isle of wight

so last month we took a trip to the isle of wight, a little island off of the uk, near the france border. my parents had been many times but this was our first trip. after 4 days in london, we took a taxi then a train then a bus then a hoovercraft to the island. it went easier than you would think and picked up a car to use for the week. the neat thing about the island is you can get just about anywhere in less than an hour and most places in about 15 minutes. it is a wonderful mix of coastline and rolling hills dotted with sheep and cows. the weather is usually milder and we enjoyed a mix of sun and rain, sometimes a little of both.

we really hustled on all the trains we took this trip, never had to wait more than a few minutes, never missed a train
quick hoovercraft ride
we stayed in a converted barn, thick walls made it perfect for kids, the neighbors said they couldn't hear us at all

the "house" that the "barn" goes with (gorgeous!!)
so chris was the superstar driver, but i must say it was like mr toads wild ride the whole time. whenever i said slow down, he'd say "sorry sorry!" and my mom would mutter, "i'm not saying a thing" in the back seat. it was hilarious and i seriously had to co-pilot the whole time saying, remember to stay left, stay left!!! he even drove a left handed stick shift! flippen incredible!
inside our barn
perfect for the girls
the best fish n chips on the trip
views around the farm
"our boys"
the cottage said it was a five minute walk to the beach, in reality there had been erosion of the beach trail turning it into an indiana jones adventure that took more like an hour. many scrapes and head bonks and hearts beating out of chests later, we arrived at this amazing beach

there are many thatched roofed houses around the area we were at (shanklin)

we spent many hours watching the cows and walking through their pasture. i'll post more about some of the places we visited, like a real castle and the palace queen victoria lived in.