MAY/JUNE!
So what have we been up too recently…well, if you’ve read G’s last blog you’ll know all about the camping (which wasn’t half as bad as I thought it might be & was actually lots of fun, but 2 nights was enough for me with no email & 5* (a girl can dream can’t she?!) luxury!
We have been very busy & are actually away on ‘Vacation’ as I type. It’s so funny, if you say ‘Holiday’ to anyone American they only think of various different Bank Holidays such as Christmas Day, July 4th etc so it makes for an interesting conversation when you tell them you are on holiday… tho sometimes I must admit I do it on purpose to see how complicated the conversation can get! We’re in Branson which is about a four hour drive (OMG/YIKES/ARE WE THERE YET etc etc etc!) but it really was ok… & no, I do not think it’s going to be Ok if we drive to Scotland when we get back to the UK Mr. Blackler!! So we’ve driven all this way…we packed up the car, dropped off the dog for her own little doggy daycare holiday & set off on our ‘Vacation’, even tho it’s a long drive away (stop tutting, it’s long for me people!) we are not actually going out of State & are still in Missouri which feels weird to us as it feels like we are in another country but we’re not & we’re still surrounded by Americans! (**,) … but more about that later
So since the last time we spoke (metaphorically speaking) we’ve waved au reviour to one set of relly’s & bonjour to another! My mum arrived from the UK just in time for our first baseball game (pic’s already posted on facebook) Harley’s 5th Grade Farewell/Graduation (off to Middle School, the equivalent of our Senior school in the UK), the end of school for the girls (yes they finish at the end of May & don’t go back until August here & those who know me well can imagine what I think about the extended school holidays…as if 6 weeks sometimes feels like too long…well I’m navigating my way through 11 at the mo!) & to babysit the girls again as once we got a taste of it when Danya oh so kindly offered while she was here. There was no stopping us & we we’re off out to paaarrrrrrrrtttiiiiiieeee! Well out for ‘Wings & Ale’ with the Clarkes! Mum had a good time while she was here (I think & hope!) & it was fun showing her how normal our day to day life is…did you realise that we’ve been here for 8 months now… OMG….where on earth did that time go?! Do you miss us yet?! The baseball was fab & very exciting…it was a very big (& I mean big…but then everything is big here!) sporting event & I was a little nervous as to be honest I & it is probably an unfair view but when I think of big sporting events I can’t help but think of football hooligans, fighting & a general menacing atmosphere… but this was sooooo not like that at all… it was very family orientated, as well as there being groups of people of all different ages. We actually went twice as on the first visit the game was postponed due to a storm but we happily went back the a few days later for big screen entertainment, home-runs, hot dogs, waaaaay over price Cotton Candy (Candy Floss to you & I!) peanuts & cold beer you buy from very nice people who come to your seat! We all loved it…they even give you a t shirt on the way in so we could cheer on the home team (STL Cardinals) in style!
I’m still running (walking fast more like) with the dog when I can unless I have a suitable injury or excuse I can use not to go! Yoji still hates it but I sort of like it…well I like how I feel at the end of it anyway! The dog just wants to get back home (yes, I have let her off the lead recently but no, I’ve not been caught by any extremely jobsworthy cops (police to you & I!) so my record has been tarnished no further. We’ve seen some strange things as the weather has got warmer tho…most strange I think has to be Tortoises…(is that a proper word?)…the first time I was dragging myself & Yoji up a slight incline towards home we spotted it… honestly her face was so funny I really could see what she was thinking… ”What the hell is that thing?!”. Now I don’t know about you but I’ve never come across a tortoise before while out & about & I assumed it was someone’s lost pet & looked around for some distraught child calling…”Tommy?….Tommy??… where are you TOMMY??!!” (Tommy the Tortoise gettit!?) but apparently it’s quite normal to see them roaming & I’ve seen a few here & there & I don’t jump as much now, I know it’s nothing to be scared off but it was a surprise the first time…well & the second if I’m honest! I’ve also seen them flat on the road (whoops… but it must take them ages to cross the road!) which is NOT a good look on a Tortoise!
