Finding Myself, January 3, 2011 (Day Nine)

Monday, January 3, 2011

7:57pm

Ramsey, Isle of Man

Hello from the Isle of Man! We’re here on the last leg of our journey in the UK before heading back to the US of A on the 7^th. I can’t believe how quickly this trip has flown by… And how much I now realize I have been needing it. I kind of thought that this part of our adventure would be the hardest for my family, particularly for my mum. The whole reason for us coming out here to the Isle of Man was to visit my mother’s uncle George. But he passed away just a couple of weeks before we made it out to the UK. He was 94, so he lived a long and full life, though we all wanted to see him again, and we now all miss him dearly. He has his own arboretum out here on the island, so we are going to pay it a visit and stay here in honor of him.

We flew out to the island from the London Gatwick Airport this morning just before noon and landed not even two hours later in the tiny Ballasalla airport in the Isle of Man. We picked up our rental car (manual of course), and braved the teeny tiny itty-bitty streets of the island. After stopping for petrol, we eventually made it to our B&B, The Thorncliffe Guesthouses, located just one “block” from the seafront.

We settled in then went out for a walk to explore town. We spent a long time walking along and taking pictures of the beach. The tide was out, so we could walk along the sand and pebbles even under the wooden pier nearby, and the sun was setting, painting the sky a beautiful peachy, reddish glow. Even though it was freezing, the weather today was apparently a million times better than the island usually experiences; the waves weren’t violently crashing against the shore, and the wind was almost nonexistent, and the sun was actually somewhat visible! Ramsey is a huge holiday destination during the summer months, and supposedly has the mildest weather in all of the Isle of Man.

After we wandered around the deserted and desolate streets of off-season Ramsey, we found the only open pub / restaurant that was serving food today (it is not only not a tourist-peak time of year, but it was also a bank holiday today, so everything was closed). We had some drinks and a meal, then walked through the blistering cold back to our comfy bed and breakfast.

Not sure what the plan is for tomorrow. But I’ve actually got free WiFi here (a novelty in the UK, as I’ve discovered), so I will be keeping you posted.

Sweet dreams.

Phillipa