Home from home

I was up early. There was a lot to do. We had to finish our packing, doublecheck our lists, have breakfast (but only one cup of tea - no coffee), and load the car. All the while it was pouring with rain - continuing from the overnight deluge that had battered the house. Fortunately, as the clock ticked around, the rain stopped. We both walked around to Zoe's to escort Ellie to school and to take the opportunity to see the work she had been doing in the classroom - with both her maths and English workbooks on display. It was clear that she was getting on very well.

Back home, we settled ourselves into the car and headed out onto the King's highways. Our usual 3  and a bit hours should get us to Sidmouth just after midday. Apparently, nobody had told the gods who control the road network. Traffic around Chichester was as bad as ever, roadworks around Portsmouth delayed that stretch of the journey, roadworks and an abnormal load delayed us as we headed past Southampton, and a road crash closed the A31 near Canford Bottom. What joy! In the end, our journey had taken 4 and a quarter hours.

Trevor and Jane were already at the hotel and had a pint of Doom Bar waiting for me. It was most welcome. We sat and enjoyed a light lunch before taking our luggage to the room and unpacking. Then, meeting up in Reception, we headed out for a walk into Sidmouth. 

We walked up to the end of the Esplanade, then looped back into town where the girls managed to get lost in Sea Salt as Trevor and I raided Crew Clothing.  

Several hours later, when the girls emerged, Trevor and Jane split off to visit an art shop they know, while Diane and I wandered back to the hotel.

We had a quiet hour in our room before heading to the bar for pre-dinner drinks. The hotel is very crowded - there is obviously a coach party of barely alive guests in residence. The faint odour of lavender and formaldehyde announces their proximity as they shuffle around. We stayed clear and went to dinner before them.

After dinner, we sat and chatted in the lounge while listening to a quiz in the background. We called it a day around 10 pm and headed for bed.