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Paradise in Jamaica - Frenchmans cove near Port Antonio

SO, it's almost like a movie set but for real, from lazy river coming in from the left and sweeping across the white sandy beach, to the little nook on the other side, with tree branches and large pitted rocks. 

It was the film set for lord of the flies, it's used in commercials at least once a week and it use to be the top Jamaican hangout for the wealthy. 

We spent a very pleasant day, swimming, playing in the waves, a few drinks (run cocktails for Debra) and a nice lunch $100 and $45 at the gate to get in. All in all not bad for a whole day on the beach especially one as pretty as this one.

Lot's of little crabs on the shore and we spotted a much bigger one in the river. The beach was never that busy, people coming and going but spread out amoungst the shady spots provided by the trees so it never seemed that crowded. 

I think my favorite was floating down the river and sweeping into the waves of the sea at the end, so nice I did it twice.

What else to say, go look at the photos, worth a thousand words, or at least a thousand of my words.

 

 

Steak at Julie and Alan's

Alan was more than happy to cook, he even shopped for the steaks from a local butcher he knows.

With Laura away it was, Sarah and Sha, Julie and Alan, Mum and dad and us 5, so quite a noisey little gathering, sometimes it seems like we have never been away and that we had just popped over for a regular Friday night family dinner, funny that.

Alan is a great cook, steaks carefully prepared to everyones liking, carefully timed to perfection, Sarah had made a coleslaw, and salad plus some potatoes and just to top it off, Julie had copied a picture of a cake I'd sent her from Oxfrord, it had about 6 different chocolates on it, each in it's own section, carefully separated by chocolate fingers, yum. It was a big hit with everyone.

Lilly left just 3 mouthfulls, demolishing a rather large chunk of meat, she had to leave a llittle room for cake.

The walk back was nice, mom and dad had driven and they took the kids so it was just Debra and I for the chilly walk home, through streets I know well from childhood though to 19 years old when I left for Reading University, not a lot seems to have changed. A few more cars perhaps but other than that hauntingly familiar.

Stonehenge has changed over the years

So it's been quite a while  since either Debra or I have been to stonehenge and whilst the stones are unchanged everything around them from where you park to how far you walk to get to them has. Mom and dad remember when you could just wander through the stone circle but I always remember there being a little rope barrier. There is now a large visitors center, that then busses you close so it's just a short walk. The new path is actually quite close, they built it to protect what is still buried. It crosses past one side then let's you onto a grassy area a little further away but still easy photo distance and my there were a lot of photos taken and not just by me. Selfie sticks, people asking others to take photos of them, I think I took enough to piece together a full 360 movie.

Still the same mystery, still the same strangely imposing ring of stones, the exhibition does a good job of describing the other items around the site, it seems to have been an important areas for a long long time.

Our next port of call was Glastonbury, for some lunch and if we remembered rightly some rather hippy type people and shops.

Home in Penarth

So after a hectic few days in Oxford, punting in the rain (had to be done) we made it to Wales, time for some washing and sorting things out at mom and dads. Popped over the road to Cheryl and Si's to say hi and arranged a night out in the pub for next week.

I'll do a whole post on our journey down as we stopped of at Stonehenge and Glastonbury

Debra and I walked up Penarth, got some Euro's and stopped for a coffee, leaving the boys in bed and Lilly watching CBBC (Childrens BBC) knowing that mom was there to look after them if they needed anything, so freeing to finally be able to dump the kids with relatives :-)

Afternoon in Cardiff, seems a waste given that the sun has come out and it's got quite warm but it seems like the urge to shop is just too powerful. We got on a local bus into Cardiff and went into the St Davids center, huge multi part mall, I'm sure there use to be streets and separate buildings but it all seems merged into one. Even spotted a Starbucks, Nathan jumped on their wifi to post on snapchat.

Talking of wifi, Dad's has not seen this much traffic, ever. I'm suprised it's not crashed, Nathan huddles underneath the modem just to get the best signal, the room he is in only get's 1 bar if he is lucky, my pictures are still uploading, Ieft dad with instructions.

