Isle of Wight

Air travel is such a crazy reality.  We left North Dakota, landed dazed and frazzled in London and took a taxi down to the South coast of England to catch the ferry over to the Isle of Wight.  After all the madness of travel, it was incredible to climb out of the taxi and be surrounded by space and peace again.  Mum met us on the mainland and we had a magical sunset ferry ride over to Yarmouth. 

We spent five weeks on the Isle of Wight.  Mum and dad very generously gave us their home and moved into a friends apartment, and we slowly got over jet-lag and settled into our new routine. 

In Cordova, our home range is limited by the road system (or lack of it).  It was fun to travel across the world and end up on an island with only about a 20 mile radius to explore.  We had bikes and the bike trailer and only went in a car twice.  A great way for us to keep life a little slower and we loved getting to know the local town and trails. 

Dustin worked for the first few weeks, and mum and dad helped with the kids.  It was soo easy to get outside, and the woods, beaches, trails and villages are all very accessible for kids our age.  We spent our days outside exploring and enjoying time with grandparents.  Dustin and I even got a few solo pub and bike ride dates together.  Bliss. The boys grew in many ways, with more attention, easy activities and new sights and adventures. 

Beautiful old woods and bike paths

It takes 20 minutes to bike over to the southern side of the island that has big cliffs and big surf. 

Tennyson Down picnic and kite flying

Winter fun on the beach

Feeding the ducks and swans were part of our daily routine, and the ducks soon had names

And, of course.. riding the buses with Granny and Grandpa was Peter's all-time favorite activity.

This old mill is 5 mins away from mum and dad's home and part of our daily walk.  It's a tidal estuary and an important site for shorebirds and waterfowl. 

The other highlight for Peter was the ferry.  Most days we walked to the ferry dock or pier and watched and waved as the ferry arrived and departed.  The ferry staff got to know Peter and he was soon helping count cars and trucks as they loaded.  The first couple of days of ferry-watching were fun for us, but the novelty never wore off for Peter... We ended up spending lots of cold, wet mornings keeping him company.. and learnt a lot more about ferry loading than we ever thought possible.

Sailing is a key part of Yarmouth, and we really enjoyed seeing all the boats and watching some racing. 

It's not Alaska or Scotland wild, but the island is incredibly beautiful, and crisscrossed with great hiking and biking paths.  Very accessible for a 3yr old, and freeing for parents. It was wonderful being able to spend our days outside easily, with no major epic or effort. 

We visited Queen Victoria's summer home

Christmas was peaceful.  We sang carols in the town-square. 

Grandpa, Dustin and Peter went on a steam train ride to visit Father Christmas

We decorated the tree together, and had a quiet family Christmas day

 This was the first year that Peter really felt the excitement of Christmas, it was pretty magic. 

Britain was hit with record storms while we were there.  Crazy storm and surf action. 

Granny being Granny

It was the first time that we did some good family bike trips together, and it worked well.  We strapped Peter's bike to the stroller and he could bike or walk when he wanted, and they could both nap en route.  It was a happy way for us all to cover ground, and we chose routes with a good pub or tea house for fun breaks. 

More fun at the beach.  We only just made it around this point with the tide coming in. 

Carisbrooke Castle 

Watch out!

Skipping with beach debris

One of our favorite pubs in Yarmouth. 

Once we'd recovered from travel it was hard to contemplate leaving the island again, and so it was wonderful to have a few friends and family visit us on the island. Alice came for a couple of nights.  Nothing has changed. 

Auntie Beth, Stephen, and Helen visited us, too.

And, Uncle Bob and Aunty Margaret

THANK YOU mum and dad for everything. We all felt recharged after such a wonderful break, and we all miss having you around the corner and part of daily life.