An Easter return to the Isle of Man COMPLETED 5/10 - Page 6 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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Glad you guys FINALLY made it home. Being stuck at the airport for days is one of the few things I worry about when traveling.
It's never fun being stuck at an airport, although this was a lot better than the last time it happened to us during the troubles in Egypt back in 2011. That was a real nightmare!
Friday 3 April – part two: this is so not going to work for us.
Once we got to the gate (well, Ok we parked up on the tarmac), Mark and Dave headed off to get the luggage and the rental car, while I waited with Barb. We were literally the only ones left, and she was a bit worried, as she couldn’t see a wheelchair waiting for her, so I asked, and it coming up the other side of the plane. It was a very cool contraption that allowed you to be lifted up, and lowered back down again.
As we got down, the sun was attempting to break through this very bleak day, with some streaks of light on the water…
We made our way inside…
… and had an interesting encounter with a charming child, who was stupid enough to stand behind the doors that open outwards. Her mother just stood there watching as her kid nearly got hit, then had the nerve to stare at Barb as she was wheeled through. I think, instead of staring love, you need to be looking after your child.
We found Mark and Dave still waiting for the cases to come through, so we said we’d go through, and find a seat for Barb, which we did with no problems. I went off for a toilet break, and by the time we got back, they were through and Mark was getting the rental car. It did seem to take him forever over there, although in fairness, it was probably about 10 minutes.
We made our way outside…
… and Mark headed over to get the car. He pulled in to pick us up, and we immediately found a problem. While it was a five door automatic, it literally had no boot (trunk) whatsoever and could only fit one suitcase and one piece of hand luggage inside. Ok, this is so not going to work for us.
Mark ended up putting it back, and going inside to get another one. That probably took about 10 minutes, during which time, we saw our plane depart back to Gatwick….
I was getting quite worried about Barb as, although she’d tried to sit on a case, it really hadn’t worked, and she was struggling to stand, so I headed off to give Mark some moral support, but found him coming out of the airport. They’d given him another car, a bigger one, although the guy was still cleaning it out, so he didn’t have any car keys, just a description of it. He quickly found it, and we got loaded up (making sure to get Barb in first ) and we were finally off.
All these issues meant that my plan of catching the steam railway from Castletown were well and truly out of the window, as the train went at 10:25am, and there wasn’t another one for two hours. Guess what time it was now? If you said, just before 10:25am, you’d be spot on. Oh well…
We headed into Castletown, and got some fuel (gas), after playing “spot how the heck to open the petrol cap on the darned car” and then we headed to the station to see when the next train would be. It was another two hours…. Well, I guess at least we got to see it departing anyway.
We headed into Castletown itself, and anyone who’s read the trip report of our previous visit to the Isle of Man will recognise some of these sights, as we pretty much followed the same route, and parked in exactly the same place.
I got out of the car to get a few shots, and as you can see, it was still pretty murky, but at least the sun was attempting to get through.
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Nice start to your trip and glad your flight got off ok with the weather! The Hampton Inn seemed nice as did your dinner! The weather on your arrival looks rather dreary and hope it improves!
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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!
Nice start to your trip and glad your flight got off ok with the weather! The Hampton Inn seemed nice as did your dinner! The weather on your arrival looks rather dreary and hope it improves!
Well, we had a bit of a chequered time with the weather this trip, shall we say?
One suitcase fit? How could anyone drive a car that small?! Glad you were able to trade up to something a bit bigger!
Too bad about missing the train, though!
Friday 3 April – part three: this has got an eerie feeling to it…
We drove around Castletown a bit more to give Dave and Barb more of an idea of what it’s like:
A few minutes later, we made our way out of Castletown…
… and not far along the road, we were greeted with a rainbow…
Of course, sadly that means one thing – rain, and sure enough, we drove right into it.
We could see Port St. Mary just across the bay…
…. and the sun was trying to make an effort to get through the clouds…
Sadly as we climbed up through the hills, so visibility dropped dramatically….
We were heading for the Sound, right at the southern end of the island, as we’d really enjoyed our last visit there. It’s a beautiful place, but it’s just a bit of a pain to get to, especially in weather like this. When we got there, it was still a beautiful sight, and the sun was again trying to break through, but it wasn’t having much luck. It gave the place a bit of an eerie feel.
We didn’t stay outside long, as it was still pretty damp, but instead we headed into the Sound Café, having enjoyed lunch there previously. We were able to snag a window table, as it was pretty quiet in there. By now, it was a little after 11:00am.
I kept trying to get photos of the seals, as they kept bobbing their heads up, but sadly even with my 50 times zoom, shooting that far away and through glass made it very tough to get anything decent.
We debated what to get for a while, with me eventually opting for a light serving of the Manx queenies (small scallops), prepared the traditional way with garlic, cream, smoked bacon (although obviously I asked for that to be left out), and white wine, and Barb decided to join me in partaking in that. Thankfully she enjoyed it just as much as I did – I always worry when someone goes on my recommendation, in case it’s just not their thing.
Mark opted for the jacket potato with tuna mayonnaise…
For dessert, we all opted for scones with a bit of everything – i.e. both jam and cream. Mark did try to persuade his mum to share a scone, but she wasn’t having any of that, and I can’t say I blame her. They were very nice and I’m glad I had one to myself.
We chatted for a while after we’d finished eating, and before I knew it, it was coming up to 12:30pm. Well, I guess we won’t be getting the next steam train from Castletown then, which departed at 12:25pm.
Some nice photos along the sound. That weather was just horrendous at times and especially with the fog! How dare, the weather is uncooperative, especially when you're doing your best to get some good photos! You're lunch looked quite nice and especially the scallops!
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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!
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) and we were finally off. 
If you said, just before 10:25am, you’d be spot on. Oh well… 
The Hampton Inn seemed nice as did your dinner! The weather on your arrival looks rather dreary and hope it improves! 
How dare, the weather is uncooperative, especially when you're doing your best to get some good photos! 
You're lunch looked quite nice and especially the scallops! 
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