The last stop for our group was biking around the Abergavenny Wales area. We were on canal tow paths, railway paths and very narrow, tall hedge lined roads. Travelling around town was hair raising, especially the round a-bouts for biking on the opposite side of the street. We had to keep reminding ourselves to "STAY LEFT!!!". We biked in a lot of rain and some really heavy down pours but still went out as planned (I am in the orange coat huddled under a bridge). It sure helped to have the right clothing. One day we stopped in a pub for lunch and we turned it into what looked like a laundry we had so many wet clothes hanging on the back of chairs. The 8 of us biked together for the most part but broke into a couple groups a few times to bike what we wanted. We celebrated Shelly's 60th birthday, making memories all around. Our accommodation was wonderful and Pat greeted us as well as saw some of us off. The people of Wales were very accommodating, friendly and welcoming. Gord and I were the first to leave and headed off by train to stay at Barbara and Peter's home for our last night. The old truck belongs to Peter and I enjoyed looking at it in the backyard or garden as they refer to it. Peter and Barbara drove us to the airport the next morning. Once again Barbara and Peter, thanks for the wonderful hospitality!! It was a wonderful, busy and active holiday filled with good friends and a lot of laughter.

Gord and I traveled by train from Bristol to Bradford On (or Upon) Avon, UK to meet up with our friends. They all arrived by train at different times on the same day. Again I filled my sketch book with train tickets, photos, sketches, daily log entries and anything else that interested me (tbelow are some of the sketch pages). I left a small painting for the owners of the house we rented as a token of our gratitude (blog post). He was wonderful, letting us drop off our luggage early as well as storing them on the last day until it was time to take the train. We biked all around along the canals and old rail beds that are part of the nation wide cycle paths. Our friends Barbara and Peter also joined us in the evenings to go out for dinner, drink wine and play dice games (with a lot of laughter).

My husband Gord, myself, and 3 other couples planned a cycling trip in England and Wales. Gord and I went to explore Bristol UK on our own before meeting up with everyone. I brought my trusty sketch book with me to remember the trip. I put tickets, photos, writing and anything else that interested me in it. When we met up with our friends after Bristol, we also met up with Barbara and Peter (from UK). Barbara had made us each a gift of a quilted bookmark, tissue container and cup coaster to choose from. I used the bookmark to go around this sketch book (in 1st photo), perfect, thanks again Barbara. This slide show are some of the pages with sketches in Bristol, UK.

When I travel and we stay in a friend's or rental home that I feel an affinity to the home or the owners, I leave a thank you gift of a small painting of their home. I found 4" x 6" plexiglass magnetic photo frames that I can take easily in my carry on luggage. The top painting is an AirBnB home that we rented in Bradford Upon Avon in England on a cycling trip with 3 other couples. It was very comfy and made us feel like we were in an English "Harry Potter" style house with bedrooms going off in different directions on different levels. The owner was wonderful and let us leave our luggage inside prior to our check in and after our check out while we toured the town. We had a great time here.

This wonderful home belongs to Pat and we rented it for 5 nights in Abergavenny, Wales as the eight of us continued our biking holiday exploring all the canal paths, narrow roads and rail beds now turned into cycling routes. We all had a wonderful time exploring and living comfortably in her former home, very grateful for the location, hospitality and room.

This was the view across the Salmon Arm Nature Park from the Wharf Park. I decided to en plein air paint the scene I have admired all summer while waiting for the band to get ready for the last W.O.W. (Wednesday On The Wharf outdoor live music). They started playing as I was finishing up which added to this wonderful experience.
MUSIC TO THE EYES
11" x 14" Acrylic on canvas panel, #20113019, AVAILABLE FOR SALE

This was a wonderful time en plein air painting with my (blister-in-law - as she calls us) Marg. She sketched and painted the scene in water colours and I in acrylics. We had many, many laughs and shared our delight with passersby as they enjoyed a stroll on this raised paved boardwalk. We ended our day with a picnic supper watching and listening to the wonderful musicians playing at "Wednesday On The Wharf" in Salmon Arm B.C. (a must do on summer Wednesdays evenings).