TravelStream™ news feed for member manningnz on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/manningnz en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Sun, 12 Oct 2008 11:44:20 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/manningnz/1/1223799060/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/manningnz/1/1223799060/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/manningnz/1/1223799060/tpod.html Sun, 12 Oct 2008 11:44:20 -0400 The Mannings mighty motorhome mission.

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Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada

Wednesday 20th August We slept over night in the RV on Craig and Susan's drive way!  We had a good sleep as we were very tired from our previous bad night in Walmart.We had arranged to get the 10.15 ferry from a place called Tsawassen which is south of Richmond, out on a causeway. This ferry goes to Duke Point on Vancouver Island which takes 2 hours. We had decided not to take the RV over as we were only going over night to visit my Aunt Jo-Anna and Uncle John who live in Nanaimo, and as we were intending to stay at their house we had no need to go to the hassle of driving the RV across. We left Craig and Susan's at about 9am and drove down to the ferry terminal which took about half an hour.  We parked in the long term car park which turned out to be very easy with loads of space and then rushed across the huge car park to buy our ferry tickets. We didn't have to wait long before we got on and once all the vehicles were loaded we were off! The ferry ride was very smooth and the scenery would have been spectacular except the weather wasn't great. It was overcast and trying to rain unfortunately. Zach and Holly enjoyed walking around the ferry and looking around the gift shop etc it was nice for them because they were quite safe and so they were able to wander around by themselves. Steve and I had a coffee and sat and read the morning paper. We arrived in Duke Point, Nanaimo at about 12.15 and Aunty Jo was there to meet us which was great.  We had investigated the possibility of using a bus or taxi but it would have been very expensive so we were glad Jo was able to come. It was about a 20 minute drive around the bay to their house and so we must have arrived just before 1pm. We had a drink followed by the most delicious spaghetti Bolognaise and cheesecake for dessert. The weather was not at all good so we sat and chatted and watched a bit of the Olympics on TV. When the rain looked like it was stopping we went out for a walk and borrowed umbrellas just in case. They only live about 2 minutes from the beach so we wandered down there and past a little Pizza place that also sold ice-cream!  So of COURSE we had to go in and sample it.  The lady who runs this place was incredibly helpful and we tried all the flavours of this locally made ice cream.  I think it was the best ice cream we have tried so far in North America but still it is not as good as Rush Munro's! We had a lovely walk along the shore and spotted a sea otter along the way!  We were really pleased to see it as we had been trying to spot one way back in Monterey but hadn't managed to.   On the way back up the road we also found a blackberry bush with heaps of huge ripe blackberries on it.  So we picked a few and ate them and took a few back for Jo and John. We thought we might go back with a container later to pick a whole lot. Jo had asked me to post some letters for her and I had forgotten to pick them up so when we got back I had to go out again to the post box. As I didn't exactly know where I was going I went right round the block again, past the shoreline and this time I saw the sea otter, but it had climbed up onto a wooden pontoon off the beach! It was having a little rest next to a seagull that had flown down to join it! When I got back Steve went down and ordered some yummy pizza for dinner and we all had a great evening chatting.  Steve also spent some time trying to help Jo with her computer as she has been unable to down load her digital photos as yet. They didn't have much luck but hopefully soon this will be resolved and Jo will be able to store and view her pictures on the computer.
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Marblemount, Washington, United States

Saturday 16th August We got up pretty fast and had breakfast and showers in the van with the intention of going up to the Visitors Centre at 9.30 to listen to a couple of talks from the rangers there.  We had a very informative talk about the Native Indians who inhabited this area thousands of years ago and a not -so - informative talk about Hoary Marmots! (a kind of rodent that lives up in this area - and I don't mean hairy either! Hoary means with a grey or whitish tinge to its fur) see I must have learned something even though that ranger wasn't that keen on offering ANY information unless we actually asked a question first. He was probably the worst we've heard yet! We came back for lunch and I tried to get Holly to write some more journal which is proving to be hard work for her...I think there are too many distractions!The kids played together for about 3 hours which was really nice and Steve went for a long walk. So I had a quiet afternoon doing a few odd jobs and getting the dinner prepared as we were intending to go and listen to a ranger talk at 8.30. So we had dinner at 6pm and got organized to go and learn all about Wolverines at the outdoor amphitheatre in the campsite. This turned out to be very interesting as all these ranger talks have been throughout our trip. If you are wondering what a wolverine is, well it is a little like a bear but a lot smaller.  It also has a very small head without much of a neck, very sharp claws and it is very aggressive.  However if you saw one you would definitely be very lucky as there are not that many of them around. It was nearly 10pm by the time it was finished so we rushed back to get the kids to bed. 
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Torpoint, England, United Kingdom

Tuesday 9th September We had a leisurely morning having breakfast and looking at the view.  We did some school work with the kids and then we went off to meet Jo and Dave for a trip down to Polperro.  We met them at their house and then followed them on the half an hour journey along the coast.  The weather still wasn't very good but I suppose that was good for us in a way because it stopped it from being too busy. Polperro is a tiny little Cornish fishing village and very pretty. It really reminded me of my childhood holidays in Cornwall.  There were three things that I really wanted to have while we were in Cornwall to complete the Cornish experience.  The first was a real Cornish Vanilla ice-cream, the second was a Cornish pasty and the third was a cream tea! So number one on the list was fulfilled this afternoon in the form of a delicious, creamy yellow ice cream which was absolutely yummy and brought back nice memories! We also had fish and chips sitting on the wall down by the tiny harbour. I must say though, NZ chips beat these hands down.... English chips are too soggy I'm afraid. Jo and Dave had to leave as they had to pick up their kids from school so they left us to continue exploring. We drove off and found our way back towards the chalet but took a detour over to Rame Head which is a piece of land that forms the Northern end of Whitsand Bay. This turned out to be a very interesting drive, along scarily narrow Cornish roads.  We visited the Coast watch centre that looks over the sea and then we went to Rame church which was built in 1270. It was a very interesting place to look around and we all had a lovely afternoon. We returned to the chalet to make tea and relax in our beautiful surroundings.
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Torpoint, England, United Kingdom

