The Throw Up Day

Poor, sweet Gillian. She inherited my propensity for motion sickness. I have failed to mention in my past blogs that she throws up frequently on our jaunts about the country. These English roads tend to be winding and definitely induce motion sickness. Every morning I give Gillian a motion sickness pill before we start out. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don’t. So far on this holiday, she has thrown up twice. It is normal, we keep bags for her in the pocket in front of her seat, she knows when it’s going to happen, she prepares, I hand her wipes to clean up. She is tough, doesn’t complain, except of hunger about 10 minutes afterwards. In the meantime, Joshua is busy reading a book or writing in his travel journal as Gillian struggles to maintain equilibrium in the backseat.

On this day, we had decided to go to a place called the Eden Project. We were saving it for a rainy day, but we hadn’t had any rainy days! And we were tired and wanted a break from all the driving and hopping in and out of the car - especially with our two-year old who wasn’t as keen on all our castle sight-seeing as the rest of us.

So, we had a leisurely morning, not leaving until around 10. We didn’t pack a lunch today - we do that every day and today we decided we were splurging and eating out for lunch. We made sure we had everything else. Aidan’s diaper backpack, drinks and fruit for the road, coats, wellies, just in case - we were set.

Off we went to the Eden Project. It was about an hour away from where we were staying, but only about 20 miles, if that tells you anything about the roads here. Gillian had her bags stashed away in the seat pocket. And, as expected, about 50 minutes into our drive, I heard the bags rustling and the sound of my sweet baby girl hurling. And then I heard this, ‘Mommy, I think this bag has a hole in it.’ And me, ‘What? Why do you think it has a hole in it?’ ‘Mommy, I feel it on my legs!’
And I turn around to look, and sure enough, there had to have been a huge hole in that bag. I don’t think there was any throw up in the bag. It had gone straight through the bag and onto her legs and booster seat. I felt horrible. I ALWAYS check for holes in those bags. I was sure I had this time, but I had obviously missed it or just failed to check.

We had to pull over. It was everywhere. It was nasty. It was covering her pants, and she’s seven now, so I don’t carry an extra set of clothes for her. We took off her trousers, put the booster in the trunk, cleaned out the rest of the seat, and she sat on her jacket for the rest of the ride to the Eden Project. Which was only about 10 minutes away.

What do we do? There is no Walmart or Target here in which to run in and get new pants for Gillian. There is NOTHING. Because we are in England. If we were home in the states I would have been able to find even a Rite Aid or SOMETHING where I could have bought a pair of new pants for Gillian. No such luck here.

So again, what do we do? We pull in and the parking attendants wave us to our spot. This is the big time around here - tons of people everywhere, they have parking attendants. You have to take a shuttle bus to the Eden Project. So what do we do? Gillian’s pants have vomit on them. We don’t really want to drive all the way back to get her new pants - the drive, for one thing, is horrible - again, the 20 miles in one hour. And I don’t want to risk Gillian getting sick - again. So, I use Aidan’s baby wipes and try to clean up her pants best I can. I knew there was a shop at the Eden Project, so I hoped to find something there for her to wear. We tied her jacket around her waist to hide the wetness - it looks like she had a different kind of accident, poor baby.
And we made the shuttle ride and trek to the Eden Project. And no pants in the shop.

May I just say, my daughter is amazing. She agreed to go for it. The Eden Project looked so amazing, so awesome, that she wanted to just do it. We went for it. She wore her throw-up pants that were still wet but didn’t really stink because I had used a plethora of wipies to clean them the best I could.

So, here is the object of our destination:
The biggest green house in the world. Set in a gigantic crater. They have an Amazon rain forest in this greenhouse. It was unbelievable.


In time, Gillian’s pants dried. We had our nice lunch out. She didn’t complain once. We had a great day. And now I’m doing the wash.

This next part of my story is kind of embarrassing. I almost don’t want to blog about it. I almost don’t want to tell anyone what I did. But here I am - I’m putting it out there.

