Our four days in Wales went by almost as fast as the five days we spent in Ireland.
Pembroke was interesting, and the drive to Llandeilo was pleasant. The town was something of a surprise, I'd sort of envisioned a little hamlet or village like where Tess's family came from but it turned out to be quite a bit bigger than that, and probably a lot older too.
It was next to the Afon Tywi river, and just to the east of Llandeilo was Brecon Beacons National Park. The whole area was very picturesque, and we spent most of our time walking around soaking up the history. We even took a couple hours to walk through Dinefwr Park to see an old castle there. Apparently Dinefwr Castle was once home to the kings of Deheubarth.
Where Tess had gone to Ireland hoping to find her granny's home and maybe locate some living relatives, neither Hailey or I had any such expectations for Wales. Not that we didn't think there'd be any relatives about, but we didn't have a strong enough connection to find them.
Apart from the name of the town, we had no idea where our ancestors lived or what they did. Maybe if we'd searched old church records or something we'd have actually found some clues, but neither of us were that interested. It was more about seeing the location and getting a feel for the landscape, knowing that our ancestors were here in this place a hundred and fifty or two hundred years ago.
That ended up being the subject of conversation when the four of us finally stopped for dinner that evening. We got rooms at a nice hotel just outside the town, and the restaurant looked decent so that's where we decided to eat.
"So you don't know that much about your ancestors then?" Alex asked. "Only that they came from around here?"
Hailey shrugged, "We've got some names and dates, along with the locations? But the further back, the less information we have. We know our dad's great-grandfather was William Preece. He was born in Swansea but emigrated to Canada, where he settled in Sudbury around the turn of the century. And that seems to be when the family name changed from Preece to Price."
"Going back before William," my sister continued, "We have Owain Preece, and before him was Ifan Preece, both were supposedly born here. That's it though, we don't have any more information. No idea if they lived in the town or if they were from somewhere nearby. We don't know what they did, if they were farmers or labourers or anything else."
I added, "Considering William went from Swansea to Sudbury, we can assume he was involved in some mining-related industry."
"Right," Hailey nodded. "And dad said that his father and grandfather were both born in Sudbury, we know his grand-dad worked for a big smelting company. Our granddad James was the one who went to college and moved to Toronto, which is where dad was born. And where me and Amy were born too of course."
Tess asked, "So you're not really looking for relatives then? You're not trying to find your ancestral home?"
I shook my head, "Nah. I think it's enough to just be here in the town and see the sights?"
My sister agreed, "The family heritage stuff is a fun excuse for a trip, and we've seen a lot of interesting stuff. Learned some things too. I'm not that interested in digging up our past though, and I don't think Amy is either?"
"Not really," I said with a shrug. "Maybe if we had reason to think there was something remarkable or interesting buried in our family history, but I doubt that. Just normal people doing normal stuff."
Then Hailey admitted, "To be honest, I'm not really that into historical stuff? The old castles are interesting, but the one here wasn't that much different than the one we saw yesterday in Pembroke. Not to me anyways. I'm more looking forward to visiting the cities. I know there's a lot of interesting stuff in Cardiff, and I'm curious about Swansea too."
Alex asked, "What about the family name? Have either of you researched that at all? Does it have any special meaning, is it rare or common, is it from any particular area?"
Both my sister and I shook our heads. I replied, "It's basically a contraction of 'ap Rhys'. And 'ap' in Welsh is like 'Mac' in Scottish? It means 'son of'. Preece is just 'son of Rhys'."
"There's been a few rulers and kings named Rhys over the years," Hailey added. "So Preece is probably about as rare and exotic as something like Johnson."
"Or Robinson," she added as she smirked at her beau.
The enby laughed, "Hey! At least Robinson isn't as common as Jones."
Keeping on the subject of last names, Hailey asked my girlfriend "Your family name is Fuller right? Not Cleary?"
"Yeah," Tess nodded. "That comes from my dad of course. Mom was born a Cleary, but took dad's name when they married. I keep thinking about changing my name to Cleary though? My dad hasn't been part of my life since my parents divorced, and I feel a lot more connection to mom's side of the family. I don't think I ever even met my grandparents on dad's side of the family?"
"Mom changed her name back to Cleary when she divorced," she added. She frowned, "The only reason she didn't change mine at the same time was I think dad threatened to stop sending child support if I didn't have his name?"
I leaned closer and pulled her into a side hug, "You know I can update your ID and other documents any time you like hon. I've had lots of practise doing that for folks over the last couple weeks."
Tess smiled, "Thanks Amy. I'll let you know when I finally make a decision."
