Scott and Julie Martin

Monday 25 August 2008

Our New Home

Well, after a long flight delay, and a long flight, we are to our new and very temporary home. Our new home is BEAUTIFUL! It was a little spider infested when we arrived which as you can all imagine I was thrilled about! But my amazing husband pulled out the big guns; a can of wasp spray and some paper towels! Fortunately most of the problem was confined to the garage and we settling down nicely in our now spider free home. The view is breathtaking. You can see the sea from our front windows, which you will see, and the beach is about a ten minute walk. And as much as Scott and I love that- we think Emma might like it more. She has enjoyed diving in the waves for her Frisbee and chasing seagulls. The craziest part of the journey has been the driving. Not because of the steering wheel being on the wrong side or because of people driving on the opposite side but rather because the roads are so dang tiny! Half the time we (and by we I mean Scott) have to pull over because the road is only wide enough for one car to pass through at a time and everyone drives like 90 miles an hour. It's insane. Neither of us has picked up an accent yet but I am sure Scott will in no time. We have had many adventures, shopping included! Our first one began with having to pay a pound to acquire a shopping cart and ended with them not having bags to bag our groceries. Not because they were out- they just don't do that at this particular store. Thus, we had to walk ten blocks with peanut butter, jelly, salt, pepper, and various herbs and jars shoved into our pockets and toilet paper and groceries piled into our arms. We must have looked ridiculous and we probably would have felt ridiculous if we weren't' too busy cracking up at ourselves and the looks we were getting from the locals. I wish I had pictures! And so far, that is as adventurous as we have gotten. I must tell you though in speaking of how different things are here... our washer and dryer are one in the same and it takes 200 minutes to do a single load of laundry! Everything is so different- but you never know what to expect which is always fun. More to follow but in the mean time, Here are some pictures:

This is our new Home!!! Actually, it's not. Ours is actually two to the left but looks exactly the same...
This is the view from our front windows. Pretty unbelievable.
This is the town of St. Bees as seen from one of the cliffs at the beach.


This is St. Bees from the main road. What you see is the Presbyterian Church, which is linked to the school, with the rest of the town behind.

These are the farms viewed from a back walking path on the way to the beach.
Here is Emma loving her new home. It took a lot of patience and biscuits to get her to sit long enough to take this picture. Scott and Emmi on the lower cliffs.

Hopefully this one needs no explanation- but just in case, it's the beach.
This is looking North from the cliffs. The land you see jetting out is known as St. Bees Head and on the far side is where the towns light house is located.
This is a better view of St. Bees head. You can hike right on the edge of the cliffs. The view is indescribable. On a clear day you can see all the way to the Isle of Man.
This is the final approach to the beach. Overall we are feeling very blessed. But how can we not be with views like these and experiences like we have had and those that are surely left to come.