Ten weeks in and it feels like this whole challenge is flying by. I realised though that I really do need to start doing research and planning things weeks in advance. This is because, on this particular week, Stuart and I were visiting family on the Isle of Wight, and I had lots of ideas on what we could do. First of all, I thought we could visit the only Michelin starred restaurant on the IOW, only to find it was closed. My next plan was the little IOW steam train. It's a popular tourist destination, sure it's aimed at kids, but I thought it would still be fun. What would you know, also closed. I know the Isle of Wight is very much geared towards holiday-makers and November isn't exactly prime season but I was still disappointed that both my ideas were no goes. The biggest issue was that I didn't do enough research before we jumped on the ferry, if I had I would have known both these were closed before we got there and I would have had enough time to think of something else. As it was, the end of the tenth week was approaching and I didn't want to fail this early on. Luckily on the Friday evening Stuart came to the rescue. We went star gazing.
Originally, when this task went on the list I envisioned finding a designated dark sky location, heading there on a warm spring evening and sitting out with Stuart, perhaps with a picnic, sat on a blanket. Once there I planned to have read some stories about how the constellations were named and retell them to Stuart. Sounds romantic doesn't it? What we actually ended up doing was standing in a cold field in mid November. And I needed to pee.
I'd spent the evening catching up with some old friends and discovering that there really are some nice places to go out for drinks on the Isle of Wight. When I was growing up you could either go to an old pub stinking of cigarettes, or a club with sticky floors, cheap alcohol and questionable music. Now, there are some really relaxed bars and pubs with reasonably priced cocktails. A big win all round. Stuart had offered to pick me up at the end of the evening but found himself at the wrong location. I was in West Cowers whilst Stuart was waiting in East Cowes. East and West Cowes are separated by the River Media. Unless you drive all the way around it, the only way across is via a floating bridge. It doesn't take long but it does cost, and Stuart had no cash on him. This meant I had to wait for the next floating bridge ferry and go meet him in East Cowes. Not a big deal, but after a few drinks it's an extra 15 minutes away from the next toilet break. Perhaps too much information but I just wanted to set the scene for you.
Once I'd found Stuart we headed back towards the hotel and as the sky was so clear we took the opportunity to find a side road away from all the lights. There are some fantastic places on the Isle of Wight you can go to and watch the stars and we picked Brading Downs, simply because it was between Cowes and the drive back to our hotel.
The stars were beautiful and I saw my very first shooting star. I hadn't researched any constellations but I did try and make some stories up about them. It would have been very romantic if it wasn't for my need to pee and the fact it was so bloody cold! I did have fun though. After a great evening catching up with friends and planning to attend one of the IOW festivals for the first time ever (watch out for the blog post sometime in June) it was lovely to finish the night star gazing. And I still plan to do the spring night picnic too which I hope won't be as cold, so I can spend longer out with the stars!
Originally, when this task went on the list I envisioned finding a designated dark sky location, heading there on a warm spring evening and sitting out with Stuart, perhaps with a picnic, sat on a blanket. Once there I planned to have read some stories about how the constellations were named and retell them to Stuart. Sounds romantic doesn't it? What we actually ended up doing was standing in a cold field in mid November. And I needed to pee.
I'd spent the evening catching up with some old friends and discovering that there really are some nice places to go out for drinks on the Isle of Wight. When I was growing up you could either go to an old pub stinking of cigarettes, or a club with sticky floors, cheap alcohol and questionable music. Now, there are some really relaxed bars and pubs with reasonably priced cocktails. A big win all round. Stuart had offered to pick me up at the end of the evening but found himself at the wrong location. I was in West Cowers whilst Stuart was waiting in East Cowes. East and West Cowes are separated by the River Media. Unless you drive all the way around it, the only way across is via a floating bridge. It doesn't take long but it does cost, and Stuart had no cash on him. This meant I had to wait for the next floating bridge ferry and go meet him in East Cowes. Not a big deal, but after a few drinks it's an extra 15 minutes away from the next toilet break. Perhaps too much information but I just wanted to set the scene for you.
Once I'd found Stuart we headed back towards the hotel and as the sky was so clear we took the opportunity to find a side road away from all the lights. There are some fantastic places on the Isle of Wight you can go to and watch the stars and we picked Brading Downs, simply because it was between Cowes and the drive back to our hotel.
The stars were beautiful and I saw my very first shooting star. I hadn't researched any constellations but I did try and make some stories up about them. It would have been very romantic if it wasn't for my need to pee and the fact it was so bloody cold! I did have fun though. After a great evening catching up with friends and planning to attend one of the IOW festivals for the first time ever (watch out for the blog post sometime in June) it was lovely to finish the night star gazing. And I still plan to do the spring night picnic too which I hope won't be as cold, so I can spend longer out with the stars!
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