Vintage Tractor and Steam Engine Rally

Last month, after flying from Chicago to London, and riding in the car for three hours, we thought, for some reason, that it would be a fantastic idea to go look at tractors and steam engines. I think I operated my camera in such a stupor that I forgot we even went, hence the delay.

It was a glorious day in Hay, and the views over the hills were beautiful.

Boo, being mad for anything remotely related to a tractor, dragged everyone down to a field to watch a demonstration of a vintage steam engine pulling a plow-type-thingy. It took a lot of effort to plow one row. I was exhausted watching.

There were plenty of traction engines to look at. (If you're a Thomas the Tank Engine fan, or know one,   its a whole lot of Trevors. The fact that I know this means I spend way too much time watching Thomas videos with Boo.)

Plenty of tractors, too, including a few kinds I'd never heard of...and again, hello, Boo, farm fanatic, I thought I'd heard of every brand of tractor there was.

The Hubs was particularly pleased with this Fordson - it has Virgina colors (Wahoo-wa!) 

I was impressed with their endurance, as I could have curled up in the back seat of a vintage car and had a nice nap. Hopefully next year it won't coincide with any Transatlantic flights, and the kids can take advantage of the bouncy castles and other fun stuff that we made them skip because they were running on adrenaline by the time we left.

It seems like there is always something interesting taking place around Hay!

An afternoon at the Castle

Indulge my while I post a bunch of pictures (after all, its my blog, and I'm gonna post them.) Not much witty writing at the moment.

One recent Sunday afternoon showed forecasts of warmer weather and sunny skies, so we hopped in the car and headed to Hampton Court. Its a lovely castle and gardens, and we really had the most wonderful day.

The castle was simply gorgeous. I'm hoping to head back some afternoon to tour it (and maybe stay for a full tea).

The gardens were truly spectacular.

Boo insisted on trying to open the door. We explained it is just like the fairy doors that he and Pea have in their rooms - they are magical, and only fairies could open them. We couldn't decide if this was a hobbit or troll door, however.

Of course, any proper castle has a maze on its grounds. This one was lots of fun for all of us. Also a good way to run off excess energy....

The tower at the center of the maze. The third doorway was open, and allowed you to walk up steps to the top of the tower, or go down to the "dungeon" - where there was a tunnel to a sunken garden.

After a nice lunch together, we took a long walk along the river. The path eventually lead to a play area. The kids were delighted by two swings hanging from a massive tree, and had a great time just jumping on the logs.

Pea had to give the bear a REAL bear hug, Pea style!

However, all good things must come to an end, and apparently, there IS such a thing as too much fun - or there is when a little one gets overtired. But we'll be back!