Wales......

Harbour Beach, Abersoch, Wales

I'm interrupting my Dixieland travelogue to tell you about our holiday in Abersoch, Wales, with the family last week.

You may remember a post I did about childhood holiday memories having a lasting effect, which I believe prompted our eldest son to drive for 3 hours one summer day to show his three children where we used to spend our summer holidays when he was a child.      His trip then prompted MWM and I to go back there two years ago, 30 years after our last visit, to spend a few days rekindling our love of the place.   You can read about that break here, here and here.   

Abersoch Harbour

Last December we decided we'd like all our grandchildren to experience the magic of Abersoch and hopefully they would in turn have magical holiday memories. which they might then pass on to their children in years to come. I looked online and found a fabulous house for rent, right in the village, which was big enough for us, our two sons and their families.    I checked with the boys that the dates were OK with them then went ahead and booked the house for a week.   You can see photos of the interior of the house here, it was fabulous and had everything we needed and more.

Argraig

We set off on Friday 3rd June for the 3 hour drive to Wales, followed by youngest son and his two boys.  Eldest son had set off an hour before taking a different route, saying he'd see us at the house.  The weather was just beautiful, sunny and hot and we were hoping it would stay that way for the seven days we were there.

We arrived at the house and unpacked the food we'd taken before popping down to the pub for a welcome drink.   The children were happy playing on the climbing frame at the pub for a short time before we took them down to the harbour to look at the boats and let them have a run around on the beach

before getting fish and chips to take back to the house for tea, which we ate sitting around the huge table on the decking in the evening sunshine.

Saturday was gloriously hot and sunny, so we took the buckets and spades, other beach games and a picnic down to the beautiful beach, where we all had a wonderful time.

After a great day on the beach we went back to the house to shower off the sand and had a lovely meal, eaten alfresco again, then popped down to the pub for a drink before bedtime whilst the children played together on the climbing frame there.

Here's Ali and Gracie having a cuddle before bedtime. 

On Sunday we drove the fifteen miles from Abersoch to Criccieth, taking a packed lunch with us which we ate overlooking the beach, and climbed the hill to the 13th century castle.     

Dan's partner, Fi, had been unable to come with us as she had to work and take care of their three dogs, and unfortunately Ali had to go home on Sunday evening because she had to go back to work on Monday too, Nick drove her home and returned to Abersoch later that evening.  

Monday dawned sunny again, so we took the children to Abersoch's main beach to explore and enjoy an icecream.

On Tuesday we drove to Caernarfon, which is 24 miles from Abersoch, to visit the magnificent Caernarfon Castle, which was built by Edward I in 1283 and is still in excellent repair.  Caernarfon Castle is where the investiture of the Prince of Wales took place in 1969.    Most of the turrets are still accessible and proved to be a great source of excitement for the children.

On Wednesday the children collected shells on the beach to make collages and explored the rock pools with their fishing nets.    Here's a few photographs showing their handiwork with the shells.

On Thursday we drove over to Pwllheli, which is the capital of the Llyn Peninsula and just seven miles from Abersoch, so that the children could get souvenirs for themselves and gifts for their mothers.       Later in the afternoon they went for one last scout on the beach before coming back for a bath.   Most evenings we spent playing snap and various games in the lounge with the children before they went to bed tired out and happy.


All too soon it was Friday morning and time for us to leave lovely Abersoch for the drive home.  The weather was very kind to us. Some mornings were overcast but by the time we were all ready to go out the clouds had cleared and the sun was out, though sometimes there was a chilly wind it didn't deter us or the children from enjoying our time in Abersoch.

Each morning, whilst the children were having breakfast and getting dressed,  MWM walked down to the little shop to get the daily paper and sit a while on the harbour,

looking out to sea, enjoying the peace and tranquility.

Each day a little Robin hopped around us looking for a few crumbs, so on the last morning we took him some and he almost ate them out of my hand.

MWM and I hope that all the grandchildren will remember their week in Abersoch and maybe in years to come take their children there.  Apart from the names of the shops Abersoch hasn't changed at all in 30 years and I hope it will be just the same if they eventually all go back.   Ah, sweet memories.

If you want to read our Dan's account of the holiday go to his blog

Dan's Fi-ver.

Succinctly Yours - A Microfiction Meme #12

I'm back from Wales!

