So we were going to just stay home over half term but Cory has two days off that week and we really wanted to go see the puffins at Skomer island. I found an affordable cottage in Pembrokeshire near Haverfordwest to stay at for the week so we decided to go and have a holiday that would be more relaxing, not sightseeing. We had a nice week even though there was a bit of rain. We did some nice walks along the coast and played on beaches and climbed on rocks and explored some caves and castles. Wales has a ton of castles. We went to Pembroke castle which is where Henry VII lived and began the Tudor dynasty. Our last day was cloudy, chilly, and rainy so it was a perfect day to go to the indoor water park. The kids had so much fun. Even Avery loved it. He has gotten over most of his water issues and loves swimming. He just has to have his goggles. Lidia was very upset that she lost her nose plug on a slide. We will have to get a new one.
We went to Skomer Island Monday and it was a beautiful warm sunny day. I actually got a little sunburned. I loved it. We took the noon boat out to the island and were there until the last boat took us back at 5:30. We hiked the entire island which was covered in lovely wildflowers. There were tons of birds there that nest along the cliffs and in little burrows in the ground. There are over 18,000 puffins nesting there each year. They are so cute and not bothered by people at all. They live at sea except when nesting three months a year. We all loved this experience. It was really neat. We also saw a seal in the water by the dock and some dolphins swimming in the distance. There were a lot of rabbits on the island too. There are no trees and you must stay on the path or you'll crush some burrows. Puffins are so cute and fun to watch.
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| Our cottage was great. |
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| nice flat stones for skipping |
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| tide pooling, mostly just anemones and seaweed |
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| Tristan found a crab shell. |
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| remains of quarry cottages |
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| old deep slate quarry, now "blue lagoon" |
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| walking along the coast path is fun to do :) |
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| ha ha Cory |
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| someone down there just kayaked through that gap |
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| old quarry building |
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| lunch in Porthgain |
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We lay down to look over the edge. Safety first!
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St Davids
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| St Davids Cathedral |
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two pilgrimages to St Davids is equal to one to Rome
and three is equal to one to Jerusalem, said the pope when he was
here ages ago, before Henry VIII
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| I guess the ceilings in cathedrals are so cool to remind you to "look up" to heaven? |
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old bishop's palace
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it was funny that cows were grazing right here in town
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whitesands bay
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the kids found a shark pod
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| waiting our turn to get on the Skomer boat, it's that little blue one |
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so many bluebells!
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red campion
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| Hello little puffin! |
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he was collecting straw for his nest
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we had our lunch here on the rocks
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I love the cute puffins! There were thousands.
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hobbit houses?
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sometimes they need a break from all the walking
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only Avery can find sticks on an island with no trees
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of course they had one last bit of energy left to climb rocks
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my kids kept asking why they are called bluebells when they look purple
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it was nice and sunny, I even got a bit of sunburn
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I had just bought real binoculars recently, they took turns with them
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waiting to go back, we saw a seal
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Tristan and Cory napped on the boat back
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my cheesy souvenir
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we were gonna catch crabs at Solva but the tide was out, way out
those are old lime kilns
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cave, tide pools, rocks, cool!
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Aiden was hot, this was his solution.
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when we got back to the cottage, the cows were crossing
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reminding Cory of his childhood
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Newgale beach
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the kids had fun in the water here and found a cave that connected to a beach on the other side of the cliff
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Shannon turned 16 while we were away.
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the tide was coming in fast
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Avery got cold
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thankful for sun
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We went to Pembroke castle, home of Henry VII
first king in Tudor dynasty
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the Welsh flag is cool because it has a dragon
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I told the boys you shoot arrows at your enemies outside the castle, not in...
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so many castles in Wales, this was a good one
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She was a pretty good puppeteer. Avery believed it for a bit then was disappointed when he realized the truth.
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cavern under the castle
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the great keep
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lots of swans in the river
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souvenirs
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kids caught a shrimp
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they found a dead jelly fish
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the boys loved the dunes
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walking back to the car park
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blue lagoon water park was fun
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