1890s: Honeymoon
A little note before I begin this installments, a lot of credit needs to go to skilled builders everywhere. All the buildings in my version of Brindleton comes from this 1890s Brindleton save). Beautiful builds! The steamliner is a version of the RMS Titanic that I found on the gallery and then altered to be a little older, more like the steam ships of the 1890s. I call her RMS Augusta Victoria after a ship that was actually trafficking the route at the time. It is also her price list, which I found online, that I've used to calculate the cost of this trip. The buildings in Windenburg are mostly Maxis or mine, with the lighthouse you only see in the background in one of the pictures the very beautiful exception.
Unfortunately, Joseph and Abigail did not have the time to explore old Brindleton, but instead headed straight for RMS Augusta Victoria, which was set to start off their journey to Europe. As Joseph does fall into the category of wealthy, with more than 30 000 to his name, he had splashed out for one of the finer rooms (if not the grandest, nor are they travelling with their servants. Dolly was left at home with Mary and the kids).
They get right to the business of trying to make a baby the moment the ship leaves port:
Only later do they explore the ship, visiting the tea room, the reading room and finding food for the evening in the grand dining room:
But their real vacation begin when they finally arrive in Windenburg. Joseph has chosen a beautiful hotel on the island just outside Windenburg:
But what is this? Doesn't Abigail look a bit odd in that first picture? A bit nauseous perhaps? Could she be pregnant? So soon? But yes, she is! She tells him the news as they're taking a walk in the surroundings, on a beautiful spot overlooking the water:
(A little note here that I use MCCC and the chance of pregnancy each try is at 11%, I mean why make it easy? Apparently 11% was a large enough chance that Abigail more or less got pregnant on the first try).
Joseph is delighted, and have a very hard time keeping his hands off his new wife:
As they arrived quite early, they spent the rest of the day exploring Windenburg town, starting with the cathedral. Joseph and Abigail has never seen a building that tall before (or that old for that matter):
They are so impressed with the church, that they cannot help but to fantasise about what their wedding would have been like had they been able to get married in a place like this. They retake their vows at the wedding arch, and walk both up and down the isle as if they were doing it for real. It is perhaps a bit silly, but they cannot help themselves.
Afterwards, they go to the square for a bite to eat (or rather Abigail eats, Joseph just watch. He's not as hungry as his pregnant wife seems to be.) When she's done, they visit the local market space where they buy a few candles, and the local library which impresses Joseph quite a bit. After all, Willow Creek does not have a library yet. Maybe it's time to do something about that?
Returning back to the Inn, they took some tea in the sunroom before dinner in the dining hall and some musical entertainment in the lounge.
Then Joseph finally got his hands on his wife in their room again at night. Gasp, without trying for a baby!!! Abigail discovered that she quite like this 'physical intimacy' thing.
The next day, the enamoured coupe went to the famous Von Haunt Estate, where they walked the maze, kissed by the waterfall and generally just enjoyed the sights. Abigail tried her hand at painting the gardens as a memory for home, and Joseph took a tour of the house. When they returned to the Inn, Abigail was entirely exhausted!
Next day's adventure went to the Ancient ruins, where, after looking at the remnants of buildings older than they could both imagine, Joseph was happy to discover a fishing pond. Abigail, again, made an effort to paint her memories, before making a wish in the wishing well.
That night they tried their luck in a game of cards with the locals:
As fun as they had, Abigail needed rest, so the next day they decided to 'take the waters' at the Windenburg Estate, and ancient bath house, inspired by the early spas in places like Bath, Baden-baden, Spa and Budapest (though this is a pool as massage and manicures weren't all that common in 1890s). They spent their day trying the various hot springs and pools, sunbathing and walking the gardens. Again, Abigail wanted to keep painting her memories. She was actually improving quite a lot, reaching level 5 in painting.
As much as she was enjoying herself, Abigal (and Joseph for that matter) were starting to be homesick at the end of their stay. They miss the children and their home:
But their holiday was coming to an end. There was, however, one thing that Abigail had not painted yet. The cathedral. She was not going home without a painting of that.
On this their last afternoon in Windenburg, they also found a secret cavern:
And took the chance of one more swim before it was time to pack and return home.
The trip on the RMS Augusta Victoria was mainly uneventful, and they returned home safe and sound. They gathered the kids and told them the happy news:
And got absolutely no reaction. Neither Frank nor Ida was particularly impressed with the news of a new sibling. Abigail was a bit disappointed that Dolly seemed happier than the kids about it. At least the kids are happy that they are home, and Abigail got her paintings up on the wall:
A short note on time. So far I've let seasons dictate the passing of time, with one week = 1-2 months. With a pregnancy in play and Frank being ready to age up to teen in the winter, time is going to have to speed up to fit the aging of the kids. In the challenge, the recommended pace is 1 year/ 2 days, which would make this significantly faster. I am myself leaning towards an aging of ca 5 years per in game year, which means decade would take 2 full years or 16 weeks. We'll see if I stick to that or move faster/slower depending on events.
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