Trying to form a plan for tomorrow, there is a new white water raft and canoe center opened up, they pump the water round and round, you can even surf indoors, may be fun to watch the boys doing it.

Evening will be with Julie and Alan, pursuading Alan to cook us steaks, Nathan is already drooling at the thought.

It's lovely to be home, Penarth is actually quite a pretty town, brick and stone victorian buildings, old churches and very walkable, although there are lots of cars parked both sides of the roads making them very narrow.

Full day in Oxford

Wow, what a full day, left the B&B at 9:20 am and did not get back until about 9pm. Started right with a full cooked breakfast and plenty of tea.

Wandered into town, past the punts that we planned to have a go at later in the day, walked through Christ Church meadow, around the back of the college, through to the high street, watched the gardeners mow the already impossibly short grass, seemed to be in the middle of a marked out running track, guessing it was for cricket.

Then headed to M&S where we had planned to meet an old friend, Nathan after putting off his clothes buying from yesterday, found more and decided to buy, he ended up with a shirt, skinny jeans and some shoes so he is very happy. Then we went to a coffee shop that was in a converted church, sat outside until it started to rain.

Next up was a walking tour, Magnus showed us around multiple colleges, giving us history and great stories about each, entertaining young and old a like, he even fitted in a Welsh story associated with Jesus college, with it's little hidden dragon on the gate. I also liked the story about how C. S. Lewis saw the green man on the door panel (Aslan), gargoyles either side of the door (Mr. Tumnus) and the first thing they see through the wardrobe was the lamp post a few yards up the lane.

On the tour the dining halls were closed, inconsiderate students were having lunch so us poor tourists where inconvenienced. So after the tour, we went back and did a tour of Bailiol college dining hall, very Hogwarts.

After this we went to the covered market for lunch, plenty of choice and it was covered (raining lightly outside),  seems like most places now have wifi so the boys got on and messaged various friends. Feeling much refreshed we went back to the recently refurbished library, we had stopped there on our walking tour but were just told about the exhibit they had. We went into one of the galleries and saw the Guttenburg bible, 2 original Magna Carta's and a J.R.R. Tolkien book cover amongst many other famous original note books and other famous literary works but this was just a small sample from the Bodleian Library.

Back to the covered market for shakes and coffee and with plans for the evening we decided that punting would have to wait until tomorrow. Come 6 we headed to Exeter college Chapel for Evensong evening service. Amazing songs from the choir, readings and organ music, the boys managed to stay awake but only just, Lilly was a trooper, and was following along with the words in the leaflet they had given us.

Dinner in a pub then short walk back to the B&B, tidied cases ready to leave Oxford tomorrow for the wedding then onto Wales Sunday.

What a day.

(republished after proof reading by Debra)

UK trip part 1 - Oxford

Pretty smooth flight, little hopper plane to Vancover from Seattle (Thanks Lise for taking us to the airport), I was in row 12 and it was at the back of the airplane, that is how small it was.

Vancover airport was lovely but a hell of a long walk, perfect timing for our next flight, just enough time to shop and have a cup of tea, the plane was very new 777, entertainment system was very new, lots of movies so we were all happy, food was OK but not great and most of us got at least some sleep (Lilly did really well, stretched out, head on my lap, feet on Debra's.

We stopped for some lunch at the airport then got a car for our trip to Oxford, roads were busy, it's the M25 after all but not a complete standstill.

After checking into our B&B quick shower to shake of some of the journey we headed into town, a 10 minute walk along Abindgon road, narrow, lots of bicycles and many large buses, the boys were amazed that they could all exit together without major accidents happening every 2 minues. From the narrow pavement (sidewalk) you almost felt the bus brush past your  shoulder.

Went we got into the town proper, we started to point out all the colledge buildings and the old pubs to the boys and they started carbon dating, by eye, the building and at a rough guess they said they were from about the time of the dinosaurs.

