Holiday Memories
WOW!, we have certainly had some great times with our family and friends. We have done our fair share of travelling although not as much as some of our friends, but enough to have created many, many memorable experiences
Thanks to our friends, Christine and Alan who persuaded us to go to China & India, plus quite a few city breaks (Rome, Florence, Budapest and Amsterdam {where it all started}) and also with our friends Alan & Tracy, we have now been to Croatia (twice), Serville and one of our all time favorites, Venice and Lake Garda. Good times with our friends both at home and abroad are just too numerous to mention, they have been so special such that we have never had a dull moment, just Eat, Drink and Laugh, not necessary in that order !.
Family holidays with my parents and Uncles/Aunts were always special. When I was a child, every year, the holiday consisted of one week at the Warners on the Isle of Wight, or Hayling Island. The folks had not long come out from the war and were determined to live their life like there was no tomorrow. So these holidays held no restraints so Knobbly Knees competitions or Tops & Turvey were just a small part of the overall fun and just so many memories come to mind.
When my brother Charlie & Molly got married, they spent their honeymoon at Puckpool (IOW), wait for it !, yes with 24 family & friends.
Then reaching adulthood, Frances and I, we started to have our own family holidays with Roy, Helen & Tony. Financially, things were tight, so a week in Clacton was our first holiday, but there were more mainly at Kings at Eastbourne. In 1976, my parents bought a caravan at Point Clear, Clacton but sadly it was only a couple of years before Dad died. Mum ten sold the caravan and treated us to a road trip in America commencing with seeing her sister in Montana. Frances & I, with Roy and Helen went off heading into the great unknown and what a trip it turned out to be. Upon returning to Montana, we met more of our American relatives, and that started a whole new story and experience.
It is so important whether it be a holiday at Clacton, or America, to capture these special memories before our children, the grandchildren and now our great grandchildren grow up. Magic trips to Disney abroad are especially unique but great times can be had with just a day on the beach. Over past years we have spent many a good times at the Potters Resort with my cousin Roger, his wife Vera and our respective families and friends, and we look forward to this year visit.
The American branch of our British family started when my mum's sister, Aunt Nell (Ellen) married Johnny ( a G.I). They they moved to America with her two daughters Maureen & Josie from a former marriage. With Johnny, they had 5 more children. To this day, we try to keep in touch with most of my cousins. Journeys across 'The Pond' both ways happen, I would say quite frequently. Both here and in America, our family has always been very close and as such Frances & I, have spent quite a lot of our holiday time in the USA, and visa versa when my cousins come over.
With Kip & Annette from California, we had a brilliant time in Ireland and more recently with Colleen & Sam from Arizona, we spent a week travelling around Scotland.
With Chris and Andy, we spent a brief day at the Cotswolds and hopefully we will meet up again this year when they come over.
When we travel to the States, my folks there always make us more than welcome, Maureen, Kip & Annette, Collen & Sam have all been exceptional and a special thanks also goes out to Trish & Mark, who in the past gave us a great time showing us around Colorado. Our trip had a great stop off in Chicago.
You cannot get the full impact and feeling of our fantastic holidays with Family and Friends unless you see and get a feel for the people mentioned above.
In progress, I will included two video slideshow, one displaying my family with some embarrassing moments (I blame the war for some crazy scenes) and the other slideshow for our more later holidays.