Part 2 Cornwall, Missed trains and "the Knight Bus"

 I am breaking this into multiple parts.  We went to London for three days, then three days on the beautiful Cornish coast  and three days in Germany.

I was really looking forward to the Cornwall trip. We found family via Ancestry on my Grandmother's Seckerson line.  This was part of my cherished childhood dream that actually came to pass! We opted NOT to rent a car and to take the train across the countryside to the coast.  There is ONE train that goes directly to Newquay and we bought first class tickets- which means that you get free food!

After a hurried breakfast in the hotel, we packed out and headed off in a taxi. I guess I was really rushed as I did not do my usual two sweeps around the room.

Because my foot is damaged ( it's BROKEN I don't care what Kaiser says) Chris arranged Mobility Assistance.  We were sitting in their office when we realized that we had LEFT HIS INSULIN in the room.  I was panic stricken, the officers tried to get the hotel to get it to us- we had an hour and if they had sent it by taxi we could have made out train.  The desk person said they could not, so we took a taxi BACK to the hotel and retrieved it.  The Mobility Officers could NOT have been more helpful  They got someone to make sure we could get on the next train and explained how to do it.  Because we had missed the direct train , we had to get off in Plymouth, take a train to Par and take another to Newquay.  Ok then.  Easy Peasy

The train has fixed tables that could not accommodate Chris and he sat in one by himself where the table folded up.  I sat across from a man who had worked for the British government and we agreed not to talk about politics.  We chatted about his time in the US and our trip so far.  It was nice to see the countryside whizzing by and they brought us food  I was HUNGRY!

When he left the train, the man who was sitting next to me asked to move to that seat.  He was getting off soon.  Turns out he was a Rugby player, somewhat well known (I looked him up after he left the train) I know spit about Rugby, except it looks like a cross between soccer and American Football to me. We chatted about trips and how long it took him to get "home" He is from Australia.  Nice Nice guy. I wished him a good season, not knowing he was one of their star players (if the press release is any indication.)

We got off in Plymouth and got on the next train.  This is where the fun starts.  We told the conductor where we needed to get off.  She came back a few minutes later (it was pouring down rain at this point) and told us we should NOT get off at Par as they had closed the station due to lack of staff and there was no shelter AND the next train wasn't due for TWO HOURS.  We went on to St Austell at her suggestion and Chris went into the station to ask when the next train would come.  When he explained the predicament, the ticket agent said we should just take the #25 bus that would be here in ten minutes.  The train, she said wouldn't even be here until after we were in Newquay if we just took the bus.  A nice young woman helped us get on the bus.  It was raining.  Hard.

Now, I have taken buses in many cities. The thing about THIS bus was they don't announce stops.  You have to guess. The driver seemed amused that the bedraggled American tourists were lost.  Chris, being Chris, looked up a website on his phone to try to find out where we were and where we should get off.  Other tourists got on and suffered the same confusion.

A word of two about this bus.  The driver was not helpful  You don't need to be friendly but he seemed to take perverse pleasure in taunting us.   He drove like he was qualifying for the Grand Prix.  Ever see Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban?  This was like riding on the Knight Bus.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5U3viSBXzE

I was glad it was raining and the windows were fogged, but I could see the vine covered walls of the tiny county lanes whizzing by, dangerously close to the windows.

Chris was studying the app and declared that we would be getting off at the next stop.  We staggered off the bus in a driving, bitterly cold storm and looked across the street and saw the hotel.  Chris dragged our bags ( yes they are on wheels but the streets are uneven in spots.)  We were wet and cold when we got into the lobby of the hotel at long last.

The Travel Lodge in Newquay is a VEY BASIC hotel- like a Motel 6.  There were NO electrical outlets near the bed- they DID have USB ports, but Chris needed an outlet for his c-pap. They found us an extension cord and all was well. The VIEW was spectacular!  All I ever need is a clean comfortable room and this was that.  The bed was small but we fit ok.

We talked to our cousin and made plans to meet the next day.

To be continued....