At the Eden Project there was a special blue and white striped tent set up especially for kids that day. They had face painting:

They had cake decorating, candle making and all sorts of fun things for the kids to do. We spent at least an hour in that tent. One of the booths was set up as a sort of craft booth. The idea was for the kids to create, out of recycled materials, an idea for a new “den” at the Eden Project. All the materials they were using were recyclable materials just for this project - they had large pieces of cardboard for the bases of these projects. Huge bins full of scraps of cloth, used pipe cleaners, buttons, bottle caps, wine corks, sticks, egg cartons, you name it. TONS of bits that the children could use to create. And a bucket of clay to use to stick it all together. After they completed their project, the lady manning the booth took a picture of it, labeled it with their name, address and phone number, then took apart the project to re-cycle and re-use for other children who wanted to design. In the end a winner will be chosen and that design will be used to create a new “den” at the Eden Project.

Gillian was creating a masterpiece. She had grand ideas about what she wanted to do. I was helping her. I would listen to her idea and then try to find the pieces to match what she wanted to create. So I was down on the floor digging through these bins trying to find bits and pieces of things to create Gillian’s ideas.

I was near the bottom of a bin that contained tons of buttons, bottle caps, carton lids, sea shells, corks, all kinds of things, when I came across a camera lens cap. A Canon camera lens cap. We have a Canon camera that I bought not even a year ago in preparation for our move to England. And it had a lens cap until Patrick and Joshua took the camera to France last winter and lost the camera lens cap somewhere in Normandy. What do I do? I sit there and try it on my camera that I have hanging over my shoulder. It fits. Like it was meant to go with my camera. So what do I do? This lens cap is in a big, fat tub that is full of trash. Okay, recycled trash that children are using to build projects. But still, it would have been in the trash if the people at the Eden Project hadn’t scooped it out to use for this project. And obviously Canon has an issue with their lens caps since we are obviously not the only ones who have lost theirs. So I decided to ask Patrick. And he said, It was in the trash? Well, sort of. Pretty much.

So why do I feel guilty? I probably should have asked the lady sitting there at the booth if we could have it. She was actually an American from Massachusetts who was there volunteering. I had actually been chatting with her earlier. But I felt weird about it. Like, Um, excuse me, I was digging through the bins of rubbish here and found this! It goes with my camera, do you mind if I take it?
Okay, when I say it like that it doesn’t sound so bad. But those of you who know me well know how shy I am. Excuses, excuses. Anyway, there it is. We now have a lens cap for our camera. Again.

Happy Birthday, Patrick

I love you, Patrick. I can't imagine life without you. God surely knew exactly what He was doing when he brought us together.And you are an incredible father to our children which is proved by the way they love and adore you. Have a wonderful birthday.

The Southern Part of Cornwall

Our third full day in Cornwall I was able to get back into my organizing groove. We wanted to drive all the way down to the very tip of Cornwall, which is the tip of England in the very southern part. But first I wanted to stop and see the remnants of a Roman village called Carn Euny. The drive was like nothing we have ever experience before. Hedges about 8 feet tall. Narrow, narrow roads. So narrow that if a car was coming the opposite direction one of us would be forced to back up until we came to a wider spot. And it took forever. Finally, we arrived and found a small parking area complete with signs to our destination. So the kids got on their wellies and we started hiking. And hiking. And hiking. We could not find it. We walked back to the parking area and checked the map again. We checked the direction of the signs. And we tried again. And again, we could not find it. That trip was a bust.

So off we went to Land’s End. Here we are!

You probably can't see it, but the sign behind the kids reads "New York City - 3167 Miles."

And then to Penzance, for no other reason than I wanted to be able to say I’ve been to Penzance and seen the inspiration for Gilbert and Sullivan’s famous musical. But no pirates we saw.This is Joshua standing at the harbor in Penzance.

The biggest and most fun part of our day was St. Michael’s Mount, which we saved for last so we could enjoy it the most.

We had to take a boat ride to the island, but when the tide is low you can walk across. As we left later in the afternoon the tide was going out and people were gearing up to make the trek. But there was still enough water that we took the boat back.

