Saturday 31st May 2014...Day 54!!!!

Another good sleep and whilst having breakfast i was reading a national newspaper and for whatever reason because I never read the horoscopes I read mine today.....how cool is this!!! Janet packed up a really good lunch and Malc dropped me off here and I was on my way to Hornsea my last hike before I leave on Tuesday. This is on an old railway line and this was the scenery quite boring really I have NO IDEA where that photo came from!!!! So three hours and 15 minutes and 18 km later I was at the ocean at Hornsea!!! I can walk constantly at 5km an hour or just over 3 miles and felt good after the walk. I strolled along the sea front for a while my Grand parents had a trailer here and as children we used to come to this beach often. Then it was on the bus back to Hull and then another bus home. Janet cooked a wonderful meal followed by the famous "Wingies" and we spent the evening watching television and relaxing....Have a great weekend!! Yashi Kochi!!

Friday 30th May 2014....Day 53!!!!

Well I have progressed from getting up at 6am to sleeping in till 8.30am two days in a row now...go figure. So after breakfast I set out on another road trip this time to visit family. I drove for an hour to the town of Doncaster where i was born and went to visit my cousin Shelia and her husband Peter and was pleased to find that my second cousin Caroline was there with her daughter my third cousin Chary!!!! Shelia is the older cousin by 7 days and her Mum Connie and my Mum were not only sisters but best friends and Shelia and I keep in touch by e mail and I always go to visit when I am home..so it was really nice to see them all again thanks for the lunch and wonderful time!! I then went to look at the house where my Mum and Dad spent their last years they were always very comfortable here and hard to believe that my Mum has been gone 18 years and my Dad 7 years!! From here I went to visit the plot where my parents are and the headstone is a bit hard to read!!! Next stop was to the river where my Dad grew up and played as a kid...a really lovely area... from there I went to visit my only Uncle and Aunt.....Rita and Bram who is my Dad's Brother.......I cannot describe how it is to visit because Bram looks exactly like my Dad, same mannerisms, same skinny Pearson legs and same way of combing his hair everything. Rita still looks gorgeous at 85 years young and Bram who still plays badminton once a week will be 88 next birthday. We had a lovely afternoon and evening Bram and I went for a short walk around their village and Rita cooked a wonderful meal and we had great conversations and talks of days past!!! Thanks so much great to see you both doing so well. I was home by 8.30pm and it was a special day for me my family is paramount and for most of my adult life I have been thousands of miles away but we always just pick up like it was yesterday. Tomorrow is my last big hike before I leave on Tuesday so stay tuned. Yashi Kochi!!!

Thursday 29th May 2014.....Day 52!!!!

Woke up to rain this morning and a bit cold ....after breakfast I got ready and borrowed Janet's car and went off for the morning and afternoon to Sheffield, 90 minutes away, to visit Margaret and Ian. Ian and i have been friends for over..wait for it...can it be true........55 years!!!!! Both avid soccer players in our youth we grew up together in our early teens and although we have been separated by many miles we always keep in contact and when ever I come to England always get at least one visit in with them. They took me out for a wonderful drive through the moors of Derbyshire unfortunately the weather was dull and not suitable for any photographs. We then stopped at a favorite pub where they treated me to lunch and we caught up on what is happening in our lives. Great to see you both again thanks!!!! Came home in time to go to Claire, Mark and young Tom's for dinner...Mark did the cooking and made a wonderful meal and another great evening.....so a full day!!! No time for Camino planning today but getting ready for my flight to Spain on Tuesday!!!! Yashi kochi!!!

Wednesday 28thMay 2014....Day 51!!!!!!

Can you believe it i slept in till 8.30am!!!!!! Had a quick breakfast and then Janet and I went here at 9.30am!!! Some history Malc and I were raised in the Salvation Army by third generation Salvationists and i am blessed to have had the opportunity of growing up with in this organization with my parents because i think that has paved the way in my later life to be kind, generous and thankful for my blessings. The Army is a wonderful caring organization doing many fabulous acts of kindness the world over. Janet and Malc are still very active in the church and every Wednesday Janet volunteers to cook the lunch time meal for at least 50 homeless people...Malc normally goes in to help but could not this morning so I said I would take his place. My first job was to peel and cut about 12 pounds of potatoes.. Janet was in charge of baking the meat pies and getting the veggies ready!!! I mashed the potatoes and then helped Janet serve 52 meals consisting of hot tea and coffee, meat pie, pots, veggies and gravy and chocolate roll and hot custard followed by more tea. This was hard work 5 hours non stop and Janet is an Angel full of boundless energy....no food came back and they all were so very thankful for a hot meal!!! Came home had a quick snack and went into the village and bought some Euros, did a minor repair on the Nexus and case makes it much easier and came home and did some more planning here are a couple more stages you can see the distance at the top and it is all in km!!! It has rained all day so a good afternoon to stay home and just relax..... Thanks Heather for sending the link below an interesting artcile on the Camino ..the article talks about the Camino Frances and I am actually doing the Camino Norte which goes across the top coast of Northern Spain!! www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/article-2159915 So the count down is on and I am resting and will doing some visiting the next couple of days and then a last big hike on Saturday. Yashi Kochi!!!!

