Aaron's Blog

Posts Tagged ‘swimming’

We were really worried about this but much to our relief, when Kelly took Aaron and Coby back to swimming two weeks ago, she said it was perfect and that they had done a very good job in keeping children and parents socially distant.  There were actually only two groups of children in the pool, which was Coby’s Stage 2 in the small pool and Aaron’s Stage 5/6 in the big pool.  This meant that it was nice and quiet in the cafe for Kelly to stand and wait for them, which was the main concern really.  The only other change was that the boys’ lessons finished 5 mins earlier to ensure time for them to change and leave the premises before the next groups arrived and that they are meant to turn up in their swimming gear ready to go.  The turning up part is the hardest as Kelly takes them straight from school so they still do get changed in the changing rooms as they don’t have much choice really.  As it is so quiet, it isn’t much of an issue though, thank goodness!

For the swimming itself, they both were very rusty when they started again as they hadn’t been swimming since March!  Aaron had forgotten how to do Butterfly completely! haha  They will soon get into it again though, as long as the pool doesn’t get shut down again!!  It is good that they are back as they really need to get through this now and get on and complete their swimming lessons!

For our main holiday this year, we went camping at a Park Dean holiday park in Mullion in Cornwall for 4 nights from Monday to Friday. Typically, the weather was really awful on our first day and caused lots of problems trying to setup the tent and everything else! It took us a good part of 3 hours to get sorted and it was a nightmare trying to get the tent up correctly in the high winds.  We were slightly lucky though, as it had been torrential rain all morning and early afternoon until we got there when it stopped! If it had been raining as well, I don’t know how we would have been able to put the tent up.

Anyway, we eventually got it up and got everything in and setup before having a wash as we were all hot and sticky as it was still a warm day. We had decided beforehand that we would eat out in the complex on the Monday, knowing we would be tired from the drive and effort with setting up camp. So we went to the pub/restaurant and had a nice meal and afters. The food was delicious, thank goodness, and we all scoffed it all! We then went into the entertainment area and managed to get some seats next to the Pool tables, but they were as far away as possible as it was really busy in there. It did allow Ben and myself to have a quick game though, which I won, but Ben played really well!  Eventually, we managed to get a bit closer but then ended up under one of the big speakers which was very loud indeed! We stayed there for a while and had a drink and watched the shows that were being put on (the usual sort of thing!) before we went into the arcade for a bit. The boys were desperate to go in there and had been going on about it all night. So we had a good go in there and got plenty of tickets to store until later on in the week when we would exchange them for some prizes.  There was only the occasional rain shower at this point, so we did manage to get back to camp and sorted for bed whilst it was dry.  The night was horrendous though and I barely slept, even though the boys slept through everything! The main issue was the wind. It picked up really strongly overnight again and the tent was shaking from side to side and you could hear the wind howling along the treeline until it hit the tent. There were also some torrential downpours of rain, so it was a very interesting night!

The next morning, we were able to get up and take in the surroundings a bit more. Our pitch was in a massive field where the pitches were dotted around the edges.  It was ideal for the boys as they had a very large area of the field to play in so they took advantage of this and spent a lot of their time playing football, throwing the vortex and other games.  We had a small toilet and shower portacabin in our field, with the main facilities in a field next to ours. Apparently, they had only been opened in the past few days so they were basically new, but they were very small and were not brilliant at all really. The only good thing was that the showers were electric which meant we could actually choose the heat instead of the usual showers where you press a button in and a stream of hot water comes out, which is way to hot for myself and the boys. So we were happy with this anyway!  We didn’t really do too much during the day as the weather was showery on and off and also still quite windy. We did have a little walk around the complex and went swimming in the indoor swimming pool, which was really good. It was nice and shallow so was perfect for Coby and the boys (if not the adults), so they were having a great time splashing around and interacting with the water guns that were there (it was a Pirate theme so had a big Pirate ship with various water guns coming from it).  It was very busy when we got there but we managed to get in, just about.  Afterwards, we had showers back at camp and had some food that we had brought with us for tea. We then went over to watch the entertainment again, which was mostly the same as the night before, and then went into the arcade. We managed to sit slightly closer this time, but it was still next to the Pool tables, so Ben and I had a quick match which I won again. 2-0 to me!!  In the arcade, Coby and I did win a Spider-man from the grabber machine, so we were very pleased with that! Aaron had also made a friend in the tent next to us at this point, so he played some games in the arcade with him as we bumped into him there as well. He was called Kane and is the same age as Aaron, so they got on very well! We then headed back to camp and put the boys to bed. I don’t think we left the arcade until past 10pm so it was another late night. But just as Kelly and I got into bed, two search and rescue helicopters started circling over us. They were so close that the tent was shuddering a bit from the blades and I could see the lights on them through the top of the tent. It was an awful sound that was so loud it was ridiculous. This went on for over an hour an eventually stopped just after 1am when they either found what they were looking for or moved on somewhere else. Kelly and I got out of the tent to take a look at one point and were glad that we did as the sky was perfectly clear and we could see so many stars and even the Milky Way. We also saw some amazing meteors as it was the Perseids meteor shower!  Somehow, the boys slept through all of this mayhem, so they must have been shattered as it was so noisy! What a first two nights we had had!

