Yesterday we saw a raccoon, a robin & black squirrel. Along with some amazing dragon flies. We saw a chipmonk this morning, a woodpecker & a grey squirrel.

11th, 12th, 13th & 14th June 08

We spent the next few days kicking back & relaxing, reading, drinking iced tea & doing a few jobs around the house for DD & Jmel. They also took us to wildflower island (http://www.teatown.org/) which was a tranquil oasis of beautiful 'wildflowers' some 230 native & endangered species at tea town. We also met up with Betsy & Jane on Friday 13th for some tapas 'like' food at Chart House (http://www.chart-house.com/) on the banks of the hudson, with a breathtaking view of the NYC skyline. After eating, Betsy asked if we fancied a sunset cruise on her boat. Without hesitation Mal & I said yes! the boat was top class & speeding up & down on the hudson made us feel like masters of the universe. Betsy & Jane were awfully kind to go to so much trouble.

15th June 08

Our trip to Washington - we boarded the amtrak from New Rochelle, DD kindly waited with us until our train arrived. Once on board we settled into our very comfy seats, on the left of the train as advised by DD - so we could get a good view as we went through Philadelphia. The trip took about 4hrs, but passed in the blink of an eye, I sat passing view after view - too inquisitive to sleep. We arrived into union station Washington DC just after lunch. We decided to get the metro (2 stops). We appeared from the metro into a very bustling city, although not as busy as NY. Just one problem..........we didn't know the address of the hotel!! Mal proceeded to ask directions as we proceeded to walk, to no avail. Thankfully after getting hotter & hotter & grumpier & grumpier we found someone in the know! Yippee the hotel was not too far away. Hotel Harrington (http://www.hotelharrington.com/). Now if you are looking for 5* luxury then this is not the place for you. We were cautioned by DD that is was very basic & Jmel point blank will not stay there. She was right it was basic & v. old fashioned. We arrived at room 1035 - I was dying for the loo so dashed straight in, Mal drew back the curtains followed by WOW exclaimed "the hotel may be basic but the view is stunning, you can see the capitol building". I quickly dashed out not stopping to fasten my trousers to see.........a brick wall (our view), Mal got a swift pinch, but pointed out the picture at the back for the bed which was of the capitol building! The hotel served its purpose & was very central to all of the monuments etc. We immediately went out to explore unable to contain our excitement. First stop was potbelly's sandwich works were we both tucked into the most amazing salads (http://www.potbelly.com/). After filling my potbelly we headed to the Whitehouse, unfortunately George W was not at home - he was in the UK having tea with Queen Elizabeth. Within this area we could clearly see the Washington Monument. We headed off to the Vietnam War Veterans Memorial this was an awesome sight (not sure awesome is the most appropriate word) it was certainly very humbling. Neither Mal or I expected to feel as moved as we did. It was made all the more sad by hundreds & hundreds of roses which had been laid (it was father's day)! We walked around in silence amongst many other people. After this we called on Abraham Lincoln boy was he a BIG guy! Apparently if this statue stood up it would be 68ft tall! Looking from the Lincoln Memorial steps you got yet another amazing view down the mall over a reflecting pool to the Washington Monument then over another reflecting pool to the capitol building it was a sight to behold & the weather was beautiful. The city did not have skyscrapers like NY, so it felt much more open & light. After a swig of water we continued on our journey of discovery, at times joined by some of the many squirrels scurrying around. We next came to the Korean War Veterans Memorial - just when you think it can't get any better.......it does. This monument had 19 life size soldiers depicting a squad on patrol, you could clearly see the pain etched onto their faces. The statement in a piece of granite 'Freedom is Not Free' struck a chord, we left this monument speechless. Our last stop via the Washington Monument was the WW2 Memorial, which is huge in comparison. It contains 4,000 gold stars each star commemorating 100 Americans of the more than 400,000 who were killed in the war. By now it was 5.30pm we had a way to walk back so made our way stopping off for an ice cold beer at the elephant & castle (http://www.elephantcastle.com/) just across the street from the hotel. We went to the Austin Grill for some mexican food which was ok although the water tasted like disinfectant. As we waited for the bill (which was none too cheap) I had a visitor.... a cockroach scurrying across the floor, needless to say we didn't return to the Austin Grill! We headed for bed & after speaking with DD & Jmel we slept like logs. The cost of our accommodation for 3 nights was just $370.

