by | Mar 31, 2024 | UK Mar 24
Being the last day of the trip, we naturally had an early start to the day. We still needed to pack everything away and leave the place at least as clean as we found it. As ever, it has been a whirlwind trip. Fortunately, I wasn’t in too much pain this morning. The...
by | Mar 25, 2024 | UK Mar 24
For the first time since arriving in the UK, I woke up without writhing around in agony. The neck pain was still there but considerably more subdued this morning. It was fitting that the problem was now mostly healed, given today is our last day in England. Although...
by | Mar 24, 2024 | UK Mar 24
I was still in pain this morning when I opened my eyes. Damn! Admittedly, it was a slight improvement, but still enough to wrench me from bed. The one and only plan we had for today was to visit a good friend, Cara, for the birthday celebrations of her son, Conall....
by | Mar 23, 2024 | UK Mar 24
When I opened my eyes and checked my phone this morning, it was still only 2 am. Damn it! As much as I tried, I couldn’t get straight back to sleep again. I ended up browsing on my phone for the next 2-3 hours before finally nodding off again. Despite a reasonably...
by | Mar 22, 2024 | UK Mar 24
Our first day anywhere on holiday is usually to acclimatise and relax into the visit. That was also the order of the day today. Although I call it a holiday, it’s anything but. Visiting back home like this typically involves a lot of stress, moving around and...
by | Mar 21, 2024 | UK Mar 24
And here we go with another whirlwind trip back to my old stomping grounds of South Ockendon, England. Unlike the last two visits, it’s not just me and one of the kids visiting. This time, the whole family is making the road trip together. What could possibly go...
by | Aug 28, 2023 | UK Aug 23
I tried my luck one last time at scoring a free breakfast this morning, but it wasn’t to be. This time there were a couple of staff acting as gatekeepers. I went in and had a nice breakfast anyway, but this time I had to pay for the privilege. I wasn’t complaining....
by | Aug 27, 2023 | UK Aug 23
Even though it was [cough] inadvertently free [cough] again this morning, the same hotel breakfast each morning is starting to get a little boring now. Still, it makes for a good start to the day My main mission for this morning was to address the problem of my little...
by | Aug 27, 2023 | UK Aug 23
Another day, another free breakfast. Jae was being a little grumpy and slow to get moving this morning, though nothing out of the ordinary for a typical teenager. I had to cajole a little harder than normal, since we had a deadline of 12 O’clock to meet up with...
by | Aug 26, 2023 | UK Aug 23
Something has happened every morning we’ve been here in this hotel so far. Shortly after waking up, Jae has chosen to show their affection for me…by way of a pillow fight. Not with actual pillows, however, but whatever they have on hand at the time, which can be...
by | Aug 24, 2023 | UK Aug 23
My body clock apparently still knows I’m on holiday and saw fit to wake me at around 6am this morning. This time, I was determined to fight it on the issue. I decided to do my usual morning rounds on the phone and then roll over and try to go back to sleep. Morning...
by | Aug 23, 2023 | UK Aug 23
It never ceases to amaze me that whenever I’m ‘on holiday’, my body clock always wants to get me up and running at ridiculously early hours – even though I have no commitments and nowhere to go for hours. You’d think that my body would crave – even be grateful for –...
by | Aug 23, 2023 | UK Aug 23
A brief jaunt over to the UK from Holland for a few days is something that I’ve done so many times before, that I could practically complete the entire trip on autopilot. I call it a trip, as opposed to a holiday, as these types of getaways are never really relaxing....
by | Aug 5, 2023 | Germany Jul Aug 23
The pace and nature of this morning’s activities was somewhat ritualistic. For the most part, we were on autopilot. We’ve been here before, at the end of a holiday and with only the packing of everything back into the car to keep us occupied. Lethargy had set in after...
by | Aug 4, 2023 | Germany Jul Aug 23
A delightfully relaxed start to the morning was on the cards today. Unusually, the entire family was sat at the table together for a cooked breakfast this morning. The plan for today was for me and Jae to drive into Zurich, in neighbouring Switzerland. In so doing, I...
by | Aug 3, 2023 | Germany Jul Aug 23
My body clock awoke me at around 6am this morning. I don’t know why. I certainly need more sleep. Sandy was already up, but the kids were still asleep. I decided to try to get some more sleep. The next thing I knew, it’s 10am. Job done. No homemade cooked breakfast...
by | Aug 1, 2023 | Germany Jul Aug 23
It’s half past ten at night as I begin to write up this blog entry, and my memory of exactly how the day went this morning might be a little hazy. This is a testament to how tired I am. Clearly, I’m going to need a holiday after this holiday is over. I think I was up...
