We have to go to the camping shop for supplies.
Owen isn't happy about going out but cheers up when we take him to the American diner down the road.
It's seems appropriate as we prepare for our road trip.
Blokey hits some problems in the bus and we decide that we will have to do without the shower for now, I can boil hot water on the stove for washing. The night heater also is refusing to channel warm air through to the cab, we look up the fault code and it seems that the pump is faulty. We decide to cut our losses and go as we are. Blokey and I load the van up and we set off for Wales around 3.30. The light is fading but we are on our way, with two very excited boys. The adults have some trepidation about the cold nights and places to stop but, it's an adventure, so we go with it.
There is a beautiful moon as we travel down the A55, the bus has to corner slowly due to its size, and the miles seem to creep along. At 7pm we find a pub for our evening meal. We strike lucky with the Druid Inn, it's in a village just off the A55. We enjoy a fab meal and the staff make us very welcome...even finding us a campsite and printing off details.
On reaching the campsite , we find its closed for the season, so check out the Wildcamping website. We find a night stop by a river, near the beach and set up for the night. The weather is closing in and it's a pretty wild night, high winds and we find later that parts of Wales has suffered severe damage. We have managed to stay dry but Owen was cold in the night, due to him managing to break the zip on his sleeping bag whilst thrashing around ( like he does) .
The next morning we drive the short distance to the beach and walk the dogs. Just as I am making breakfast , the wind and rain starts to lash down and we happily eat our bacon butties in the warm bus, looking out to sea. The local dog walkers give us some funny looks.
After consulting the children, we decide to drive to Conwy Castle . Fortunately the weather brightens up whilst we look round the castle , but the wind is stil, bitterly cold, so we wrap up warm.
Admiring the views across Wales.
Inside the castle walls
.
We know that it will be dark at around 4 pm so decide to ring round for a place to camp. It proves difficult as most places are shut for the winter. However, we do find a place, it's a micro brewery/pub with a campsite and it's in Snowdonia National Park. When we get there it's dark but the site is well lit and we are made welcome. I have to add that we have the whole site to ourselves, as no one is daft enough to camp at this time of year but us...we rather like this and wander round walking the dogs in peace.
We play board games by lantern in the bus before heading over to the pub for a hot meal.
In the morning we all use the very lovely hot showers on the site and I make us breakfast. Sadly, at this point, our onboard charger develops a fault and refuses to work, so we can't use some of our equiptment without running the engine.
Undeterred, the children want to travel to Bangor and visit the pier. It stretches almost to Anglesey.
Although it's grey, we enjoy the views, birdwatching and the rolling skies.
Cannons!
I love this door and Sam is facinated by the lock.
We visit the museum, where there is a medals exhibition.
We really enjoy running up and down despite the wind whipping up a frenzy.
We talk to the boys about heading home that night. More bad weather is forecast and we will be struggling to find a site open.
They agree to head back later and we set off to see Caenarfon Castle. Once again we are really jammy with the weather and it dries up, we even have a little sunshine at times.
We are doubly fortunate to have arrived when there is a remeberance exhibition on. Entry is free today and we love the spectacular floppy installation.
Sam enjoys trying on the hats and asking about the many different medals.
We climb all the towers and admire the views ( so many steps and there I was worrying I was missing my excercises) .
The boys find it hilarious that we can see the top of the bus from here..if you look closely , you can see the green roof in the bottom left corner.
Owen in the Kings ( Edward) apartments , checking out the Royal view.
On top of the highest tower...more stairs. Owen insisted we climb every tower..it was dizzying!
Owen quietly reads about the medals and colours in one of his own.
This hat is very heavy mum!
A view of the rememberance installation from one of the towers.
We also checked out the Eleanor exhibition and the boys remembered her from our castles of the UK programmes. Caenarfon was featured and this is one of the reasons they were keen to see it. There was also a room explaining about the various Kings and the Prince of Wales.
We made a stop at the gift shop and Owen spent his pocket money on some Horrible History books. As we were a bit cold, we decided to find a cafe in the town and have a snack before setting off home.
After deciding on a little quiet cafe, we ordered 4 hot chocolates, with cream, Blokey and Sam also had hot chocolate fudge cake. The cafe owners was a friendly guy and came across to chat to us about the castle and town. You learn so much talking to the local people and Sam and Owen are always keen to chat to adults in these situations.
We head off for home, it's a long journey and we stop for a hot drink as we go. We finally pull up at home around 8 pm. Blokey and I unload the essential items off the bus and get the boys a snack supper. Owen is tired and grumpy but we manage to get them to bed eventually and it's not long before they are spark out.
The next day involves us collecting Owens snail Orel from our friends house, shopping and cleaning out the bus before taking it back to storage. The boys play at the park too and Blokey and I do chores. We then order a takeaway before we all fall into bed exhausted.
We have another busy day planned on Saturday because it's the boys Jujitsu gradings. They are going for green belts this time. Sam is, as usual, very nervous but we know from experience that he will be fine once there.
We drop them off and visit the nearby market and grab a quick lunch in the pub.
Then it's time to see how the boys have faired ..they look tired but have passed!
Sam doesn't enjoy the photo bit where he has to face all the other parents but he manages well and is happy he has his new belt. It's a real achievement and Sensei Reece makes sure they realise that and praises their hard work. They are the youngest in their group to reach this level and the gradings are getting harder as they progress.
As its nearly 2 pm and the children haven't eaten lunch yet, we dash to the chippy, so they can eat as we drive home. They are ravenous beasts and still a bit hyper and stressy. On arriving home, both boys instinctively take themselves off to calm down. Owen with his music, Sam at the park running around and calling on his friend .
I work in the garden and Blokey spends time sorting out the garage...which looks like a bomb has hit it after all the work he's been doing. ...and collapse into bed.
We all sleep in late today. I do my exercises and the children chill out doing their own thing. Blokey installs Windows 10 on Owens PC, he has some issues removing Linux but after a number of hours and copious mutterings he manages to get it all set up.
I do more chores, mix some bread dough and Sam helps clean the house. He likes vacuuming and hums happily as he works. The sensory therapist explained how this type of work really helps him and he certainly seems to enjoy it.
After lunch the boys go to play on their PC's, Blokey does a tip run and I write up my home ed notes. It's been a very busy week ! The trip in the bus has helped us realise what works and what doesn't, but we are happy to see how much the boys enjoy travelling and taking in the sights. Blokey will continue to get everything fully operational and then I can think about making it a bit more homely. There's plenty of time and we will get there.
No comments:
Post a Comment