Showing posts with label vacation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label vacation. Show all posts

Monday, July 14, 2014

Guest blogger Alexandria Ingham "A Relaxing Holiday With the Family"

Its 3:10 pm

    I have reached out across the pond again for a guest blogger. Alexandria is a hard working wife,mother and social media business whiz. I admire her writing so I asked her if she would write a guest entry.
The one question I get when I ask a person to do a entry is "What do you want in terms on content"?
I simply say my blog is a personal one and they can submit what they think would fit.
Alexandria said she would try and think of a subject after coming back from holiday and I wrote back and suggested "why not the holiday itself"?
  We agreed on this....I have always found the term holiday charming so I asked Alexandria where it came up..she pointed me in the right direction and so after reading her entry,take a minute more and read how the term we here in the States call "vacation" became "holiday" in the United Kingdom.






A Relaxing Holiday With the Family



A Relaxing Holiday With the Family

     This time last week I was on the road back home. We’d gotten up at 3 am to make the almost six hour drive home in time for my husband to get into work to have paperwork signed off before professional exams that he completed a couple of days ago.

   Where were we? I hear you ask. We went on a family holiday to just outside Mablethorpe, near Lincoln, UK. It was a trip organised by my parents, and my sister and her fiance joined us so they all got the chance to see our daughter. With them living so far away from us now (well, so far away in the UK—four hours is probably nothing for those in the USA), they hardly get to see Little Monkey.
  It was a great break away. While I love my work and my life, sometimes I just need a break from it all. I like to be able to switch off the social media and the emails, and spend time doing things I wouldn’t usually.
   
  The first day we went to the Seal Sanctuary, where there was much more than seals around. It was the birds that Little Monkey loved the most, and we were fortunate enough to get a video of her running around in awe at them. The poor thing was tired though after the late drive we did the night before. In fact, all three of us were shattered and had to have a nap during the day!
   Our Monday was spent at a theme park that had a market. I think the market was the best part of the whole theme park, but that’s likely because I’m so used to the big rides at the bigger theme parks that these ones were a little disappointing. It was free entry to the park though, and you just paid for the rides you went on. We ended up going back a few days later but just for the market. I could see that place being great for the kids and families in the area since they get a day out without having to spend too much. The food was even reasonably priced, and was not  the usual fast food usually at theme parks. With it being by the seaside, there were the traditional seafood stalls that we get over here. I love crab sticks and packets of mussels and cockles from those stalls. It takes me back to being a kid and going to Bridlington and Scarborough on holiday.

   The highlight of the holiday has to be the trip to the farm closer to the end of the week. I’m really glad we decided on the one we did. It was just a 20 minute drive away (compared to the hour drive to the other one we contemplated), and Little Monkey loved the whole day. She got to run around without her reins, and was able to stroke some of the animals. There was even the opportunity to feed the animals, which we thought she’d freak at. Little Monkey loves animals but does not really like their faces coming up to her, so we did not think she’d take to the goats and sheep coming up to her hands. To our delight, once she saw me feeding the goats she wanted to do it. It was another part of the day that I was fortunate to get a video of.
 
(photo credit to the mighty David Gearing,Harrier ace)
  Of course, there were days at the beach. That’s got to happen when you go to a seaside resort, right? Well, this time last year we went to the beach and Little Monkey only wanted to sit on the sand and destroy sand castles that were built for her. This year, she decided the water was fun to splash in, and enjoyed putting on her Peppa Pig swimming costume to go for paddles. The attempt to dive into the water after watching other little ones do it—and then realize that it meant not being able to breathe!—did not put her off going paddling the next day.
  It was a holiday that I was really looking forward to, and it certainly didn’t disappoint. My next trip away is in August for a week, but that is volunteering for a church camp and not quite a holiday. In fact, it’s going to be one of the most tiring but rewarding weeks of the year—like it has been for a while. Before that though, we get a weekend at the Commonwealth Games since they’re in Glasgow (just a 30 minute train journey from us). We also have some plans to take day trips now that my husband’s professional exams are over and I finished my university module in May and don’t start the next one until next year. Between that it’s all work, but that’s okay since I love my job.
   Next month is also my daughter’s birthday, and I want to do a cake with the Minions from Despicable Me. She loves that movie, and loves the little yellow creatures. I thought I’d trial my attempts at doing the minion faces on something smaller first, so made cupcakes while we were away. We did do an early birthday for her since my parents and sister won’t be able to see her on her actual birthday as they live so far away. The Minion cupcakes turned out really well, so now I’m looking forward to trying a birthday cake.