Pubs as frequent as Startbucks are in Seattle and although I know they exist here, I did not spot a single one. Sam gave up on his plan to take photos of every pub after the 5th or 6th one that he came across in about the first 300 yards.

We popped into River Island, and the boys realised that they quite like British fashion, Nathan picked out an entire outfit, shoes, t-shirt, underwear and jeans, the price was not even that bad as some was in the sale but he could not face that this was the first shop and so what else would he find later, such trauma.

We help out until around 6 to have dinner, we went back to a pub we had passed earlier, "Head of the River" right on the banks of the Thames river, sat outside and had a pint and some food, chatting and watching punts and other boats go by as teh sun set for the evening.

Tired but happy we walked back to the B&B and all went to bet pretty early.

New photo created on June 06, 2015 at 11:08PM

New photo created on June 06, 2015 at 11:08PM http://ift.tt/1RUkFQ1

New photo created on June 06, 2015 at 11:07PM

New photo created on June 06, 2015 at 11:07PM http://ift.tt/1AVPMWY

New toy

So with fathers day approaching and I must have a birthday at some point this year Debra used her Barnes and Noble discount to get me a Samsung galaxy 10.1, Nook edition.

I've downloaded all my favourite apps, paired my bluetooth keyboard and I'm good to go, Lilly is excited to get my old nook tablet and I'm excited about the bigger screen and hopefully snappy performance.

Setup was a breeze, signing in with Google account sorts out most things although signing in now I have 2 factor authentication on many apps meant it was a little trickier but I just needed my phone on hand.

Must have apps?
Google blogger to write this
Google now for voice stuff and the cards
Flipboard
evernote
Google plus
the new google Photos
Inbox for gmail
facebook

I've got to download netfiz soon to watch some more White Collar :-)

First impressions are great screen and good snappy performance although the odd touched icon not responding is strange, almost like the first gen iPad I have. Hope that clears up.

I always thought that the smaller 7 inch screen was the best size but it just seems that larger screens are everywhere now and after getting screen envy from Debra's iPhone 6+ this 10.1 feels really nice.

ANyway, more to come as I try it out more.

Andrew

Surprising views at Rattlesnake lake on a wet Sunday afternoon

Walk on the wet side?

So on a wet sunday afternoon we took Cosmo too Rattlesnake lake in North Bend, just along the I-90, driving through rain we did not expect much and I don't think any of use were expecting to enjoy it. But you just never know, here in the NW, the weather changes by the minutes and it had slowed to a drizzle by the time we parked and stopped completely just a few minutes into the walk. Park way along the path the sun started to come out from behind some clouds, low in the sky and just light up the distant snow capped mountain, what a great view, I only had my phone camera but you get the idea. Also the ledge was shrouded in cloud but also slightly lit by the sun.

Then the little waterfall by the side of the path seemed to beg to be photographed, shades of green contrasting with the slate gray of the rocks.

Quite a nice little walk in the end.

Andrew

Boat ride and lunch with Bosco

We crammed a lot into a boat ride and lunch

We arrange to go on a boat ride with a guide that was recommended by Jeremey. Bosco turned up and we followed him to theboat dock for a boat ride on the lake Nicaragua that Granada is on.

We walked along sandbags and a few planks as the water level is quite low this year and boared a boat with Bosco and a driver (he said it was the one he uses all the time)

First stop after winding through really small islands was the island with the monkeys, we had stopped to buy some stinky cheese for them (and bread for fishing, but more of that later).  They came to our calls and seemed to really like the cheese, the baby really clung on tight to mothers back.

We had them to ourselves for a while but soon 3 more boats turned up so we moved on. Next it was fishing by hand using the bread. Bosco caught several and gave them to the kids but Sam was patient and determined and it paid off, he caught his very own.

This was us all on the boat.

The islands were created when the volcano (Mombacho) exploded, pilling rocks and lava into the lake.

