Westward Ho!

Our first day of "relaxing." We had a relaxed get-up and a relaxed breakfast, and still it was only like 8:30. We went for a relaxed walk around the narrow streets of Appledore. In one tiny shop, where half of it was tourist stuff and the other was boat repair supplies, Kate bought a red toque. By eavesdropping on others we learned there's no chemist (pharmacy) in Appledore, but you can go up to Northam for one (a nearby village).

We went into a few of the galleries hosting special exhibits for the Visual Arts Frestival, and saw some fun creative stuff. There are yurts on the quay where you can learn about the festival. With the tide now high, we watched boys fishing for crab off the Quay. You can buy a little crab line (it looks like kite string wrapped around an H-shaped frame) and bait, and a bucket to hold your crabs, at a shop near the one where Kate got her hat. We saw several postcards that featured VW camper-busses driving around Devon, or parked in front of various bits of the Devon coast. Realization: there is a VW camper thing in Devon.

We piled into the Whale, and with Kate outside directing I managed to get it scrape-free out of our alley. Our first stop was Marshford Organics, a small farm shop on the way out of town. Will came running out to say, "Dad, it's the kind of store where you love everything!" We bought half our groceries there (Kate: "I want to Move Here") and went for the other half to Morrisson's in Bideford. This was a big, busy store with a large parking lot. We went up and down all the aisles, marvelled at how the eggs are sold unrefrigerated, and got most of everything we need for the week.

Came home and ate lunch, and then the boys were keen to swim, so we set off for the nearby town of Westward Ho!, the only town in Britain to be named after a book, and the only town anywhere with an exclamation mark in its name. It's only about ten minutes away, after you extract the Whale from its parking niche. We found a pay-and-display lot, and spilled out onto the giant beach. It's about two kilometres long and 500 metres deep. Lifeguards from the Royal National Lifesaving Institution (RNLI) had set up a pair of yellow-and-red flags, which you were supposed to swim between, and they were on station with their snazzy little RNLI truck. Lots of people were weearing wetsuits, but Galen and Will charged in wearing their regular swim trunks, and had a blast. Kate and Morgan rolled up their pants and watched.

Finally as the boys were turning blue we quit the beach and had an ice cream. Saw the Southwest Coastal Path sign which said "Appledore 3 1/2 mi." and decided we should walk here next time. Will also spotted mini-golf, one of his real passions. We headed home at around 5. Pasties for dinner from John's, with salad. We went for an after-dinner walk along the Quay, and explored the graveyard at St. Mary's church. The boys are eager to buy firewood and build a fire in our cottage, but John's is out of this. Besides, given the rarity of forests in England, firewood must be a precious commodity. It might make more sense to wait and build fires back in Canada.