So the (Mini) Adventures begin. Ferry is booked, campsite is booked, weather is booked! Once last day of soul destroying work to do, then I have Saturday to pack the bike in preparation for the ferry on Sunday morning.
Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass, life is about learning to ride in the rain!
I had originally planned (booked and paid for) a Ferry from Dover to Dunkirk (£88) along with an AirBnB apartment (£280) for the week. As it was a 5+ hour ride to the famous D-Day beaches, I reconsidered my plans in the interest of saving time and money.
From my home to Dover it’s a ride of 3 hours 30+ minutes on a perfect ride, and from Dunkirk to the beaches, it’s another 4 hours (5 hours if you want to avoid toll roads).
That’s an additional €25 for fuel and and additional €28 for tolls and the same back each day to the apartment.
I decided that there are just too many sights I wanted to visit near the beaches and cancelled the AirBnB and received a full refund. I then booked a 5* Campstite for the entire week, with electric hookup for under £70.
Due to the sailing times from Dover with DFDS, I also paid for a hotel room in Dover the night before my early ferry (£60) and a hotel room near Caen (£30) as I would arrive after the last checking time.
The Ferry was non refundable, but the savings on fuel, tolls and hotels far outweighed this loss. (More on this in my next post)
THE NEW PLAN
To hell with it, I booked another ferry from Portsmouth to Caen. Portsmouth is a mere 2 hour ride from home and I land within 3 miles of the campsite.
The ferry crossing is longer but I can use that time for planning or sleeping and no additional hotels were needed.
LOVE WHAT YOU DO. DO WHAT YOU LOVE
I have a guide book, I have a plan, but most of all, I have the time. My original itenary squeezed in so many beaches, cemeteries and museums that I wondered how relaxing this trip would be. The long term weather forecast was showing heavy rain each and every day, but with just three days to go, there now appears to be a few showers on just one day and the rest of the week looks fine (yeah right).
I know there is a God, and I know that he hates me, and if it wasn’t for bad luck, I’d have no luck at all. Maybe this trip is meant to be. Time will tell.