The wind was forecast to be from the south for a few days, so we decided to stay in one place for a bit until the weather shifted back to a more favourable direction. Laundry, showers and town exploration were on the agenda.

The agenda further improved (showers are GREAT, but laundry isn’t much of a highlight!) when our kids acquired other “non-adults” to play with them. Each time we arrived at a new location, Anneka and Dorian looked around for little people that might wish to play. This time, they met a nice little girl that lived aboard a lovely wooden sailboat named Dreamcatcher in Bangor Marina. We took turns having play dates on our boats – which the kids loved. Later we walked with her family to a local beach and looked for crabs and other marine life in the tide pools.

The next day, good friends that we knew from Stonehaven sailed into the marina – thanks to some last minute organisation by Eric! Simon and Lena, aboard Sirona, arrived with their 3 kids in the slip right beside us! Just around the corner from the boats was a splash park that all of the kids were drawn to like magnets. Simon and Lena had a sailing dinghy on board that also kept the kids (and the husbands!) out of trouble for a while. The weather was already considerably warmer than when we left Inverness, so all of the kids (young and old) were in summer mode.

On Sunday morning, we walked around the harbour to a lovely little waterfront church. The people were very welcoming and even Eliana immediately at home in a crèche overlooking the Irish Sea – enjoying crafts, colouring, singing and activities.