"What about you Alex?" Hailey asked as she looked over at the enby. "You haven't updated your official documentation yet, have you? From the sound of it my little sister can take care of that for you. She can probably take care of any other little adjustments or improvements you're thinking of too."
They looked equal parts awkward and curious as they looked between my sister and I.
"Amy's on vacation same as the rest of us Hailey," they finally replied. "I wouldn't want to impose regardless, but this really isn't the time or place to be talking about that sort of thing."
Hailey rolled her eyes, "She literally just offered to change her girlfriend's ID thirty seconds ago, so I don't think it's that much of an imposition."
I gave the enby a smile, "No pressure Alex, but if there's anything I can do for you just ask. I'll be happy to discuss it. In private of course, not in a restaurant in front of your girlfriend and mine."
They smiled back, "Thanks Amy, I'll keep that in mind. If something does come up, maybe I'll reach out to you after we're back home."
After that the four of us talked a bit more about our plans for the next couple days. That conversation segued into talking about plans for after we got back home again, while the four of us migrated from the dining room to the hotel bar. Alex and Tess were both starting work the same week, although for the enby it was a summer job rather than a permanent assignment. And Hailey was going to continue her search for a good job as well.
I ended up feeling a little guilty about being the only one who wasn't either working or looking for work. I had my goddess stuff, but so far that really hadn't felt like work to me. And for that matter I hoped it never did. Then again, if I did get myself a summer job I had a feeling I'd never hear the end of it from my angel. Especially if I ended up something particularly mundane. In fact it almost made me want to go apply for part-time work at the same cafe as her, just to see the look on her face.
Eventually we all ran out of things to say, and nobody was interested in drinking too much, so we bid each other good night then me and Tess retired to our room, while Hailey and Alex headed for theirs.
And even though we weren't up too late the four of us all managed to sleep in a bit Sunday morning. Once we were all up we found a nice restaurant in town where we had a late breakfast, then did a little more exploring and sightseeing before we finally got on the road again right around noon.
Rather than just take the quickest road to Swansea we decided to find a more scenic route. Our path took us slightly west as we made our way south, and ended up at the east end of Carmarthen Bay, at Llanelli. From there we turned east for a bit, before we took another detour and explored part of the Gower Peninsula. We didn't cover the whole thing, but we got as far as Oxwich before we turned to the north-east.
We didn't make too many stops during the drive, but when we got to a place called Mumbles we all decided to stop for lunch. It was at the west edge of Swansea Bay, and there was an old Victorian pier that was kind of scenic, so we got a bite to eat at one of the restaurants with a nice view of the pier and the bay.
We could also see the city of Swansea from there, it was only about five kilometres across the bay. That was our next stop, after our late lunch we drove around the bay then into the city. We'd booked a couple rooms in a hotel that was right downtown, with good views of the river, the harbour, and part of the bay. It was also pretty much in the heart of things, surrounded by bars and restaurants. There were even a few museums close by.
About the only flaw in our plans was arriving in the city late on a Sunday afternoon meant a lot of things were either closed or about to close just as we got there. We made the most of it and saw what we could, and did our own little walking tour around the harbour and the city centre. Eventually we found someplace to get dinner, then the four of us rounded out the evening sampling the local nightlife.
Our Monday followed a similar template, with the breakfast in the hotel restaurant then more sightseeing in the city. We were on the road again just before noon, for the final leg of our trip. Once again we avoided the highway and looked for a scenic route instead.
Instead of following the coast we detoured inland and drove north-east through some of the picturesque South Wales Valleys, on a trek that eventually took us as far as Merthyr Tydfil before we turned south again. We took our time and enjoyed the views and the sights, so when we finally got to Cardiff it was just about time for dinner.
There we turned in the rental car then checked into our final hotel of the trip, a very modern-looking place right downtown near the harbour. After that we wandered around Mermaid Quay and Roald Dahl Plass, before we stopped for dinner. After that we did a bit more sightseeing and once again sampled the local nightlife, then finally returned to the hotel for our last night in Wales.
Tuesday was more of the same, we toured around Cardiff some more, visited Cardiff Castle and Bute Park, and even spent some time at the National Museum learning about Wales' history and culture. At the end of the day the four of us found someplace to get dinner, and at that point the conversation turned to our trip back home.
"So how are we going to do this?" Hailey asked. "Find another park or something, like the one you took us to in Dublin? And I guess you're going to be making three trips again, taking us one at a time?"
I shrugged, "It doesn't have to be a park. The main thing is we want to be out of sight. We're not going to do it in the middle of Roald Dahl Plass in front of a hundred people. It could just as well be an alley or something, as long as there's nobody watching and no cameras."
