Beaches (Not the One That Makes You Cry)

More quaint beaches, more water activities, more picnic meals, more quality time with friends! Woohoo!

This beach was postcard perfect. However, it was a bit small, and there was no room left to camp out on the sand.

So we camped out on the rocks instead.

It was perfect!

On the way down the concrete steps to the beach, I may have fallen and scraped my leg and torn off a chunk of my big toenail. Ouch. At least the view and the company made me feel better.

Beautiful!

This cricket pitch looked like it was in a huge bowl. I think they're meant to be flat. The change in shape didn't make the game more interesting, unfortunately.

After beach time we went to another beach town and had ice cream cones and enjoyed them on the pier.

English history buffs would recognize this picture of Charles I on this pub sign and the irony that he actually got his head cut off.

After that, we went to yet another beach town, Cowes this time, and got another ice cream, but I didn't document that because I didn't want you to judge me. We missed the Queen by just a couple of days. Sorry this picture isn't centered. I don't know what's up with that.

Okay, so after all the beaching, we had dinner at Sam's parents' house and then canoed to a pub! Again, I was really freaked about by the thought of tipping over and short-circuiting my insulin pump *shuddering again* but we managed without incident.

There's Sam and Jen, our awesome hosts.

Nathan took this gorgeous picture. I love the colors.

At the pub, Sam and Jen surprised us with new cups labeled "crew" and "helmsman" to commemorate our sailing activities.

This was on our way back. The moon was really bright, and the tide helped us canoe home.

Next up, we say goodbye to the Isle of Wight and hello to the land of John Flavel, Dartmouth!

Sailing Gone Wrong

After our time at the Osborne House, the boys wanted to sail again, so off we went. However, there wasn't much wind in the harbor. And by "much wind" I really mean "any wind." They were towed out to the solent by a nice motor-powered boat, but there wasn't any wind out on the open water there either. This meant they had to paddle back in shame.

The came up to where we were setting up for a barbecue on the beach.

And then they paddled back to the sailing club to put the boat back before the tide got too low.

Things were going better on the beach for us. Burgers, and sausages and other yummy foods with Sam's brother and girlfriend and Sam's parents.

Kayaking in the sunset

Good times on the beach

Yummy barbecued pineapple

Nathan almost fell out of the kayak, but he still had fun!

Next up... more beach time and eating way too much ice cream. I love holidays!

Her Majesty's Summer House

On the day of the opening ceremonies, there was some rain expected for the morning, so we decided to go to Osborne House. Queen Victoria, Prince Albert, and their nine children retreated there in the summers. Again, it was one of those places where no one was allowed to take pictures inside, so there are a lot of outdoor shots. However - and, again - it was totally worth the price of admission. 

Our gracious hosts, Sam and Jen

My strong husband

Overlooking the gardens

One side of the house

Supporting Team USA on the day of the opening ceremonies

Edgers would be too noisy, so the gardeners use scissors with long levers.

The Swiss Cottage near the beach is where the children played and gardened.

There were even play bunkers and cannons!

We were there the first day the beach was opened up to the public.

To celebrate, there was a brass band playing old time-y music.

Cool old tree

A cork tree. I'd never seen one before. It must have made posting signs on the trunk easy.

The view of Nathan's head and most of the house.

Next up... a barbecue on the beach and sailing gone wrong.

Gone Sailing

So, on my Summer 2012 hit-list was seeing the white cliffs of Dover, which was on it because I thought we were going there. We weren't. However, we did see some white chalk cliffs, which means I checked the box with pride.

And here they are. 

This is on the eastern coast of the Isle of Wight (I think). I can't remember the name of the beach, unfortunately. It was such a blessing to have island native Sam choose the activities and drive us around everywhere, but it meant that I can't remember the names of all the places we went. I think the positives way outweigh the negatives on this one.

Here is beautiful Jen manning our little sand patch. The fabric thing on sticks behind her is called a wind break. I couldn't figure out what it was for, and then she said, "This is what the English are usually huddled behind in horrible weather on the beach so we don't get sand in our sandwiches." I think it's also meant to provide shade, but we had the sun directly overhead for most of our time there. We Americans have umbrellas for the sun, and we don't stick around for wind storms on the beach.

And now for the main event... sailing! Nathan was so, so excited about sailing with Sam. He read two books about sailing before we left for our trip, and he talked about it multiple times a day. Sam is a great sailor and a great teacher, and they had a lot of fun. 

Here's my sailor and his knotted rope.

Sam's parents are expert sailors who race and enjoy their boat several times a week, and they very generously let us use their Wayfarer a couple times.

Off they go! When they got back, he was boasting about his tacking and jiving (which is actually supposed to be jibing) and how he used the toe strap and hung out the side of the boat to balance it. He's pretty much Ben Ainslie now, who is the most bad#$% sailor ever. I loved watching him in the Olympics. 

Basically, two guys teamed up on him and said he hit a buoy, which meant he had to take a penalty turn and lose the lead. However, he had the last word when he won the gold medal in the Finn class a few days later. He's won medals (one silver and four golds) at each of the last five Olympics. Nathan accused me of having a crush on Ben Ainslie, and I didn't deny it. Whatever. He has a huge crush on Christy Brinkley that I don't bug him about. 

The boys talked me and Jen into sailing around the harbor a little. I was so, so, so nervous. The water was cold. I left my insulin pump with Nathan because I didn't want it to short and break if I went overboard. That would have been... *shudder* disastrous. A funny little difference in vocabulary: life jackets are called buoyancy aids.

I can now say that I had fun, but I won't be doing it again. 

Coming back to safety!

After our sailing adventures, we enjoyed the best burgers in all of England from the sailing clubhouse. What a gorgeous night!

Next up, we visit Queen Victoria's summer house. Coolness!

Night on the Isle of Wight

After our time in London, Windsor, and Eton, Nathan and I traveled down to Southampton, where we caught our ferry to the Isle of Wight. Our friends, Sam and Jen, were already there visiting Sam's parents.

Our ferry

The beautiful solent

Captain Creeper totally photo bombed our picture.

When we arrived we had comfort food - lasagna! The weather was just gorgeous, we were welcomed by our dear friends, and we ate like royalty. Life doesn't get much better.

After dinner we went for a walk around Sam's old stomping grounds, including the school field where he broke the island record for most jumps over a line in one minute... only to be beaten by his little brother about an hour later.

Tomorrow there is more fun to be had. Let the beaching begin!