Home away from Home

If home is where your heart is, I have many different homes. One of which is in Devon, England. Dana and I knew we were going to love this place and the people inhabiting it shortly after arriving two months ago. Now that we have returned, it makes it even harder to say goodbye. We have had an amazing visit back to the lovely Holstein dairy farm found between the hedges of Devonshire!

After our incredible time on Jersey, Dana and I were picked up by our host and drove through the now familiar hedgerows we had been missing. We nestled back into our rooms and shared stories with our hosts about what we've been up to the last five weeks. It really is great to be back!

One day we had the chance to walk the cliff path from Branscombe to Sidmouth, a five or so mile trek. We met two ladies from the States who were celebrating 50 years of friendship with a 50 mile hike along the cliff paths. Dana and I think we might have to steal their idea in about 25 years! The hike offered amazing views and a great workout as well.

We also had the chance to meet the lady who got us in contact with our hosts. She took us to a cute farm shop and cafe where we had the most amazing shortbread and tried a bakewell! We also bought Dorset Knobs, which are quite the delicacy!

The highlight of our return to Devon was the Gittisham Village Fete! The fete is a community festival with stalls (vendors), games, and entertainment. Stay tuned for a blog highlighting the events of the Gittisham Village Fete!

Another highlight of our return was getting to see our friend, Weston, from Massachusetts! I first met Weston through 4-H over eight years ago and have stayed in contact with him. We discovered that he would be doing work experience at the donkey sanctuary less than 10 miles away during our stay in Devon! I really love how small the world is! He joined in the fun of the fete and we were able to show him some sites on Sunday!

Weston couldn't come to Devon without experiencing a cream tea!

Trying to decide if the cream or jam should go on first.

A view in Beer

Along the river walk between Sidmouth and Sidford

The rest of our stay included watching films with the family, baking loads of apple treats with apples from their orchard, feeding calves, and just relishing in the last bit of time we had in England. On Tuesday, we said goodbye to the children as they got on the bus for school and then headed to Bristol with our hosts to look around before boarding our plane to Dublin, Ireland!

My own masterpiece - newly named Apple Collapse! I told Dana that I can never get it to look nice but it always tastes delicious!

Without our amazing hosts, I don't think we would have loved England as much as we did. It is hard to say goodbye to people and places you've grown to love but saying "See you later" makes it a little easier. I look forward to returning to Devon, England and seeing our "home" and "family" there! Thank you to our hosts for giving us a home away from home!