Ok where we we…on HOLIDAY! Vacation-Schmation Enough already! What is Branson like? Well it’s hailed as the ‘Live Music Capitol’ & there are millions (well prob not million but A LOT!) of theatres & shows but probably not what you’d expect…put it this way the highlights are “The Osmonds, The Beatles! & The Bald-Knobbers…don’t even ask!” But it’s great…so like nothing we’ve seen before! Let’s play a little game to see if I can help you conjure up what it’s like in your mind…close your eyes….go on really close them…well actually just pretend to close them as you won’t be able to continue reading if you really close them will you!? Ready…ok…here goes! Start by thinking of Las Vegas but on a UK scale….think of Blackpool but with no sea or Northeners…actually I’ve never been to Blackpool…ok take out Blackpool & put in Weymouth instead…still with no sea or Northeners …add the sun from Spain with a dash of BBQ & sangria but no Spanish or Northeners (no offence to Northeners but they do seem to get everywhere!) where were we… a dash of golf buggy with a pinch of hillbilly all topped off with a huge lake…you got it? GOOD! (**,)
What else have we done…we’ve been swimming, been to a Titanic Museum that is actually housed inside a half scale model of the real thing, swimming, eaten in an olde worlde 50’s style diner with prices definitely in the future but the yummiest shakes where they give you the last bit in those tall stainless steel beaker things you see in the films (it’s the little things that get me!) errrrrrmmm swimming, did I say we’ve been swimming?! Nyah just mastered the art at a ‘Swim America’ course the day before we came away so has been very keen to continue her training for the next Olympics! We’ve also ridden ‘The Branson Ducks’ that was fabbie….you basically ride a bus that then floats on the water…most bizarre & a bit scary when you start to think deeply about it & best not to think about how it works too much I found…safe to say we all loved it!! They do it in London too & I’ve always wanted to try it ever since I’ve heard about it & if you ever get the chance to try it…do it…great fun! Harley & I almost wet ourselves when our ‘Captain Jed’ stopped on the steep slope…took a deep breath, put on the music from the ‘Dambusters’ & then put his foot down & we were hurtling towards the lake at like a-silly-super-fast-speed…like he was Speedy Gonzalez or something…he must have been about 80 bless him & he thought it was hilarious & we made a huge splash…almost as big as G does when he does those bomb things to scare the little kids out of the pool….I was screaming inside my head…BUSES AREN’T MEANT TO FLOAT ARE THEY!?!? Nyah was slightly concerned about the buses floating capabilities but Captain Jed (& daddy) assured us all that they hadn’t the need for a lifejacket since before the war(!) & he let both girls take the wheel & drive while we were driving? Sailing?…see its weird isn’t it!? But we survived & even have our bright yellow duck quackers to prove we’ve ridden the ducks…I imagine they’ll also be handy if we ever go duck hunting eh? Watch this space! (**,)
This month I’m loving… Our air conditioned, fully appointed, super-kingsize bedded condo, complete with golf course, indoor /outdoor pools & hot tub!
This month I’m not loving… Thinking about going home at the end of our ‘Vacation’!
Storms & Camping by Mr. Graeme Blackler!
Did you know that here in St Louis, they get what they call severe weather, especially during spring when you get the warm air from the Gulf of Mexico meets the cool air from Canada? Well they do and I’ve become a bit of a weather freak. In fact I’m sure I used to be a meteorologist in a previous life and it just fascinates me to know we could witness tornados and baseball sized hail stones.. It also scares the living daylights out of me as I don’t like Lightning and these storms brings lots of it.. And I mean lots! So the sensible thing was to buy one of those specialist radios that turns itself on and gives you a severe weather warning when the National weather centre sends them out if a severe storm is looming down on you.
Within the first few days of buying one, me and Dee were in bed fast asleep, as you do 2 o’clock in the morning, when the alarm went off.. VERY LOUDLY .. scaring the beejeeeeesssssus out of us! After climbing down off the ceiling fan, which luckily wasn’t spinning at the time, we listened to the weather man to be told of a severe storm that was about 30 miles away.. 30 MILES.. What’s the point of telling us a storm is about 30 miles away??? So we went back off to sleep.. well we did once the heart rate had receded enough for us to actually sleep.
Soon after, we had a real severe storm and I’ve never seen lightning like it. The thunder was just one continuous rumble as there just wasn’t a gap between lightning strikes and the noise just got louder and louder! It didn’t take long before Nyah came running into our bedroom (as usual the storms arrive when you’re trying to get some sleep) to say she was frightened and jumped in with us. This was soon followed by Harley who also joined us, so there we were, four (squeezed) in a bed watching the light show and feeling the vibration of the thunder through the house. Have we told you that they don’t seem to make houses very sturdy?! Anyway, after about 30 minutes of this, the storm seemed to be passing, when the radio piped up with a severe storm warning for our area! My God, if there is a storm out there that is more severe than what we just had, no wonder they give warnings!! We were ‘umming and ‘arring whether to go into the basement or not, when I decided to check the Doppler weather images on the laptop to discover that the severe storm had already passed! We haven’t really used the radio since then!!
