It’s all too easy to get into a rut.
Mr Snail has been working away from home for 11 months now (with the prospect of at least six more to come) and so we are used to the routine. The trouble is that “the routine” has got so routine that we’ve rather stopped doing anything novel. Last week I decided, therefore, that we ought to climb out of our rut.
Mr Snail gets home any time from about 4:30 on a Friday afternoon, but the traffic usually means that it’s later than this, sometimes much later. It does, however, mean that there is time to do something in the evening. Having checked the weather forecast, I discovered that it was supposed to be a beautiful evening, so at about 6:30 we got in the car and drove the 15 minutes to New Quay, where we had (plastic-free) fish and chips on the quay from a great place called The Lime Crab… actually it’s quite posh, so Mr Snail had mackerel goujons and chips with tartare sauce and I had tempura prawns and chips with sweet chilli sauce. And then, we went on a sunset boat ride to see dolphins. I don’t have any pictures of the dolphins (we saw several), but there were other gems that I did manage to photograph.
The company who run the trips have a lobsterpot on the reef, which you can see being lifted in one of the pictures, and this is where the lobster came from (it was released after we’d had a few minutes to look at it). Actually there were three lobsters and a spider crab in there… all released after their brief visit to the surface. The cliff ledges were teeming with razorbills and guillemots as well as various gulls. The (unpictured) dolphins were happily feeding over the reef and we saw three species of jellyfish. In total, we spent a delightful hour and a half on the boat, and it was a great way to round off a rather stressful week.
It’s easy to forget what a beautiful part of the world we live in… I think we need to make a little more effort to enjoy it.
The Snail of Happiness 
the #1 Itinerary
/ July 2, 2019Great post 🙂
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The Snail of Happiness
/ July 2, 2019Thank you!
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Ann Pole
/ July 2, 2019All too easy to get into a rut, well done for getting an evening out. 😊
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The Snail of Happiness
/ July 2, 2019Originally I planned to book this for Jon’s birthday later in the summer, but the weather was so perfect it seemed like an opportunity too good to miss.
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nanacathy2
/ July 2, 2019I love being a tourist at home. Such a good idea for you to make time for each other and make memories, a golden evening to treasure.
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Laurie Graves
/ July 2, 2019What a beautiful way to end the week and vary your routine!
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AJ
/ July 2, 2019What an awesome way to get out of your rut!
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thecontentedcrafter
/ July 2, 2019Yes you should by golly! What a lovely way to spend a summer evening. I know how easy it is to get stuck in a rut – especially at this time of year when it is so dak and dank most of the time …… I’m finding it hard to enjoy this winter season here. I have your letter which was a delight to receive and will be responding soon. xo
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katechiconi
/ July 2, 2019With this on your doorstep, I definitely think you should make regular visits. The summer up there does offer good opportunities for evening sightseeing because it stays light so long; down here in the tropics the sun goes down relatively early all year round. Nice for stuff involving lights and music, etc, but not so good for sightseeing!
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CarolCooks2
/ July 3, 2019A lovely end to the week and the beginning of the weekend…I miss proper fish & chips..It all sounds lovely and many memories made 🙂
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The Snail of Happiness
/ July 3, 2019It was a fabulous evening… rounded off with a nice cup of tea when we got home!
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insearchofitall
/ July 3, 2019Nothing spurs creativity in life better than upsetting routine. Well done. 😉
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The Snail of Happiness
/ July 3, 2019It was such a lovely change.
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Nice Piece of Work
/ July 3, 2019You’re so right about getting in a rut. Cape Town offers so much in the way of nature, the sea, beaches, the mountains, parks, etc, and sometimes I spend my weekends hunched over my sewing machine instead of making the effort to get out there…
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The Snail of Happiness
/ July 3, 2019It’s so easy to do. I’m often surprised when someone mentions that I live “at the seaside”… but of course I take it for granted, like we all do with what’s familiar.
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KerryCan
/ July 3, 2019Good for you!! I absolutely need to fit more of this kind of thing into my life!
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The Snail of Happiness
/ July 3, 2019I’m going to make a list and then we can just pick something appropriate when the mood takes us
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David & Philippa (@EcoCottageWales)
/ July 3, 2019And that’s exactly how we ended up having a Friday evening drink on the harbour wall last week. A summer holiday just for one evening!
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The Snail of Happiness
/ July 3, 2019Yes I noticed that you had been at the HM. I think the forecast is good for this Friday evening, so that might be where we go this week.
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Kim
/ July 5, 2019A wonderful way to spend the evening!
We occasionally have local days out to break routine and always enjoy them. Especially when the weather is as lovely as it is at the moment! Enjoy 😁
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arlingwoman
/ July 6, 2019Those cliffs have me thinking of geology–look at the layers! It’s indeed a beautiful place to have 15 minutes away and good for you for going out to it. I like trips close to home like that. Sometimes they do as much as a vacation!
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The Snail of Happiness
/ July 7, 2019It was so lovely and stress free – now big journey, no airport, just a quick trip down the road and we were there 🙂
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