Back in Newcastle after a fun-filled few days, we settle for takeaway pizzas for dinner, since no one could be bothered to cook, but not before we unpacked and Elaine repacked our suitcases as well as got some laundry done in preparation for our imminent departure. Fortunately we’d come prepared with an extra duffle bag to accommodate all the parts and spares we were retuning with. At this point, though, we were still trying to sort out the fiasco with our Yellowbrick, eventually arranging a rental in lieu of our own one that had gone walkabout. The trick then, however, was actually receiving the rental before our departure, without it too getting lost. Thankfully we received it on Friday morning. Of course, we still have no resolution on who is going to reimburse us for a rather expensive piece of equipment that has disappeared off the face of the earth without actually leaving England. Unfortunately the second pair of Elaine’s glasses also never arrived, so someone is enjoying her prescription lenses or binned them when they realised they couldn’t actually use them. That means Elaine continues to walk around half blind. Grrrr! The good news, though, is that the rest of our spares arrived.
On Friday morning, Roy was up early to enjoy a walk past the Slieve Donard Hotel to Murlough Beach, a round trip of about 6 Km, but not before he struggled to find somewhere to charge the car, after the only working charging station left was vandalised overnight too.
Our only remaining tasks for the day was to re-register Paw Paw, given that we were now within the three months of her registration expiring and to take a walk, in the rain, to the Post Office to post our Navionics electronic charts that we had sold, then stopped for a coffee.
Having prearranged a dinner outing at the Buurendale Hotel some months ago to celebrate our Ruby Wedding Anniversary with the family, we received a number of lovely surprises at the dinner, arranged by Dianne and Elaine’s folks; beautiful gifts, champagne, a cake and decorations for the table. It was a very special celebration, especially having both Elaine’s parents and our Maid of Honour to celebrate with us, all these years later. Live music wrapped up a memorable night.
Yesterday we were all tired from our outing and grateful for a relaxing morning. The surprise of the day, however, was Luke popping in for a visit on his off day with his daughter, Layla, who is such a character for a toddler; she definitely kept us all entertained and loved seeing her granny, Dianne.
By the time we said our goodbyes to them, it was time for our next treat from Elaine’s folks; afternoon tea at Olive’s Bazaar on the waterfront and what a great afternoon and evening ensued. Besides the delicious treats, when we returned to Elaine’s folks to enjoy the rest of our visit, stories of old were interspersed with reminiscences of family history, most we’d never heard before.
After a light dinner, it was, once again, time to say our goodbyes, a much easier undertaking this time, since it won’t be too long before we’re back for good. Back at Dianne’s apartment, another chinwag ensued, mostly related to the fascinating stories that we had just heard, before heading to bed, no one able to keep their eyes open by this stage.
This morning, after breakfast and a last chinwag, we said our goodbyes to Dianne, then set off to Dublin. It was around 1300 by the time we reached our hotel in Malahide, the Grand Hotel. Since we were a little early for our check in we enjoyed a walk along the waterfront, stopped at the MYCafé of the Malahide Yacht Club for coffee and a baked delight, then strolled through the town centre.
When we returned to our hotel, our room still wasn’t ready, but there were numerous comfy lounges to wait in. By 1600 our room was ready, Roy had positioned himself on the nearest barstool and Elaine enjoyed a long chat to Justine; our Atlantic Ocean crossing was now looming, so we had plenty to talk about.
Dinner was enjoyed in the hotel, since both of us were tired and neither of us felt like dealing with the inclement weather.
A shower and bed sealed the day.