On the Wednesday, we had planned to go to Flambard for the day, using our Tesco vouchers, but we woke up to torrential rain again so we decided against it. However, by mid-morning, it had dried up so we decided to get some discounted tickets to the Cornish Seal Sanctuary from reception and go there.  We got there around 11ish to find a massive queue to get in. We nearly turned around and left it but we hung on and went in and, luckily, it was fine once you got inside. The only trouble was, was that the weather changed completely and was now glorious sunshine and really hot! We hadn’t even thought to bring sun cream with us as it wasn’t great when we left the campsite. So we were all boiling and trying to stay out of the sun, which didn’t happen really! We had a good time there though, and went to a few of the Seal and Sea Lion talks. The boys really enjoyed it there as well, as there were other animals such as donkeys, ponies, otters and more, and also a play area where they could run around and do some climbing on the apparatus.  We had dinner there as well (some nice pasties) and stayed until closing time. We then headed back to the car and decided, as the weather was so nice, to go for a drive to The Lizard, as myself and the boys had never been there before. It was really busy there but we parked OK and walked down to the Lizard Point, which was a bit scary really! We had to keep a tight hold of Coby as he tends to trip over and be silly and we obviously didn’t want him falling down the cliff face! We had a nice walk along there and down to the old Coastguard hut and then back up the hill. The view was amazing and there were lots of Dutch people around, strangely! There was also a guy taking photos on the edge of the cliff with his little boy next to him, on the cliff side of him. The boy was so close the edge of the cliff that we couldn’t watch in the end! We also wandered over to the lighthouse but that was closed up for the night, which was a shame. We then headed back to the tent, all tired, sweaty and slightly sunburnt and relaxed for the evening. We all played catch with the vortex and with the rugby ball until it got too dark and so we went to bed.

Thursday was meant to be the nicest day of the week, so we had planned to stay on site all day, which we did. During the morning, we went in the outdoor swimming pool and had a splash around before heading back to camp for a BBQ for dinner, which was very nice. It was really sunny and hot at this point! The boys had a game of football and threw the vortex around with us before we went back to the indoor pool and had a splash there. At this point, Aaron’s friend had to leave so he said his goodbyes in the pool, which was a shame. We headed back to camp for a wash and some sandwiches for tea before we went to see the entertainment for our final evening.  Before this, we did manage to pack some of our things up, as we had to be off our pitch by 10am the next morning! The entertainment was much better this time as it wasn’t very busy for some reason, so we got a good table with a good view. They even had a Danger Mouse show, which we enjoyed! I had my final two games of Pool with Ben and beat him on both, but he was getting better each day and pulled off some excellent long shots! The final score for the week was 4-0 to me. After all that, we went in the arcade to use up our final few pounds and pennies and intended to get our tickets in the machine to claim our prizes, but one of the ticket machines was broken and people in front of us decided to take bags and bags full of tickets to process. So we must have been stood up for 35 minutes or more before we gave up! The prize desk had also closed at this point so we had wasted a lot of time there! The boys all had great fun in the arcade all week and spent too much money really!  We headed back to the tent and to bed but Kelly and I were kept up, yet again, until the early hours of the morning! This time, by a shrew or something like that burrowing under our tent. We had heard a scratching noise and thought it was outside but eventually we stuck our heads out from the sleeping pod and heard it right in front of us and saw a lump under the tent. The animal had managed to get half way across under our tent, either beneath the ground sheet as well, or above the ground sheet and under our tent flooring. We ended up having to block it off to try and get it to turn around again. It was so slow and we gave up in the end and went back to bed and tried to ignore the occasional scratching! Luckily, it had gone by the morning!

