Happy Birthday Vernon!

Alright, I know I'm a day late with this post, but yesterday was a little bit hectic, and then I have had to transfer all the photos from my phone to the laptop before I could put them on here!

As you may or may not have known, yesterday, Sunday 19th October, was Vernon's first birthday!  Yes, it has been a year since that lovely day in October last year that I came across the Fluffy Bearz stall at Matlock Bath Craft an Gift Fair.  I don't need to go into the story - you all know it already - but for those of you who might be new to the blog, or to Vernon's Adventures, check out my New Year post where I talked all about Vernon and how he came to be mine, and how I decided to show him the country this year as part of my New Year's Resolution to be happy and live more in the moment.
(Check out the original blog post at http://fantasy-element.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/new-years-resolutions-talk-of-school.html)


This was the first photo I ever took of Vernon - he even still had his name tag on around his neck!

 That day we explored Matlock Bath and took a trip up the Heights of Abraham where we took lots of pretty photographs.  Vernon liked the waterfall, and loved the view from the top of the hill!

So, after that quick trip down Memory Lane, back to the present - To celebrate Vernon's birthday, I decided a trip back to Matlock Bath was in order!  So, after a busy morning, Vernon, Sammy and I set off for Matlock in the car.  My poor little pile of scrap metal barely got us up some of the hills on the way there; but we did make it in one piece.

 Lovely weather to drive there - sun roof down and the whole shabang!  We get there and get parked... and what does it do - it rains!  So, in true spontaneity, we found something random to do - we went to the little aquarium!  I think Sammy was more excited that Vernon was and she got a little over excited when we found Nemo and Dory!   





 Vernon and I preferred the Petrifying Well!  The actual well is very pretty and the effects are almost unbelievable!  Plus the lighting effects make it look a little eerie!  

After our trip around the Aquarium, we headed outside and put up with the light drizzle.  We went for a walk across the jubilee bridge, got ice cream and went for a walk in the woods.  It made me laugh that we were walking part of 'Lover's Walk' with a bear, but the joke was on us by the time we had finished.  

... After taking the cute little path to nowhere, which turned out to go up hill... a long way up hill.. we finally made it to the top (where Vernon and I were very naughty and wrote Happy Birthday on the fence for his memory photo!) Sammy discovered that we had to go back down the other side again...

 After the trek back down the other side of the hill, and finding a few rather random trees and other bits an bobs, we discovered that the path we had taken in the fist place was only a few hundred yards from where we now stood at the bottom... It didn't even take us anywhere - what a let down... but a fun hike through the woods - even if Sammy thought she was dying without her inhaler!!

Once back down at the bottom, Vernon and I found a little Band Stand where Sammy very kindly took a cute photo of us for his birthday :)

All in all, a pretty good day I think!! 

Keep an eye out on Instagram for #vernonsadventure to keep up to date with all his exploring.  Not long left now to get him to a few last places before another new year will start!



Bye for now, Louby xx