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The bloke’s parents with their heart-shaped homemade cake. The chalkboard next to them colourfully reads: “Welcome to Lodge 106. Happy 50th Wedding Anniversary! Have an excellent holiday. 😊”
A couple of weekends ago, we went to a Center Parcs with the bloke’s family to celebrate his parents’ 50th wedding anniversary. Each family stayed in separate lodges, and we joined together for lunches, activities, tea and evening meals.
Going to a big resort-type thing in a forest in the school holidays seems to be a rite of passage for English children. Everyone else in the family (actually being English) had this innate understanding of how things were going to work and what was going to happen. I, on the other hand, was completely in the dark. I didn’t know that the “swimming pool” was going to be a massive indoor waterslide park with separate areas for children of all ages, for instance. Or that bringing our bicycles was not just so we could get some exercise, but so we could pop out to the shop for some milk for five minutes rather than have to walk for half an hour. The place was gigantic and – it being the start of the summer holidays – completely full.
The wildlife, being accustomed to the presence of humans, was very nearly tame. If you left the sliding door to the patio open, the ducks would waddle confidently inside in search of whatever food you had foolishly left out. The squirrels would take nuts from your hands. The muntjac deer would walk up to the patio door and stare in, and not run away until the toddler came outside and tried to pet it.
We had a truly typical British summer holiday experience in that it rained nearly the entire time, so we spent a good amount of time in the water park. Humuhumu was, at first, slightly afraid of the water slides. Subsequent to our first trip to the water park, we bought her some goggles and that flipped the switch. We couldn’t get her off the water slides after that. She went round them so many times that when we went to the changing room to get back into our clothes, she could barely stand, she was so exhausted. I only got the chance to try the water slides once for about ten minutes (during which Keiki apparently screamed for me the entire time), so I went for the biggest one (twice): the Cyclone, which you went down on a rubber raft in a group. I got to go with my niece and her mum, aka the bloke’s sister. I shrieked like a banshee the whole way down. It was fantastic.
Despite the filthy weather, we managed to sneak in some outdoor activities. We played boules. We climbed around the adventure playgrounds. I took Keiki to the pond, where the nearly tame baby moorhens nibbled at his wellies, to his boundless delight. We also found a peacock, with whom Keiki had a half-hour conversation. I turned my back on him briefly and when I looked at him, he had moved close enough to the peacock to stroke its tail feathers. The peacock held itself very still, almost as if it didn’t want to frighten him, when really it should have been the other way round.
The wedding anniversary celebration came off very well indeed. There was a huge, heart-shaped and delicious sponge cake, baked by the bloke’s sister, and a “cheese cake”, which was a mountain of stacked cheeses. The bottom layer, an enormous squishy brie, had to be served separately because it would have collapsed under the weight of the wheel of harder cheese above it. This was not a problem because we devoured it over the course of two days. Most importantly, the bloke’s parents had a wonderful time being surrounded by, but not in the pockets of, their children and grandchildren.
Further photos below the cut, including a series titled “Keiki Points at Things”.
Keiki and me at the pond.
Keiki pointing at the peacock.
Keiki pointing at a juvenile duck.
Keiki pointing at his collection of pinecones.
Keiki pointing at a muntjac on the patio of our lodge.
Baby moorhen running over the rocks by Keiki’s feet.
All four baby moorhens nestled together in the rocks by the pond.
Whose bed is this, anyway? (Humuhumu and Keiki tucked up after a nap in our bed.)
Keiki in the swing at the playground.
Humuhumu climbing the ropes at the playground.
Possibly the most depressing sign ever posted next to a highway. It reads “Delays Possible Until Dec 2020”. On the A14, of course.
In case you’re wondering why there aren’t so many photos of Humuhumu, this is because (1) she wanted to go to the water park pretty much every waking moment, (2) you couldn’t take photos in the water park and (3) Keiki did not want to go to the water park more than once a day, so someone had to stay with him.
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I very much like the series of Keiki pointing at things. If I may offer a correction though - I think that's a drake in his eclipse plumage rather than a juvenile! Ducks moult all their feathers at once (and can't fly as a result) so drakes drop their bright head and body feathers first and grow duller plumage to make them less identifiable as a predator's next meal. Then they moult and regrow their flight feathers, then, once they can fly again, they moult and regrow their body feathers in time for the breeding season. They tend to be rather wary at this time of year, so well done for spotting him!
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Thank you for the mallard plumage lesson. We saw another drake who was in his full plumage, so I just assumed that this one wasn't quite mature yet. Now I know better!
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Also, of *course* it was on the A14.
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Ugh, the A14. The only road I like as little is the 110 around Pasadena.
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Alas that you didn't get more time in the water.
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I'm sure next time we will spend allllll the time in the water. Humuhumu has started swimming lessons and loves them. Keiki will have had swimming lessons by the time we go again, too.
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I may also steal the idea of the cheese cake. It's not that I don't like cake, but cheese is even better :D
(Also, Humuhumu *does* climb everywhere, doesn't she? I remember you mentioning that in some post and here we go, again :D)
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Oh yes, that cheese cake was a cheese-lover's dream. We had just finished eating an enormous meal and generous slices of cake and none of us could resist stuffing ourselves with cheeses subsequently.
Yep, she does climb everywhere and everything she's allowed. We'll be hitting the climbing gyms in a couple of years.
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That sounds like an excellent anniversary celebration.
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I'm looking forward to going to Center Parcs again when the children can swim. \o/
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those are one of my most favorite animals. I am so, so jealous you got to see them in the wild-ish. XD
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Gorgeous pics, as always. You have the coolest kids! And now I know what a "muntjac" is.
(Nanila, do you realise this post is public?)
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Here are some videos of muntjacs at night, at the bloke's parents' place: https://common-nature.dreamwidth.org/77766.html
Yes, I made it public so family members could see it. Thank you for pointing it out, though, as it is the kind of thing I would normally post under access-lock.
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Ah OK. I'm glad it was intentional. :)
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Sounds like it was a good trip!
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It was a good one! :)
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*The water park was the best bit.
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I'm sure the next time we go on such a holiday, I shall be able to do more. Humuhumu is having swimming lessons as a result of this trip (and is loving them), and we'll start Keiki as soon as he turns three.
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Having grown up in Australia on UK media, I have a *vague* idea about these things...
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[GIGGLE]
THis, to me sums up the basic problem of inter-species relationships, in a nutshell.
We may, perhaps, dear duck, be *technically* superior to you, in certain areas of intellectual and/or practical ability... as judge by certain "experts" who are members of our own species...
But all that really matters, in the end, is whether or not one of our childlings (or yours) can accidentallyy crush one of your adults (or ours) to death, with an innocently misplaced luvs-u-hug. =}:o}
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I have heard from childless adults that Center Parcs is fabulous without children as well. Just don't go during the school holidays. Not only will this preserve you from the screaming hordes, it'll save you a packet of money, too! And you'll get to enjoy all the stuff we didn't get to take advantage of, like the spa, which gives you some free sessions with your booking.