Oh I do like to be beside the seaside....

We went away with Mr LFCC's old bike club, our friends, Tiger MCC to a haven holiday park.  This might seem like an odd place for a bunch of bikers to hang out for a weekend but everyone started going when the kids were small and it meant that the whole family could go along.  With all the typical hi-di-hi sing alongs, lots of karaoke, and real family entertainment our friends convinced us it was real giggle. So, on Friday we packed up the campervan and headed to Yarmouth to join in the fun and games.

On the way there I was convinced we'd made a drastic error of judgement as the rain was coming down so heavily we couldn't see where we were going, and the wind was making it hard to keep our girl on the road. Mr LFCC has an awning for the camper that he loves but I was thinking it would be better just to sleep in the camper herself rather than mess around in the elements trying to put the awning up but as we pulled into the grounds of the park the wind somehow dropped, the rain stopped and the sun made a concerted effort to come out and shine.

So with our awning set up, the airbed adorned with sleeping bags, slankets and my two hot water bottles at the ready we headed up to the park bar and were dazzled by the um... entertainment.... lol!
Luckly for him, Mr LFCC was able to drink so many beers were consumed in an effort to numb the pain and drown out some of the ickle stompy peoples squeals of excitement but I'm not allowed alcohol (scary immunosuppressents...) so I had to brave it with nothing but soda water to numb the pain.

It was really good fun catching up with our friends though, and watching the other holiday go-ers was actually really entertaining too. They watched us all pretty closely too though to be fair!  The kids really did love the entertainment and got a lot of fun out of all the sing a longs and associated actions. I'm hoping they tired themselves out so mums and dads accross the site got a little bit of a lay in on Saturday morning!  Our friends from the bike club retired to the tent next to ours (Brian and Maggie's marquee! lol!) for the after party but I slept through that, and through the wasp making its presence felt in there around 4am too... I sleep gooooood! :o)

So Saturday day time there were a lot of hung over Tigers so we had a bit of a lay in, I cooked bacon and egg sandwiches for breakfast, and we headed into Yarmouth for a look around.  I absolutely adore going to the seaside but Mr LFCC can't understand why and would much rather visit inland waterways (although he loves sailing!). But, being the wonderful gracious husband he is, he humoured me and we trekked accross the stony beach to find the sea. I stood, mesmerised, for some time just watching the waves crash but eventually I was dragged away and we took a walk along the pier and down the street of tat (tat shopping, we were informed, is a very important part of this annual weekends events!).  We found some awesome Big Bang Theory tshirts and hoodies and just had to buy a "Bazinga" tshirt for the teenager!

Then we pootled on back to the campsite to veg out, have a nap, read Kindles, and wait for the second evenings entertainment. Everyone dressed up in red white and blue, and there were bubbles, noisy toys, balloons to throw about and all kinds of daft stuff happening/  I think the staff tolerated it pretty well, as did the other people in the bar, and everyones kids had fun with the balloons!  It was hilarious watching peoples reactions to all these leather clad bikers trundling around with party blowers, and the kids loved the Chris and Lucy who had full sized Tiger suits on! Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrreat!

Whilst we really enjoyed catching up with our friends, I think next time we'll just do the seaside bit... Mr LFCC was kept awake by the sheer noise of the rain last night (I didn't notice it... too busy snoring...!) so he's in need of another nap, and I will be roasting a huge joint of beef, duck fat roast potatoes and HUGE yorkshire puddings to bring us back to normal!  So, I shall YAWN widely, and leave you to have a peek at the photos I took around the old pier!

This Kitty was a big 'un!

When we went to a boat jumble in Ipswich a couple of weeks back we'd no idea that we'd be unleashing a monster!! After the jumble we took a walk around the Quay and noticed an old Thames Barge with a sign up advertising boat trips. I was duly instructed by a very keen Mr LFCC to ring them first thing on the Monday morning and book a trip. Who was I to argue?

