Train travel and an afternoon in Wales

We spent Thursday mostly traveling.  We cleaned up the house we were staying in and finished our packing then took a taxi to the train station.  From there we took a train to Birmingham where we changed trains for Holyhead.  In theory this was meant to be an easy change.  We chose our route because it involved only one change of trains and gave us plenty of time to get to our second train.  In practice, this was mostly right.  However, our train was coming in on the same track as a London train which was running late.  There were hordes of people then waiting at our track for the London train and so we stood back and got out of the way, but boy was it crowded.  Then the London train came and it was much less crowded and I didn't fear that one of the boys would wander too close to the tracks and be accidentally jostled onto the, but then they changed our track, just minutes before our train was to arrive. So we hustled along and got there in time.  Our train split into 2 trains along the way, but we found the right cars and a perfect spot for 4 with a table between us where we could still be near our many pieces of luggage.

So all's well that ends well.  We had an uneventful journey and it is a beautiful ride through the English countryside and then the Welsh countryside and shore.  That was our last train journey of our travels and I think the boys enjoyed the train.  For the most part the grown ups did as well.  There were a few times when we barely made a train or ended up near some football hooligans with less than lovely behavior and language, but I haven't heard any new color in the boys expressions, so that is good.  We also had some nice folks, help us out along the way and ask where we are from (we must have funny accents :-)

One last wait on the Hinckley platform.  It was misting out, but strangely no one chose to come join us under the shelter.

When Mom and Dad felt that the screens needed a break, out came Robert's assortment of toys from home.  We managed to get all but the aliens standing up on their own :-)

The ocean, was just a block away from our hotel.  Here are the boys doing their normal pacing as Kevin waited to ask the ice cream seller where the nearest ATM could be found

And here is the reason we needed an ATM.  If there is a fun park in town and you are on vacation it is necessary to take at least a ride or 2.  In Robert's case, he liked the bouncy slide.

Harry chose the bouncy bungee jumping thing.  For a child who would never do these kinds of things, he has come a long way!