Grandma at Grandma's Goulash provides a picture and a word prompt for this Microfiction Meme and the rules are use the photo as inspiration for a story of 140 characters OR 140 words.


Want more challenge? Use the word of the week in your story. This part is optional.

This week's word is LAVENDER here's the picture and my offering using both the picture and the word in 140 characters, including spaces and punctuation.

Daffy and Duane Duck watched as Lavender tested the temperature of the river

by sticking her head under the water and her bottom in the air.

I know they're Geese, just pretend they're ducks!

Dixieland - Part 2........

Setting off early on Day 3 of our tour found us heading south to New Orleans, or N'awlins as Alice called it.

Our first stop was the Bay of Biloxi, the place Hurricane Katrina first made land.  Alice told us of the devastation Katrina had wreaked on Biloxi but the only evidence now was empty lots where people hadn't yet rebuilt, mainly because the insurance companies refused to pay out.  Alice told us that where people had insurance for flood damage the insurance companies claimed it was hurricane damage, and where people had insurance for hurricane damage the insurance companies claimed it was flood damage - eternal shame on them!

After Katrina, the mayor of Biloxi, A.J. Holloway, and Public Affairs Manager Vincent Creel spoke with Mississippi “chainsaw artist” Dayton Scoggins about sculpting marine-related figures from the dozens of standing dead trees in the median of Beach Boulevard in Biloxi like the one in the picture below.       Whilst living trees are always preferable, the scultured trees are beautiful too and a reminder of the resilience of Biloxi and a memorium to what happened when Katrina hit, do click on the link to see more sculptures.

Click on pics to biggify

Nearby was a living oak that survived Katrina.

There is a memorial to the people of Biloxo who lost their lives when Katrina hit, it lists the names of all the dead including the people that were never identified, they were named as John or Jane Doe, the missing are also named.

There was also a glass case containing personal belongings which were found in the debris after Katrina (see picture below), if you click here you can see the items detailed.   Seeing the memorial and the personal belongings was a very moving experience and we took a few minutes to pay our respects to the people who had lost their lives and applaud the courage of the survivors.

We walked around the harbour and took a photo of the boats anchored there

 and an island that was created after Katrina's devastation.

We also learned that the Hard Rock Casino was originally built on a raft on the water following state law, but after Katrina the law was changed so that it could be rebuilt on land to encourage tourists to return to Biloxi.  

MWM standing below the HRC guitar

Entrance to the Casino from the Memorabilia Hall

Some of the memoriabilia that was found by local residents and returned to the Hard Rock after Katrina was Elvis Presley's Army uniform, found on a mannequin floating in the Mississippi Sound, B.B. King's original guitar "Lucille", guitars from Dimebag Darrell, Johnny Cash, and Kiss, and clothing from Steve Tyler and Elton John.

Me checking out the memorabilia in the HRC

We continued our journey to New Orleans arriving at our destination just after midday and as we couldn't check into our rooms until 4 p.m. Jerome dropped us off in the centre of the French Quarter near the statue of Joan of Arc ( known as Joanie on the Pony locally) and the market.

We found a table outside on of the many cafes and had a delicious po-boy for lunch whilst listening to a jazz band playing before having a quick walk round to take some pictures before it was time to meet the coach again to take us to our hotel.

Two of the many balconies in the French Quarter

St. Louis Cathedral, Jackson Square, French Quarter, New Orleans

At 4p.m. we met Alice and Jerome at the appointed place and were taken to our hotel, The Sheraton on Canal Street, within a few minutes walk of Bourbon Street.   Alice had already checked us in, telling us, as she gave us our keys, that our luggage was already in our rooms and we should meet at 6 p.m. at the Blue Cow

in the foyer of the hotel.

for our first excursion in New Orleans, dinner on a Riverboat cruising the Mississippi whilst listening to a Jazz Band.

The hotel was just fabulous, here's the view from our room

and this view was quite unexpected

WINDOW CLEANERS!

We all met up at 6 p.m. for the short journey to the Mississippi River to board the Sternwheel Steamboat Natchez

where we were entertained by the Calliope being played on the top deck.  (click here to hear it).  We had the obligitory photograph taken before we boarded and we liked it so much we bought it. (The picture - not the boat!!!!).

Once on board we were ushered into the dining room, where we enjoyed a buffet of southern cuisine, (you can see the menu here), which we thoroughly enjoyed before going out on deck

to watch the sun go down

and listen to the superb Dukes of Dixieland jazz band.