16th June 08

We arose early, like two excited kids eager to explore the city. We took DD's advice for a 'free' breakfast downstairs at the hotel. This was not a success - the food was awful, all served up on plastic plates, cups etc. but to top it off we had to pay for it. The only good thing was i could check the internet (for free). Anyway, with breakfast behind us we embarked on our walking tour of Washington DC. We headed straight to the Holocaust Memorial Museum to get out day pass, we got there at 9.15am & joined the long queue it was v. hot even at this early hour. We got to the ticket area at 9.45am & luckily got admission for 10.15am. This museum was brilliant & I could easily have stayed for most of the day. It was very educational & once again humbling. Mal finally dragged me out just after lunch. Next destination the Air & Space Museum. Well Mal was like a little boy! We bought our tickets for the Imax 'fighter pilot' - it was great. After this we grabbed a maccy D's, going on to explore the rest of the place. That was our whole day taken up. As we prepared to depart for another iced beer, Mal nipped to the loo. Upon his return a huge thunderstorm had erupted, the museum had a double height glass window so the view was fab, you could see the black demonic sky & fork lightening, the rain came down & we were penned into the sanctuary of the building until it started to ease. The gift shop was doing a roaring trade with poncho buying visitors (us included). So, with ponchos on & silly photos taken we made our escape from space! By the time we reached our destination we were dry underneath but the poncho's were soaked, guess they had served there purpose. I was so tired I had a nap, getting up at 7.30pm showering ready for our meal out. We went to a lovely asian restaurant, called Asia Nine (http://www.asianine.com/) the food was first class & we stretched our budget to a nice bottle of wine. We decided to order some water - when the waitress arrived with a bottle of voss Mal & I looked at each other thinking we were going to get fleeced. To our surprise the bill was little more than the previous night & we didn't have to endure any visiting roaches! We strolled back to our hotel hand in hand feeling very lucky & soaking up the relaxing vibe of the city.

17th June 08

We decided to do a trolley tour today. We hopped onto the orange line with a very witty guide named 'grumpy'. We got off to explore the Jefferson Memorial by which time we had been slightly spoilt but again this was in a great location overlooking the tidal basin. Next we went to the FDR Memorial which was very different to all of the others. We hopped onto the red line with Bubbles over to Arlington Cemetery - WOW! This was stunning, the most amazing cemetery, it was immaculate like nothing I have ever seen before, we visited the graves of JFK & Jackie O (the view from here was breathtaking). Once again we boarded the trolley back to the centre. We decided on a super salad at potbelly's for breakfast come lunch. Fully fed we jumped on the green line over to Georgetown, what a beautiful place! We disembarked at the central point & straight into giffords (http://www.giffords.com/) for an ice cream. We headed to see the butterfly exhibition whilst Mal chomped through his M n M cone filled with what looked like a whole tub of peanut butter ice cream. Well the flutterbyes what can I say..... they were stunning in all of their resplendent glory. Basically, you were in a polly tunnel with flutterbyes from all over the world flying around you - needless to say, I was bricking it! But I convinced myself if I kept both of my hands glued to my 'snappy' camera I was not likely to lash out & volley any through the air unlike my turtle episode in Hawaii! I survived the experience & must say it was brilliant. We went back to the hotel via the Post Office Pavilion. We went to the top to take in a birds eye view of the city. A final stop for an iced beer then back for a shower & change. Tonight Mal wanted to take some night shots of the city, so with camera in hand we started to walk & walk & walk, we took pictures of many sights. We finally got back to the centre at 9.45pm, deciding on something quick to eat at the Elephant & Castle due to the late hour. We ordered 2 pints of lager & a huge plate of nachos with cheese & all the trimmings - we then to room 1035.

18th June 08

We arose early - decided on starbucks for breakfast. Starbucks was packed so we decided to give it a miss & head straight to the station on foot. The leisurely stroll was lovely, we had a great bacon & egg roll at Union Station. We didn't have long to wait for our train. We again got great seats & set about a game of scrabble (Mal won as usual). We arrived back to be collected by Jmel who had kindly got all of the shopping in & planned a great mal. We had a lovely dinner & regaled both DD & Jmel with our tales of Washington DC. We had a great nights sleep in a freshly made up bed.

19, 20 & 21st June 08

We spent the day relaxing & washing clothes from our trip. On Friday we headed into the City late afternoon to rendezvous with DD at her offices. We had been enlisted (if we wanted) to hep pack up DD's office ready for her move. Once we had done the 'pickford's' bit we headed to Bond 45 (http://www.bond45.com/) which is a restaurant just off Times Square. We stopped off en-route at an Irish bar where we met some of DD's work colleagues, they were great people, very friendly & welcoming. John one of the guys gave us an invitation to a BBQ at his house the next day. We moved on to Bond 45 which was a great restaurant & we highly recommend it. Mal said it was the best pizza he has ever had. Saturday was a mixture of lazing around, a trip to the shops with Jmel, then preparing for Sundays 'cook out'. Jmel also made some guacamole & DD made brownies (aka birthdays) to take to John's BBQ. Late afternoon we headed off to Johns for a great time, we met 4 new people & 3 kids plus 1 work in progress. Hmmm I wonder if Kaz has had the baby yet? Just asked DD the answer is yes a little girl - congratulations!

