![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Devon, Cornwall, cute little birdies
Sep. 8th, 2013 08:35 pmI "should" post properly about the last week, but it isn't going to happen, is it?
Since this is Dave's three-week break, we had a week away, complete with hired wheelchair (which I used a lot less than expected).
Friday to Monday was in the Summerhill Hotel in Paignton, picking up little sister on the way, since she lives nearby and I don't see anything like enough of her. Visited Paignton Zoo, and took a trip on the local steam railway down to Dartmouth, where we did a river cruise on a paddle steamer. There are many photos, and at some point I will get round to sorting them out and putting them on Flickr.
Monday night to Thursday morning, down in Cornwall, staying in the Royal Inn. Visited the Eden Project, who lent me an electric wheelchair, but sadly no L-plates for it. Again, lots of photos. Also saw Mevagissey, initially for the model railway and then back for a longer visit the next day - back to an art gallery Dave had spotted, up and down the narrow, cobbled, sloping streets, around the harbour, and the ground floor of the museum. Yes, ground floor only - I did all that lot on crutches, but I do have limits, and their staircase was beyond them.
Bought silly things at Cornish Market World and ended with a visit to Wingz, where there were many birdies and some baby meerkats! In this case, yes, there are pictures, because they asked us to put them on their Facebook page. Here's the Flickr set, currently only containing meerkats.
Thursday, we'd decided to take two days to make the drive home, and that meant we had time to put another bit of inspiration into action. Given that I have a friend in South Devon, and a a sister in South Devon, and they live about 30 miles apart and would almost certainly get on, why not introduce them? So we did that, having lunch at the Otter Inn (good carvery, beware of their idea of a small portion, you may not be able to move afterwards), and I was right, they did get on.
Overnight in Bournemouth at the Royal Exeter (chosen from Trip Advisor a day earlier). We'd left Exmouth far later than intended, the journey was full of traffic, and we got there well after 7 and shattered. Booked a table in the restaurant without bothering to investigate - it's bound to do something edible, and I was too tired to want to walk any further. OMG. As a last fling meal of the holiday, that was a good choice. Sorry, no menu on-line, but that was a stunningly good meal. Not cheap, but worth it.
Friday, we'd thought of a stroll down the prom, but it was raining. Plan B - drive straight home. Plan B (i) - via some car showrooms to pick up brochures. Plan C - why not spend an hour and a half sitting outside the Toyota dealership with a dead battery and a car that won't start, waiting for the Renault engineer from the dealership across the road to come and replace it? No lunch - we'd had a "light" breakfast as supplied by the Royal Exeter's chefs, and would have had no idea what to do with it.
Saturday - the reason we'd come back a day earlier than might have been expected. A hen party with a difference, and more birds than usual. I was off for the day at the local Birds of Prey Centre. A full day on my feet, though with helpful people providing a chair whenever possible. There are most definitely pictures! Here's the Flickr set I made. Very few of these birdies could reasonably be described as "cute". One of the first things we were warned was NOT to try to stroke them unless we fancied losing fingers. The baby owl was cute - big ball of fluff, with a beak that couldn't harm us if it tried (and it tried), but the rest - no. A full-size Bald Eagle is not cute, it is an extremely dangerous predator, and when you ask it to land on your hand, you stand with your back to it, as otherwise the force of the impact may dislocate your shoulder. The Fish Eagle was the top experience for me, because it misbehaved. It was supposed to fly towards me, slow down, and land gently on my glove so as to take the chick I was holding. No. Fish Eagles pick up their prey on the move - it powered in, didn't slow down in the slightest, and grabbed the chick from my hand at full speed. Good job this was me, not the lady who was scared of pigeons, never mind eagles. So we tried again, and this time it nearly took the glove (and a finger) as well. Third time lucky, and I did end up with it on my glove.
Since this is Dave's three-week break, we had a week away, complete with hired wheelchair (which I used a lot less than expected).
Friday to Monday was in the Summerhill Hotel in Paignton, picking up little sister on the way, since she lives nearby and I don't see anything like enough of her. Visited Paignton Zoo, and took a trip on the local steam railway down to Dartmouth, where we did a river cruise on a paddle steamer. There are many photos, and at some point I will get round to sorting them out and putting them on Flickr.
Monday night to Thursday morning, down in Cornwall, staying in the Royal Inn. Visited the Eden Project, who lent me an electric wheelchair, but sadly no L-plates for it. Again, lots of photos. Also saw Mevagissey, initially for the model railway and then back for a longer visit the next day - back to an art gallery Dave had spotted, up and down the narrow, cobbled, sloping streets, around the harbour, and the ground floor of the museum. Yes, ground floor only - I did all that lot on crutches, but I do have limits, and their staircase was beyond them.
Bought silly things at Cornish Market World and ended with a visit to Wingz, where there were many birdies and some baby meerkats! In this case, yes, there are pictures, because they asked us to put them on their Facebook page. Here's the Flickr set, currently only containing meerkats.
Thursday, we'd decided to take two days to make the drive home, and that meant we had time to put another bit of inspiration into action. Given that I have a friend in South Devon, and a a sister in South Devon, and they live about 30 miles apart and would almost certainly get on, why not introduce them? So we did that, having lunch at the Otter Inn (good carvery, beware of their idea of a small portion, you may not be able to move afterwards), and I was right, they did get on.
Overnight in Bournemouth at the Royal Exeter (chosen from Trip Advisor a day earlier). We'd left Exmouth far later than intended, the journey was full of traffic, and we got there well after 7 and shattered. Booked a table in the restaurant without bothering to investigate - it's bound to do something edible, and I was too tired to want to walk any further. OMG. As a last fling meal of the holiday, that was a good choice. Sorry, no menu on-line, but that was a stunningly good meal. Not cheap, but worth it.
Friday, we'd thought of a stroll down the prom, but it was raining. Plan B - drive straight home. Plan B (i) - via some car showrooms to pick up brochures. Plan C - why not spend an hour and a half sitting outside the Toyota dealership with a dead battery and a car that won't start, waiting for the Renault engineer from the dealership across the road to come and replace it? No lunch - we'd had a "light" breakfast as supplied by the Royal Exeter's chefs, and would have had no idea what to do with it.
Saturday - the reason we'd come back a day earlier than might have been expected. A hen party with a difference, and more birds than usual. I was off for the day at the local Birds of Prey Centre. A full day on my feet, though with helpful people providing a chair whenever possible. There are most definitely pictures! Here's the Flickr set I made. Very few of these birdies could reasonably be described as "cute". One of the first things we were warned was NOT to try to stroke them unless we fancied losing fingers. The baby owl was cute - big ball of fluff, with a beak that couldn't harm us if it tried (and it tried), but the rest - no. A full-size Bald Eagle is not cute, it is an extremely dangerous predator, and when you ask it to land on your hand, you stand with your back to it, as otherwise the force of the impact may dislocate your shoulder. The Fish Eagle was the top experience for me, because it misbehaved. It was supposed to fly towards me, slow down, and land gently on my glove so as to take the chick I was holding. No. Fish Eagles pick up their prey on the move - it powered in, didn't slow down in the slightest, and grabbed the chick from my hand at full speed. Good job this was me, not the lady who was scared of pigeons, never mind eagles. So we tried again, and this time it nearly took the glove (and a finger) as well. Third time lucky, and I did end up with it on my glove.
Sunday, resting, sorting photos, and intended to post a lot of reviews on Trip Advisor, but I'm out of time. I need to be fresh for tomorrow - not only is it a working day, it's also my review at the Fracture Clinic, and I may be allowed to get rid of the Cyberleg!