Monday 8th SeptemberWe left Reigate at 6.30 am and drove down to Plymouth. On the way we stopped at Stonehenge, which Holly was really excited about!  To me it looked so much smaller than I remembered, but that was probably because I was a child last time I saw it. We didn't stop again except for the loo and a coffee and arrived at Plymouth at 11.30 am. We were going to see our friends Jo and David who actually live on Torpoint which is across the harbour from Plymouth and is in Cornwall! It was great to see them again after 7 years. They now have 2 children, Max who is 7 and Bel 5. They were at school when we arrived so we didn't get to meet them immediately.  We had a coffee with them and then Steve and I whizzed around to the supermarket to get some supplies for the next 3 days.   David & Jo had kindly offered us the use of their fabulous Chalet for the week. They took us round to the chalet at Whitsand bay, which is about 10 mins. drive from them. They had to leave as they had to get the kids from school so we were left to settle ourselves in. The weather was pretty crappy, although it wasn't really cold.The chalet is in the most amazing location, right on the cliff looking right out to sea. To get to the chalet you have to park up on the road and walk down a steep cliff mud path!  It really is a spectacular place.  We were very happy to spend the rest of the day exploring and having a quiet tea and an early night as we had had a busy weekend. Dave is a fireman and was on duty that night so we were not planning to see them again until tomorrow.
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Reigate, England, United Kingdom

Sunday 7th September We spent the day in Reigate today as my Mum had arranged for her brother Dick and his wife Rani to come over for lunch. We had a lovely time with them. Julie made a wonderful home made curry and we had Rani's famous Banana cake for dessert. Dick & Rani stayed until about 4pm and then we had to get organised for our trip to Cornwall as we were intending to leave really early in the morning. We spent the evening packing everything into the car and had an early night.
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Reigate, England, United Kingdom

Saturday 6th September The kids were up horribly early which spelled disaster as they had gone to bed horribly late last night.  However they all seemed in good spirits and played well together. We had a delicious cooked breakfast and spent the rest of the morning chatting. It was so good to see them again and we had a lovely time with them, almost as if we had never been away! Sadly after lunch we decided to head off as we had another friend, Mark to see before heading back to Reigate. Mark Rogers is another old friend of Steve's who was married to Julie but isn't any more. He lives in Sevenoaks with his partner Karen. We went and visited them for about and hour and had coffee and a catch up on everything that they had done and we had done since we last met in 2000. The kids were very good and were able to play on the computer while we did some catching up The weather was awful and we had to drive in torrential rain.  It was also quite cold. We returned to Reigate at dinner time feeling tired and cold!
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Orpington, England, United Kingdom

Friday 5th September We spent the morning getting organised and the washing done before heading over to see Steve's friend Carl who was the best man at our wedding.He and Katherine now live in Orpington with their 3 children - Erin who is 9, Sydney 7 and Alfie 4.  We had not been to their new house although they have been there 5 years!  It was really nice to see them again and also to see the kids. We had a good old catch up over wine and a take-a-way Indian meal.  The kids all got very excited and didn't get to sleep until very late.
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Reigate, England, United Kingdom

Thursday 4th September We didn't do much today - just some washing etc
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Reigate, England, United Kingdom

Wednesday  3rd September After breakfast we left Brighton to drive up to Reigate and on to South East London to Lindy's house.  We were going to look after Gabriel for the afternoon as she had gone back to work this week and Gabriel wasn't starting school until tomorrow. We met Howard - Lindy's partner and then he left for work.  We spent the rest of the afternoon entertaining Gabriel by taking him to the park, playing with play dough and having lunch etc.  Lindy returned at about 5.30 and we all had tea together before returning to Reigate at about 8pm.
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Brighton, England, United Kingdom

Tuesday 2nd September We had a leisurely breakfast this morning and spent lots of time chatting.After lunch Bev and I decided to take the boys swimming as the weather was absolutely dreadful and they needed to get out.  We went up to Lewis Leisure Centre for a couple of hours. Holly stayed behind with Steve, while he fixed all the problems in the downstairs loo. By the time we got back the toilet was all fixed and Bev was very happy!We had decided to stay another night as things were apparently a bit hectic back in Reigate, so my parents were keen for us not to come back too soon. So to say "thank you" we took Bev, Holly and Zach out for something to eat in Brighton. Austin and Thomas were at their father's place for dinner.  We ate in the middle of town at a Chinese buffet style place which was cheap and cheerful. The dessert was the best bit .... Melted chocolate, marshmallows and as many bits of cakes as you could squeeze in! We had a little wander around the town to show Holly and Zach and also showed them the pier.  We are intending to come back to Brighton soon to see other friends so we didn't actually go on the pier this time. It is a significant place for us as Steve and I walked along it on our first date together way back in 1994. We got home round 9pm and watched half of the movie "A night in the museum".
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