Home Again

We said a sad goodbye to the caravan and headed home this morning. I was reluctant to leave because it has been a lovely week, but Laura has an A Level exam on Monday so we had to drag ourselves back to reality. The journey back was OK, it was busy and the M5 was running very slowly, but once we got past the cone storage area (otherwise known as Bristol) the roads were better. We got home safely, but I left the others to unpack the car because I was exhausted after the long drive. Unpacking when you get home is so depressing! My holiday has left me with with one unanswered question, each time I went to the beach the same question came to my mind - why do old men wear Speedos?

Back to Reality

Saturday dawned impossibly early, we were all up by 5.15am and by 7am we were on the road. It was the Royal Cornwall Show and I wanted to be well away from Wadebridge before the queues built up. It was an uneventful but exhausting journey and we made reasonably good time. Something about the M5 always brings the worst out of Robbie, he spotted a train at the point where the motorway passes close to the railway line and for the next ten minutes he 'entertained' us with a medley of train noises - I think he has been missing work! My nerves were still jangling when there was a thump against the window behind me, I thought some debris had broken the window but it was only Sam recreating the legendary moment when grandad had thumped his hand on the side of the window to express his feelings to a particularly inconsiderate driver. Needless to say both 'boys' were silenced by a few words from me!

When we got home there was a note and a key from our neighbour, she had just left for her holiday and she wanted Robbie to water the plants and feed the fish. He takes his responsibilities seriously and he popped round to check on the fish and see to the plants. He was gone for quite a long time, and when he returned he had a puzzled look on his face, he had been searching for the fish. Apparently he expected them to be in a tank somewhere in the house, but when he couldn't find them he went out to water the plants and found the fish - in the garden pond! The following day he wasn't quite as long, but he still took longer than expected, apparently he was trying to count the fish to make sure they were all still there, but they wouldn't stay still!

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!

Happy Birthday Laura 02.06.07

An early start this morning! At 7am we were all enjoying bacon sandwiches and watching Laura open her birthday presents. After some hasty packing we hit the road at about 9.30am. I am always reluctant to leave Cornwall, but it is a little easier on a dismal morning such as this morning. It remained wet and miserable until we were past Exeter and then gradually a beautiful warm day emerged. It was a tedious journey as there were far too many people on the road but once the dreaded Bristol was behind us and we had joined the M4 the journey improved.

Robbie was delighted to see a FGW train heading towards London and a Virgin double set heading towards the south west. It is a very odd sensation to drive along the M5 with a train travelling alongside.