Wow, That's Amazing!

The Thirtieth of August Two Thousand and Eleven. Tuesday.

Here we are in Colwyn Bay, myself and sons no1 & 2 (changing that around is too confusing, let's just stick with age order). We got here yesterday after a weekend catching up with the international Hendrick clan (the historic meeting between my Austrian brother-in- law and my Chinese sister-in-law took place at a Salford McDonald's) and we've settled in nicely. Had a bit of a tummy bug and went to bed with a headache but that seems to have come and gone.

We've got the cereal in and we bob a pint of milk in a sink full of cold water so we can start breakfast in our room as soon as we wake. Then like good little Hobbits we go out to a cafe to have second breakfast. This was tea and toast at the Rendezvous cafe (I know! The same name as the one in Scarborough!) today. Then off we trot to our next adventure.

Today that was a visit to the Welsh Mountain Zoo. Since it is right up in the hills that overlook Colwyn Bay there's a free bus from the railway station that takes you there. It started raining before we even got to the bus stop but we were determined to enjoy ourselves regardless. No2 son looked over the leaflet we had picked up from our hotel and announced our priorities: 'one tiger, two crocodiles and a lion.'

The bus driver was a cheerful Irishman who assured us that at whatever height above sea level the zoo turned out to be was actually above the rain (this turned out to be blarney). We waited for a train to feed up some more passengers then off we went. (Another aside: the others in the bus had come from Butlins in Prestatyn and the daughter had lost her phone on the way. As we rode, Mum left a voice mail message urging anyone who found it to hand it in) .

We alighted and entered the zoo. We were enjoying some macaws by the side of the entry road when a guttural roar behind us captured our attention. There, in a large enclosure was a huge brown bear. No2 son uttered the words that were to become our catchphrase on this holiday: 'wow, that's amazing.'

We quickly made our way to the tigers. Last year we visited Paignton zoo which was good but the animals were miles away. Here, we were mere yards away from these great cats that scratched their necks on a post like tabbies but could take your leg off if their mood changed. It was brilliant.

The crocodiles turned out to be alligiators and they just lay there in the murky water, sinister eyes resting just above the surface. And there were no lions. But there were gibbons and chimps, snow leopards and snakes - it was all pretty much what you'd want for your zoo experience. We got the bus back to town with the same people we rode up with. I enquired if they'd had any luck re the phone. They hadn't, and the daughter informed me that she had kept the same memory card from phone to phone so there were tons of photos and stuff that she was devastated to have lost. I hope it turns up.

It was the middle of the afternoon when we arrived at the station so I announced that since our time in Wales was short we were going to try and cram in another attraction. We hopped on the next train to Llandudno - we were going up the Great Orme!

I'd checked closing times before we set off - if we were lucky we could fit in a trip on the Tramway and the cable car. We set off at a pace upon arrival. No2 son refused to believe No1 when told he was going on a tram. 'That's in Manchester,' he insisted.

He soon had to eat his words when we arrived at the tram station. The tram climbed the steep slope of the Great Orme the same way the streetcars negotiated the hills of San Francisco. A cable running inside the tracks pulled the vehicle along. At the halfway point we changed to a a second tram to complete the journey. When we reached the summit we rushed to the cable car - would we be in time?

There was a queue, but it seemed to be moving along nicely. It was only when we got a little nearer that I could see the sign in the ticket window: 'no credit cards.' Pigging 'eck, we were already thin for cash today. I'd had to borrow off No1 son for ice lollies earlier so we couldn't afford this. Dejectedly, we left the queue.

'If only there was a cash machine up here,' I wondered idly.

'Why don't you ask?' suggested No1 son. There was a bar here - the presence of a cash machine wasn't unheard of so I have it a bash. Turned out there was one of those ones that charges £1.75 in the cafe next door. We got some money and rushed back to the queue. We might only have time for one way but that was better than nowt.

It didn't look too likely but then the ticket lady came out of her booth and called forward people who wanted return tickets. Since we would have to leave in time to get back we were brought to the front of the queue! No2 son was disappointed that we didn't get the red cable car he wanted at the rest of us were made up.

It was a very peaceful trip, with 'wow, that's amazing' views. As we toddled back to the tram it was with the pleasure of a gamble that had paid off. We had (another) chippy tea at the badly punned, but very friendly 'Fish Tram Chips'. We ate these at the railway station with No2 son aggressively disparaging a young gull that was eyeing up our grub.

We boarded, and as the train left we saw a fox by the trackside. It had been a long day but there was just time for one more -

'Wow, that's amazing!'

More soonliest