When life gives you lemons ... go on a mini adventure

When life gives you lemons you make lemonade. Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of people with more serious problems than us. But as we aren’t able to pick up the Hymer yet (awaiting vital paperwork from Fiat), we’ve decided to un Sorn Elvis (is that a word?) and go on a mini adventure!! Andy’s had his diabetic appointment this morning and it’s all good thanks to Janice. Now I’m not a ‘fly by the seat of your pants person’ usually but I quite fancy Wales. I’ve only ever been once to Rhyl for a day before I was married. So maybe it’s time. Andy asked where I fancied and the first place that sprang to mind was Barry Island lol. Gavin and Stacey country haha, loved that series!! Ruth Jones and James Corden were just hilarious. From there, who knows?

After catching the ferry to Portsmouth, we travelled across the Severn Bridge into Welsh Wales. Paid £5.60 for the pleasure and found a free overnight parking spot in Penarth. We’re not tight, just don’t like waking up to a view of other people’s caravans and kids running riot. We’ve got a view of the sea and the pier to wake up to ... heaven.

 

Emptying the Fish Tank

Never uploaded a video before so just thought we'd try and make one of emptying the fish tank to test it out. No laughing!!

Nearly Ready for the Naming Ceremony!!

It's been 2 weeks since I wrote our first blog post so thought I would give an update on what's happening.

The Motorhome has been built and is now on UK soil. The registration documents have been collected and are now in the hands of Rachel at Erwin Hymer Group UK. We've asked if we can have an LPG system fitted before we set off, as standard English gas bottles can't be refilled or exchanged in Europe. This way our gas can be topped up anywhere that sells LPG and will be so much better for us. Rachel is very kindly looking into this as I type. We've got our travel insurance for the whole year but have struggled to find breakdown cover. Luckily, I watched a guy on YouTube talking about the Nationwide Flex Plus Account and how, for £13 a month, European Breakdown cover was included for motorhomes (shame it's only for 180 days in a 12 month period). He happened to mention that he didn't need this as he had Fiat Assist. As the Hymer we will be driving is built on a Fiat base, I wondered if it was something that was included. Rachel is looking into this for us too. 

I keep saying 'the Motorhome' and it sounds funny to me. Since we bought ours nearly 2 years ago, we've called him Elvis. It just seems right, so we really need a name for the Hymer. A lovely friend of ours, Wendy, came up with Priscilla as a nod towards Elvis lol.

We're going to call it that for now but might change it when we finally pick it up. A name has to feel right doesn't it. In the meantime, if you have any suggestions ...

‘In the end, we only regret the chances we didn’t take’ – Anonymous

Last year, the lovely people at Erwin Hymer Group UK asked if anyone wanted to follow in the footsteps of the 'Grey Gappers'. After writing a long letter to them (Hymer, not the Grey Gappers), they agreed to lend us a brand new Exsis-T 588 motorhome.

Photo from Practical Motorhome

Excited wasn't the word!! Since then, both Andy and I have given up our jobs, done a tonne of research and written lists until they're coming out of our ears. A huge thank you to everyone at Erwin Hymer Group UK for this amazing opportunity, we shall be forever grateful.