This morning I woke up to a beautiful sunny day. Since we were heading to St. Ives, a beach resort, I decided to wear a sundress.  We boarded our coach and traveled to St. Erth, where we were to get on a train to St. Ives. However, after waiting on the platform for the train, we were informed that there was a problem with a switch on the line and it wouldn't be fixed for an hour. So, it was back on the coach and Ben drove us to St. Ives. The coach parking was on a hill above town, so we had to hike it down into town. We had wonderful views of the town from the hill. We were on our own in St. Ives for several hours. It was fun to explore on my own. I walked the beach, went to the lighthouse, and visited a beach just for pet owners. It was fun to watch the families and their dogs playing in the surf. I witnessed the tide go out as I was there. I was amazed how quickly it happened. There were signs warning to beware of the gulls. They would try to steal your lunch! When our time was over, we met at the town hall and walked to the train station to  take the train back to St. Erth. Ben was waiting at St. Erth for us to take us to St. Michael's Mount. The drive only took 30 minutes. We got off the coach and walked to the causeway. The tide was out so we had a dry path. Once we were on the island, the walk up the cobble walkway to the castle was quite steep. The views were beautiful. I toured the inside on my own, then headed for the terraced  gardens. They were absolutely breathtaking! I had to head back to the mainland no later than 3:45 pm or the tide would come back in and the causeway would be impassable. Our group made it back in time. We headed to a tea house for tea with clotted cream and scones. Delicious! By the time we headed back to the coach, the causeway had  disappeared!

                                                 (Click on image for enlarged view.)