All too soon the Natchez returned to it's dock and it was time to board the coach again to go back to the Sheraton for a good night's sleep.   It was the end of a perfect first day in N'awlins.

Please join me for Dixieland - Part 3 for day 2 in N'awlins, coming soon.
Read Dixieland Part one here.

This will be my last post for a week or so, as we're off on another holiday on Friday, this time to Wales with our sons and grandchildren.   Of course I'll be taking lots of photographs.  Keep your fingers crossed for good weather for us, so that the grandchildren can spend all their time on the beach.

Succinctly Yours - A Microfiction Meme #9

Grandma at Grandma's Goulash provides a picture and a word prompt for this Microfiction Meme and the rules are use the photo as inspiration for a story of 140 characters OR 140 words.



Want more challenge? Use the word of the week in your story. This part is optional.


This week's word is GLISTEN here's the picture and my offering using both the picture and the word in 140 characters, including spaces and punctuation.

He’d robbed ‘Glisten’, the jewellery shop, thinking his getaway was good.

Then he was felled,

by a tin of beans in the lady’s shopping bag!

Friday 55 Flash Fiction #164 A Fine Line.....

It was a fine line she had to walk, there was no doubt about that.

A mistake could cost her life.

Years of experience had taught her she must keep her nerve,

not be distracted, concentrate, be determined, keep cool,

but most of all balance was the key

to walking a tightrope in a circus.

Friday 55 Flash Fiction is brought to you by G-man (Mr Knowitall). The idea is you write a story in exactly 55 words. If you want to take part pop over and let G-man know when you've posted your 55.

Dixieland - Part 1......

Our tour of Dixieland was a fulfilled dream for me, a trip we wanted to do over ten years ago to celebrate our Silver Wedding Anniversary but couldn't because at that time I was crippled by arthritis in my knee and couldn't face touring anywhere on a bus for 12 days.  Of course it wasn't a problem now because my knee joint is now metal and perfectly pain free and sound, so we set off on our long awaited, dream trip.

Our flight out of Manchester (UK) was on time at 10.10 a.m.and uneventful, getting through customs and security at Atlanta was  an eyeopener - having collected our luggage we had to put the duty free items we bought in the UK inside and check the luggage in again before proceeding through customs then get on a train to get to baggage claim again to collect our bags. LOL

click on photos to biggify

Our tour director, Alice, was waiting for us at baggage claim to welcome us to Atlanta.

    Alice

Once all our party were assembled we made our way to the motor coach where we met our driver for the tour, Jerome,

Jerome

who took us to our first stop on the tour, The Hotel Midtown Atlanta for our first night in Dixieland.

Me outside Hotel Midtown Atlanta on second day of tour.

After breakfast the following morning we left the hotel for a brief tour of Atlanta including the CNN building

and the Centenial Olympic Park, where the Coca Cola 125th Anniversary celebrations were taking place that day.

Our next stop on the city tour was a very emotional and unexpected visit to Dr. Martin Luther King's memorial site.

We took some photographs of Atlanta's impressive skyline.

Departing Atlanta we passed through Montgomery, a primary site in the African-American Civil Rights Movement, and remembered the very brave Rosa Parks, who's act of defiance in refusing to give up her seat on a bus to a white person instigated the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the Selma to Montgomery marches, which eventually resulted in victory for the black people of the deep south of America .   It was interesting to learn that when the bus boycott was over, Rosa once again boarded the bus to go to work only to find that the bus driver was the same one who'd had her arrested for refusing to give up her seat.  That must have been a sweet victory for her indeed.

Montgomery was also the place where Jefferson Davis was sworn in as the first and only President of the Confederacy.

We also had a short stop in Montgomery to see a statue of Hank Williams, the country music singer/songwriter, who's career began at the age of 14 by winning a talent show at the empire Theatre in Montgomery in 1937.

Statue of Hank Williams, Montgomery, Alabama

Our journey proceeded to Mobile, Alabama, where we were to spend the night at the Holiday Inn Mobile West.   We arrived about 4.30 p.m. after a tiring but interesting journey from Atlanta with just enough time to freshen up before getting on the bus again to visit Felix's Fish Camp, located on Battleship Parkway, for a great meal with our fellow travellers.

