I woke to another lovely morning with a cloudless blue sky and sunshine and with nothing to rush for I lay for a while listening to the birds in the trees behind me and with various idle thoughts running through my mind. When I did finally drag myself out of bed I put Sophie and Sugar on their line outside the awning, dropped some bread in the toaster and put the kettle on then set out my chair and table in the sunshine for a leisurely breakfast. My morning was to be spent in and around the vicinity of the camp site as I was expecting a visitor by early afternoon and I didn't want to stray too far away from my pitch, so once I had tidied the breakfast things away I took the dogs for a walk through the heath and back along the beach then spent the rest of my time pottering about and sitting in the sun with a magazine. I had all that side of the site to myself and it was lovely and peaceful - the bank holiday crowd had left a week earlier and anyone else with school-age kids had left by the previous day; any remaining caravanners were over the other side of the site so there was just my van and awning on a huge expanse of grass - brilliant!
My visitor was John who lived in Norwich, he had been my 'next door neighbour' at the Major Bridge Park site a couple of weeks previously and by corresponding through UKCS we had arranged to meet for a chat and a drink while I was staying at California. He arrived at 2pm, a bit earlier than I expected, and while he parked his van I set out the extra chair and put the kettle on, then with brew in hand we settled in for a good chinwag. Considering that I'd only met him for the first time a couple of weeks ago we got on really well and the conversation flowed all afternoon, so much so that before we knew it it was 6pm and time to consider having something to eat. And it didn't take long to decide what to do about that - the California Tavern is conveniently situated just across the lane from the site so it was mutually agreed that we should go there. The meal was very nice, and substantial enough for neither of us to want a dessert, so when we got back to the awning I made a coffee and we continued our chat till it was time for John to leave.
On my own once more I fed the dogs and took them for a good walk before the daylight started to fade then spent an hour or so on my laptop before bedtime. I've been on my own for two years now and love it but it's nice to indulge in some good adult conversation every now and then, especially when the common factor is the love of camping. The few hours I had spent chatting with John had been very enjoyable - I didn't know if our paths would cross at another UKCS 'get together' but it would be nice if maybe we could meet up for another chat during one of my future trips to California.
About Me
- Tigermouse
- Hi! I'm Eunice and I live in Bolton, Lancashire, with my two dogs Sophie and Sugar and an assortment of cats - well it used to be Sophie and Sugar, now it's Sophie and Poppie. I first began camping back in 1997 when my then partner took me to Anglesey for my birthday weekend. We slept in the back of the car - a hatchback - using the cushions off the settee at home as a mattress, and cooked and brewed up on a single burner camping stove. The site was good, the views were great, the weather fantastic and I was completely hooked. Following that weekend we got a two-man tent and some proper accessories and returned to Anglesey two weeks later, then over time we progressed to a three-man tent followed by an old trailer tent, then a new trailer tent, a campervan and finally a caravan. When my partner decided that the grass was greener on the other side of the street - literally - in April 2009 and I suddenly found myself alone after fifteen years, I decided there was no way I was going to give up camping and caravanning if I could cope on my own. This blog is the story of my travels, trials and tribulations since becoming a solo camper - I hope you like it
