Hangin' Out With My Future In-Laws

When Neal arrived home on Friday morning after leaving me on my own for 11 days, we knew we only had the weekend to get everything in order so that we can both leave on Tuesday morning and start ship-hopping for the next month. We have been running around non-stop until yesterday when we took a moment to exhale. We slowed down enough to spend the day with my future in-laws on The Isle of Wight, which is the Norman Rockwell-esque community that Neal and his Brother, Chris, grew up in.


You have to take a ferry from Portsmouth Harbour to The Isle of Wight and it was a very pleasant 40-minute journey ... we slept the entire time. As soon as we cleared the ferry, Neal pulls over and it's my turn to drive. It's time to see if those driving lessons paid off. Unbelievably, I was driving like I've been driving in the UK my whole life, that is, of course, after I realized I was driving in the wrong lane. But, once I got that straight, I was driving like a pro. Neal had to admit that the lessons were worth every dime, and he seemed quite impressed with my newly acquired driving skills. We drove over to his dad's house in a town called Shanklin, and the first order of business was to have a cup of tea. I love how the men of England can talk of having tea while sitting in a garden without the fear of having their man-hood questioned! Then we had a little pre-lunch stroll to the seaside cliffs and for the end of October, the weather has been quite mild and we were blessed to have a beautifully sunny day.

The seaside was great. Then it was off to meet Barbara, the neighbor of over 40 years, at The Conservative Club. This is a social club for one of the UK's political parties of which Neal's dad is a member. We each had a traditional Sunday roast. Mine was lamb and besides getting a great upper-body workout trying to cut the lamb, my meal was great. The meal also came with Yorkshire Pudding. Now, the name gives you the idea that it is a dessert and that it should be thick and creamy. NOT. It's bread made of flour and egg. It tastes amazing, especially if you cover it in gravy ... well, let's face it, everything tastes better covered in either gravy, bacon or cheese.


After lunch and great conversation, we went by Barbara's to see her new bungalow. After 40 plus years of being the O'Connell's neighbor, she has moved across the Island to a smaller place. For a little old lady, she's got pretty awesome taste. Her home was still in that "just moved in" state, but her furniture was classic and extroadinary. The type of craftmanship that you just can't find these days. I'm looking forward to visiting her again when everything is in place.


From there we headed to a special church service that was remembering those who had passed on. Neal's mom passed earlier this year and we were invited to honor her memory. Neal's brother Chris, joined us and it was a very nice service. Then it was back to Neal's dad's house for more tea and a sweet.


We ended our awesome day on the Isle of Wight with Neal´s brother´s family. Of course we started the visit with more tea and a little adult conversation, before Millie & Ellis joined us to update us on the goings on of the UK teenager. Millie´s a little dancing queen and Ellis is a brainiac! Millie and I are definitely kindred spirits both having a flair for the dramatic, though I think Millie´s got me beat by a mile. If there´s not an Oscar in that girl´s future, I´d be very surprised! After we got caught up on each other´s lives, it was off to the pub for dinner. The kid´s talked me into a cheeseburger with bacon (really, it didn´t take that much convincing) and it was soooooo good. I had to keep an eye on Millie who was keeping her eye on my pint. She wanted to know if it was as refreshing as the commercials say it is, and I convinced her to take my word for it, it was!!

Finally, we made the mad dash back to the docks to catch the 10p ferry home to Waterlooville. It was a pleasant 40-minute journey, we slept the entire time!

Glo.