What plans do you have for the summer?


Michael here....

   So in trying to find out why the English call going on vacation "holiday",this is what I found

vacation
late 14c., "freedom or release" (from some activity or occupation), from O.Fr. vacation, from L.vacationem (nom. vacatio) "leisure, a being free from duty," from vacare "be empty, free, or at leisure" (see vain). Meaning "formal suspension of activity" (in ref. to schools, courts, etc.) is recorded from mid-15c. As the U.S. equivalent of what in Britain is called a holiday, it is attested from 1878.
holiday
1500s, earlier haliday (c.1200), from O.E. haligdæg "holy day; Sabbath," from halig "holy" (see holy) + dæg "day" (see day); in 14c. meaning both "religious festival" and "day of recreation," but pronunciation and sense diverged 16c. As a verb meaning "to pass the holidays" by 1869.

Anyone here going on vacation or holiday (or in my case,a staycation) and if so,where are you going?


My thanks to Alexandria for sharing her holiday with us...to learn more about her and her writing,she has a Facebook page that you visit and "Like"

If you are on Twitter,feel free to follow me 
@Jinzo_2400



Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Writing Challenge - Day 10- Put-In-Bay

It's 12:40 pm

 Having trouble posting on the iPad in Blogger,so I am still reposting from my old blog on FB. When I get my new computer up and running,I shall return...until then I will be reposting older blogs and interesting articles from elsewhere. 


This was originally posted on 22 May 09.
Its 12:05 pm

I have a few minutes before I start mowing my lawn so I decided to write.

We got back from Put-In-Bay late afternoon yesterday,it was the perfect getaway. The timing couldn't have been better. No crowds,perfect weather and lots to see since we were there 2 years ago.
We stayed as always w/DJ Parker..he and his mom run 3 bed and breakfast places for couples only. The first two trips we stayed at the Toledo House which is downtown PIB. But we decided to try the Niagara House this trip. Its about a mile from downtown and more quiet. The house was quiant and a little quirky. The rooms were comfy but outdated,the little reading section featured magazines from 1990-1996. While there were no TVs in the bedrooms,the one downstairs was very old and had a VCR and 15 movies,none which was out past 1995. It was like being a small time warp.
But since we were to explore,we didn't mind and out we went in our golf cart. Most of the shops were just getting ready for the tourist seasons,they were open but stocking new items. We decided to bypass that and go see if the peacocks we had seen before were still around. We jumped on the smallest state road in Ohio,the 0-357,and went looking.
We noticed a lot of "for sale" signs on the island but we noticed a lot of construction as well. Lot of homes getting updated,roofs repaired or rooms added on. The tree trimmers were out in full force as well.
While we didn't see our peacocks,we saw a abundance of beautiful songbirds and a small air force of Canadian geese. The water at the end of 0-357 was gently lapping the shoreline,the breeze was warm and gentle. We sat there without speaking and let nature do all the talking.

We headed back thru downtown. We stopped and while we drinking a beer and a iced coffee..we watched this drunk romeo try and put the moves on his date to no avail. As we just sat down,they left,slightly walking to the left...both toasted at 12:15 pm.

We went to the hatchery but it was closed during the week. We didn't see any LEWS (Lake Erie Water Snakes) and was glad of that. While LEWS are non-poisonous,they have a very nasty and painful bite. We cracked up because we like watching "Dirty Jobs" on Discovery and the host,Mike Rowe,actually had to catch LEWS for field studies. He got bit so many times,he finally said "the hell with this shit" and refused to keep going. LEWS are pretty aggressive but are very protected by the residents of PIB.

After poking around some more,we had a fine steak dinner and since my wife loves American Idol,we had to watch that. She was laughing at me when I said Kris Allen was going to win,she thought there no way it was going to happen. We both cracked up watching Kara destroy that talentless bikini betty in singing that "duet"...and watching KISS and Queen play live was awesome. So when Kris was named winner,my wife asked me how did I know....and the answer was easy.

Adam Lambert is by FAR the better of the two singers....but when the American Idol producers (Simon Cowell) are basically pushing and manipulating Adam to win instead of letting his talent do it for him,the voters rejected him. You saw the same thing last year w/David Cook and the way AI shamelessly used his dying brother to hype Cook up over the then front runner,David Archuleta. Its pretty disgusting to see and when Katy Perry (who the hell ever signed her should be flogged) came out with Adam's name on her cape...it was over. If AI wasn't going to play fair,then the voters would feel cheated and so they reacted with thier vote.
Kris Allen will have a nice little career but Adam with be the bigger star.