Our summer holiday

My parents came over to spend a month with us during the summer. For Ken, it was the first trip to the UK - my Mom had been out once before.

For the first fortnight, they spent time exploring the area around our home, since we were still working. Then we went to Cornwall for a week, staying in a caravan park very near to the Eden Project. The drive to Cornwall was no great distance in the grand scheme of things, but the journey took us 8 hours, in very heavy traffic. We visited as many parts of the area as we could, including the Eden Project and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

For the second week of our holiday, we drove to Cumbria, which is in the very north of the country. Once again, after a wonderful start, we hit very heavy traffic, and the journey was somewhat arduous, although only 600km. There we stayed in a beautiful stone cottage on a farm. I genuinely could have moved into the cottage on a permanent basis, it was so lovely. We were glad to have visited Cornwall first, since we all found Cumbria even better. We did a lot of driving around, visiting various parts of the surrounding area. It is very clear why the inhabitants of those parts call it God's own country.

The drive home was far easier than either of the two outgoing journeys.

The folks stayed with us for a few more days after we got back before returning home via some friends in Reading.

Ken was totally smitten with the English countryside and must have taken 1000 photographs.

It all feels like a fading memory now. We had hoped to spend some time in Sweden over Christmas, taking up an invitation from John's cousin, but the overlapping payments on the two houses mean that we won't be able to afford any travel for a while. John is hoping to go to South Africa in January, though, for his Mom's 80th birthday. Sadly, the rest of us won't be able to go. A return ticket to SA cost £700!

Next year, we hope to bring my sister over as a gift for her 40th birthday. We need to figure out the details, but it would be her first trip abroad.