After the boat we drove to a restaurant that Bosco took us to, I think we were the only tourist, Bosco ordered family style, a huge fish, cooked on the grill and we all had some rice and vegetables to go with it. So yummy.

Nathan, poking at the fish trying to find the brains.

First house we stayed at was in Granada

So for the first week we stayed in Granada

This was the house we rented: http://www.homeaway.com/vacation-rental/p301913vb

It had everything, from hammocks

To an indoor (sort of) swimming pool

 masks on the wall

 Views from everywhere, out over the city to the cathedral

 Trees inside the house (basically the center of the house was open with a garden and a pool in the middle. Sort of like camping but in a house, we loved it but the one issue was that it was so open, one day we had a bat hanging out with us and we constantly had to clean up any food and pull out the bin bad every day otherwise we would get overrun by ants, large and small)

 Great tiles

 Even a view from the outdoor, first floor, shower to a volcano!

 we certainly heard bells

 but no rumble of volcanic action (must have been my stomach)

Nicaragua vacation - Riding on the beach

So we like to ride and found out that we could do one from near our house in San Juan so we jumped at the chance. Lilly, Debra and I have all ridden before and the boys were willing to go. A girl on a motor bike met us at our house and we followed her to a stable (field with some saddled horses). Started as a dusty ride along rough 'roads' but the horses were responsive and we had a trot up a few steep parts so it was OK. Nathan seemed to have the only horse that did not seem to want to go :-)

We finally hit the beach, the horses knew the deal and there was no stopping them, we had SO much fun, I got up to a canter and Debra's horse hit a full gallop, definitely a ride of a lifetime.

 It got better as we rode around the point onto the next beach and then the next. We had a little break in a beach cafe, chatted to other travelers, a Belgium woman with a baby who was teaching and two American guys who love Nicaragua and come almost every year.

Then it was onto the final beach, which turned out to be a surfer beach, shack like hotel and a load of surfers. So funny, they were taking pictures of us as we were taking pictures of them.

So what a fun ride, we road up the hill and back to the ranch then on to lunch at the ranch oweners mothers restaurant on the beach.

Masaya volcano

Nicaragua 2014 - Masaya volcano

An active volcano, near Granada. We went for a day trip, driving back up the highway to Masaya, then turning off, paying at the gate and driving through lava fields up to the rim. The smell of sulphor was quite strong as we stepped out of the car, A large dome of 'steam' hung around the very large crater, being blown by the breeze but reforming. The cross on the rim was put there as this was thought to be the entrance to hell, and you can understand why. The old stone one was being rebuilt as it had been destroyed by a quake.

We decided to hike around the sister crater, that was dormant, there were some great views out over the city and countryside. Plus rather stark lava fields although a lot had been overgrown. Humming birds and butterflies were plentyful

Nicaragua vacation 2014

So after Costa Rica in 2012 and Belize last year we decided on another Central American country. 

Nicaragua

From VRBO Debra found two houses, one in Granada (city) and one in San Juan Del Surf (surfing town)

First house: Not much to look at from the outside but a small paradise inside, with open courtyard and a pool!

Second house: Views over the pool to the beach in the distance.

Photos: Photo album for Nicaragua

We enjoyed the city, nights out in the hot evenings, street side bars, from an Irish pub (expensive Guinness) to the cheap and cheerful IDS bar, with local Tona beer going down very nicely and the kids drinking smoothies made with incredible fresh fruit.

In no particular order, here are some of the other experiences, from very strange experiences, like a ice cream shop full of nun's to an almost constant tricky of stinky water running down most of the street gutters. Climbing a church tower just before Sunday service and being deafened by the bell calling worshipers to service,

Going on a boat tour of the islands in the lake, Juan Bosco (Eleda transportation) as our guide, a chess champion who has 2 ex wives, one in Paris and one in Mexico. He taught the boys to do the rubix cube and was very sweet to Lilly, finding a tree with a strange 'fruit' that opened up to be a flower. He took us to a local's restaurant for a family style whole fish to share lunch.

