Rainy weekends 2

I guess I shouldnt keep titling my posts with Rainy Weekend there could be a lot titled that way.

When the rain started on Saturday night it really came down and rained continuously all night long until about 10 this Sunday morning. We have this skylight in the bedroom upstairs so we can clearly hear the rain pounding on it at night, which is quite nice. I am going on about the rain because of what it can do to the little roads we have to drive 'round 'ere.

We had a little bit of a lazy morning but had arranged with my cousin Julian to meet his family down in Shapwick which is south of us in county Dorset, so we had to get rolling before to long. I sure could have used some more sleep though. Julian and his family had been over to the states a few years back on an around the world trip so Tracey and I were excited to seem them again.

As we were navigating our way down there, again by way of Google Maps on the blackberry, I noticed that the smaller roads we had to take were not really holding up well to the abundance of rain. I had thought that in a country where it rains so much there would be better drainage or something. I came across quite a few places where the road was completely covered by standing water. Making travel all the more exciting.

In fact as part of our journey we had to drive some REALLY small roads. I thought I was used to the small roads but these were ridiculous. I dont think you could fit to carriages down them but we managed to squeek by several cars without scraping the left side of the car or Tracey getting all stressed out and yelling "CURB!" at me every few seconds. Curb is our signal for when I am getting to close to the left side of the road for comfort. There was a even a small part of our journey that we thought we might have a to make a water crossing as the signs pointed us across a small creek running at about 1.5 feet of water. Luckily we didn't have to wind up going that way as I have no idea how the Vauxhall would handle that.

Lucky for us the rain had stopped and most of the flooded section of the road we had to travel on the way down were more or less dry on the way home later that evening.

We had a great time at Julian's place. He and his wife Christine have 4 kids and one more soon to come in Sept. They have 2 older boys Jordan (12) and Conner (10) and then 2 girls Kate (6 in 2 weeks) and Tess (2). They were a most gracious family to stay with for the day and they had wonderful food to eat. It seems like we ate all day long and Evan played constantly with the other kids.

We did take a short trip to an old iron age fort which is literally at the end of the road from where Julian lives. In this google link you can see the concentric rings which were different battlements used to protect the local warlord (or whomever). It is a really cool view but we didnt plan very well on the footwear as it was VERY muddy. We did remember to bring Evans wellies (Wellington boots for the uninitiated) but Tracey and I were pretty much screwed. I wont be wearing those shoes to work tomorrow. At one point I wound up carrying Evan (which has the added benefit of getting his muddy feet on my pants and jacket) and slipped walking down one of the embankments. Made a right mess of my pants and Evan wasn't to0 pleased with me either.

He did however really enjoy stomping about in the mud puddles found everywhere you turn. I was worried he would wind up putting his foot in the mud and pulling his foot out. Making a mess of all his clothes not just his pants. But as fortune had it all we had to clean up was his pants. I however sat around for the remainder of the evening damp and muddy.

Luckily the kids all had a great time. I really enjoyed talking with Julian and Christine and playing with Kate and Tess. Kate seems to have an endless supply of energy and wanted me to put her on my shoulders regularly. I really enjoyed being immersed in a truly English family for an afternoon. It was warm and inviting in all the chaos of children, smells of good food, and wonderful conversation.

Tracey and I hope to go back to see them all again soon. Apparently Kate and Conner are in a dance show/recital soon. Maybe we will go down to see that.