Jenny’s First Bliggy Blog…

Hello family and friends! Yes, it is true - this is Mrs. Assignee #47 writing for the 1st time. Many of you have asked what I have been up to while Sam is away, so here goes. I had a fantastic weekend visiting my friend Catherine, who I met traveling in Australia. I thought it would be the perfect girls’ weekend with Sam away. I took the train up to Manchester after work and arrived just after 9. Catherine collected me from the station and took me to a fabulous Pakistani joint called Akbar’s. I found out tonight that there is such a thing as a non-alcoholic Cobra. That is just plain wrong! But Catherine was being the very responsible driver, so I can’t argue. We had a great time catching up and turned in past midnight exhausted from the week. Saturday morning was meant to be an early start, but when I awoke at noon, that changed plans a bit. We set out, fighting the gale force winds (not joking, the strongest winds I’ve ever seen) and headed toward Lytham. We had a nice walk-around the city, had a great lunch of fish & chips, and then walked along the River Ribble, admiring the huge windmill and trying not to get blown away. (I unfortunately do not have photos from Lytham because I left my camera in the car.) After Lytham we drove to Blackpool for the Illuminations they hold each year. So Catherine had said she hadn’t been here in 5 years, and after today’s visit probably wouldn’t need to come back for another 5 years. I wasn’t quite sure what she meant, but as we started to walk around I began to understand. On every corner you saw a few things: (1) Amusement / arcade games (2) The best fish & chip stands (3) Transvestites (4) Stag do and Hen’s parties (bachelor & bachelorette parties) (5) the rednecks of the UK surrounded you. This was the Myrtle Beach of the UK!!! But, in case you didn’t know, Blackpool does have an Eiffel Tower of their own – the Blackpool Tower. So I had the chance to see 2 Eiffel Towers in 2 weeks. Now who can say that? It was quite the adventure, and to top off the evening we spent 3.5 hours in the car in traffic making our way through all the Illuminations strung up along the main drag. It was definitely a fun evening and we have some GREAT stories! So we got home about 11:30 and I finally got to meet Catherine’s parents (who are such lovely, sweet people), as we are staying with them in Eccleston. (Thank you for having us!)

Sunday morning we awoke and had a nice walk with the whole gang through the beautiful countryside. I wore wellies for the 1st time, which they got a kick out of! Our walk was about 2 hours and we visited a church over 1,000 years old before popping in for a pint at the Original Farmer’s Arms. Catherine’s parents then prepared us an amazing lunch back at the house and I even got to meet Catherine’s sister, brother-in-law and 3 month old nephew who was the cutest thing ever! We said our goodbyes to everyone late afternoon and drove back to Manchester where I caught my train. Catherine, thank you for a fantastic weekend and I look forward to doing it again very soon!!! (You know I had to have a laugh about Blackpool right?) ;)