Each evening I'd take our hire car to the next block were a man had a lockable garage area as it was not recommended to leave the car on the street at night. The first time was interesting as he spoke no English and me no Spanish, we managed it and on the second and third night it almost seemed liked we were friends. All for 50 Cordaba, or about $2. One morning he came banging on our door at 7 am, turned out I needed to move the car to let someone else out. on another occasion, I kept saying that the car was too big to fit in the space, Grande car I said, but he kept calling me on and it fitted but what a squeeze to get out for me!

Sho[[ing (or trying to avoid shopping) was fun, stalls and vendors on the street with the bars, we managed to find a very nice artist and bought some earrings for Debra along with some butterfly bracelets for Debra. The man Roberto Corrales was inspired by petroglyphs and natural stones, with a story behind each piece, we ended up bumping in to him on a few evenings, once on a random street he helped us find a particular store on another occasion he once gave Lilly another bracelet. We were really impressed by the artistry and the genuine warmth the man shared with us. 

So many great little experiences from the city but after a week it was time to head for the beach at San Juan Del Sur.

Smaller house, but still 3 bedrooms and a  dining room, kitchen, large outside area running the whole length of the house and a large, deep pool with views down to the sea and rugged coastline.

The house came with caretakers family, with two kids, a little girl who became Lilly's best friend and a boy who liked having the older boys around. Very helpful but our Spanish was not up to some of the conversations.

The local town was a short drive away, we did a little shopping and a few nights out drinking but not as convenient as Granada but the sound of the waves and the sand beneath our feet made up for it.

We had storms a few nights, with spectacular lightning, some so close the kids ran out of the pool as it appeared to be glowing with the lightning strikes!

Butterflies aplenty flew around the house, visiting all the flowers that grew there.

We had been told that we could book a horse riding and after arranging it we got met by a girl on a motor bike, we followed her further down the road (away from town) to a ranch just of the road, horses were already saddled and ready to go, Lilly got her own hoarse and was lead by our guide Dominique. We traveled along dusty roads but the horses, all except Nathans seemed keen to go so on the first hill we hit Debra took off, closely followed by me. Wow, they were responsive. Sam spent the whole time laughing about how bouncy the trot was and Nathan spent the whole time trying to get his horse to go. Debra and I ended up out in front and having to wait. We eventually made it to the beach, and this must be what the horses do because they just took off, Debra made a gallop and I was hanging on at a fast canter, what a thrill. After going back and forth a few times we left the beach, we thought that may be it but we just went along to the next beach. We had a quick stop at a beach side cafe, for drinks and fruit plate and a talk to an American chap and a Belgium woman with her baby (teacher) before getting back on the horses and walking along the beach. We walked the horses over the rough stoney head to get to the next bay, and road straight through a surfer beach, with a shack hotel and a whole load of surfer dudes and dudesses. They were as surprised to see us as we were them! Then it was back up the road and soon were were back to the ranch, what a great ride. On to La Conches for lunch, a restaurant on the beach, by the river that has crocodiles.

We booked a snorkeling trip, and set of with our guides, snorkeling gear and 2 fishing rods dangling out the back of the boat. We hugged the coast, seeing the rugged coastline and recognizing the bay we could see from the house, the  surfer beach we had ridden through and then the beach we had galloped along. We ended up a few bays further and turned in to a sheltered cove, with a fantastic beach and just a few buildings. The swell was very strong (probably what makes this area so good for surfing) so the snorkeling was not great but Debra and the kids got to see a few things and the boat captain brought back a few treasures for Lilly.

Lilly - arrived in to the world

Born Monday Jan 28th at 3:48pm.
weighing 8lb 4oz at Overlake hospital, Bellevue

View from 5th floor of office

The mountains were looking bright, giving a nice background for the dock cranes.

School delayed 2 hours, let's play

So me and the boys went over by the pool and tried out our new sled.

It was fast!

Walking the dog on a sunny day

So me and the boys took Edgar for a walk at Lake Sammamish.