by | Aug 1, 2023 | Germany Jul Aug 23
The very first thing I do when I rouse each morning is to switch off my CPAP machine and remove my mask. According to the digital display, I clocked up just 4 hours of sleep last night. That is, if my failing eyes are seeing the numbers correctly. It’s becoming...
by | Jul 30, 2023 | Germany Jul Aug 23
I was one of the first to stir this morning. I had a secret agenda to get everyone ready and on the road by around 8:30. Actually, that was only my secondary goal. My primary one was to achieve the secondary goal by pushing, encouraging, and cajoling as much as I...
by | Jul 29, 2023 | Germany Jul Aug 23
As holidays go, or indeed any other attempt to leave our house, it was rather uncharacteristically restful and stress-free getting away this morning. Was this an omen? A positive sign of things to come? I didn’t dare speak it aloud, of course, for fear of jinxing it,...
by | Jul 28, 2023 | Germany Jul Aug 23
As William Shakespeare wrote in his King Henry V play, it’s ‘once more unto the breach,’ as I yet again dust off my metaphorical writer’s quill for another round of Morgan holiday updates. For the next week, I’ll be writing up the events of our family holiday in my...
by | Mar 27, 2023 | UK Mar 23
Today is the day we pack up and head back to home soil. It’ll take us all day to complete the journey. As is all too often the case, this was a whirlwind tour back to home base, much of which was a blur given the limited time we had available. This is one of the...
by | Mar 26, 2023 | UK Mar 23
It was a slightly later start to the day this morning. I was awake by around 9am. Joey was still slumbering, so I got ready and sneaked out. He wasn’t going to eat anything at the restaurant, so I figured he’d be happy with a bit more sleep. Once again, I swiped an...
by | Mar 25, 2023 | UK Mar 23
It was wakey wakey at around 8am this morning. Joey and I both stirred at around the same time. Since Joey didn’t want breakfast, I was the only one who went downstairs this morning for the all-you-can-eat buffet.It was a traditional English breakfast offering,...
by | Mar 24, 2023 | UK Mar 23
As is invariably the case when sleeping in a new bed, I woke to some back pain and general all-over discomfort this morning. By and large, however, I slept reasonably well. The young man at reception did come through for me last night with the extension cable, albeit...
by | Mar 23, 2023 | UK Mar 23
Preparations for this trip were, if I’m totally honest, practically non-existent. Long gone are the days of planning a trip to within an inch of its life. With a 7am planned departure, I think it was around 10pm last night that I decided it might be a good idea to...
by | May 8, 2022 | UK Apr May 22
This will be a combined blog entry for both yesterday, out final full day, and today, the day of our return home. For the penultimate day, we spent the entire time at Jacky’s house, chilling out in Stevenage. This was an opportunity to sit in one place long enough to...
by | May 7, 2022 | UK Apr May 22
We might be on holiday, but my body insists on getting me up early each day. It must be said that being put up in someone else’s house – even when it’s family – can still be stressful for all concerned. It doesn’t matter how welcome we are, we’re still living in...
by | May 6, 2022 | UK Apr May 22
Not content to let us back on the road without another hearty meal, John once again turned his cooking skills to good use by making us another signature [nearly] full English breakfast. Well, I say skills, but essentially it was mostly to ‘heat it all up in the oven’,...
by | May 4, 2022 | UK Apr May 22
My body wasn’t in nearly as much pain upon waking up this morning. It was another blissful restful night here in the tranquil setting of mid Wales. Lisa was still slumbering, but Sandy, John and I were up and about relatively early. Sandy wanted me to organise some...
by | May 3, 2022 | UK Apr May 22
As is apt for a relaxing getaway, it was a slow start to the morning. There really wasn’t anything driving us to get up and active, but my human body clock did its thing all the same. I was partially conscious from around 5am, although content to remain in bed for the...
by | May 2, 2022 | UK Apr May 22
The plan for today was for me and Sandy to visit John & Lisa in their new house in Wales, where they moved to around seven months ago. However, we are doing so with just the two of us, as we are leaving Jae with Dad and Joey with little Jacky. As such, this will...
by | May 1, 2022 | UK Apr May 22
Something I neglected to mention yesterday, when I was outlining the reasons for this trip, was a recent series of events in Sandy’s family. The first domino to topple was the passing of Sandy’s father. He was never a significant part of Sandy’s life since she was...
by | Apr 30, 2022 | UK Apr May 22
UK April 2022 – Day 1 – getting there By all accounts, this family excursion was never really supposed to happen. The original plan was for me and Joey to visit the UK for a few days. The idea was to see Dad. His continued march into old age hasn’t abated in recent...