We had to be up very early on Friday as, like mentioned above, we had to be off the pitch by 10am.  We just about managed to do this and got everything in the car (just about) but Kelly and I had to have  shower as we were sweating buckets as it was a boiling day! To do this, I had to leave the boys on their own whilst I had a quick shower but, even though they promised to be good, when I got back, there was tears and shouting, so I was very mad with them. Anyway, we stopped in the arcade again on the way out and, again, had to wait for annoying people to empty bags worth of tickets into the machine, before we could get ours and chose the prizes that the boys wanted. Eventually, we got it all done and they were all happy with what they had got! Phew! So, we made our way to Flambards for the day and had a wonderful time there! We went on loads of the rides and the boys absolutely loved it and wanted to go again very soon! Kelly went on a big swing ride with Coby and Ben whilst Aaron and I went on the Log Flume (I have got a bit braver now!). We did this several times in a row and Kelly ended up making herself feel quite ill! We ate food there as well and managed to walk all around the park, including through the Victorian village exhibition. It was lovely and quiet as well, so we were able to basically go from ride to ride without really having to queue. I also went on the Hornet roller coaster with Coby 3 times in a row, just before closing time, which he loved! The day was really great but went way too quickly for our liking. We then had to get back into the car and I drove home and that was our week camping!

So, we had had a very mixed week! We had some awful weather to begin with but it turned out really nice towards the end of the week.  The facilities on the site weren’t that great though, which was a shame. They could have done with a much better, and cleaner, shower and toilet block in our field. However, the swimming pools were really good and the bar/restaurant was nice as well. The entertainment complex was good apart from they had a little bar there so you had to queue up for ages to get a drink. We probably won’t go there again as you could tell camping was low down on their facilities priorities list but we had had a nice week all in all and the boys really enjoyed it as they managed to sleep through all the dramas during the night!

At the end of June, we camped at Whitehill Country Park in Paignton again, the same as we did last year. Alex, Josh, Caleb and Sophia joined us as well, and it was a very nice weekend!

I had the day off on the Friday so Kelly and I were able to go up as soon as we were allowed on the pitch and setup the tent. It was quite windy so we had an interesting time trying to put the tent up! We did it though, and it was hot in the sun. I left Kelly to it and went back and picked the boys up from school and took them straight to the campsite. Kelly had finished everything by then so we headed straight for the outside pool for a swim. It was lovely in the pool and nice and quiet as not many people had arrived by this time. We then went back to camp and Alex and Josh arrived so we started up a BBQ for us all to eat. We then relaxed for the evening!

On Saturday, we went swimming in the morning, but it was a bit more overcast at times although the wind had dropped. We had some fun in the pool before heading back to camp for some food. During the afternoon, we went for a walk around the park and to the two playgrounds where the children could play. It was much warmer and sunny in the afternoon so we were quite hot! We were meant to go back to camp and change before heading out for tea but we were already down there and it was getting close to tea time, so we went straight to the bar and got a table outside and ordered our food. The food was very nice again! We then went in for the evening entertainment, which was basically the same as last year. Coby was up dancing again and taking part, but Ben and Aaron held back, apart from one dance when they managed to get a lolly each! Tut! We then stayed for Bingo and was number away from getting £20, before heading back to camp to relax before bed, including kicking the ball around until it got too dark!

Sunday was our final day camping so we relaxed for most of the morning before heading off to the pool again before lunch. We had a big breakfast to finish off the food that we had left, so we were all fat and full! It was much cooler on Sunday so the pool wasn’t as warm unfortunately. We still had a good paddle though! We then went back to the tent and changed and gave the boys some food, as they were hungry again by now. We then had to start packing the tent up to go home. This took a while and was awkward again as the wind had picked up for the afternoon! We eventually did it and shoved everything back into the car, somehow! On the way home, we all stopped by the entrance and had an ice cream, as we hadn’t had one all weekend. The children then had a short play in the playground before we headed off home.

We had all had a good weekend and the weather was OK apart from the wind! There were some issues with neighbouring tents overnight unfortunately, but we would definitely go back again, probably next year!

Aaron has now got his 200m swimming certificate though he didn’t want to take it into School to be presented with it during assembly. He is doing very well swimming and is getting more and more confident! Hopefully he can crack on and complete stage 5 quickly and get on into stage 6! 😉

Last Saturday, Aaron completed his Stage 4 Swimming and is now moving on up to Stage 5 where they concentrate on getting the various strokes much better. Unfortunately, it means changing days as well as they don’t have Stage 5 on a Saturday morning, so he is now signed up for 4pm on a Friday. This means Kelly will have to take them all straight from school again and I will miss not having Aaron with me on Saturday mornings at swimming. Well done though and keep it up!