our BIG adventure 2013: Day 8

In the summer of 2013, our BIG adventure as a family was to Blackpool and the surrounding area. Here’s the story of our travels…

As requested by Our Sidekick we started the day off back at the dunes – more of an adventure for him than for us but it’s what you do as a family. Our Sidekick loves the area as he can practice stunts and things like that. We tried a couple of gym lifts that I could remember – I was the base in most of them so that Chris could help Our Sidekick, he also did a really cool trick where he did a front somersault over Chris who was laying on the floor with his phone recording the flip – it was really good and I hope it’s a good video when Chris had had chance to edit it all together.

When we got out the car at the dunes, I reached in my bag and realised a bunch of stuff as wet. Turned out the juice in my fruit pot thingy had leaked EVERYWHERE!!! As you can see my crime novel then looked like a crime scene of its own!

We got lunch in Blackpool, again having another really good Customer Service Experience. We were in a certain golden arched takeaway venue, because of Chris being gluten free and me being on Slimming World there was a lot of changes we made to our order. Within our order we asked to have a Big Mac without a bun and a side salad instead of chips. The trainee who served us was lovely, polite and even when she asked for assistance she excused herself before turning to her colleague or manager to ask for help.

It was quite busy in the store, we had found a seat downstairs but was asked by Patricia if we could move upstairs as we didn’t have a pushchair or a reason that meant we couldn’t take the stairs to the first floor. Our Foster Son and I went upstairs to the first floor to find a table for us to sit at. We got upstairs but there wasn’t any spare tables we returned back downstairs as my husband left the counter and we decided about staying or going to see outside or even back onto the Promenade.

Patricia overheard this and said that it would probably be okay to sit at the table anyway. As Chris went to put down the tray, one of the drinks fell off the tray and went all over the floor. While he went to tell someone, I grabbed some serviettes from our tray and a neighbouring table handed me some more so that I could try and clear up some of the spillage while we waited for mop. Chris came back and told me that Patricia had gone to get him another drink and would then go get the mop. A few minutes later she reappeared with the mop and also asked if we wanted any ice in the drink as she’d just got the drink. We explained that it was okay and just having a replacement drink was absolutely fine.

We ate our meal and overall it was okay. My side salad was a bit wilt-y but was okay to eat. The Big Mac without a bun wasn’t as good as we have had in the past from other McDonald branches but given the level of confusion that seemed to go on between the ladies on the till and the young man in the kitchen it was okay and filled a hole.

As we went to leave Patricia said goodbye to us and wished us a good day. She was super lovely and so helpful.

Following lunch we went to the Blackpool Dungeon. Back in 2007, when Chris and I went to Amsterdam we went to the Dungeon there as well. I think both times I found it interesting and things like that and scary in like a suspense way rather than actually all out scary. At the Amsterdam Dungeon they have a rollercoaster of sorts. At Blackpool it’s a drop ride, so you go in and take your seats, the carriage thing goes up and you watch a video that’s projected on the wall then at a certain point in the dialogue the ride drops. Now I’m not a fan of rollercoasters or any ride like that, but I think as the dialogue on the video was a little predictable I was more relaxed about it and could chill (and then laugh at how dumb I looked in the photos).

On the way through the shop and then around the building to the bit to go up to the Blackpool Tower and the SkyWalk, Chris and I were discussing bits about it – you know when you watch too many medical programs and things like that when you turn round and say “You see the problem with the Doctor and the Plague bit was that they didn’t start using the Y Incision until later in history.” I said it, then questioned myself and still questioning myself!! It’s the kind of question that Dr Maura Isles from Rizzoli and Isles would be able to answer in the blink of an eye.

We headed up the tower and I’d decided that I was going to stand on the SkyWalk even if I freaked – then again when the guy pointed out that the glass was reinforced and was 5 centimetres thick it really reassured me. I decided also that I was going to lie down across the glass because it would be really funny.

Following our trip up the tower we pottered around the shops and the arcades then headed for dinner. While at dinner, we noticed lots of people going in and out of a shop opposite and I could see what looked like hooved legs wearing crocheted granny squares – well of course I had to go for a closer inspection. It turned out to the opening party of a store called Charabanc.

I didn’t stop for long as we were still in the middle of our dinner but I did go back after dinner and bought a couple of badges including one that says “Keep Calm and Carry Yarn” I thought I had taken a picture but it’s downstairs after I rescued it from the washing!