by | Aug 10, 2021 | Denmark Aug 21
Day 6 – Last day Tuesday 10th August 2021 Today is the last full day from the original schedule. There’s an outside chance we might stay an extra night, but that was always going to be dependent on whether we had a good reason to do so, like a visit to Julie’s school....
by | Aug 9, 2021 | Denmark Aug 21
Day 5 – Copenhagen Monday 9th August 2021 Tiredness, and possibly even exhaustion, are now starting to set in a bit. It took us both a while to get moving this morning. Today is the first of what is currently planned to be two consecutive day trips to Copenhagen. I...
by | Aug 8, 2021 | Denmark Aug 21
Day 4 – Egeskov castle Sunday 8th August 2021 Notwithstanding the downpour from yesterday evening, not to mention the cracks of thunder throughout the night, the skies this morning are clear and mostly blue. My weather app still predicts rain for today, but it has...
by | Aug 7, 2021 | Denmark Aug 21
Day 3 – Svendborg Saturday 7th August 2021 A phenomenon that I’ve experienced countless times before when traveling is that my body clock sort of resets itself in the absence of a time source. When this happens, I tend to wake up only to find it’s well outside of the...
by | Aug 6, 2021 | Denmark Aug 21
Day 2 – Hans Christian Anderson Museum in Odense Friday 6th August 2021 Compared to yesterday’s 5am start to the day, I for one was glad to see the first number on the clock this morning was an eight. Jae and I are sharing a room, which isn’t much bigger than the two...
by | Aug 5, 2021 | Denmark Aug 21
Day 1 – getting there and getting acquainted Thursday 5th August 2021 So, it’s finally the day of departure for our little sojourn to Denmark for a week. For very different reasons, both Jae and I have been really looking forward to this trip. Yes, we’re both very...
by | Jul 18, 2021 | Denmark Aug 21
Pre-departure – Home Sunday 18th July 2021 As my kids have been growing up, my parenting responsibilities have at times seemed endless. For a dozen or so years, I’ve had constant contact with, and have carried shoulder loads of responsibilities for, both my kids. My...
by | Sep 28, 2018 | OZ to FL to UK to NL
Day 40 to 46 – Jacksonville Saturday 22nd to Friday 28th September 2018 Well, our week here in Jacksonville is all but at an end, alas. It has been quite the busy week for us here. Initially, we were planning on taking things easy. We were going to take our foot off...
by | Sep 25, 2018 | OZ to FL to UK to NL
Day 39 – Sea World Friday 21st September 2018 I woke up this morning and went straight into packing mode. This was a necessity. No time to waste on such silly things as allowing myself to wake up first or succumbing to the cold I’m still suffering from. No rest for...
by | Sep 24, 2018 | OZ to FL to UK to NL
Day 38 – Universal Thursday 20th September 2018 We’ve had our fair share of early starts during this holiday, but we’re trending more and more towards late ones now. I wasn’t complaining this morning about the slow start. I ‘was’ complaining, however, about being...
by | Sep 23, 2018 | OZ to FL to UK to NL
Day 37 – iFLY Wednesday 19th September 2018 September is always a busy month for us. Both the kids were born on this month. It’s also the month Sandy and I were married. This morning, we woke up to a new tweenager. Jennifer is now twelve. Although a year younger than...
by | Sep 22, 2018 | OZ to FL to UK to NL
Day 36 – Sea World Tuesday 18th September 2018 Today marked the first day of our Sea World all access pass usage. From the date of first entry, we are allowed to visit any Sea World theme park as often as we would like for ten days. This includes Sea World, Bush...
by | Sep 20, 2018 | OZ to FL to UK to NL
Day 35 – Universal Monday 17th September 2018 After the stresses of yesterday, I was glad for a slower start to the day this morning. In fact, I think we all slept much longer than we planned. I woke up early enough but then dozed off again. I don’t recall how many...
by | Sep 19, 2018 | OZ to FL to UK to NL
Day 34 – Volcano Bay Sunday 16th September 2018 We awoke today with yet another milestone having been reached. Sandy and I are married thirty years today. It’s in fact one of the reasons underpinning the fact we’re here on this rather long holiday in central Florida....
by | Sep 17, 2018 | OZ to FL to UK to NL
Day 33 – LEGOLAND – Joey’s birthday Saturday 15th September 2018 When we awoke this morning, Sandy and I were the proud parents of our very first teenager. Was I still dreaming? You know that feeling you get when you’re sort of half awake, and your dreams are still...
by | Sep 16, 2018 | OZ to FL to UK to NL
Day 32 – Rest day Friday 14th September 2018 I awoke alone this morning. I stretched out a hand to give Sandy a cuddle. She wasn’t there. The universe was telling me something – or at least Sandy was. I think we were all still reeling from the disaster that was last...
