Monday 13 March 2017

Visiting The Offspring

Now that Daniel's living in Surrey, we have to plan any trip we want to take to visit him. He's not just down the road like he was when he was at university in York, he now lives 206 miles away. We decided that instead of making the journey to visit him and then Mick and I staying in a hotel, we'd pick him and his girlfriend up after work on Friday and then whisk us all away somewhere else for the weekend.

Mick took Friday off work and we made the journey down to Surrey. There were plenty of stops along the way so that Archie could get out of the car and stretch his legs. We made good time and arrived just as Daniel was finishing work. He collected the things he'd need for the weekend and we set off again, this time on our way to Oxfordshire. We'd got a good deal on a hotel break on Groupon and luckily, it was a hotel which accepts dogs. We got something to eat on the way to the hotel and after being shown to our rooms, unpacking and freshening up, we all met up in the bar and enjoyed catching up with each other's news.

On Saturday, we had a leisurely breakfast in the hotel and spent the morning relaxing before going for a drive to Henley-on-Thames, famous for the Henley Regatta, a rowing event held annually in July. It was a beautiful day, we'd struck lucky as we couldn't have foreseen that we'd be wandering around without our coats it was so warm. The walk along the river was very pleasant.


Mr and Mrs Mallard were busy attending to personal matters, it takes quite an effort to look so good.


There were lots of Canada geese and they were all keeping their eyes on the many dogs out for a walk, I wouldn't like to bet on who would come out on top should there be any altercation, Archie always steers well clear of them.


Another stretch of the river. I love these riverside dwellings, they're all built on a little island. I think I'd get a bit fed up of having to get in a boat every time I needed to pop to the shops though.


We didn't walk too far before we turned and headed back towards the town.


There were a few boats on the river whilst we were there, many practicing their rowing technique.


This is the boat which took Mick's fancy, it's something he'd love to own if we ever win the lottery.


It was such a beautiful day that it would have been rude not to have an ice-cream as we wandered back in to town.


The town itself is very pretty with its tudor buildings.



It has an attractive high street which has a mixture of boutique style shops amongst the popular high street names.


We called in at a pub on the way back to the hotel for a meal and then once back at the hotel, spent the evening in the bar again playing Trivial Pursuit.

After another leisurely breakfast on Sunday morning, we drove Daniel and his girlfriend back home to Surrey before heading back ourselves to Leeds. We did take a small detour though on the way home. The motorway passes just a couple of miles away from Eleanor's student accommodation in Nottingham so we stopped off to say hello and take her for something to eat. She wasn't expecting us so it was a lovely surprise for her.

I really enjoyed seeing them, Eleanor's just got three weeks now before she breaks up for Easter but I don't know when we'll see Daniel again. We can always do the same again if I miss him too much.

50 comments:

  1. Oooh we both had a change of scenery this weekend then :-)
    It's nice that you could catch-up with both children over the weekend, and it's not too long until Easter now. I've only been to Oxford once, and it was late in the day after a visit to Blenheim, but I remember it as a nice little place, looks and sounds like you had fun.

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    1. We did, and as the title of your post says, A change is as good as a rest. I don't know the area we stayed at all so it was nice having a ride out and I'm glad we found Henley, it's such a lovely little town.

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  2. It sounds like you had a wonderful time away, Jo. It's scary how quickly our children grew up, isn't it?

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    1. I really enjoyed the weekend and seeing everyone. It is scary how quickly they grow up, one minute they're at school and the next they're living away from home.

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  3. Sounds like a lovely trip. Henley is a great place, I've recently been there too but it was all icy and frosty then. 😊

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    1. I don't know that part of the world at all so it was lovely to visit, and it made it all the more nicer as the weather was so good.

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  4. Nice post and lovely pictures. Good to see that you enjoyed the weekend, with good weather on Saturday, and got to see both Daniel and Eleanor. Flighty xx

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    1. We had a lovely weekend, it's made me want to visit again soon. Popping in to see Eleanor on the way home was the icing on the cake.

