Retreat, Rest, Reflect

The time to retreat from all was upon me again.

And so it was with excitement that I relinquished my responsibilities to enjoy the freedom of time out.

Leaving at a lusciously leisurely 10.00am on Tuesday, I drove straight to a sea facing establishment that I had pre booked for lunch.

The place, the view, the staff and the food, did not disappoint.

No sooner had I made myself comfortable at the table with the sea stretching out ahead of me, when I noticed a rainbow seemingly rising up from the water.

I always love to be reminded of God’s promises to us.

After conceding defeat to the mash accompanying my winter warming bangers, I took a slow stroll along the sea front and in to the town.

A quick browse around the charity shop resulted in the reward of a white stuff dress for the grand sum of £2.50. Result!

Upon my return walk to the car, I saw yet another rainbow!

After checking out the towns offering, I headed for my sea facing caravan to get settled in before dark.

As promised, I could indeed see the sea from here.

How I relish the chance to indulge in sea staring and rest.

There was even enough light left in the day to check out the beach.

The next day following a relaxing lay in and breakfast, I decided to explore a few towns away along the coast.  Unfortunately, my hoped for walk had been rained off.

In this town amongst all the pretty gift shops I found a cosy pub serving some excellent homemade vegetable soup.  Proper.

I quickly realised that I wasn’t in the mood for shops or crowds though.  Not unusual for me.

When I looked up other sea facing places away from the masses, I discovered a cliff top cafe overlooking the sea.  A quiet one.  Much more my cup of tea.  And  of course cake.

Upon returning to my caravan, I opted for a lazy afternoon nap.  Something I haven’t found much time for in recent weeks!

When I did resurface, I got myself comfortable for a film night.  SO relaxing.

The next day arrived bringing yet more rain.  No walks for me.

Instead, I enjoyed breakfast and coffee on my sofa looking out to sea.

Here I reflected upon the year thus far.

I love having time to step back and survey the big picture.  Examine what has happened in the year to date and think and dream about the year to come.

After a few hours of commitment free time to do just this, I revised my game plan for the day and opted for a local garden centre where the food was highly recommended.

I’m a huge fan of a garden centre; all those beautiful living things as well as the enticement of the gift shops.  This one was top notch.

The cafe had interesting signs on the wall, blankets for those brave enough to sit outside (I wasn’t and only just managed to resist a blanket anyway) and a menu full of proper home cooked food.  No processed rubbish here.

I decided upon a sausage and bean casserole which was suitably filling and appropriate for the wet and windy day.

Next up was a little coffee shop attached to a Hotel.  In here I finished reading my newspaper over a pot of tea with the obligatory sea view.

Having had my fill in every sense, I returned to my accommodation where I packed up my stuff and drove home!

And I still have a few more days to reflect on all before resuming my full responsibilities.

Nice!