22nd June 08 Well today we had plans for 18 people to come along to a ‘cook out’. I think about 14 people came along. DD & Jmel went to church, upon their return we started to prepare for our visitors. The cook out was a success, plenty of lovely food & we met some very interesting people namely Yousef & his wife Mary. Yousef works for UNICEF & had lots of interesting stories to tell. Once our guests had departed & we had cleared up we all hit the hay as we were knackered! 23rd June 08 Today was a mix of leisure & packing for our trip to Cape Cod! 24th June 08 Off to Cape Cod! Mal at the wheel with his able assistant DD giving directions. It took about 3.5 hrs to get to Newport. We checked in to Historic Hill Inn, DD & Jmel had booked a 2 bed apartment. We were greeted by Donna, who was lovely. On first impression the house looked cluttered, but we reserved judgement as we hadn’t seen the apartment yet. The apartment – where shall I start, don’t know what was worst the smell, the dirty rugs, the minging bathroom. I think it had to be the fusty smell! As soon as Donna left the room – DD exclaimed ‘it stinks in here’! Anyway we dropped our bags & headed out. We took a stroll down town stopping off a Bowens Wharf for lunch at the Black Pearl. We then walked around town meandering in & out of the array of interesting shops. We went out prior to dinner for a drive around the Newport mansions, these were spectacular, a sight to behold. We dined at a restaurant recommended to us by Donna, which was great & consumed a number of glasses of wine. Post dinner we took a stroll along the beach which we all thoroughly enjoyed. A couple of nightcaps back at the ranch, we hoped for a good nights sleep. I was wrong! The overwhelming fusty smell proving too much, I slept with my P.J’s wrapped over my nose to block out some of the smell. 25th June 08 After a shocking nights sleep we arose for breakfast. I couldn’t really stomach much so had ½ a bagel. Even the offer of blueberry bread could not tempt me! Mal & I had decided to visit The Breakers (www.newportmansion.org) this morning it was awesome (the biggest mansion of them all) 7 was once owned by the Vanderbilts. We caught the trolley back into town & had a look around the shops. We met up with DD & Jmel at the Black Pearl after we had consumed a thirst quenching beer. We headed off for a light lunch, & then it was off for a 3.5 mile walk along the coast for Mal & I. DD & Jmel joined us for some of the way. The day was beautiful so we had a wonderful walk. We saw some great views of the mansions & ocean. Jmel & DD collected us at the end of the trail & we decided we had earned and ice cream. The weather had started to change & we saw the weirdest cloud formation, almost like a twister could form from it. We sat in the car & waited for the cloud to go over much to DD’s frustration as she was eager to get on, but Jmel had gained that childlike glow & wanted to stay with the cloud which was cool with us. Eventually we moved on for ice cream. Tonight we ate at Brick Alley which was superb, I enjoyed stuffed shrimp & have to say I was as stuffed as a shrimp afterwards – the food was absolutely yumalicious! Our final night in the smelly house was as restless as the first. 26th June 08 The morning was a welcome relief. Jmel enquired that if they were to book accommodation for us again would we prefer to pay a little more? Mal & I answered in unison a resounding YES! But that aside it was very good of them to book for us. We decided on a final walk around the Newport historic sites which we had not seen already. Then we headed off to Falmouth with Jmel at the wheel. We had decided that we would check out the rooms of the next place prior to agreeing to stay. Just to ensure we didn’t have anymore problems. We arrived at Inn at 1 Main Street (http://www.innatonemain.com/) a little hesitant, but must say Christi & Ray were the perfect hosts. The rooms were immaculate, I was elated that they had tigi hair products for me to use. I could finally wash my hair, something I had avoided whilst staying in Newport! Good job really or I doubt I could have got through my rats nest if I left it any longer. We dropped our bags & enjoyed a few laughs predominantly about our previous residence……think it was out of relief! We decided to go & explore a little. We ate at Liam Maguires (insert www) tonight, shrimp for me again! It was a great Irish bar with live music which we all happily sang along to & drank pints of the black stuff. We had to drag Jmel away she would quite happily have stayed for a few more hours. We all descended upon DD & Jmel’s room for a nightcap & replayed the moments from the ‘smelly house’ – what a laugh. I washed my hair before bed, never thought hair washing could be so exciting. 