A Quintessential English Weekend at the Shore

A few months ago a friend posted pictures of a weekend in Winchelsea near Rye. A quick look at the pictures and I was on the phone getting details about where it was and how I could go there! Chris's birthday seemed liked a perfect excuse to rent a car and hit the road for a quintessential English weekend at the shore... coats, gloves and all! Lucky for us the sun decided to make it's long awaited spring debut! Not so lucky for us the heat in the house wasn't working. C'est la vie!

The front gate to Pebbles Beach House

  

    

Pebbles... our home if only for a few days!

        

        

Gnewa likes it... caught him out in the yard picking flowers to refresh his basket!

        

The beach... no sandy white beaches here. The water makes a hypnotising sound as it washes against the pebbles. I could have stretched out on the beach in the sun and listened to it for hours without getting any sand in my pants!

The house sits beside a nature preserve. We set off on Saturday morning for a short walk... a few hours and 7ish miles later we had walked along the beach, through the nature preserves, through the middle of some random campsites, hung out in a field with a horse, walked through a field of sheep, stormed a castle, bird watched, drank a pint in a harbour with the locals and explored the shale ridge. A productive morning to say the least!

The best part of the weekend was being disconnected from technology. We had no Internet, spotty cell phone reception and a tv out of 1978 that wasn't worth the effort that turn on. We listened to music, read, talked and just enjoyed being together... something that we don't do nearly as often as we would like!

We finished off the weekend with a drive to Dungeness... a uniquely odd but breathtaking beach in Kent. The beach is dotted with old rail cars once used to carry the shale but once the railway was abandoned they were turned into fishing huts. There is an eclectic mix of architecture and people but the most striking site is the massive nuclear power station and it's pervasive hum. And did I mention the miniature railway?

I was limited to only 50 or so pictures as I grabbed an old memory card but I think I managed a few good shots of the weekend. Have a look here.

Who Knew...

Gnomes love the beach! Gnoah and I spent our 1st day in Puerto Rico lounging on the beach and enjoying the local brew... I asked a few beach goers to snap a shot of us but they looked at me like I was crazy, drunk or a combination of the two! Apparently, Puerto Rican's do not appreciate the finer points of gnome friendships! I was able to get a great shot of Gnoah on his own lounge chair...

It was great having Gnoah there since Chris had to work the entire day. I felt very bad watching him put on a suit and tie as I tied up my bikini top! I snapped this pic and sent Chris a "thinking of you" text, just to let him know I was missing him!

Meanwhile, Gnoah was lovin' life as he held his flowers and soaked up the rays. After a while, he felt inclined to wiggle his toes in the sand and just couldn't wipe the smile off his face...

That is one happy gnome!

Chris and I spent day 2 exploring the old city. Gnoah was feelin' a little exhausted from is fun in the sun and stayed back at the hotel. Chris and I explored El Morro, the cemetery and sweated... a lot! There was a storm coming in and there were big black clouds in the sky. The clouds were a welcome relief from the blazing hot sun! Once the clouds blew away the temperature was nearly unbearable... All in all, it was a fun afternoon despite the heat!

This cemetery might have the best view of any cemetery in the world!

Chris was standing guard in the sentry house at the gate of El Morro. He said afterwards he is holding an imaginary stick... scary!

Parts of El Morro were under repair but none the less it is an amazing fort. Considering it was built in the 1500s, it has held up remarkably well! It was fun getting to learn about Puerto Rico's history but it was also nice to get back to the reason we were visiting...

the beach and the mojitos!

The rest of our trip consisted of beach, pool, and Don Q... Don Q being the local rum!

Chris and Gnoah were livin' it up on the beach. Chris was just happy to be enjoying Puerto Rico since the last few weeks he has been working from sun up til' sun down and wearing suit and ties! Gnoah started to let loose, too. I think he may have helped to run up the bar tab...

Puerto Rico was a great time. I would definitely return... especially, if Uncle Ernie was willing to foot the bill again!