We went on a few walks with our Auntie Mary during our time with her.
Some were journeys down memory lane ~ for her and for me. It was good.
One of those walks took us down a local path for a visit with Honkey the Donkey.
(I am not sure how he got his name, but, it seems everyone calls him by it.)
He was abandoned at the property of the people who care for
him about 25 years ago. The current owners were given one payment for his board
and then the original owners never returned. He was left with lovely people.
Isn't he cute?
Isn't the property just lovely? You can see the gate in the centre of the photo below ~
On our last morning with Auntie Mary, we went for one more walk.
Some were journeys down memory lane ~ for her and for me. It was good.
One of those walks took us down a local path for a visit with Honkey the Donkey.
(I am not sure how he got his name, but, it seems everyone calls him by it.)
He was abandoned at the property of the people who care for
him about 25 years ago. The current owners were given one payment for his board
and then the original owners never returned. He was left with lovely people.
Isn't he cute?
Or...maybe not?
Do you remember when I mentioned the previous trip to Wales I took in 2008?
It was on that visit that I had the opportunity to meet Honkey. Here's proof.
This is me meeting Honkey, and you meeting the much younger me. :)
Honkey lives in the pasture beyond it.
On our last morning with Auntie Mary, we went for one more walk.
It's referred to as *Top Farm Walk* since there is a farm on it by that name.
We were about to leave this cute little house for the last time.
Just prior to our walk, we stopped in to visit with Auntie Mary's
neighbour for a quick good-bye.
The sun was bright, so it was difficult to get a good picture ~
but, here we are with our friend, regardless!
Top Farm has horses.
Much to the delight of our girl ~ remember this?
Calvin caught some photos of us coming....
...and going.
As well as a few views along the way ~ of course.
...while Emma was taking this one. :)
It was a great blessing that we were able to take Auntie Mary with us on our journeys.
This car was an upgrade from what we originally ordered ~ there were two *jump seats* in
the very back where the clothes are in this shot. Emma mostly sat there ~ sideways.
This is the field Calvin wanted to take photos of ~ the reason we stopped.
May as well make it fun, right?
Fraser really enjoys Coca Cola. We don't have this type in Canada, so it was a novelty.
(He actually prefers the classic recipe, but, it was fun to try something different.)
One thing that I found very interesting in England was the well thought out placement of
these rest areas ~ Welcome Break is a brilliant idea! It's a one-stop-shop experience.
Each one is equipped with a choice of restaurants, coffee shops, convenience stores,
as well as a hotel and service station. Usually, they were the same ones at each stop.
We watched for them and discovered that they
were strategically placed every hour or so along the major route.
Unfortunately, I don't have a *normal* photo to share as the camera was on paint mode ~
but, these images give an idea of how it (almost) looked. It is definitely
one of those things we want to remember about our trip.
After a good night's sleep and a wonderful breakfast in our hotel (free with points!)
we headed on over to Heathrow to return the car and to catch our flight home.
And, then...we were off!
Calvin took this photo above the far north ~ amazing, isn't it?
We arrived home at about 4:30 in the afternoon our time ~
it's much easier to travel west (which is what we were doing on this
leg of the journey). My brother picked us up and we went out for a bite to eat.
It took us a few days to get turned around, but, we did it with relative ease.
And that, my friends, concludes this chronicle of our recent trip to the UK.
We are so thankful to the Lord for the gift of this vacation ~
we know that all things come from His loving hand. Always.
We do not in any way imagine that we deserved this ~ not at all.
Rather, we see it as a gracious gift to our family. It really was!
Thank you for persevering through all these posts, and for joining in with me
in the remembering of it all ~ you bless my heart.
With Love, Camille
*Posts in this series ~ Introduction, Part One, Part Two, Part Three,
Part Four, Part Five, Part Six, Part Seven, Final Installment
**Photos in this post courtesy of my two photographers ~ Calvin and Emma.
Thank you SO much my loves...you bless my Mama heart. xoxo
We were about to leave this cute little house for the last time.
Just prior to our walk, we stopped in to visit with Auntie Mary's
neighbour for a quick good-bye.
The sun was bright, so it was difficult to get a good picture ~
but, here we are with our friend, regardless!
Top Farm has horses.
Much to the delight of our girl ~ remember this?
Calvin caught some photos of us coming....
...and going.
As well as a few views along the way ~ of course.
We said our good-byes and gave hugs all around. And then we were gone.
We drove back down toward London in preparation for our flight home the following day.
Along the way we stopped for photos. (Surprised? Didn't think so.)
This is our little rental car (it accommodated seven...barely).
We are all in this shot ~ if you include Calvin's shadow.
Calvin took this photo....
...while Emma was taking this one. :)
It was a great blessing that we were able to take Auntie Mary with us on our journeys.
This car was an upgrade from what we originally ordered ~ there were two *jump seats* in
the very back where the clothes are in this shot. Emma mostly sat there ~ sideways.
This is the field Calvin wanted to take photos of ~ the reason we stopped.
May as well make it fun, right?
Fraser really enjoys Coca Cola. We don't have this type in Canada, so it was a novelty.
(He actually prefers the classic recipe, but, it was fun to try something different.)
One thing that I found very interesting in England was the well thought out placement of
these rest areas ~ Welcome Break is a brilliant idea! It's a one-stop-shop experience.
Each one is equipped with a choice of restaurants, coffee shops, convenience stores,
as well as a hotel and service station. Usually, they were the same ones at each stop.