Tess suggested, "We could go back to Bute Park then? It's not that far from here, and it was kind of pretty?"
"I don't know," Alex teased, "I rather like the idea of disappearing out of Roald Dahl Plass. Considering some of the TV shows that have been filmed there it'd be a fitting place for the four of us to mysteriously vanish. But I guess a park is ok too."
Hailey frowned, "I think I'd prefer to go somewhere new? We've already been to Bute Park, so let's find someplace else. It should be something nice though, I don't want to end my trip in an alley."
Finding somewhere new and scenic to visit on a Tuesday evening in Cardiff, where we'd also be out of sight from the general public wasn't exactly easy. All four of us spent a few minutes looking at our phones as we tried to find a place that would work for me while satisfying my sister's request.
In the end we couldn't find anything nearby that would make Hailey happy, and nobody felt like getting on a train or taking a cab any great distance just to find a picturesque spot to teleport from. So we settled on Bute Park after all. It was nice enough I figured, between Cardiff Castle and the River Taff.
It was around eight in the evening as the four of us found a secluded spot with trees all around. I looked to my sister and said, "You first this time, since Alex went first on the trip out."
"Fine," Hailey shrugged. "Then we'll have to arrange a ride-share for the last leg of our trip."
I shook my head, "Nah, I'll take you directly to your apartment this time."
"Thanks Amy," she smiled. "So I guess this is it?"
"If you're ready we may as well do it now," I agreed.
She nodded and a moment later the two of us were in her living-room, standing next to her pink furniture. I popped back to Wales and got Alex, and a second later we were with Hailey again. The two of them gave me a quick hug and thanked me once more for the trip, then I made my last jump back over to get my girlfriend. A few seconds later Tess and I were home as well.
She gave me a hug and kiss, "Thanks Amy."
"It's definitely easier and less stressful than a plane," she added with a grimace, "But also feels kind of anti-climactic? I think there's something about the act of travelling, maybe it's a psychological thing? Physically moving from one place to another helps us make the transition mentally, from being home to being away. And the same for coming home again. Just blinking home in an instant... I think it'll still take a few hours, maybe a day, to get my head out of vacation-mode."
"Fair enough," I replied with a smile. "You've got the rest of this week and the long weekend to get your brain into working-mode."
Tess made a face, although she was also smiling as she responded "Ugh, too soon!"
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Our four days in Wales went by almost as fast as the five days we spent in Ireland.
Pembroke was interesting, and the drive to Llandeilo was pleasant. The town was something of a surprise, I'd sort of envisioned a little hamlet or village like where Tess's family came from but it turned out to be quite a bit bigger than that, and probably a lot older too.
It was next to the Afon Tywi river, and just to the east of Llandeilo was Brecon Beacons National Park. The whole area was very picturesque, and we spent most of our time walking around soaking up the history. We even took a couple hours to walk through Dinefwr Park to see an old castle there. Apparently Dinefwr Castle was once home to the kings of Deheubarth.
Where Tess had gone to Ireland hoping to find her granny's home and maybe locate some living relatives, neither Hailey or I had any such expectations for Wales. Not that we didn't think there'd be any relatives about, but we didn't have a strong enough connection to find them.
Apart from the name of the town, we had no idea where our ancestors lived or what they did. Maybe if we'd searched old church records or something we'd have actually found some clues, but neither of us were that interested. It was more about seeing the location and getting a feel for the landscape, knowing that our ancestors were here in this place a hundred and fifty or two hundred years ago.
That ended up being the subject of conversation when the four of us finally stopped for dinner that evening. We got rooms at a nice hotel just outside the town, and the restaurant looked decent so that's where we decided to eat.
"So you don't know that much about your ancestors then?" Alex asked. "Only that they came from around here?"
Hailey shrugged, "We've got some names and dates, along with the locations? But the further back, the less information we have. We know our dad's great-grandfather was William Preece. He was born in Swansea but emigrated to Canada, where he settled in Sudbury around the turn of the century. And that seems to be when the family name changed from Preece to Price."
"Going back before William," my sister continued, "We have Owain Preece, and before him was Ifan Preece, both were supposedly born here. That's it though, we don't have any more information. No idea if they lived in the town or if they were from somewhere nearby. We don't know what they did, if they were farmers or labourers or anything else."
I added, "Considering William went from Swansea to Sudbury, we can assume he was involved in some mining-related industry."
"Right," Hailey nodded. "And dad said that his father and grandfather were both born in Sudbury, we know his grand-dad worked for a big smelting company. Our granddad James was the one who went to college and moved to Toronto, which is where dad was born. And where me and Amy were born too of course."
