Family - Far and Wide

Ahhh - there is something to be said for family in far away places that meet you with open arms and where the hugs are held just a little bit longer.

We have been lucky since leaving Iceland to first spend time with Grandpa B and Granny Bird, a great dinner with Bruce and Mona (Grandpa B's cousin),

soon followed by Michael, Jackie and Josh in France (some connection Karen has tried to explain but I really need the family tree for reference), sister Chris (no - not a nun) and HW from Germany who drove days and many kilometers to meet us in Portugal, and Paddy (again need the family tree), Raquel, and Tiego who taught us the finer details about Portuguese cuisine. Our adventures become that much richer when we are able to share it with family directly as we travel (and indirectly through this blog). Looking forward to seeing the nephews in Trier and catching up with the Hofmann and Vaverka clans in Austria. After Austria it will be longer spell before we see friends and family again so we are being thankful for it now. Always great to get emails and comments on the blog for those of you on some other part of the world.

Being with family and friends seems to make events that much more memorable as well. Perhaps it is because we can fill in details for each other when our memory fails us, but I think there is more to it than that. Those extra connections made during the experience seem to heighten our awareness of them. Little tidbits of history or background help make things more solid. Sometimes it is the smiles and the laughter that set the event stronger in our minds. Whatever the case, it is great when we can connect with family and happy we have each other when we just have the four of us.

Salcombe - childhood memories!

Here we are, day 3 in Salcombe, a beautiful town that in southern England that I came to every summer as a young child. It is so fun to do the things that we  used to do as kids with our own kids - eat jelly donuts, devonshire icecreams each day,and now as adults to drink yummy beer and real cider (you can guess this is not the place to lose weight) and to spend real quality time with family.  The kids have loved the crabbing off the quay, hiking the cliffs along the Devon coast and today we had a spectacular morning of sailing in some high winds and 4m swells.  For those of you who are Rosslanders reading this, I equate Salcombe to the summer version of Rossland - quaint, hilly, and a great little known spot to hang out a while - in the summer months.

It has been nice to spend time in a home - catching up with family from Canada and Germany on the phone - eating lovely home cooked food, sitting around chatting in the evenings out of the wind, and generally taking over Grandpa B and Granny Bird's home for a few days... not to mention make off with their car to the continent for 6 weeks!

With mixed emotion, sad to leave family and Salcombe yet excited to see France, we leave in the am to head to the ferry for Brittany, France where we embark on the next set of adventures.

Good bye for now!