A Fishy Picnic: Wednesday August 6, 2008

We spent a fruitless morning attempting to get our train tickets for tomorrow up to London. In past years, it has always just involved a quick trip to the bus station in the center of Newport to buy a ticket that includes the ferry connection to Portsmouth as well.

We were warned that the bus station no longer sells the train and ferry tickets, but were told we could go to the tourist office. We had to wait an hour for them to open at the incredibly late hour of 10am and wait in a queue only to learn that you can't get them there either. The only option is on-line or in Ryde or Cowes.

We had already decided to change our plans and not leave as early as planned tomorrow so we will have time to buy the tickets just before we board the ferry, but it is really inconvenient with this new change.

The picnic did happen. It took coordination and 3 cars again. Graham and I rode with Jake in Gaye's car. Gaye and Graham were discussing which way to go and we ended up on a route that had a road closed and had to drive a bit out of our way. As a result, we were the last to arrive at the fish and chips shop which was extremely busy. It took awhile, but eventually we all had our orders and we drove up the hill and onto Boniface down with wonderful views in all directions. We spread ourselves out on chairs and blankets and dug into the most fantastic fish and chips. Because this is a treat we only get once a year, I really savored mine and made them last.

This time the crowd included:

• Mum and Dad
• Gaye and her kids Alice, Jake and Josh
• Brian and his kids Georgina and Brendan
• Sam (his family are still out of town)
• Graham and me

At one point after the food was gone, a challenge was issued for a foot race between Graham, his brother and most of the kids. There were two races in all and Graham was chuffed to be victorious in both.
After the picnic, Graham took his dad's car with me and Alice and Jake while Brian took his two in his car. These two cars when to Yaverland beach while Gaye drove her parents home. This beach was fantastic and I wished I had my swimsuit with me. It had nice big waves, a sandy beach (no stones) and the air was warm. I had to content myself with taking photos while wading in knee-deep and keeping an eye on Alice who was having a ball.

That evening Alice and Georgina slept out in the back garden in Alice's new tent. It was a big adventure for her.