Tess asked, "So you're not really looking for relatives then? You're not trying to find your ancestral home?"
I shook my head, "Nah. I think it's enough to just be here in the town and see the sights?"
My sister agreed, "The family heritage stuff is a fun excuse for a trip, and we've seen a lot of interesting stuff. Learned some things too. I'm not that interested in digging up our past though, and I don't think Amy is either?"
"Not really," I said with a shrug. "Maybe if we had reason to think there was something remarkable or interesting buried in our family history, but I doubt that. Just normal people doing normal stuff."
Then Hailey admitted, "To be honest, I'm not really that into historical stuff? The old castles are interesting, but the one here wasn't that much different than the one we saw yesterday in Pembroke. Not to me anyways. I'm more looking forward to visiting the cities. I know there's a lot of interesting stuff in Cardiff, and I'm curious about Swansea too."
Alex asked, "What about the family name? Have either of you researched that at all? Does it have any special meaning, is it rare or common, is it from any particular area?"
Both my sister and I shook our heads. I replied, "It's basically a contraction of 'ap Rhys'. And 'ap' in Welsh is like 'Mac' in Scottish? It means 'son of'. Preece is just 'son of Rhys'."
"There's been a few rulers and kings named Rhys over the years," Hailey added. "So Preece is probably about as rare and exotic as something like Johnson."
"Or Robinson," she added as she smirked at her beau.
The enby laughed, "Hey! At least Robinson isn't as common as Jones."
Keeping on the subject of last names, Hailey asked my girlfriend "Your family name is Fuller right? Not Cleary?"
"Yeah," Tess nodded. "That comes from my dad of course. Mom was born a Cleary, but took dad's name when they married. I keep thinking about changing my name to Cleary though? My dad hasn't been part of my life since my parents divorced, and I feel a lot more connection to mom's side of the family. I don't think I ever even met my grandparents on dad's side of the family?"
"Mom changed her name back to Cleary when she divorced," she added. She frowned, "The only reason she didn't change mine at the same time was I think dad threatened to stop sending child support if I didn't have his name?"
I leaned closer and pulled her into a side hug, "You know I can update your ID and other documents any time you like hon. I've had lots of practise doing that for folks over the last couple weeks."
Tess smiled, "Thanks Amy. I'll let you know when I finally make a decision."
"What about you Alex?" Hailey asked as she looked over at the enby. "You haven't updated your official documentation yet, have you? From the sound of it my little sister can take care of that for you. She can probably take care of any other little adjustments or improvements you're thinking of too."
They looked equal parts awkward and curious as they looked between my sister and I.
"Amy's on vacation same as the rest of us Hailey," they finally replied. "I wouldn't want to impose regardless, but this really isn't the time or place to be talking about that sort of thing."
Hailey rolled her eyes, "She literally just offered to change her girlfriend's ID thirty seconds ago, so I don't think it's that much of an imposition."
I gave the enby a smile, "No pressure Alex, but if there's anything I can do for you just ask. I'll be happy to discuss it. In private of course, not in a restaurant in front of your girlfriend and mine."
They smiled back, "Thanks Amy, I'll keep that in mind. If something does come up, maybe I'll reach out to you after we're back home."
After that the four of us talked a bit more about our plans for the next couple days. That conversation segued into talking about plans for after we got back home again, while the four of us migrated from the dining room to the hotel bar. Alex and Tess were both starting work the same week, although for the enby it was a summer job rather than a permanent assignment. And Hailey was going to continue her search for a good job as well.
I ended up feeling a little guilty about being the only one who wasn't either working or looking for work. I had my goddess stuff, but so far that really hadn't felt like work to me. And for that matter I hoped it never did. Then again, if I did get myself a summer job I had a feeling I'd never hear the end of it from my angel. Especially if I ended up something particularly mundane. In fact it almost made me want to go apply for part-time work at the same cafe as her, just to see the look on her face.
Eventually we all ran out of things to say, and nobody was interested in drinking too much, so we bid each other good night then me and Tess retired to our room, while Hailey and Alex headed for theirs.
And even though we weren't up too late the four of us all managed to sleep in a bit Sunday morning. Once we were all up we found a nice restaurant in town where we had a late breakfast, then did a little more exploring and sightseeing before we finally got on the road again right around noon.
Rather than just take the quickest road to Swansea we decided to find a more scenic route. Our path took us slightly west as we made our way south, and ended up at the east end of Carmarthen Bay, at Llanelli. From there we turned east for a bit, before we took another detour and explored part of the Gower Peninsula. We didn't cover the whole thing, but we got as far as Oxwich before we turned to the north-east.