On the way to Felix's we passed Mobile Bay's shore where we saw the USS Alabama Battleship and the Gulf of Mexico.  Apparently boy scouts and such groups occasionally stay overnight on the battleship.   Good fun and a unique experience for them.

After a delicious meal we returned to the hotel for a much needed sleep before embarking on day 3 of our Southern Music and Dixieland Tour.  Oh yes, we gained an hour on the journey as we had to put our watches back when we crossed a time zone!

Hope you enjoyed Part 1 of our tour, join me for Dixieland - Part 2 coming soon.

Succinctly Yours - A Microfiction Meme #8

Grandma at Grandma's Goulash provides a picture and a word prompt for this Microfiction Meme and the rules are use the photo as inspiration for a story of 140 characters OR 140 words.



Want more challenge? Use the word of the week in your story. This part is optional.


This week's word is KINK here's the picture and my offering using both the picture and the word in 140 characters, including spaces and punctuation.

My dear Emily, please accept my apologies for the kink in my innards. 

Here the aroma of this flower should alleviate the obnoxious smell.

_________________________

I'm back off holiday and will be posting about our travels just as soon as I have downloaded the 369 photographs we took, and deciphered the notes I made.

Friday 55 Flash Fiction #163 Superstitious....

Under ladder

Walking on cracks

Cutting my toenails on a Friday.

Put my umbrealla up inside the house

and new shoes on the table.

Broke a mirror - what care I?

I didn't greet the magpie either.

There's a black cat crossing my path

I can almost hear you all gasping.

Bad luck?

Rubbish!

Fingers crossed.

I'm away at the moment but I couldn't resist scheduling this to post on Friday 13th.   See you soon.


Friday 55 Flash Fiction is brought to you by G-man (Mr Knowitall). The idea is you write a story in exactly 55 words. If you want to take part pop over and let G-man know when you've posted your 55.

America here we come.........

Come Friday (6th May) we will be flying out of Manchester to Atlanta to start our tour of the southern states of America as shown on the map above.

We will be staying in Atlanta overnight before departing for Mobile, taking in a brief sightseeing tour of the city before we leave.

We spend the night in Mobile then continue our journey through the Gulf States, heading to New Orleans for a three night stay. The following day we have a sightseeing tour which includes the French Quarter, the Garden District and City Park.  Of course there are optional tours which we will include in our stay,  such as a dinner jazz cruise on Sternwheel Steamboat Natchez along the banks for the Mississippi River and a visit to Oak Alley Plantatation.   Leaving New Orleans behind we make a stop in Jackson before carrying on to Memphis for a 3 night stay. 


The first day of our stay in Memphis we take a trip to Tupelo to visit the Elvis Birthplace Facility before heading back to the hotel and a free evening.   After a good night's sleep (we hope) we go on a tour of Graceland, home of Elvis Presley and an optional tour of Memphis to see Sun Studio, Beale Street and the Rock-n-Soul Museum.   


Our next destination is Nashville where, after lunch,  we will visit the Ryman Auditorium, the first real home of the  'Grand Ole Opry' and we will also see a show in the evening at the Grand Ole Opry.   I love country music so this is a dream come true for me.   The following day we hope to do a tour of Nashville and visit the Loveless Cafe , where we may sample some of their award winning country ham and red eye gravy and southern fried chicken.


On our final full day in the Deep South, we head back to Atlanta but will be stopping en route for a tour of the Jack Daniels Distillery and Chattanooga, home of the famous 'Choo Choo', with free time to look around before heading for the hotel, where we will stay overnight.  Before making our way to the airport for our journey home, on our last day in America we get to visit the World of Coca Cola and will sample over 60 different refreshing flavours from around the world.     


Our next stop is the airport where we will board the plane for the 10 hour journey home back to the UK.


I'm sure I will have LOTS of photographs and tales to tell you when I get back on the 18th May.   I'm so excited!

Succinctly Yours - a Microfiction Meme #6

Grandma at Grandma's Goulash provides a picture and a word prompt for this Microfiction Meme and the rules are use the photo as inspiration for a story of 140 characters OR 140 words.

Want more challenge? Use the word of the week in your story. This part is optional.


This week's word is INVADE here's the picture and my offering using both the picture and the word in 140 characters, including spaces and punctuation.

Zarko, we invade earth tomorrow.

Of course the earthlings won’t be suspicious,

our scientists have ensured that we‘re identical to them.