Getting There

Friday passed in a blur of activity, we were packing and preparing for our holiday and it all seems to take so much more time than you anticipate. We took Meg to the kennels after lunch, it is not the nearest but it has a very good reputation and Meg seems to like it there, she loves ball games and as long as they play with her she will be happy. The cats are staying at home, Emily will look after them at the weekends and grandma (my mum) will be in charge during the week. Fortunately Dave's eye is better now so he will not need any more medication, that is just as well because he is not the most grateful patient and I don't want mum or Emily to be scratched to bits.

By 7pm the car was packed and the house was more or less acceptable, after a quick meal I retired to bed so that I would be well rested for our early start. The alarm woke me at 2am, bed seemed very attractive but I forced myself to get going, it took drastic measures to drag Robbie from his bed, but after a shower and 3 Weetabix he was a little more human. It always takes longer to do those last few jobs than you expect, and Robbie kept us all waiting, but by about 3.50am we were on our way. Robbie promised to stay awake to talk to me, but he was snoozing before we had left Northamptonshire!

With three slumbering passengers and only a talking book to keep me company I had a quiet drive towards Oxford and then down to the M4. I wanted to make the most of the early start so I drove on until the second services on the M4 before making a comfort stop, they all moaned when I woke them up and turfed them out of the car. After a quick visit to the facilities and a walk around in the cool morning air I felt sufficiently refreshed and awake to continue. Sleeping Beauty was nodding again before we had rejoined the motorway but it was a good drive, I didn't see any road works or traffic cones at Bristol (there is a first time for everything) the M5 would have been better without the multitude of caravans, but there were no delays and before long we had passed Exeter and headed into Cornwall on the A30. At last I could turn off towards Camelford, Wadebridge and the Atlantic Highway, I love that bit of the journey. By 9am we were parked by the quayside in Padstow enjoying a very welcome hot chocolate, for me this is the best place in the world.
We spent the day in Padstow exploring the shops, enjoying lunch at our favourite restaurant and watching all the activity around the harbour. We booked into the caravan at 3pm and by 5.30pm the luggage that had taken almost a week to gather together and pack was unpacked and put away and I could finally relax and enjoy the amazing view across the bay. I will add some photos later.

It is hardly surprising that I was exhausted, but I stayed awake long enough to see Graham Norton's continuing search for a Nancy and then the beginning of the Eurovision Song Contest. I don't usually watch Eurovision, but I really like Andy Abrahams and I wanted to see the British entry. Thankfully it was very near the beginning and after watching several more increasingly bizarre entries I retreated to the bedroom and the relative sanity of Radio 4! That was the last I remember until I was awoken this morning by a yell from the en suite – Robbie had burned his bum on the heated towel rail!