27th June 08 We had a great nights sleep & got up to egg benedict a far cry from Donna’s fayre. Christi & Ray had kindly sorted out our ferry tickets, so rucksack packed we headed for the steamship authority for the shuttle down to Woods Hole for the ferry over to Martha’s Vineyard. We boarded the ferry & secured a table for 4. We saw an Osprey in its nest on top of a wharf pile which was a great sight. We decided to play a few rounds of whist to pass the ½ hr journey. This proved to be the start of an ongoing tournament. Martha’s Vineyard was great, we saw the gingerbread houses & spent a little time on the beach, Mal ventured into the Atlantic for a dip (it was a very hot day). We stopped off for a nice lunch (think I had shrimp again)! In the afternoon we decided on a bus tour of the island, this was really good. We saw some ostentatious houses, fauna & where jaws was filmed. Our trip was about 2 hrs; we stopped off at Aquinnah to admire the views. Many famous people own houses here Jackie Onassis being one of them. We got the ferry back to Woods Hole at about 6pm. After a quick change back at the ranch, we headed off for an Indian, which was very good. After steering Jmel past the Irish bar we headed back for another great nights sleep. 28th June 08 We did one last visit to the shops to purchase some navy crocs for DD. Mal was going for a bright yellow but DD was having none of it. So crocs loaded we embarked on our homeward journey. We decided to visit a glass blowing place en-route, where we watched the guy making various pieces of the most beautiful blown glass – what a talent! We must have watched him & his able assistant for about ½ hr it was intriguing. We took a look around his gallery, purchasing a lovely vase for Jmel’s birthday which they kindly engraved on the bottom as a permanent reminder of our visit. We decided to head off to Providence for lunch. Providence was a relatively large place in UK terms at least. We took a wrong turn due to most of the roads being closed as there was a bike race on. We started to descend into a down market area & concluded this was not a good place to leave a fully loaded car whilst we filled our tummies. As we made our way back to the centre we happened upon a bar called ???? Jeml & I went to do a reccy of the place & decided it looked good. It proved to be a great find & we devoured a sumptuous lunch. Back in the car we headed on only stopping once we reached our destination. The evening was spent eating chicken salad & playing whist – Jmel & Mal winning at every opportunity. 29, 30, 31st June 08 The next few days were spent relaxing, reading & cooking food on the BBQ. 1st July 08 Mal & I decided to cook tonight to celebrate Jmel’s birthday (3rd July 08) we would have returned home by then. Jmel gave us the giggles as she explained (being from Texas) she grew up to a certain age thinking all of the 4th July celebrations were for her birthday……why would you think anything else! We cooked steak with blue cheese sauce, drank champagne 7 a nice bottle of rose which Jeml was fond of. Cheese & biscuits to follow with some of the port Mal had received for his 40th birthday. Again the card tournament was on……DD & I won – although this could be down to Jmel consuming wine…. 2nd July 08 Our last day - we spent the time packing & decided to do a ‘challenge Anneka’. We went out bought & fitted a whole soaker system in the garden within the space of 2 hrs. We grabbed a 5 min shower & change break prior to leaving for the airport. Then we were off, fully packed to JFK. Jmel had thought of everything & handed me a bag full of lunch items to eat at the airport. We checked in then DD & Jmel walked us down to security. I must say we were both feeling very sad at this point & I looked at Mal with tears in my eyes. I didn’t want to go home yet – even the lure of the new Motor home couldn’t change my mind. With tears in my eyes I went through security after a big hug & kiss with both DD & Jmel. I boarded the escalator & turned to frantically wave to DD & Jmel, completely oblivious to the length of said escalator……yes you guessed it – I fell off the top of the damn thing! Mal took it all in his stride. We devoured our packed lunch after checking out the duty free. Our flight was on time but unfortunately we sat on the tarmac & had a ½ hr delay taking off. But we made good time arriving 45mins early, the food & service on the flight was excellent. Unfortunately we had to endure crying children for most of the flight….this being an overnight flight proved to be very frustrating.

Lancashire part 1

2nd June 08 Slept at Mal's mums last night. Got up at 8.45am, Mal was already up sorting out Michael's laptop. We had cereal for breakfast then got ready to go to Paula's (P's Deb's sister). We collected P & she drove to the car repair shop then to Malpin (aka Maplin re-named Malpin 'cos Mal goes there a lot), Halfords then Skipton. We dropped P off later then went to my Mum's for tea. Mal gave Michael a lesson on the laptop & set up an e mail account.

8th June 08 Got up early finished off the last few bits of packing. Then headed off to Helen's to check in on line. We left Helen's at noon & felt a little sad that they weren't coming to the USA with us. Went to my Mum's via the florists to drop off our washing, the '3' internet card & some flowers. Saw Mum & A. Barb for 1/2hr, they were going shopping to the throbbing metropolis that is Accrington. We then continued our journey to Hol's via asada to collect BBQ stuff & B'day cake for Miss Holly. Holly & Phil were travelling back from leeds after a late night on the Otley run. We spent a lovely afternoon with them, eating great food & enjoying a bottle of muscadet which Mal proudly purchased for £2.98. We had an early night in preparation for our early start in the morning.