We didn't make too many stops during the drive, but when we got to a place called Mumbles we all decided to stop for lunch. It was at the west edge of Swansea Bay, and there was an old Victorian pier that was kind of scenic, so we got a bite to eat at one of the restaurants with a nice view of the pier and the bay.
We could also see the city of Swansea from there, it was only about five kilometres across the bay. That was our next stop, after our late lunch we drove around the bay then into the city. We'd booked a couple rooms in a hotel that was right downtown, with good views of the river, the harbour, and part of the bay. It was also pretty much in the heart of things, surrounded by bars and restaurants. There were even a few museums close by.
About the only flaw in our plans was arriving in the city late on a Sunday afternoon meant a lot of things were either closed or about to close just as we got there. We made the most of it and saw what we could, and did our own little walking tour around the harbour and the city centre. Eventually we found someplace to get dinner, then the four of us rounded out the evening sampling the local nightlife.
Our Monday followed a similar template, with the breakfast in the hotel restaurant then more sightseeing in the city. We were on the road again just before noon, for the final leg of our trip. Once again we avoided the highway and looked for a scenic route instead.
Instead of following the coast we detoured inland and drove north-east through some of the picturesque South Wales Valleys, on a trek that eventually took us as far as Merthyr Tydfil before we turned south again. We took our time and enjoyed the views and the sights, so when we finally got to Cardiff it was just about time for dinner.
There we turned in the rental car then checked into our final hotel of the trip, a very modern-looking place right downtown near the harbour. After that we wandered around Mermaid Quay and Roald Dahl Plass, before we stopped for dinner. After that we did a bit more sightseeing and once again sampled the local nightlife, then finally returned to the hotel for our last night in Wales.
Tuesday was more of the same, we toured around Cardiff some more, visited Cardiff Castle and Bute Park, and even spent some time at the National Museum learning about Wales' history and culture. At the end of the day the four of us found someplace to get dinner, and at that point the conversation turned to our trip back home.
"So how are we going to do this?" Hailey asked. "Find another park or something, like the one you took us to in Dublin? And I guess you're going to be making three trips again, taking us one at a time?"
I shrugged, "It doesn't have to be a park. The main thing is we want to be out of sight. We're not going to do it in the middle of Roald Dahl Plass in front of a hundred people. It could just as well be an alley or something, as long as there's nobody watching and no cameras."
Tess suggested, "We could go back to Bute Park then? It's not that far from here, and it was kind of pretty?"
"I don't know," Alex teased, "I rather like the idea of disappearing out of Roald Dahl Plass. Considering some of the TV shows that have been filmed there it'd be a fitting place for the four of us to mysteriously vanish. But I guess a park is ok too."
Hailey frowned, "I think I'd prefer to go somewhere new? We've already been to Bute Park, so let's find someplace else. It should be something nice though, I don't want to end my trip in an alley."
Finding somewhere new and scenic to visit on a Tuesday evening in Cardiff, where we'd also be out of sight from the general public wasn't exactly easy. All four of us spent a few minutes looking at our phones as we tried to find a place that would work for me while satisfying my sister's request.
In the end we couldn't find anything nearby that would make Hailey happy, and nobody felt like getting on a train or taking a cab any great distance just to find a picturesque spot to teleport from. So we settled on Bute Park after all. It was nice enough I figured, between Cardiff Castle and the River Taff.
It was around eight in the evening as the four of us found a secluded spot with trees all around. I looked to my sister and said, "You first this time, since Alex went first on the trip out."
"Fine," Hailey shrugged. "Then we'll have to arrange a ride-share for the last leg of our trip."
I shook my head, "Nah, I'll take you directly to your apartment this time."
"Thanks Amy," she smiled. "So I guess this is it?"
"If you're ready we may as well do it now," I agreed.
She nodded and a moment later the two of us were in her living-room, standing next to her pink furniture. I popped back to Wales and got Alex, and a second later we were with Hailey again. The two of them gave me a quick hug and thanked me once more for the trip, then I made my last jump back over to get my girlfriend. A few seconds later Tess and I were home as well.
She gave me a hug and kiss, "Thanks Amy."
"It's definitely easier and less stressful than a plane," she added with a grimace, "But also feels kind of anti-climactic? I think there's something about the act of travelling, maybe it's a psychological thing? Physically moving from one place to another helps us make the transition mentally, from being home to being away. And the same for coming home again. Just blinking home in an instant... I think it'll still take a few hours, maybe a day, to get my head out of vacation-mode."
"Fair enough," I replied with a smile. "You've got the rest of this week and the long weekend to get your brain into working-mode."
Tess made a face, although she was also smiling as she responded "Ugh, too soon!"
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