It’s been a long time since either Dee or I have been proper camping. You know what I mean, tent, camping stoves, chairs and all the gear. In fact, it was probably at least 30 years ago when I used to go with my family on our annual holiday every year and when you’re 10, camping is great, especially when you’ve got brothers to play with, it all becomes an adventure. But when you hit your teenage years, camping loses its appeal, especially when you discover hotels with bathrooms and room service!!
Well, our good friends, the Clarke’s, gave us the chance to go ‘proper’ camping again to a well known Missouri national park known as Graham’s Cave! Well you can imaging Dee’s joy knowing we would be camping in Graham’s cave and how she laughed at the thought… yes, yes, very funny, ha ha..
As you can imagine, not having camped in such a long time, we didn’t actually have any camping gear, but the Clarke’s being veterans of the US camping scene, had everything, even a spare 4 birth tent for us to use. All we had to do was to bring our bedding, food and us.
After another bout of severe storms, which threatened our whole trip, we set off on the 80 mile trip to the camp site. We arrived in the evening, with the sun shining and to Find Paul and Karen already there setting up camp. The girls (and I include Dee here) were very excited and we all set about doing our various duties. Me helping put the tents up (man’s work) and everyone else… doing, well doing just stuff! Well I was too busy putting the tents up to notice what the other jobs were, but the girls (I include Dee in this again) seemed to be having fun playing in the woods, jumping up and down and singing, etc, you know what I mean, typical camping frivolity, but I’m sure Dee will tell a different story!!!
At last the camp was set, the Union Jack tea towel was flying and the red and white checkered plastic table cloth was laid. The thing we found about camping in this modern day and age is it revolves around food and drink. Lots of food and drink!! We kicked off with spaghetti bolognaise which Karen had prepared at home, which was followed by a range of other delicacies including, burgers, hot dogs, s’mores and toasted marshmallows. In fact, by the end of the evening Dee looked like a marshmallow as she spent long periods toasting them over the camp fire and eating them! Paul had also bought along the biggest cooler box I’d ever seen. In fact it was so big; it had wheels so that you could pull it along! The nice thing about this cooler box was that it was full of ice and beer.. the perfect combination!
By the end of the night, we all trundled off for midnight pees and off to bed. By this time the girls were already asleep, so me and Dee crept in and snuggled up, which would have been great but we were pitched on a slope, which meant that Nyah kept rolling out of bed and we had to keep putting her back in. Also, have you ever slept in the woods after a storm… well let me tell you, it’s like living in a jungle with all the little critters wired up for sound and amplified through a boom box! Not conducive to a goods night sleep but I suppose it adds to the experience!
The second day we went exploring searching for Graham’s cave.. Yes more sniggering, but it was very pleasant and very warm.. Stop that laughing, the joke is wearing thin now!! We played with Frisbees and baseballs and all had a relaxing day. By night fall, the food and drink came back out and fire was lit making for another pleasant evening. There is something to be said about camp fires and beer.. they just seem to go together.
It was time to go bed, but tonight was extremely cold and for some reason, Dee imagined sleeping in a tent would be like sleeping at home.. warm and snug. Wrong! So she only brought along our summer quilt, but unfortunately it was bloody freezing and even with all our clothes on including hoodies over our heads, we couldn’t stop the cold getting through. To make things worse, I think I over indulged in the food and drink (or it could have been a ‘bad’ beer) but whatever it was, I felt decidedly dodgy and in the end had to venture out in to the cold dark night and find sanctuary at the big white telephone to God (toilet bowl to those of you not in the know). On returning to the tent, I found Dee having a bit of a conundrum as she needed a pee but was too scared to go out on her own in the woods in the middle of the night.. didn’t see the problem myself… but in the end, the laws of physics took over and Dee had to venture out on her own for a pee. All must have been well as she did return safe and sound and feeling very pleased with herself for being so brave. However, she woke me up coming back into the tent!!
The morning came and we chipped the ice of us (artistic license with that comment) and had another good English fry up before having to pack up shop and drive back home.
All in all, we had a really chilled and relaxing time and decided we would definitely go again, so Karen and Paul are apparently already looking at camping in Kentucky with a heard of Bison for this autumn!
