Each time I went home to England I never failed to visit my favourite place, Llandudno. Read my story “My Favourite Place” posted January 9, 2010 to find out why. One of my earlier trips was with my daughter Alison and her best friend Laura. I wanted to show them the City of Chester and the north coast of Wales. I planned to stop at the sea-side towns of Prestatyn, Rhyl, Colwyn Bay and Llandudno. North Wales is a special place for me. Visiting there, gives me the chance to re-live my holiday adventures from my childhood. But, ...I had a two disappointments on that trip, both of which evaporated into nothing when compared to what I saw on the very last day.
You have to park your car on the perimeter of Chester and take a shuttle-bus to the city centre. It worked surprisingly well with very little wait times. The magnificent Cathedral overlooks the city centre where large crowds of shoppers fill the stores and the side-walk cafés. The fun and excitement of exploring the city took a downturn when I realized I'd lost sight of Alison and Laura. That was disappointment number one. To make things worse, I had neglected to arrange a meeting place in case we got separated so I went to the Cathedral steps to look for them, but that didn't work. Then, I decided to position myself high on an elevated walkway overlooking the main street remembering that Alison was wearing a bright yellow spring jacket. Bingo!...I spotted them right away rushing from one shop to the next so I yelled at them to stay put until I could get to them. I laid down a few ground rules in case we got separated again. I didn't tell them I was trembling inside because I might never have found them in the maddening crowds. We then returned to the car and continued on our way.
You could blindfold me; spin me around three times; drop me into N. Wales, and I'd know exactly where I was. Firstly, the sea breeze has an unmistakable salty taste. Add to that, the distant sounds of sheep grazing on the dark green hills; the foghorns of ocean-going ships; the squawking of seagulls; and the friendliness of the locals speaking their ancient welsh dialect - and it all comes together to form a special kind of magic. The girls soon began to understand its special charm. We enjoyed the drive along the coastal road until we arrived at Llandudno.
We stayed on the third level of a wonderful beach-front hotel with a picturesque view of Llandudno bay. Once we got settled-in, we took a walk along the promenade. When I was taking a photo of Alison and Laura, just before the sun went down, I dropped my brand new camera resulting in a hundred bits of plastic and tiny metal things scattered all over the pavement. That was disappointment number two. The girls helped me to pick up all the bits and pieces and we put them in my empty cigarette package so that I could get it fixed. The clerk in an Ottawa camera store couldn't stop laughing when I poured the tiny bits on his glass counter-top a week later.
After a good night's sleep I awoke to a foggy, drizzly, morning. I looked out towards the bay but I could see nothing so I went for a quick shower and a shave. When I looked out again things looked different. The fog was a light-grey overall but darker shades were evident in the middle of the bay. It looked like a ghostly entity rising out of the water. The breakfast bell rang so I awakened the girls. There was only a small window of opportunity to get some porridge or you were out of luck. On our way downstairs I saw a dark shadow taking shape but I had no idea what it was. After breakfast, however, we returned to our room, and ….My God! ...I couldn't believe my eyes.
Standing tall and proud directly in front of us was a fully dressed warship displaying an array of brightly coloured flags and pendants as if she had just completed a naval ceremony. I guessed it was either a guided missile destroyer or an anti-submarine attack frigate. It's the kind of thing you don't see everyday. I was absolutely elated. Instinctively, I reached for my broken camera but I stopped myself, and said, “I don't need a photo. I can never forget this moment – what a glorious sight!”
You have to park your car on the perimeter of Chester and take a shuttle-bus to the city centre. It worked surprisingly well with very little wait times. The magnificent Cathedral overlooks the city centre where large crowds of shoppers fill the stores and the side-walk cafés. The fun and excitement of exploring the city took a downturn when I realized I'd lost sight of Alison and Laura. That was disappointment number one. To make things worse, I had neglected to arrange a meeting place in case we got separated so I went to the Cathedral steps to look for them, but that didn't work. Then, I decided to position myself high on an elevated walkway overlooking the main street remembering that Alison was wearing a bright yellow spring jacket. Bingo!...I spotted them right away rushing from one shop to the next so I yelled at them to stay put until I could get to them. I laid down a few ground rules in case we got separated again. I didn't tell them I was trembling inside because I might never have found them in the maddening crowds. We then returned to the car and continued on our way.
You could blindfold me; spin me around three times; drop me into N. Wales, and I'd know exactly where I was. Firstly, the sea breeze has an unmistakable salty taste. Add to that, the distant sounds of sheep grazing on the dark green hills; the foghorns of ocean-going ships; the squawking of seagulls; and the friendliness of the locals speaking their ancient welsh dialect - and it all comes together to form a special kind of magic. The girls soon began to understand its special charm. We enjoyed the drive along the coastal road until we arrived at Llandudno.
We stayed on the third level of a wonderful beach-front hotel with a picturesque view of Llandudno bay. Once we got settled-in, we took a walk along the promenade. When I was taking a photo of Alison and Laura, just before the sun went down, I dropped my brand new camera resulting in a hundred bits of plastic and tiny metal things scattered all over the pavement. That was disappointment number two. The girls helped me to pick up all the bits and pieces and we put them in my empty cigarette package so that I could get it fixed. The clerk in an Ottawa camera store couldn't stop laughing when I poured the tiny bits on his glass counter-top a week later.
After a good night's sleep I awoke to a foggy, drizzly, morning. I looked out towards the bay but I could see nothing so I went for a quick shower and a shave. When I looked out again things looked different. The fog was a light-grey overall but darker shades were evident in the middle of the bay. It looked like a ghostly entity rising out of the water. The breakfast bell rang so I awakened the girls. There was only a small window of opportunity to get some porridge or you were out of luck. On our way downstairs I saw a dark shadow taking shape but I had no idea what it was. After breakfast, however, we returned to our room, and ….My God! ...I couldn't believe my eyes.
Standing tall and proud directly in front of us was a fully dressed warship displaying an array of brightly coloured flags and pendants as if she had just completed a naval ceremony. I guessed it was either a guided missile destroyer or an anti-submarine attack frigate. It's the kind of thing you don't see everyday. I was absolutely elated. Instinctively, I reached for my broken camera but I stopped myself, and said, “I don't need a photo. I can never forget this moment – what a glorious sight!”
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