Week 1: We begin...
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| Sunset at Diamond Farm Sunday 16th August-Sunday 23rd August Where we have stayed:
Just before this: We are officially starting the blog from Sunday 16th but it has been a busy few weeks and as you know, this has involved selling, packing up and leaving our house. So, school finished on 16th July and we had a long weekend off, with no working or packing. I then had 2 weeks of school and on-call work, Steve was still working and we carried on packing as much of the house as we could-whilst still living in it. We also continued to meet up with people before leaving. After a number of delays we finally exchanged contracts on Tuesday 27th July. Steve finished work on 31st July and the house completed on 14th August. From 10th-12th August we moved everything from our house into storage We hired a van and moved ourselves, and my view is that this was horrendous-Steve will probably tell you it was OK. (Bob helped on the first day-and I don't think we broke him). Also thank goodness Bear and Yogi were out of the way. They stayed with Steve's parents and the girls (Martha and Maya-their dogs) for the week. Our 'stuff' is in storage about a 1hr 15 minute drive from where we 'used to' live, we hired a van and completed 5 return trips, in 35 degrees heat with no air con in the van. Leaving the house was not upsetting, we know we want to live somewhere new and have different things in a house...plus as we moved stuff out, I kept seeing parts of the house which needed money being spent on it: new double glazing, the conservatory to be replaced, I'd put double doors in off of the dining room. However, seeing all your possessions stacked to above head height in what is in effect, a big cupboard, was not pleasant. Plus, it took forever to get it in and on a number of occasions I strongly believed it would not all fit. It did, but just, and I dread to think what it comes out like! We are absolutely paying someone else to move it out...I never want to see the storage centre again to be honest. On 13th, 14th and 15th August we stayed in the van (Sully) at a campsite in Bletchingdon called Diamond Farm. Steve thought this would be a 'full circle' and a good way to finish off our time in Oxfordshire. After we had previously completed an around the world trip (we were about 24 years old) we moved to Oxford. Neither of us had even been to Oxford before, but we looked on a map and thought Oxford would be between family, I could get to a University to train to be a teacher and Steve could access Oxford, London and Reading for work. Steve's parents found Diamond Farm campsite and towed their caravan there. We lived in the caravan for 3 months and then moved on to rent a 1 bedroom flat on the site, once we had work. We lived here whilst I completed my teacher training and once we had a deposit together, moved to our first house in Tackley. We remembered Diamond Farm as quiet, remote and well kept. Our return was interesting. It now feels unkempt, with interesting characters and let's say smells! We left feeling we had come a long way.  The Storage Centre Steve exhausted  Lots more to fit in yet...Lacock Lovely, small independent campsite. Walked into Lacock and looked around the Abbey. Officially our first stop after leaving Oxford.  Bear enjoying the ford  Glastonbury Amazing campsite. It is adult only and very dog friendly. Had a huge pitch with lots of privacy. Steve said-'don't get used to this!'. There is a dog pond on site, ponds for fishing, dog fields, gelato making machine in reception and a machine to clean the van's toilet box...what else could a campsite need! We stayed here with Steve's parents and the girls. Bear and Yogi loved the dog pond. Yogi really needs to work on his swimming and water safety. He jumped in the pond and put his head under water...and then just kept it there. He finally put his head up, but he is really a very odd dog. We also went for a lovely lunch in MiddleWick.  At the top of Glastonbury Tor  Wildflowers at the campsite Somebody photo bombed the boys selfie!  The dog pond  Very wet, daft dog. Never learnt doggy paddleUphill Marina Very calm campsite overlooking a large pond, with the marina behind. Loads of great walks and met some friends for dinner in a local pub on one of the evenings. Bear and Yogi were actually very good in the pub. Yogi will settle anywhere but Bear does not and is always hyper vigilant and anxiety ridden in new places. But even he laid down at one point. Having been away for a week. It was time for Steve's favourite...cleaning the van (inside). He is not keen, but did a good job. The hoover died and we could not find the charger though- how can you lose anything when living in a 7 meter van with two dogs?        Rodney Stoke Met up with a friend for lunch and went to their house. It was lovely to see them Bear was not so good and let himself down. Eating tissue out of a bin and running around the house is not what you would expect from a nearly 8 year old Bear! Nor taking apart their dog's bed and trying to hump it. Not a good day for Bear. Yogi definitely getting dog of the day for this trip. He settled well, had a lovely walk and enjoyed spending time with his new cockapoo friend. And now we have lost an iPad too!  Looking for the lost items  You are a homeless dog Yogi but you have a van, you don't have to carry all your blankets! Exhausted from entertaining Travel modeWhy a blog? Oh gees, for those of you who have worked with me...I am still thinking about the 'why?'. This comes from Simon Sinek and a leadership framework. Really good book to read if you are interested! If you want to borrow my copy-it is somewhere in storage. We completed a blog on our last trip and had it turned into a book at the end. It was a really nice way to remember where we had been. We are also not social media users, so it acts as a way to let people know where we are up to through using one space...and hopefully you like seeing the pictures and finding out about different places. Some random bits-just because... -We are watching The missing on Iplayer-I think it is old but it is very good. -I am reading Wild by Kristin Hannah-thank you SW-still reading her books after you recommended The Women. -I am on Week 4 of Potato (couch) to 5km...for those of you who know the meniscus saga, it is holding together well. I am hoping by doing this program week by week, I can see at what point it begins to hurt and therefore what the limit is...didn't contemplate what I would do if at 5 km it is still fine... -Bear and Yogi are very happy exploring different places each day. -The van is called Sully after Monster's Inc. Sully, our new van, since the last blog-he is big but not scary! ...and for those of you who have asked or don't get it! Sandy= Steve (s) and Yvette (y) Bay = Bear (b) & Yogi (y) |
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