So this morning we got up disgustingly early and I made us a packed lunch, and off we drove to play boats.  We got there a little early and were poised to leap (not very gracefully, to be fair) onboard as soon as the gangplank was popped into position.  Our boat for the morning was an 1895 Thames Barge called "Kitty" and she was absolutely gorgeous. Her crew were so lovely and welcoming, and our gracious hostess, Annie, is as mad for crafting (possibly even more so!) than yours truly, while our skipper, Kevin, was as laid back and calm as Mr LFCC!

There weren't nearly as many people onboard for our trip as there would usually be so we were told that once we were out of the quayside we could have the sails up which we were really excited about!
We pootled on into the mahoosive lock (scary deep) and were sung to by the lock keeper... obviously... why wouldn't he sing to us??! Outstanding!

Then we moved into open water.  It was really shocking how many of the yachts and sailing boats decided to try and out run Kitty and cut directly accross in front of her with no kind of concern for life nor limb.  Everyone who wanted to was allowed a try at steering her though, and despite this no other boats were crushed. Is it wrong to admit we were ever so slightly disappointed? lol!  You could tell the narrowboaters amongst us as everyone steered in the opposite direction to where we wanted to go but it transpires that these girls wheels should be turned in the direction you actually want to head. 

We turned around after an hour and the sails powered our gentle gaunt back towards the lock again.  I think everyone else was as reluctant to get off as we were and there was rather a lot of talk of going back out for the afternoon cruise too!

Still, we disembarked and headed back to the car for the drive back to our own girl but shortly after leaving the town centre I spotted a little sign with that all important VW logo on and we had to investigate! Turns out there'd been a VW festival there all weekend which didn't finish until teatime today so we mosied on in for a look around. There were some stunning vans there that folks have obviously spent a fortune on but the ones I loved were the ones that looked absolutely buggered (but had serious engines hiding beneath the battered exterior in many cases).

A perfect day out for Mr LFCC and me, then home to fuss the Poopy as it's his 4th birthday today!

From this...

To this...

Hope you've had as lovely a weekend as we have! Did you do something cool that you'll remember??

(Bookings for "Kitty" can be made here!)

Going round and round on the carousel

We went to the Crick boat show today and really enjoyed walking around. There are always so many dogs there which is something we love but we don't take our Poops as it's a two hour drive each way for us to get from our patch of riverbank in Cambridgeshire to this village in Northampton.

We found some good bits and pieces and it was worth the drive, but the best bit was the old fashioned carousel we saw just inside the gates! I have visions of using the photos I snapped on my phone on some great textile designs and perhaps a few prints for the wall of the boat...

I love capturing stuff like this - the colours are so vivid that they work well transformed to sepia or black and white too, giving a whole load of options for including them in all kinds of creations.

We pootled off after taking these photos and my eagle eyes spotted a tiny sign for a tea shop and as Mr LFCC was getting peckish in we went. It turned out to be a tiny farm shop and petting zoo as well as tea shop so after a bite to eat we went to fuss the critters.  This was my first experience up close and personal with lambs and goats and I loved every second, falling particularly in love with one of the lambs who I shall remember as "Albert". He looked like an Albert. Definately. ! :o)
Mr LFCC was despatched to get baby bottles of milk from the farm shop and I had a gorgeous time with them all fighting over the bottles. Such a lovely happy feeling, fussing them all!

Then we made a slight detour from our drive home and stopped at a vintage style shopping court yard where we browsed some gorgeous stuff, caving only to an old cut glass perfume bottle which is looking so cute in our almost finished new bathroom onboard! The final detour was a visit to my mum for a hug on the way home!

All in all, it's been a pretty perfect day. I'm now roasting potatoes in duck fat, and a large joint of topside beef from the farm shop we found today. The sun is starting to sink over the riverbank and all is well with the world. What more could a floaty girl ask for?  What makes your perfect day? Have you been doing lots of Jubilee partying or staying home and making the most of time with your family??