No we didn't take Moosetracks across the Atlantic, we let British Airways do it for us. We had been looking forward to a trip back to see family and friends because we have not returned for over 3 years and it was due. We stripped sails and canvas off Moosetracks and left her in the capable hands at Powerboats Marina in Chagauramas, Trinidad for the six week trip away.
The flight went well and the coach connection too. Liz' Mum and brother met us at the bus station in Bristol and two weary travelers were grateful all went well. The big draw for the trip was Liz' Mum's 80th birthday so our first few days saw a nice celebration with Mum have all three siblings around which has been for a very long time since that happened.
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| Birthday lunch with Mum |
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| Fewer candles are better |
We had planned lots of get togethers with dear friends and family so the trip was pretty packed. Suffice to say we meet up with folks we had not seen since school days as well as friends we made in our last couple of years sailing. Our lives are immeasurably better for having such wonderful friends and being able to pick up where we left off and catching up in no time at all on the excitement and challenges that we have all had since we were together. Alas time is always finite and we were all to soon off again for another visit to a special someone.
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| Janet and Martin |
Our families are mostly in the UK still so as expected we spent the bulk of our trip visiting them and catching up. Clevedon is where we grew up and still home to Liz' Mum and Sister Fiona as well as Devin' sister Sue. So while we were based here we were able to frequently visit our families and spent good quality time walking and relaxing with them.
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| Mum's beautiful garden in Clevedon |
We took a long road trip to circumnavigate London and visit our oldest friends from our bridesmaid, best man and Devin's mentor from pre-University. We finished the trip with a long stay with Devin' niece as she has spare rooms and lives near all her family. So we had a great time visiting Devin' brother Russ and the entire family. It was so wonderful to see Russ and Deb with such wonderful sons and daughter. It was so wonderful to see them all doing so well in their lives and settling into relationships and work. We had a great time visiting the sites of London as well as Bushy.
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| Russ & Deb with Liz |
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| Tower bridge opens for a vintage sloop |
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| A great trip up the "Shard" in London |
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| A great lunch with Devin's father. |
Our last week was spent in a vacation property in Buxton, Derbyshire, which is a lovely market town in the Peak District. It was a trip with the entire family in Liz side to celebrate Mum'80th. We took the opportunity to see lots of local historic properties and buildings as well as walking some of the canals. It was a fantastic place and even the weather cooperated, mostly, to make it an extremely memorable week.
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| Buxton is famous for it springs. A bath chair pictured |
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| A kitchen to die for? |
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| One of many National trust properties |
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| Chatsworth house |
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| The cascade at Chatsworth house |
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| The family visiting another National trust property. |
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| The working Mills at Compton, very interesting! |
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| Our last national trust property |
We have missed so much of everyone's lives being in another country for the last 18 years but we still feel immense warmth and love every time we are together. Thanks to everyone for the wonderful trip and being part of our lives.
