We're afraid there aren't any photos for today's posting. Pretty much all of the day was spent in one kind of vehicle or another. It was an early start to the day as we made our way in the morning to Paddington Station by taxi. We had another kind cab driver who was very helpful at pointing out all the sites along the way. We were hopeful that being a Saturday morning the traffic would have been much lighter, and that was certainly the case to start things off, but it very quickly changed into pretty much gridlock in certain areas. Traffic around Buckingham Palace was particularly challenging as many of the roadways were closed. While we were waiting for the traffic congestion to lighten up, our driver informed us that on the Sunday when the London Marathon is on pretty much all of the streets and subway stations will be closed to accommodate the race. Good thing for us to know as we will be back in London around that time and will have to make our trek that day by foot. D had grabbed the front seat on this particular cab ride anticipating a more comfortable journey. We were very nearly side-swiped by a large vehicle who decided that just because he had a bigger truck he should be able to control the roadway and our driver was not pleased. D had visions of the airbags going off and transport to the hospital required however it all worked out okay.
Once we disembarked at Paddington Station we realized how helpful it was to have D along to show us how the British Rail system functions in this decade. The tickets purchased well in advance were quite confusing and while we thought we had lots of time to pass before our actual train was called to depart it turned out that the minutes flew past ever so quickly. It was Meg's first experience with the train station pay toilets and lengthy queues. When we came out to wash our hands the attendant told us there wouldn't be any soap until Monday (a reminder that today was Saturday --sure glad we paid for this service)! Needless to say Sir IF and J were mighty pleased to finally see us resurface from the basement of the station so that we could catch our train on time.
Turns out this train seating procedure was also going to be another surprise. While we had reserved seats and it was a very comfortable and nice new train, it only had a tiny tiny luggage compartment and almost every passenger on our car was carrying at the very least, a nice weekender bag. Thanks to J's height and long arms we were able to stow our belongings up above in the bunks and set off on what was a scenic and timely train ride through to Exeter. D wisely advised that we wouldn't have much time to disembark so we had to be prepared well in advance. Sir IF and Meg were very glad to have this first train experience in years now under our belts and to have had J and Ds expertise helping us out along the way. Have to stay we are both starting to feel a little older compared to our last visit here 40 years ago.
Coming out of the train station we were happy to see a series of taxi cabs queued up to take a bunch of new passengers. We were contemplating which cab might be the best fit for the four of us and our luggage when Meg had her gentle fall from grace. Tripping over some luggage wheels or maybe it was even her own feet, everything was ultimately intact but the very bloody knee combined with her anger at herself and embarrassment required a little TLC from the family to regain her composure. Not exactly the entrance she was hoping for on the start of the Cornwall explorations but it all turned out okay.
We picked up our rental car and the sales person kindly took time to orient Sir IF on the important points of how to drive a Mercedes. Never mind which side of the road to drive on, catching on to the intricacies of how to use this car and its satellite navigation system was an experience in itself.
D reluctantly agreed to be the front seat navigator since none of the rest of us wanted the responsibility. She ably did her job and Sir IF caught on to driving on the right side of the road quite quickly. Because the car came with its own navigation system and we had also brought our own from home, D navigated from the front and J navigated from the back so we had some interesting opinions on which or whose advice to take. However the closer we got to Cornwall the wider we realized our car was becoming and like most first time driving experiences on these windy and narrow roads the term hugging the white line became the focal point of our afternoon. Everyone heartily agreed they would never listen to Meg's advice anymore as she flippantly said, "I wonder if there is a grocery store in the centre of this tiny town!," which Sir IF took to mean he should turn into that little town which had the tiniest streets ever and we thought we will never get D to come in a car with us ever again. At one point D cautioned whether the sign we had just passed meant we were going the wrong way on a one way highway (we were going the right way) but after awhile you start to second guess things. We all got pretty hysterical when we saw D's favourite road sign up ahead complete with the symbol: Elderly Persons Crossing. It was a good laugh and giggle before the winding really got intense.
We got to our accommodation and were delighted with the relaxing and beautiful views of the river and surrounding countryside. We are on a hilly area and the wind can get pretty strong so we didn't spend a lot of time outside today. Sir IF and Meg ventured out to St. Mawes to pick up some groceries for dinner and then Little P and Mamma and Daddy P showed up ready to join us for a few days. They had a great day exploring Tintagel and The Eden Project and have been putting lots of miles on their car and lots of steps on their fitbits. It was nice for all of us to be together again. Some, more than others, are not quite as anxious to get back in the car tomorrow.
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