Term break had arrived and time for everyone in the family to have a staycation. No work, no school, and no nursery. Yeah! The weather was still warm despite a cool breeze in the air. Verity and I had no idea what Mummy and Daddy had planned but we knew it would be exciting. They always had a plan to do something different and told us that this time we would be having an “island getaway!”

Thursday night after dinner, we all took time to pack our suitcases in readiness for our trip. Mummy told us to pack warm and cool weather clothing as the weather where we would be going could be unpredictable. The most important thing she said was to make sure that we packed our swimsuits, pyjamas, and toothbrush! The thought of being able to swim made Verity and I jump up and down. We love the beach and the sea however, the smell of the salty air always made us feel hungry. “Island getaway,” I said softly. Verity replied with, “Hmmmmmmmm!”

It was exceedingly difficult to get to sleep. We knew that we had to get up early in the morning to be ready to start our trip. All we could think about was our trip and where we were going. We thought about the places we had been before and whether we liked them at all or not. We wondered about where we would stay and if the beds would be comfortable. We wondered about who we would meet. All the thinking eventually put us to sleep.

5.00am and the alarm went off. Daddy was already making pancakes for breakfast, and a pot of coffee was on the boil. Daddy had made Verity and I a hot chocolate. We all quickly ate breakfast and got ready to leave the house. There was a chill in the air, so we put on warmer clothing. Before long we had left the house, and we were in the car and leaving Buckleberry behind.

Buckleberry was still waking up. It was still dark. Shop owners were slowly opening their stores. Baker Bunty had her door open and was already selling croissants and coffee. Postman Percy was delivering letters to the shops and gave us a wave. Butcher Barry was preparing the meat for the day. Delivery Dan was loading up his van outside the greengrocers. The shops soon gave way to fields and then fields with farms. We had left Buckleberry behind.

Daddy stopped halfway as we travelled to our destination. The “Pit Stop” where we stopped had a few shops, a café, petrol station, and toilets. Mummy bought cheese and tomato toasties for us to eat in the car. She poured milky tea from a flask for us to sip on. When we looked around, everyone was travelling somewhere. Many cars had suitcases in, and those people were obviously taking a staycation. Verity and I smiled at one another.

We were back on the road and travelled through small villages, towns and then farmland again. The second half of the journey went quite quickly. The sun was now shining and everything seemed bright and happy. Daddy started to play a game of “Spot.” Verity and I liked to be able to spot the things Mummy and Daddy said to look for. When we came to spot the sea, that was a reminder that we must be close. I managed to spot the sea this time. Mummy said, “Good spotting Olly!”

We had arrived at what looked like a fishing village. We had never been there before. On one side there were shops and hotels. On the other side, we could see a promenade with people walking along it. What stood out was the beach with white sand, the blue ocean with waves coming in and out. As we looked further, there was a large pier that was surrounded by fishing boats. We could already smell the salt in the air. Daddy then pointed to the opposite side of the bay, and we could see an exceptionally large lighthouse. The lighthouse light was already sending a signal to ships that rocks were nearby and to take care.

Daddy parked the car and we looked out across the sea and saw the sea then became an exceptionally large ocean. The waves were high enough for people to surf. Swimmers bobbed up and down between the waves. People sat on the beach relaxing, picnicking, and making sandcastles. To our amazement, on a rocky platform, seals lay sunbathing in the sun. From time to time, they made a noise just to let everyone know they were there. We wondered if they ever came on to the beach. Daddy said sometimes they do. We wondered if we would get the chance to see them close.

We all got out of the car and as we unloaded our suitcases, William and Emilia came to help. We had met them both in Buckleberry but had no idea that they lived near the sea. They said, “Welcome to Pebble Cove!” They were so excited to see us all. They said, “We are going to have a wonderful time!” Verity and I then felt even more excited. We wondered what Emilia and William had planned.

We crossed the street with our suitcases an went into Emilia and William’s bakery. The smell of fresh bread and bun treats filled the air. Verity and I gave a big sniff as to capture the sweet smell. We went to the back of the shop that then became their house. Emilia showed us upstairs to our rooms. Verity and I were to share a room, and it had a large window that overlooked the beach. We could open the window and walk out on to a small balcony. We could see things from one part of the bay to another. It was fabulous.

