An Easter return to the Isle of Man COMPLETED 5/10 - Page 13 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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There are other changes as well.
Why? Well, the world has changed. And change with it, we must. The lyrics to "We Go On" for IllumiNations say it best:
We go on to the joy and through the tears
We go on to discover new frontiers
Moving on with the current of the years.
We go on
Moving forward now as one
Moving on with a spirit born to run
Ever on with each rising sun.
To a new day, we go on.
It's time to move on and move forward.
PassPorter is a small business, and for many years it supported our family. But the world changed, print books took a backseat to the Internet, and for a long time now it has been unable to make ends meet. We've had to find new ways to support our family, which means new careers and less and less time available to devote to our first baby, PassPorter.
But eventually, we must move on and move forward. It is the right thing to do.
So we are retiring this newsletter, as we simply cannot keep up with it. Many thanks to Mouse Fan Travel who supported it all these years, to All Ears and MousePlanet who helped us with news, to our many article contributors, and -- most importantly -- to Sara Varney who edited our newsletter so wonderfully for years and years.
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So we encourage you to stay in touch with us and your fellow community members wherever works best for you!
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Sunday 5 April – part two: are we going backwards?
However, we didn’t get far, only a couple of minutes outside of the station, then we ground to a halt. Mark opened the window to see what was going on, and the driver seemed to be outside, putting something on the track. We’d find out more than that shortly….
We then went back a little bit, and I was able to get some nice photos, as now we were no longer in a cutting with high hedges on either side.
We started up again, and got a bit further than last time, but then we stopped, and it felt like the wheels were spinning on the track.
We started to go backwards a bit, and then the next thing we knew, this guy appeared…
He clung on the whole way back to the station, and explained that the train couldn’t get traction on the track, as it was so damp on the track. Normally, they’d sand it from the train, but that function wasn’t working, so what we’d seen was him and the driver out earlier, manually spreading sand on the track. As he said, it worked for about 100 yards, then we got stuck again, so they made their way back to the station to collect yet more sand.
While we were there, a couple got off. We figured that maybe they were going to the toilet, but we never saw them again, and we figured it just got too late for them. By the time we set off from the station again, we were 40 minutes late.
Thankfully this time, we made it further than we’d done before, and finally we were on our way. As you can see, it was still a pretty misty day, which made getting photos tough, but I did my best….
I was delighted to find a few of my buddies along the way….
When we got to Castletown, we were greeted by the Easter bunny – and I am not joking!
In the end, after she walked past us a couple of times, Mark yelled out of the window that we wanted some, and we all got some mini Cadbury Flakes to enjoy.
We headed out of Castletown…
… and we were certainly creating a lot of steam….
We had some other wildlife sightings along the way:
The first few photos along the river there look downright tropical, especially with all the foliage. All we're missing is some bright flowers!
Quite interesting about the sand. Similar to trying to drive on snow covered roads here, lots of smaller towns put down sand or a mix of sand and road salt. It helps with traction!
Cadbury!!!
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Tanya
Every click helps feed .6 bowls of food to rescued animals. Give a quick click every day and help animals in shelters! www.theanimalrescuesite.com
The first few photos along the river there look downright tropical, especially with all the foliage. All we're missing is some bright flowers!
That thought hadn't crossed my mind at all, as I knew how cold it was that day, but now you say it, I can see it...
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Quite interesting about the sand. Similar to trying to drive on snow covered roads here, lots of smaller towns put down sand or a mix of sand and road salt. It helps with traction!
True - I know over here when we've had snow, I've known them to use sand if they run out of salt.. and sadly sometimes we do, as we're never that well prepared for snow here.
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Cadbury!!!
Still the best, although only the proper British recipe of course...
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Some nice photos along the coast in Douglas! It's amazing how much the weather changes here, especially after the first train ride! But then again, you are on an island! You timed that train just right with the weather! Too bad your dinner wasn't quite up to par and that pate did look a bit odd! Quite interesting with the 2nd train ride and the sand! Too bad the weather was a bit dreary for this, but at least you got to see some of your boys!
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October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!
Some nice photos along the coast in Douglas! It's amazing how much the weather changes here, especially after the first train ride! But then again, you are on an island!
That's very true and then again, there are so many places where the weather changes so quickly - just look at Florida.
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You timed that train just right with the weather! Too bad your dinner wasn't quite up to par and that pate did look a bit odd! Quite interesting with the 2nd train ride and the sand! Too bad the weather was a bit dreary for this, but at least you got to see some of your boys!
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Soon we were arriving in Port Erin, the terminus, albeit about 45 minutes later than scheduled. That meant instead of having an hour and a quarter, we only had about half an hour before our train would be heading out. I headed to use the restrooms, which weren’t great, but according to all the women from the coach were nowhere near as bad as the ones in the Ramsey station. Thank goodness we’d gone to the café and not used the station ones….
The terminus building was a beautiful old Victorian one with lots of character to it:
We all got some hot drinks – hot chocolate for Mark and I, and tea and coffee for Dave and Barb, and made our way back on board, stopping to watch the engine on the way. I cannot begin to tell you how quiet this thing is. Honestly, you would never hear it coming down the track….
We got back on board, and soon the engine was heading our way…
… then past us and was backing up to us. Barb was the only one left in the carriage, and she didn’t even feel it being coupled up, it was that smoothly done.
With a few final photos…
… we boarded, and got ready to leave.
The guy had told us 12:05pm when we got here, but I knew the timetable had said 12:15pm, so I wasn’t bothered when we didn’t leave at 12:05pm. Shortly after 12:15pm, one of the staff members came along the train to explain that they had a problem with the wheels, I think he said, and the engineer would be there in a couple of minutes, then they’d get the problem sorted out, and we’d be on our way, and indeed we were, with no further issues, thankfully…
We made our way back, steaming along, and seeing various friendly faces on the way!
I think this was a calf leaping around on the left of the shot!
It was fascinating to see how the mist was now lifting off the land…
… and soon we were passing the airport. This was an improvement on the way out here, as we hadn’t even been able to see any of the airport on the outward bound journey.
This field seemed to be completely full of calves, with no adults in sight, although I couldn’t really get any decent shots of them sadly.
It was probably around here that we passed by the special dining service they had on today for Easter, and wow, it did look very nice. Both Barb and I commented that we’d like to do that one day. It was like something out of the 1920s, with tables beautifully set, and cakes waiting for afters.
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What a shame you didn't have time to explore the town. The pictures of the cows and calves make up for it though.
__________________
Tanya
Every click helps feed .6 bowls of food to rescued animals. Give a quick click every day and help animals in shelters! www.theanimalrescuesite.com
Seemed like a great ride on the train with so much beautiful scenery! Glad you were able to see so many of your boys! Too bad you didn't have time to explore the town a bit!
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October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!
PassPorter's Free-Book to Walt Disney World It’s hard to believe anything is free at Walt Disney World; but there are actually a number of things you can get or do for little to no cost. This e-book documents over 200 free or cheap tips to do before you go and after you arrive. You could save a considerable amount of money following these tips. Perhaps more importantly; you can discover overlooked attractions and little-known details most people whiz by on their way to spend money. Click here to see free sample pages from the e-book! Get this popular e-book free of extra charges when you join the PassPorter's Club for as little as $4.95. A club pass includes access to all our other e-books; e-worksheets; super-size photos; and more! This e-book is also available for separate purchase in the PassPorter Online Store for just $5.95.
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As you can see, it was still a pretty misty day, which made getting photos tough, but I did my best…. 
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It's amazing how much the weather changes here, especially after the first train ride! 
But then again, you are on an island! You timed that train just right with the weather! 
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