Casper has hit the big Three-Oh

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

Yep, Casper is 30 years old tomorrow so as a treat we are taking him on a short holiday to Devon. Its quite a long road trip so we have his flight cage strapped to a pallet in the back of our Citroen XM break so he can see out the windows. We will be wafting along in executive smooothness of 1996 vintage. Not quite as smooth as our 1973 Citroen DS but that's progress for you.
One, possibly two nights in at Sandy Cove Hotel with sea views. They emailed me an offer of a night's stay at 2/3 of what we paid when we stayed there in 2011. It would have been rude not to accept. When we are settled in we will try and blag another night at the same rate, working on the theory that a room with people paying is better than an empty room mid-week.
I will be taking photies but possibly won't be able to post them until we get back. I'm not sure if they have wifi at the hotel

[Dragonlady2]

Wish Casper a happy birthday for me. Wow....30 years old, that's amazing. Have a great trip:th_smile:

[PlaxMacaws]

Happy Birth/Hatch Day, Casper :th_greet3:

And best of luck with your drive and the room situation! Looking forward to the pics :)

:tekst2a:

[Lady]

What a great reason for a trip! :birthday: and many more to you Casper. I'm sure he will enjoy himself as will you guys too. Looking forward to hearing all about it and seeing the pics too.

[Quakerella]

Sounds like a great trip.

Happy Birthday Casper
:verjaardag:

[ThatsFowlPlay]

Happy Birthday Casper!! Wish you all a safe and fun trip!!
:th_bounce4: :party::th_happybirthday::party::th_bounce4:


Sorry having too much fun with the smilies!!

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

Thanks for all your good wishes, we are all excited :)
Heavy rain overnight, what better reason to get away do we need? Ooh, the suns just broken through, that should make loading the car easier.

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

We've arrived and WOW, Casper is very impressed that he has his cage on a coffee table next to a big picture window with Panoramic views of the coast. Pictures to follow later, chilling at the moment after the long drive.

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

Its after dinner now, Casper had his meds in a spoonful of lemon posset that we took back to our room from the restaurantand has now been covered up for the night. He has enjoyed his special day, meeting people who came to admire him when we had rest breaks during the drive here, then we called in to see M's aunt and uncle who live quite close to where we are staying and that was exciting for him. Then another twenty minute drive through the twisting lanes of Devon to the hotel. This is the view from our room.
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Here he is contentedly perched on top of his cage admiring the view
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And then he nodded off to sleep
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I have more pics on my phone but Onedrive is being silly because I am at an uknown location. I will try again when I am sober :)

[ThatsFowlPlay]

The view is beautiful!!!

[Dragonlady2]

Awesome view! Casper is one lucky birdie.

[luckyandjenn]

A[Users must be registered and logged in to view attached photos or hyperlinks] happy hatch / b day handsome man

[PlaxMacaws]

Very nice snaps, Jean-Pierre! Casper is clearly a very loved bird with a wonderful family and an amazing life. It warms my heart :)

[kendrafitz]

Happy Birthday Casper!!! What an awesome way to celebrate! Absolutely beautiful.


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[Casper's 2nd best friend]

Casper, not being an earlybird missed the fantastic sunrise and slept on till 8am.
We did not manage to persuade the hotel manager that it was in his best interest to have us stay another night because he already had the room booked to returning customers who specifically asked for that room.
So we booked a random b&b part way home and took a gentle drive, stopping at Combe Martin for a walk on the beach with Casper in his backpack. He met a family with a couple of children who were delighted to be introduced to him. It was a bit chilly and breezy so we didn't stop long.
Sandwiches in the car at lunchtime and then a visit to a winery for a bit of a tasting and then coffee in the courtyard. It had by then clouded over and Casper was glad to get back in the car. From there it was just a ten minute drive to the pub/restaurant where we were staying the night. It was not quite so grand as the previous night, our bedroom was about the same size as yesterday's bathroom and lacked a nice window view. But it was cosy and clean and Casper had the kids channel on the TV while we to eat.
About twenty minutes from home the next day he started getting vocal, his birdy gps knows where he is it seems. Once we were settled in he climbed onto my shoulder and we both had a doze to recover from the long drive.
Pics to follow.

[Lady]

Such a wonderful trip, I hope there are many more in your future!