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  5. It's hard when they move away. It was bad enough when our daughter was living near Washington DC, a 3 hour flight, now she lives in Japan and it's 14 hours.

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    1. I must admit that we think a couple of hundred miles a long way away, living in a large country such as the USA that must seem like nothing. Daniel's girlfriend's American so there's always a chance they could relocate there I suppose, then I'd really know what it was to live so far away from him.

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  6. It's wonderful that you got to see Daniel and his girlfriend and also Eleanor. You must miss them a lot, with both of them living away from you. I hope it's not long before you see them all again. x

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    1. I do miss them but I know they're off doing what they want to do and we don't have it so bad these days with technology to keep us connected. Eleanor will be home for Easter in a few weeks but I'm not sure when we'll see Daniel again.

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  7. That is so nice, Jo. I'm really glad you make the effort to see your kids while they're away at school. It must keep you all feeling very connected. I have no idea where my children will go to college, but I wouldn't be surprised to see them go out of state. My husband's employer has a contract with the university system in Texas to allow employees' children to attend for Texas-resident costs even if they live outside of Texas. College is extremely expensive in the US so this would help a lot with costs. They could be as much as 12 hours away if they go to school in Texas, but we'll make the trips to see them. I've never been to Texas, so it will be fun for me anyway!

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    1. I didn't realise all the implications of going to college out of state until I met Daniel's girlfriend (who's American) and she explained it all to me. She's finished university here with a huge student debt, though it's only what it would have been had she stayed in the US and gone to college out of state. The loan system over there is totally different to what we have here too. Both Daniel and his girlfriend have good jobs though now so it's definitely been worth it.

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  8. What a lovely weekend - and having spent time with both of your long-distance children, a double treat!

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    1. It made such a change spending the weekend away from home and seeing Daniel and Eleanor in to the bargain.

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  9. What a lovely weekend, Jo! And doesn't Henley-on-Thames look lovely. But I don't cover a boat, not even living in Torbay. I'm not that keen on being on the water, I'm not a swimmer and I don't like the idea of all that water being under me at all! But I love to be beside the sea, to be able to see the sea.
    Your weekend sounded absolutely lovely (well, I'd given Trivial Pursuit a miss, I'm afraid, I'm not keen on board games at all!)
    Margaret P

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    1. Henley-on-Thames is such a lovely place, very picturesque. I'm not that bothered for a boat either, I can swim but I'm not a lover of water but Mick always makes a beeline for water wherever we may be, he's a real water baby. We're a board game family, they always come out whenever we're together, even in a hotel.

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  10. What a lovely weekend. Henley is really pretty.

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    1. It is. We were really lucky with the weather on Saturday, I'm always happier when the weather's nice.

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  11. It's always nice to meet up with the children and it sounds, and looks, as if you had a wonderful few days. You couldn't have been more lucky with the weather ... fantastic for this time of year.

    Enjoy your week

    All the best Jan

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    1. I couldn't believe how good the weather was on Saturday, it made a wonderful weekend even better.

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  12. What a lovely way to spend a weekend, such a good idea to make a weekend break for all of you, then an extra special day no visiting Eleanor on the way home - perfect weekend xx

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    1. It was nice that we were all able to spend a weekend in a hotel together, we got to see more of each other that way. We didn't stay too long with Eleanor but she enjoyed our flying visit.

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  13. It sounds like a perfect weekend, beautiful things to see and wonderful memories with your family.

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    1. We really enjoyed our time away. I think it was nice for Daniel and his girlfriend to have a little hotel break too.

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  14. So glad you could get to see Daniel & Eleanor on the way home too. Not much different to how things are here in Oz, being such a big country & all scattered about because of work, other halves etc. Love the pics of Henley & must look so different when the Regatta happens with lots of people & all the festivities. Have a good week & take care.

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    1. I think it's the way of the world today, families are split apart because of work commitments and the world does seem a much smaller place these days with all the technology available to keep everyone connected. I could imagine the buzz of Henley at the time of the regatta, though I expect that everywhere will be packed at that time of year.

