Our holiday

July 28, 2011 in general | No comments

I love getting away on holiday and although neither MrR nor I are beach lovers or sun worshippers we do like to go abroad. We often choose somewhere like a city break or at least were we can get out and about exploring. This year with having two children and one that at 2 years old is a live wire we couldn’t decide if we would go away. Finally a lack of available funds made the decision for us and we stayed at home.

We are lucky that we have a third of a share in a static caravan and it is sited in Fermanagh which is one of the nicest areas in Northern Ireland. We don’t use the caravan that often and often only get a few weekends away before closing it up for the winter. This year we decided to make the most of it and have our week’s holiday in Kesh.

We packed up the car on Sunday 17^th and quickly realised one car wasn’t going to fit in all our things as well as three children’s bike- one each and a balance bike for Buster. We quickly filled up MrR’s car too and attached his bike to the rack on the back and were ready for off. Both K and Buster wanted to go with daddy and as such I had a car full of our stuff but empty of children.

On Sunday when we arrived in Kesh it was raining as it usually does- one of the reasons we don’t often go to stay there! The site is keep very clean and tidy and a lot of money has been spent on the upkeep over the last couple of years both in the park and on the marina. We unpacked everything set up the fridge and beds and headed off to the Lodge in the caravan park for dinner. Both kids were tired but enjoyed being out. The food was good and unusually for a Sunday night there was entertainment. The singer wasn’t bad but seemed to relish being able to curse in songs which was a bit strange for so early in the evening. The drunken congo through the restaurant was a bit surreal and wasn’t great for getting my two to sit and eat!

Monday we stayed about the site, with daddy, K and Buster going for walks and to the beach to paddle- get soaked and go to the park. We had a simple day with playing with the wooden train track and building bricks along with drawing.

Tuesday was another quiet day with a bit of cycling thrown in, K fell of her bike and wouldn’t get back on it again and Buster was happy to cycle round even though he fell off too- they were both wearing their helmets! Daddy took them out walking again and to the park and they came home with treasured walking sticks and soaked through due to ‘paddling’ in the lough! Tuesday was also spent trying to wash and dry two loads of washing, the laundry facilities were dire, three washing machines but only one working and it took hours to complete the washing. The site managers fixed them most days but they are overused and can’t cope with the amount of washes that go through them every day and night.

Wednesday we went for a picnic and walk to Castle Archdale. K hates car journeys so came up with so many excuses not to go. We packed a picnic for K and Buster as Buster is hard to cater for due to his intolerances and MrR and I got sandwiches made in the small supermarket in Kesh, not sure I would bother again. Once we arrived they had a ball walking through the forest and sitting down beside the Marina watching the ducks and swans. We then drove into Enniskillen and bought some food and craft bits in Asda before returning to the site.

Thursday we went for a drive to Rossnowlagh beach in Donegal, the weather was dry but very cold but it didn’t stop the ~~freaks~~ keen people out learning how to surf. MrR despite being a water baby didn’t fancy trying this and so we walked along the beach and then my two played with stones and K started her collection of shells. After we had enough of the beach we drove to Lusty beg and went across on the ferry to get some lunch. Lunch was lovely although there was very little choice and we went with chips again for the smalls.

Friday K mastered bike riding and can now start and stop on her own, her new sandals suffered a lot but she was so so proud of herself and was on a high all evening. Due to playing in the water while fully dressed and potty training buster I had to go to the laundry room again and do another two washes, there was still only one machine working and it took until Friday morning to get the two washes completed. I was even there after midnight trying to dry the clothes!

We tried to take the children to Pony trekking in Castle Archdale but with no luck apparently they are now closed and we couldn’t find anywhere else that was open despite driving round for ages. We brought the children to Kesh Park and they loved it! We then went to find somewhere for lunch and quickly decided against the Kesh hotel and the cafe in the spar and went to Le Bistro. The Bistro is run by Praxis and helps people with learning difficulties get experience of working in a business. We had a lovely lunch and it was at least a third cheaper than anywhere else.

Saturday was a beautiful day and we stayed around the park and the shore. K and buster wanted to go into the water and K bet her daddy a fiver he wouldn’t go in up to his bellybutton. We went to the local filling station and bought water balloons which took ages to fill and seconds to empty. My two had great fun and even better I managed to be the driest of everyoneJ after lunch we all went down to the shore and K, buster and MrR went into the water. K chickened out after going up to her thighs while Buster went in right up to his neck. He loved it but came out freezing so we brought him back up to the caravan and wrapped him up in a blanket and he and I went to sleep.

After his sleep he went back down to the park with daddy and then we left to go back to the lodge for dinner. It was a much quieter night and we left before the entertainment started. Unfortunately a group of people decided to have a party near us and were screaming and shouting until the early hours.

Sunday was our day to go home. We packed the cars cleaned the caravan and K had more fun on her bike. We got home just after 8 and were exhausted but had had a lovely week at home.