I spy with my little eye...

You’d think we’d know better by now…

Dave jumped out of bed almost as soon as Ellie’s early morning whimpering turned to a crescendo.

            He tugged the curtains to one side. “Looks like it’s going to be a scorcher – why don’t we throw a pack-up together and go to the coast?”

            I blinked rapidly as my eyes tried to adjust to the sunlight streaming through the window. “Good idea. You start on the sandwiches, while I chivvy the kids.”

            Dave’s suggestion was greeted with varying degrees of enthusiasm by the younger generation.

            “Cool!” said Adam. “Can we dig a ’normous hole again?”

            Ellie rushed to find her wellies. “Seaside, seaside!”

            Adam frowned. “D’you even know what the seaside is, Ellie?”

            She shook her head firmly. “Seaside, seaside!”

            “She’ll be fine,” I said. “We can just tell her the rock pools are extra-large puddles.”

            Dave paused, butter knife in mid-air. “Don’t think we should let her spend too much time in the rock pools – she might get crabby.”

            “Da-ad!” Jennifer shuffled into the kitchen, still in her pyjamas. “Can’t believe you’re making us get up this early when it’s the holidays.”

            I glanced at the clock. “Why aren’t you dressed yet? If we don’t get a move on, we’ll get caught in all the traffic.”

            Didn’t do too badly in the end, though: by half-past nine we were pulling out of the driveway.

            “This is grand,” said Dave. “Seaside, here we come.”

            Unfortunately for us, it seemed like a zillion other people had had the same idea. We were only just past York when the traffic ground to a halt.

            “Are we nearly there yet?” said Jennifer.

            Dave shook his head. “We’re doing quite nicely – just need all these people to get out of the way.”

            “Is it nearly lunchtime?” said Adam. “I’m starving.”

            I reached around behind my seat for the cool bag. “There’s some grapes here you can share out.”

            “Why don’t we play a game?” said Dave. “I spy with my little eye, something beginning with c.”

            “Easy,” said Jennifer. “It’s car, isn’t it?”

            “You guessed it,” said Dave. “Your turn.”

            I spy kept us occupied for 20 minutes as the queue of cars trundled slowly towards the coast, although there was some dispute when Adam – after we’d all given up – announced that his word was tractor.

            “That’s cheating,” said Jennifer. “It’s got to be something we can actually see.”

            “I could see it when I said it,” said Adam. “It was in a field back there.”

            Dave clicked on the indicator. “My turn again…I spy something else beginning with t.”

            “Tractor?” said Adam.

            “Nope,” said Dave. “It’s the turn-off for Whitby.”

            Jennifer stopped scowling and peered across the fields. “Are we nearly there? I can’t see the sea.”

            “Another 40 minutes or so,” I said. “But at least most of those other cars seem to be heading for Scarborough.”

            Ellie pulled a piece of grape-peel out of her mouth and offered it to me. “Don’ want this bit.”

            Couldn’t help sighing as I rummaged in my handbag. I leaned closer to Dave. “I’m sure I didn’t sign up for this,” I muttered.

            He squinted sideways as I wrapped the discarded peel in a scrap of tissue. “Don’t worry, love,” he whispered. “I think you’re doing a grape job.”