Emilia and William made a quick lunch. We ate their famous pasties together with milky tea. Emilia was keen for us to go to the beach. We got dressed and put together a beach bag. William closed the bakery for the afternoon, and we went to the beach. We walked along the promenade first and it felt good to be in the sea air. We found a place to sit on the beach. William and Daddy went on a beach walk. Mummy and Emilia chatted. Verity and I played in the sand and made sandcastles.

Emilia knows a lot about the coastline and said she would show us some interesting things. Emilia then said, “Let’s see the tide move.” We did not know what she meant. She placed a stick where the water came up to on the beach and then she explained the tide was going out and the water would no longer reach the stick. After a time, we could see that we could place a new stick to where the water was coming on to the beach. We could see the difference between the two sticks.

Emilia then found seaweed and pebbles on the beach. She asked us to go with her to the water. She said, “Sink or float?” We looked at her and did not know what to say. She took the pebble and said, “Sink!” She placed the pebble in the water, and it dropped to the bottom and lay on the sand. She took the seaweed and said, “Float!” She placed the seaweed in the water and we watched it float. She then asked us to find other items on the beach to play “Sink or Float.” We found shells, feathers, and driftwood. We had fun trying to guess what would happen and certainly came to understand the meanings of “sink” and “float.”

We returned to the bakery for dinner. William made fish and chips for us to eat. Emilia and William took us to see the lighthouse. William explained about how the lighthouse has saved many lives warning ships about the rocks around the bay. He did tell us about long ago, without the lighthouse, pirate ships sailed by and sometimes they crashed against the rocks. The local people believe that there is treasure around the rocks, but no treasure has been found. Divers often dive on the shipwrecks and continue to look for the treasure. The locals also believe that long ago mermaids helped look after the ships and glowed to provide light. The light guided ships away from the rocks. Verity and I wondered if we would find treasure or see a mermaid. We thought that would be amazing.

William told us that we needed to go back to the bakery for supper and then to bed early as we would be up before light in the morning to catch a ferry. We needed to catch the tide. That meant we needed to get the ferry when the tide was coming in. The tide would help push the boat out into the sea and make it easier to get to our island destination. The staycation was certainly turning out to be an adventure.

The next morning, we gathered our belongings and took a minibus to the pier. The pier was already buzzing with people and activities. Fishing boats were coming in from the night fish. We saw large nets full of crabs. Some restauranteurs were already buying the catch of the day to cook in their restaurants. Fishermen were shouting to get the attention of buyers as they believed their crabs were the best.

We moved along the pier until we came to the ferry stop. Many people lined up with suitcases ready to take the ferry. An announcement over a loudspeaker said, “All aboard!”   Everyone stepped on a ladder to get on to the ferry. William found a place to store our suitcases and took us to the back of the ferry. He told us this was a good spot to see everything. The ferry horn tooted and we left the pier.

We moved away from the mainland and the sea then became the ocean. We could not see anything around but water. In some areas the water was a light blue and some areas it was a very dark blue. We were told that the colour refers to how deep the water was. The darker the water colour the deeper the water was. The sunlight zone was the area where the light was brightest in the water, and the midnight zone was deeper in the water, and it was darker. Different animals live in the different zones. It was all a little confusing, but William said we would understand shortly.

Everyone enjoyed morning tea on the ferry. The waitress started to pour milky tea and then we heard a shout of, “Whale!” The waitress said to us, “It happens every time I pour tea!” What did she mean? Suddenly everyone went to the left side of the ferry. Everyone gasped. A whale was swimming along the side of the ferry. It blew air and sea water from its blowhole. Then it dived out of the water and then crashed down into the water. It gave a flick of its tail. This time of the year the whales were migrating from colder water to warm water. Verity and I were shocked. Shocked at the size of the whale and shocked at being able to see a whale. Daddy looked and said, “I told you we would have fun!”

The whale stayed for a while and then we could see the island. It was a large sand island filled with sand dunes and just one resort. It looked like a tropical paradise. As we moved closer to the jetty, everyone was laughing, chatting, smiling and just so excited to be able to get off the ferry and on to the island. The palm trees swayed in the distance, people with leis were ready to greet us on the jetty, soft music played in the background. We were welcomed by the resort staff and taken to our individual beach villas. It was like being in a movie as it did not seem real. The small wooden hut became our home for the staycation.