We watched for them and discovered that they
were strategically placed every hour or so along the major route.
Unfortunately, I don't have a *normal* photo to share as the camera was on paint mode ~
but, these images give an idea of how it (almost) looked. It is definitely
one of those things we want to remember about our trip.
After a good night's sleep and a wonderful breakfast in our hotel (free with points!)
we headed on over to Heathrow to return the car and to catch our flight home.
Once again, we had plenty of time once we were through security. (The way I like it.)
On this occasion, our extra time was used up with last minute souvenir shopping and eating.
And, then...we were off!
Calvin took this photo above the far north ~ amazing, isn't it?
We arrived home at about 4:30 in the afternoon our time ~
it's much easier to travel west (which is what we were doing on this
leg of the journey). My brother picked us up and we went out for a bite to eat.
It took us a few days to get turned around, but, we did it with relative ease.
And that, my friends, concludes this chronicle of our recent trip to the UK.
We are so thankful to the Lord for the gift of this vacation ~
we know that all things come from His loving hand. Always.
We do not in any way imagine that we deserved this ~ not at all.
Rather, we see it as a gracious gift to our family. It really was!
Thank you for persevering through all these posts, and for joining in with me
in the remembering of it all ~ you bless my heart.
With Love, Camille
*Posts in this series ~ Introduction, Part One, Part Two, Part Three,
Part Four, Part Five, Part Six, Part Seven, Final Installment
**Photos in this post courtesy of my two photographers ~ Calvin and Emma.
Thank you SO much my loves...you bless my Mama heart. xoxo
9 comments:
What a beautiful vacation. I am still enjoying all of it. The castles, beautiful fields, charming little towns are wonderful and your pictures are beautiful. I love the picture Calvin took at the end; wow! My girls and I dream together about going to the UK for a visit. One of these days…. Love Honkey the donkey… he's very cute. I've never seen any of the green Coca Colas…is it a Lime flavor? Thanks for sharing; its fun.
Love and Blessings,
Pam
It's been so fun reading about your trip. What a wonderful time for your family and hopefully some great memories were made. :0)...Christa
It has been a delight going on this journey with you. The pictures are amazing. I'm so glad you were able to take this trip of a life time.
I have enjoyed seeing all the photos from your trip to England and Wales. I remember those service centres on the motorways. It's funny you refer to them as rest areas. We also have rest areas here but they don't have fuel stations or shops. Just somewhere to pull off the highway. Some have toilets and picnic tables. There are service centres at strategic points but nowhere near as many as they have in the UK. Over summer some of the rest areas have 'driver revivers' which is basically a caravan manned by volunteers where you can have a cup of tea for free! So there you go Camille, some useful travel info for when you come to visit me! Just look out for the driver reviver signs and save yourself some money! Watch out for a special package from Australia... I'm hoping it arrives in time for Christmas!
Oh Camille, I am still giggling over the first to photos :)
That last photo...breathtaking! It would look so beautiful framed and hanging on the wall.
Your photos have been a joy to look at and I am sad to see they are now done. I am very thankful you shared your trip with us and I have an idea I will be back to your blog looking through the photos again - they were fabulous!
Hugs to you!
Dear Pam ~ I hope you and your girls do get to go to the UK someday. Thank you for entering into our joy with us and for your sweet words of encouragement to my photographers. The green Coca Cola is called Coca Cola Life...it's sweetened with Stevia. Hugs to you! :)
Dear Christa ~ How lovely it is to have you stop by for a visit my friend...how I have missed you!! I know you are busy and life is full...no pressure to blog...but, you are missed by me. :) Thank you for your kind words. We are so thankful that the Lord gave us the opportunity to go. Hugs. :)
Dear Angela ~ Yes, you are right...it was certainly a trip of a lifetime! How kind our Great God is to us as His children! Hugs to you. :)
Dear Ann ~ Ah, yes...our *rest areas* in Canada are very similar to what you describe them to be in Australia. I suppose that is why they were such a novelty to us. Thank you for thinking of us...I will let you know when your package arrives. Hugs to you all! :)
Dear Stephanie ~ I am so glad you enjoyed this series so much...you bless my heart. We hope to get a few photos printed...perhaps the one you mention will make the cut. Hugs to you! :)
With love,
Camille
Camille,I felt as if I had ended the trip as well. Thank you for allowing us to come along with you and your family, magnificent!
The Lord blessed you in a wonderful way, and you will never forget this amazing vacation.
Love to you, Debbie
I'm late, as usual, to chime in on your trip but I had to say that I, too, have so enjoyed your pictures!! What a treat it has been to be able to share in your blessing. I am so happy for you that you were able to go and that you would share it with us!! Everything from the castles and the fields (agreed, some must be framed!) to the city and subway and everything in between, I truly enjoyed seeing it all!! I know it wasn't the same as actually being there in person but it is probably as close as I'll ever get and I'm just as happy to see it through your eyes! (and Calvin and Emma's too) Thank you so much!!:-) Love you Friend!!
Dear Debbie ~ You are so right...we will never forget it! What a precious gift directly from the hand of our loving Heavenly Father. May He richly bless you and yours in the coming year. Hugs. :)
Dear Esther ~ You are so sweet to enter in as you have done...thank you for your kind words! You would have been fun to have along...I miss you! Hugs to you all. :)
With Love,
Camille
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