Tuesday 27th May 2014...Day 50!!

As a very modest guy this is hard for me to write but just as the Baseball has World series, Hockey the Stanley Cup, Basketball the Championships and soccer the World cup we Pearson's have the tea cup for the scrabble championship which I walked away with last night!!! Well my last sleep in GT was a good one and i have enjoyed being close to nature.....we managed to pack everything up in Stella and we were heading home by 9.30am. An uneventful drive home arriving back mid afternoon spent a while unpacking and getting everything put away. We had fish and chips for dinner from the local fish and chip shop and they were really good..just a quiet evening after all the family stopped by to say hello and here is the first report on my Camino. I leave on Tuesday 3rd June and fly to Bilbao in Spain. I spend the night there and the next day take the bus to Irun which is on the border of Spain and France and this is where i start the Camino the next morning. So lots of planning coming up!! This is a map of the Camino Norte with Irun as the marker and Santiago way over on the left side of the map A map of the first day's walk about 27 km!! Yashi Kochi!!

Monday 26th May 2014...Day 49!!

Good morning before we get into today have to update the scrabble situation...we actually played two games last night and Janet won the first game to tie the score at 3 - 3 and i managed to squeak out a victory in the second game to go ahead 4-3 and of course Mally what can I say!!!! Woke up to rain but it cleared by 9.30am and we got packed up and we drove to the village of Coniston where J& M left me to do a 9 mile hike up to the summit of Old Man Coniston at 2700 feet....... The clouds hide where I have to go and it was tough two hours all up hill but beautiful scenery!!! Made it to the summit and then started down the other side of the mountain and had lunch at this wonderful little lake!!! Continuing on I came down and round the corner found this amazing beautiful sight!!!!! 6 hours later I was back in the village where I started it was a very tough hike but it felt good. This is where i was at the peak in the middle!! This lake is really famous for this man and his land speed record interesting to Google him!!! Janet keeps on providing wonderful meals...I did the dishes...a hot long shower and after this our final scrabble game. I have enjoyed this week of course being with J & M has been special and we all get along so well and the hikes and the sights were fantastic. So tomorrow we head home and then the Camino will take my time.....thanks for coming to the Lake District with me!! Yashi Kochi!!!!

Sunday 25th May 2014....Day 48!!!

A bit of a scrabble update....I managed to squeak in a vctory two nights ago despite what now seems to be a team game Malc tries to help Janet get the triple words...but give her credit she won last night so it is Janet 2 wins, myself 3 and the brains of the family Mally big fat zero!!! I thought i might be a bit tired this morning but happy to report my legs and body feels good after the big pavement walk yesterday. Sunny this morning but do not think it will stay all day..this area is noted for lots of rain and uncertain weather but it sure has not bothered us at all. This is a long weekend and as you can tell the camp site is totally full. Today we are going to go for a drive incorporate a hike to a waterfall and then a pub sunday lunch..want to come?? OK here we go... Malc taking money out of the money tree...just kidding he put in a coin!!! This was really a great walk the scenery, the waterfalls quite impressive!!! THE PUB After a traditional and lovely meal of roast beef and Yorkshire pudding with all the trimmings there followed dessert!!!! It was a real nice time out reminds me of the Sunday afternoon drives my Grandma and Grandad would take me on. We came back to the camp site and i waked into the village looked around the stores and bought myself a light watch for the big walk and also some Victoria sponge cake for to go along with scrabble tonight!!!! All this walking and eating just proved to much for J & M!!! Tonight a quiet evening getting cleaned up and some things sorted and then later the big scrabble game!! Tomorrow as I said a holiday here so it will be busy and it is also our last full day here so I plan to do another solo hike then we leave for home on tuesday morning and I have a week before I fly to Spain. So next week will be making final preparations, routes, gear and to get a poitive attitude that I can accomplish this....have a great evening!!! Yashi Kochi!!!