A Holiday in Devon

Friday 5th

I met Kim in the evening at a tube station and then we went to her car. The drive was about three hours but with a few coffee breaks and a steady flow of conversation we made it there with little complaint. We arrived at her house which was quaint and located in a nice quiet neighborhood. Her parents were lovely and greeted me with immense hospitality. After talking for a while and getting oriented with the place, I went to bed.

Saturday 6th

We got up early and all went out to breakfast where I met some of Kim's family friends. I tried blood pudding; it was actually good. Kim decided to show me the country side of Devon. It was only about a twenty minute drive when we arrived at a little abbey in the middle of lots of green pastures and farmland. Buckfast Abbey is a functioning church where real Monks learn to be religious men of the faith. There was a school just next to the gardens where they would study. This abbey is known for its amazing stain glass window inside. When Kim was little, her school came to this abbey to see the giant window with Christ on it.

Sadly, it is winter so the gardens were not at peak but they were still nice to walk through and look at. They had so many arbors on pathways to walk through and rose bushes that would have been marvelous in the spring time.

We drove around some and she showed me some places such as the church she was christened in and houses that she had visited in school. It was a relaxing time and the drive was simply beautiful. The landscape was picturesque English countryside with sheep running around in the meadows. She told me that her name Windeatt is a local family name and has a deep rooted history in the area. It dates back several centuries which I think is pretty cool since nothing is that old in America unless you have a native background.

We stopped at a place called the Darlington Estate which her grandfather used to be a guard for. This land was owned by the Darlingtons and even housed those that worked for the mansion. Even today, people that work for the Estate--gardeners, cleaners, guards--all have housing provided for them. We stopped to see the large mansion and its massive 'backyard.'

This picture only shows one angle but this building wraps around to the space behind me. It was simply massive. The area behind the house was even bigger. Land spreading far beyond sight would allow extended the boundaries of the estate. It was beautiful and green and I could have spent the rest of the day walking around here. But she had more to show me.

We drove on some thin winding roads and then got out and walked by a field and over a bridge. We came to this little cottage on the side of the road that she told me was where her grandparents used to live. We stood on the other side of the street as she talked me through the house and the memories she had there. Many people walked along this road since it is small and quiet and a tourist area.

Afterwards, we headed back home to Kim's house where we hung out for a while. I called my parents from her phone since it was free and had a nice long chat with them. When I hung up, they had gotten dinner from a shop down in town of fish and chips. It was so good I was stuffed by the end of it.

We then sat in the living room watching the 'Telly' and having a nice evening. We then played several rounds of Uno until I was so tired I went to bed early. I hadn't been very tired the night before and for some reason it took me most of the night to fall asleep. Getting up early and having a long day wiped me out. I had a warm and cozy night.

Sunday 7th

I awoke very late and was distressed to know I had done so. Kim assured me that it was fine and everyone was having a relaxed morning. Before brunch was served, Kim and I decided to drive around the actual downtown of Brixham which is where she lives. It is a small fishing town that is on the coast. We drove passed the harbor and got to see this from the window. Jealous?

That pier is a walkway out to their lighthouse. So beautiful. So after the small drive we headed back and had a feast that reminded me of a real Christmas dinner. Stuffing, peas, mashed potatoes, regular potatoes, chicken, gravy, etc. It was amazing. As I sat down, I saw the napkins said, "Have a cracking Christmas" on them. I understood the pun but not the tradition. So I asked what the crackers were for. They all looked at me blankly not realizing that America doesn't do this. So they got the crackers out and we had an early little christmas party for the American girl. It was awesome! I even got to wear one of those paper crowns!

Then we went to a little cliff-side place where there was a little lighthouse and it was really windy. It was so beautiful and very cold. Sadly, there are plenty of people that commit suicide there since there is no railing at the edge of the cliff. Here's a picture of me at the edge. We also got cold and walked into this little place where we got hot chocolate that looked amazing!

When we were done looking around we headed back where I packed my things and we drove to the train station. I boarded and continued writing the story I've been writing for the past few weeks. It's getting longer by the day. Thank you London for all the inspiration.