We’re back!
Next time, Jem does the map. Multimap/RAC gave us a very roundabout route…it took maybe an hour less to get home with Jem navigating, and t’was a much better route.
Wales was nice, as usual. Bearing in mind the holidays are Sun newspaper offer things, I can’t complain..:) Nice site, HUGE beach (which we walked up/down/across several times), and the Caravan itself was OK. Not as good as the others we’ve been in. It was “Bronze” class, and it looked like it had had a few uncaring occupants at other points. Some of the windows were damaged and I had to “modify” them slightly to get them to shut fully..the under sink cupboard/drawer was damaged, and the beds were frankly crap. Otherwise, not bad. I could live in one..:)
The site maintenance could do with some tightening..several vans had leaky water connections, and one had no front on the electrical main box, leaving all the High Voltage wiring exposed to the air/rain/little fingers. We had to call out an engineer to the TV after mum lost the settings..he came, he twiddled (after I’d already fixed it), and got a crap signal on Ch. 5..“best we can get mate”. My arse. I got a crystal clear pic..:) Also, site maintenance goes off site at 8pm, about the time I noticed the water heater was out, and I couldn’t relight it as the knob on the unit was on wrong.
Ah well…minor issues..:) The site was huge..to walk to the shops was no small effort. We went along the beach to the sea and decided to go for a paddle..can’t remember the last time I did that..I’m glad of the limited feeling in my feet - Jem squealed like anything when she stepped into the water. It felt like a tepid bath to me. It was most relaxing though..as was walking up the beach feeling the warm sand underfoot.
We went to Rhyl, Llandudno, and all over..reliving past holidays, and following memory lane. Rhyl looks nice, but..well..window shopping comes to mind. Superficially nice, but go off the main front, and it’s a little run-down. Tourism is good, but..well..it seems like the bright lights etc are icing on a cake thats seen better days. I do smile at the OTT of it all. Like the park site..the showbar, the shops, the gaudy colours, loud noises..all part of the holiday experience, and to kids it must seem great…maybe I’m a cynic, but to me it seems like it’s quite forced. Splendid to desperate levels, maybe..:) I like holidays for the relaxation and the change, the being away from anything and everything. Literally “the world can go to hell, I’m on hols”..:)
We’ve done a lot of walking this holiday..I mean, A LOT. Jem is aching, and I’m aching too. My left knee won’t move much, and my right leg is aching, my tendons and muscles are so tensed that I can’t put much weight on it, and I can’t even propel my own weight upstairs now. We went to Llandudno yesterday, along the beach there, along the pier and back..The day before, we went on (jem reckons) a good 4 mile walk to a lighthouse and back to the park..by the time we walked back to the Cav yesterday night, I could barely walk. Even the crutch wasn’t much aid. Every step/movement hurt like a knife.
The bed didn’t help. Crap mattress meant that Jem and I had to keep rolling over in the night or get dead legs/arms. Also, the supplied “double” duvet was hardly that..we kept waking up cold. It took 3 duvets in the end! We’re glad to be back to our own much bigger, much softer, thick duvet covered bed.
I was still a little reluctant to go though…it’s so nice to just take yourself “off the hook” for a while and escape to somewhere “off the map”. Tomorrow morning, it’s back in the car and back to work for us both…and I daresay that’ll come as a wrench. Still…I feel a little more chilled again..which is all good..:) I’m also pleased to have enabled Jem to build her first seaside sandcastle..pics of that I daresay will follow. I was quite surprised to witness a “Punch and Judy” show, complete with gollywog character..in this PC age, I thought they’d be made to remove it. The kids loved it though..I found it amusing in as much as it’s a slap in the face for all the soft do-gooders this country seems to be run by..:) It belongs to Britain when it was Great, and didn’t give a toss..it seems quite out of place now..shame.
Speaking of cars, I’m impressed with Vauxhall. For a car we’ve had little or no time to acclimatise to, the 11 year old Cav did a stellar job. Massive boot, acres of space inside, nice and comfy. Made the trip so much nicer than being cramped in a Fiesta. Mum still needs a new car (this one is a loan), but I think she likes this one. Certainly she loved the power steering. I think the 1800 injection engine and alloy wheels went to her head though..;) Normally it’s 45-50mph tops..frequently this week I’ve had to remind her the limit is 70. I rarely hear “oh, come ON” directed at other road users from her, but we did a few times..plus she seemed to like overtaking and one handed cruising..heh. I think she needs an automatic though - I felt quite sorry for the Cav doing 60-70mph in 3rd gear! She keeps forgetting to change. 5th didn’t get used!
We were both quite impressed with the power though..in her words “it’s very well-tempered about doing roundabouts without changing gear..I can pull off in 3rd!”. 1st to 4th happened a few times as well..and it didn’t bat an eyelid. Only I could get it to go in Reverse though..:) Even if mum can’t tell how far off things she is. I’ve got a great pic of the exhaust embedded in the bank at the holiday park..;)
Ahh well..I’ll go and crank up the fire to heat the water for a bath to try and ease our muscles, and check on the Guinea Pigs (who’ve just been bathed, much to their chagrin). Then I’ll tidy the tools out of the boot and settle down to gather myself for tomorrow..:)
Nice trip, the caravan seems a bit on the down side (eek, I can remember when we went down Devon and we had to kip at a caravan site due to flooding or something - and the TABLE turned out to be the bed. :|) but it seems like you had a decent trip. :P
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You saw a Punch and Judy show? :o I’d love to see one again. i thought they had been removed but *shrug* That’s pretty cool.
Thats crap that they went off site at 8pm.. In our park they’re often around till much later and security are always happy to help if they can if all maintenance have gone.
I’m glad you had a good time getting away though, it sounds like you both needed it. I keep forgetting to look on this as I keep forgetting you have it, but good to hear from you and i’ll try read up when you post =)