The kids loved this castle, and we did, too. It was beautiful. And actually a working residence up until the early 1900s.

This is a National Trust property, so we stopped after our trek to have a creamed tea in the picnic area. We have become truly appreciative of the idea of tea. It is a great afternoon snack - a pot of tea to share with each other and a scone with cream and jam. YUM. Joshua now has to have his own scone, he loves it so much. Here is Patrick having his tea:

The Next Day ....

This was going to be our easy, relaxing day here. We all needed a break from the grind, from the routine. But I am really not good without a plan. It really drives me nuts not to have a plan. So I am not a fan of these types of days. And I could not help but bring my English Heritage and National Trust handbooks along - just in case we ended up near somewhere that we could visit.

We drove to a touristy town called Padstow. Definitely not my cup of tea, but the kids discovered that it is a cycling hub and that it was possible to rent bikes here and ride some really cool trails. We decided to possibly save that for another day since none of us was dressed and/or prepared to do a long trail bike ride. But it did look like fun. Also, this is a big fishing town with lots of fish markets. As you can see from the photo, we spent some time oohing and aahing over the yummy-looking seafood on display in some of the shops.

The children's goal of the day was to find a sandy beach at which to play. We were so close to the ocean yet there are not readily available sandy beaches. So we started driving, and just happened to come across a little beach at a place called Porthcothan Bay. We stopped here for a couple of hours, and the kids had a great time ‘fishing’ and digging and building sandcastles with moats. There were people surfing there in wetsuits. I can’t imagine how cold the water must be. Outside it is only about a high of 48.

After the beach play, we were so close to an English Heritage sight called the Bedruthan Steps that I insisted we stop. And it was well worth it.

The giant rocks jutting out of the ocean are the ‘steps.’

This was enough for our ‘easy’ day, so we made it home in time for Patrick to grill an American-style dinner of cheeseburgers. It is not easy to have American-style food when shopping entirely in an English grocery store, but we have learned to make-do! And it was good.

Cornwall, Day 1

The weather is holding up so far on our trip. You never know around here - I can’t comment regarding what it’s like all year long, but I can comment on the past nine months. And based on the last nine months, you never know when it might rain. Even if it looks beautiful in the morning, about 10 minutes later it might be pouring. I think this is different when you’re on the coast. You can see out on the ocean and see where the storms are and approximate when they might be arriving. So, on Sunday, we set out with a plan in hand.
Since we moved here, we have become members of The National Trust and also English Heritage. Membership in these organizations gives us free entry into many, many historical properties all over England, Wales, and even Ireland and Scotland. So, with my NT and EH handbooks in hand, I mapped out all the places that we wanted to see, figured out on the map the best way to see as many as we could, and off we went.
Our first stop, Tintagel Castle.

I have to say that I’m super glad we went to this castle first. The climb brought out my fear of heights like it hasn’t been brought out in years. And of course, watching my three children climb these steep, slippery stairs freaked me out to no end. I was the freak-out mom on this stop. The view was worth it, I’m glad we did it, but I plan on never making that climb again. The view from the walk up to the castle
Regarding the castle itself, it is a popular castle destination not just for its’ views, but because this is the castle where the legend of King Arthur has its roots. Obviously, there is no way to prove that this is King Arthur’s castle. Also, it is doubtful that King Arthur actually existed, but it certainly inspired writers hundreds of years ago to weave that magical tale. Also, there is no reasonable strategic reason for this castle to have been built. It is common belief that it was built simply to impress.

Next stop, Launceton Castle. The most interesting thing to me about this castle is that it was mainly used as a prison and held George Fox, the founder of The Quakers, for many years. The inner circle of this castle was built first, and then sometime later and outer circle was built around it. At the time they were only connected by a dark, narrow passage. Ew. Can’t imagine what it must have been like back in the day. The view from the castle:

Our next destination this day was to The Hurlers. This is a stone formation that might remind you a little of what you would see at Stonehenge. These rocks are not nearly as big as the ones at Stonehenge, but similarly to Stonehenge, no one knows why these rocks were ever placed this way. The legend here, though, is that the stones are actually men who were turned to stones by the gods for ‘hurling’ on a Sunday. As we walked out to see these stones, we found horses grazing and scratching themselves on the stones.

