It was a bit of a fraught morning as we all scrambled to pack while trying to keep tabs on the kids. Tempers flared a bit and I suppose it did feel like it was time to part company. It had been a great week though, and so lovely to see the children playing together.
At ten we all set off on our journeys, with Emily and I moving on to Braintree for a few days. It was too difficult to arrange to drive in convoy in such heavy traffic, and we were all going different ways once past York. Emily fell asleep very quickly and didn't wake for an hour and a half, which got us as far as Doncaster. We had a long stop at Blyth for lunch. I had overheard stories about a long queue just ahead on the A1, and used a map in the shop to work out a detour through Retford. I was not the only one to divert that way, so it was slow progress, but I emerged onto the ghostly empty dual carriageway to see a huge tailback on the other side.
Emily was very good, and I passed her a selection of toys to keep her amused and awake until we stopped again at Peterborough Services. We played at the playground there for a while before the final push to Braintree. She got a bit upset during the last half an hour, then fell asleep just before we got there. Once at John and Ann's she perked up, especially when Gunner came bounding in, following him around saying 'eye' repeatedly. It must be tough for Emily to take in so many new houses and people, so not surprisingly she was very clingy and wouldn't let me out of her sight. Despite being so tired, she took age to settle down in the tent, but once she did, she (and I) had a good, undisturbed night.
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