The rain bid us farewell as we set off from the Royal Marine at 3:00am on the AirCoach. The trip was easy; getting up after two hours’ sleep was not! The flight was fine, if not very tight quarters. The rain coming in through the open plane door while we waited for passengers to board was not! The best part about an open airplane door in a rainstorm that floods the front of the cabin is how maintenance fixes it…with left luggage articles apparently! The maintenance man came on board accompanied by piles of clothing that he used to mop up the mess. Omg. Welcome to RyanAir, apparently!

The bumpy landing was no big deal because it was superseded by being greeted by my cousin Andrew and his daughter Lucy! What a treat! We went back to their house for bacon sandwiches and black pudding….and then after a visit from cousins Sally and Robert had a really nice walk/bike ride along the strawberry line – an old railroad line through the area. We saw some iconic sights: sheep grazing on the hillsides, a perfectly picturesque English village. We ended in Axebridge, a medieval town in the area, for a pint at the pub. The rain put us inside where we learned that Skittles isn’t just a candy, it’s also a Fred Flintstone-type bowling game. Highly entertaining for Lucy and her brother Harry!

The long walk and ride (and the rain) had us all knackered so we took the bus back to where we parked the car for playtime at the playground and cricket lessons for Shane! We jaunted back to Locking for a nap for us prior to the planned family barbecue. An hour did the trick and we were joined by more of my cousins for a lovely afternoon dinner, desserts, and drinks. We had such a nice time catching up and visiting with our cousins! We wrapped things up at Liz & Glynn’s and had the nicest time Visiting with them as always. We love them all so much – it was fantastic!