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  15. What a lovely weekend, great to have seen both offspring!

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    1. We had a wonderful weekend. We hadn't seen Daniel since Christmas so it was nice to catch up with him.

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  16. I bet Archie did stay away from those geese too. Having been bitten by one I can assure him it does hurt! Henley is a lovely town and on a warm day a stroll around it must have been very pleasant. Hope you get the chance to do it again soon!

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    1. Geese can be vicious things, Archie's such a softie that he wouldn't dream of taking one on. I don't know the area where we stayed at all so it would be nice to spend another weekend there and see a bit more of the area.

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  17. Very pretty pictures! I love the photos of the little town...it's my dream to live in that kind of place someday. Glad you got to see Daniel and Eleanor too!

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    1. Henley is such a pretty town, though living there would be out of our price range. We happened to glance in the estate agents window as we passed and the house prices were eye-wateringly expensive.

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  18. I must have known, but had somehow forgotten in the mists of time over the last few months that Eleanor is no longer at home! I hope that she is really enjoying her new student life and that you and Mick are enjoying your new no children at home lives too, although I know you are still very busy in other areas of family life. So great that you got to go and visit both of your lovely children and see how they are getting on, and I am sure that Archie must have enjoyed his trip away too!

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    1. Eleanor's loving everything about student life. She's studying hard and enjoying her course and she's made lots of new friends and is more than happy with the social side of university life. It was very strange when she first left as Mick and I were on our own again for the first time in twenty one years but we've soon got used to it. It does make the time very special when we're all together again though.

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  19. What a wonderful weekend for you, so pleased the weather was nice and fine, makes a difference. It can be hard when we miss them so much but lovely you managed to spend time with both Daniel and Eleanor, xcx

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    1. I couldn't believe how lucky we struck with the weather on Saturday, such a change when we got up on Sunday morning and it was bucketing down, still, I didn't mind, the best of the weekend had been beautiful. I really do miss them both but it's all the better when we do get to see them.

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  20. What a lovely weekend! I loved your pics, especially of the island, I'm with you, you'd soon get sick of boating it back and forth. How wonderful to see Daniel and Eleanor in one weekend...you'll have to make a habit of that, I'm sure Archie would agree with me there.I'm glad you had nice weather, that always makes such a difference.xxx

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    1. I think Mick would love to live on that island, he's a real water baby. It was lovely to see both Daniel and Eleanor, I made the most of the weekend as I'm not sure when we'll get to see Daniel again.

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  21. What a lovely place to visit, it looks so tranquil.

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    1. It's a really lovely place, I hope I can go back again one day.

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  22. I really liked reading your nice blog!!! You had such a nice weekend!! Love all those beautiful pictures:)
    Jessi

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    1. It was a lovely weekend, we had a great time.

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  23. It looks beautiful Jo. Perfect for a relaxing stroll along the river. A wonderful way to spend the weekend, and getting to visit Eleanor too. X

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    1. We had such a lovely weekend. I hope I can go back again someday, perhaps when we visit Daniel again, though there's lots of other places in the area I'd like to see too.

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  24. What a wonderful weekend and a really pretty destination. Lovely to spend some time with Daniel and Jasmine in a place where you could all chill out and just enjoy your time together. I bet they headed back nice and relaxed and refreshed too. What a lovely treat for Eleanor too!
    Lisa x

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    1. We really enjoyed our time together, it was a nice break in lovely surroundings and seeing Daniel and Eleanor was wonderful.

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  25. You miss him... but it's good to know he has a job and that he's growing into a lovely adult. There's a point at which we have to let them go. I'm dreading that. I find myself hoping that none of them ever move far away. I might have had that with Sarah. At the moment distance from home is one of the main selling points for her looking at Universities!

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    1. I'd love for both my kids to be close to home, especially on a day like this with what's going on in London. Daniel has to work in London some days and it does make it very worrying. I'm glad that he's got a good job though and that he's capable of looking after himself, and when we do get to see him it makes it even more special.

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