Mega Excitement

On Saturday, I was a bit tired from all the exciting things I had done and our long walk so I stayed in our flat while Dad, Mum, Ryan and Scott went to The Mega Event at Cartmel race-course. When they got back, Mum said I wouldn’t have enjoyed it much anyway as there were loads and loads of people in a big tent and lots of dogs too.

There were lots of people selling GeoCaching stuff like coins and collectables and T-Shirts. I think Dad and the boys could have spent a lot of money there!

There were food and coffee stalls too and Ryan and Scott got to have a go at archery – I’m glad I didn’t get in the way for that!

I would have liked to visit the cheese shop though – I’d have liked to help test the cheese we should buy! I don’t suppose I would have been allowed in the Sticky Toffee Pudding shop or the shop selling all the china and toys and pictures!

I was pleased when everyone came back to the flat with some lunch. It was so lovely to be able to look across the bay while we were eating and watch the way the view changed as the tide went in and out

After lunch we all went back to the racecourse and took our food to go on the barbeque in the evening.

All our friends got very excited when Mum’s name was called out by a man with a microphone as we arrived. She wasn’t quite sure what was going on but someone said she had won a prize from Garmin, the GPS people. We went over to collect a whole bag they said was full of goodies but it didn’t look very exciting to me! There were some books and a pen. A nice green sandwich box with a note book and pencil in and something that Dad said would go “Chirp”. I looked really closely but couldn’t see any little birdies – I do wonder what he was going on about!

John did a great job manning the barbeque – it all smelt delicious and Donna was very good at keeping us all supplied with tasty fried potatoes! We all had a lovely time, sitting round with our friends, chatting and comparing caching swag! Any muggles watching would have wondered why there were so many people taking pictures of stickers on cars, coins from pockets and even tattoos on legs!

On Sunday, a lot of the people from Essex had to go home so we made our way around the coast to a walk we had been told about that was quite near Barrow.

There was a lovely smell coming from a building at the start of the walk. It smelled like flowers and fruit and jelly beans. I really wasn’t sure what it was

It was a lovely walk, up through fields with cows and sheep and cabbages in! Dad, Ryan and Scott found all the caches and Mum and I looked at the stunning views across the fields. I got a bit tired at the end – I can’t believe how far I had to walk this weekend – so I let Mum carry me for a while

Back at the beginning, I had a lie down in the shade and everyone else had some lunch from the café. Mum went into the nice smelling building and came out with a whole carrier bag that smelled yummy. The building was a candle factory and they had a shop there too that was full of bargains!

Again, I was a bit tired when we got back – after all, I only have little legs!! I stayed in the flat again while everyone went out for Chinese food and then we all settled down to watch the closing of the Olympic Games. Despite the serious lack of dogs taking part and the fact that my walks have been a bit short sometimes so Mum could watch someone called Tom jumping into a paddling pool, I have loved the Olympics. So many happy smiling people and so many people doing whatever it is they do so very well!

The Closing ceremony was fun too. Lots of music and dancing – although I’m not sure Ryan, Scott and Mum should have sung along quite so loudly!

Monday was our last day in the Lake District so we thought we’d better explore a bit more.

First, we went back to Cartmel to say good bye and thank you to the people who had organised it all so well. It helped that there was cake for us to eat!

Then we set off up to Lake Windermere to see what we could see. The weather wasn’t as good as it had been so we didn’t want to get stuck in the middle of nowhere in the rain!

At Lakeside, we decided we would get one of the boats that chugs up the Lake to Bowness. I helped Scott and Ryan look on the map to see where we would be going.

The boat was great fun and I enjoyed looking out to see where we were going. We went past all sorts of houses and boats and boat-houses! It was beautiful and I’d like to come back and explore a bit more although all this being a sea-dog is very tiring!

Bowness was very busy and not my favourite place. Being a dog of less than giant stature, people didn’t always see me and I had to dodge out of their way quite a bit. Luckily, we found a very nice café, St Martins Tea Room and Grill (http://www.facebook.com/pages/St-Martins-Tea-Room-Grill/225077064177500?rf=121775517899486) tucked off the main street so we had a lovely lunch there

The duties of a Chache Hound are never done! After lunch I had to take Dad shopping so he could buy a new water-proof coat. The man in the shop was very helpful so hopefully Dad has got the right coat now. We even had to buy Scott a new coat too as it had started raining for the first time in our holiday! Luckily, once we had got these new coats and put them on, it promptly stopped raining!

We went back to Lakeside on the boat and I was fascinated by the big birds that flew along beside the boat. I think they had worked out that if they flew there, people would through them bits of bread!! Now, can I get more treats if I run around a lot?

In the evening, I decided I had walked quite far enough so I let everyone else go off on their own for a walk up Orrest Head in Windermere to watch the sun set.

They said they had a lovely walk, but it was very cloudy so we’ll have to go back another day to see a prettier sun set!

That was nearly our holiday over. Just a long, hot drive home and a lot of washing and that was it for our adventure

We had a really good time. All the people at the Mega were great and it was so well organised. The Lake District was as beautiful as we’d been told and we will certainly have to go back there to explore more.