The Last Camping Trip

First of all, I would like to say sorry for the mistakes I made in my scheduled tweets and facebook updates. I was not aware that Blogger runs on a UNIX box and therefore has case sensitive Urls...

I will not make this mistake again. I am very pleased so many of you got around my useless technical skills and managed to read the last two blogs.

I am back now, having just been on the most recent of my "for the last time" events. For the past 23 years me and my dad have been away walking together at least once every year. For the last 22 of those years we have been under canvas but this year (unrelated to my emigration plans) my dad decided that enough was enough and we would book a hotel.

This is better than a tent

Much more civilised.

A lesser spotted Julian

As Thomas needed a service I took the opportunity to book him into the garage and collect Julian and take him. This was a great success and my dad got to drive him a bit, and pronounced him very easy to drive, if a little slow. Sounds about right.

We were only there for two nights, and one full day, but took full advantage of the day by going on a really interesting and at times strenuous Geocaching walk. If you do not know what Geocaching is check out the website; it is a great way to take yourself to a location you would never have otherwise gone to, and also should appeal to your collector instincts (if you have such).

Breakfast in Julian

Before the walk I treated dad to a Julian cooked breakfast  and this was a great success too. One thing was learned here: I need to have two frying pans as I was hard pressed to prepare the fryup for us two with only one, and when we are driving I will be cooking for mum as well.

We also made the decision that for the drive over I will sleep in Julian, and my parents will probably book into travel lodges at motorway service stations on the way. They were very concerned about sleeping well enough on the drive and this decision has made them much happier. I will still be in Julian as I need to stay near the trailer which (while alarmed) will need someone near to respond should anyone tamper with it.

A kiln, A horse, Some fossils and my Dad

The walk took us around a hill (and at times steeply up the side of it too) and we saw some really interesting things. At the end we went to a view point and there was a welshman stood there with a pair of binoculars who spent about 15 minutes pointing out things you could see, including Blackpool Tower, which was impressive. We also got to watch the altered A300 which takes the wings from Wales to the Airbus factory in Toulouse (is it?) and this plane is incredible. It reminded me a the Guppy, a favourite plane from when I was a kid.

The first evening, before the walk, serendipity struck as Chaz happened to be over in the UK and close to Chester. We met for a pint (well, he had orange juice and lemonade as he was driving) and talked through a lot of things about the move, and his experiences. I think my dad found this very useful and I know that I did as he explained that the best route he had ever found was through Serbia. This has prompted me to again reconsider and I have planned another blog to go through what he said, and what it might mean for me. For now, though, I'll say thanks very much to Chaz for the input and the really enjoyable time we both had meeting up with him. I look forward to seeing his renovation the next time I get to Bulgaria.

Me and my dad :)

I had such a good time being with my dad and walking in the Welsh countryside, it made me realise that, even when it is raining (and it was for a fair chunk of the walk) we really do live in a beautiful country. We should all get out there more and enjoy it.

Chester is a fascinating city with lots to see in it, we got to walk around the walls, explore an amphitheatre and eat some fantastic food while we were there, as well as the walk.

All in all an excellent time and I can't wait to walk with my dad in Bulgaria.