Also, as we drove near this sight, you could see sheep on the roads, grazing right next to the roads, and there were cow crossing signs, too.

Our final stop this day was to Restormel Castle.

We got a lot in this first full day. And then our tired kids enjoyed some ice cream before bed.Aaaahhhh. This is the life.

Cornwall Arrival

What an amazing week we had. I think I’m going to blog about each day because there is so much that we did and so much that we got to see.

First of all, when you book a self-catering cottage on-line, you never really know what you’re going to get until you arrive. Photos on the holiday letting websites can be deceiving, and the agents can spin things to make them sound better than they actually are. When we booked this house months ago, it was just a tad over our budget, but we went ahead and booked it because it looked so fantastic. Plus, it was available during the week we needed. We thought that was a sure sign! We were still a little anxious as we drove to our holiday cottage. The roads are so narrow here, the GPS seemed to be taking us down roads that were never driven on - so narrow and with high hedges, it felt dangerous. Then, after about three hours, we turned down the final stretch of our drive. This was the view that beheld us:


We could not believe we would be spending a full week with this view - not just from outside the house, but inside the house from nearly every room. This cottage is on a 140 acre working farm owned by Bill and Margaret who have been here for 42 years. So not only is it beautiful, but it is secluded with lots of nature and walking paths, and we have cows grazing in our back yard. Also, there is a cow who apparently thinks she is a rooster and she comes to the back of the house and moos way too early in the morning.

This first night, the weather was clear but chilly. We decided to drive into a little town called Port Isaac about five miles (but 15 minutes) away to find a place to have dinner. We ended up at a pub - on the porch with heaters, but right on the harbor waterside with the fishing boats and nets behind us. We ordered scallops - amazing scallops. And I had a crab salad, Patrick had bass, and it was amazing. The crabs here can definitely give Maryland a run for their money.

All in all, a very good arrival and start to our family holiday in Cornwall.

Another Budding Artist

I posted earlier about Joshua's award for his book illustration. We now have another artist-in-residence. Gillian was among several students in her school who were chosen to have a piece of art displayed at our local art gallery and museum in Cheltenham. Today we went downtown to visit the gallery and see Gillian's masterpiece.Gillian's rendition of the Taj Mahal

Our Weekend in London

Many of you are aware that Patrick is on assignment for six weeks in London. Yippee for him, not so much for me as I tackle single-motherhood for this time. One perk, though, is the housing which Patrick has been assigned. A nice, big townhouse with four bedrooms and three full baths. Don't get too excited, though - as soon as Patrick moves out they intend on gutting the place to re-do nearly everything, which should tell you about the state of the place. But still, it's free housing for us to visit a weekend here and there. And regardless of the condition, it's a big, beautiful house where we could set up the tent for the kids in the living room and camp out. Yes, those are 15 foot ceilings. Beautiful.

Saturday, the weather was sunny but chilly. We decided it was warm enough for us to tackle the open bus tour around London which the kids have been wanting to do for months. It's really a good way to see the city as you can hop on and off the bus at any number of stops along the way. We got off at the theatre district for lunch, hopped back on, then off again at the Tower of London.
That is the Tower of London behind us.

Sunday, we woke up to this:So Joshua did this:
And Gillian and Aidan did this:


In all actuality, Patrick took Joshua, Gillian and Aidan to the movies while I got on the tube (by myself) and made my way downtown and explored Harrod's and other fine shopping in downtown London. I love this city. Although, I must clarify that the only things I bought at Harrod's were postcards, a packet of note cards, and thimbles - for my collection. But still, it was an amazing experience.

Alas, we are home again today. Unpacking and catching up on laundry. It is only a few days away from our next trip - our week in Cornwall begins Saturday, and I can't wait!