Week One: Cumbria, North Yorkshire and Northumberland

Here are some things I want to remember about our first week in England (wayyy back at the end of May):

~ It was sunny!  Every single day.

 ~ I learned that Blog Husbands are some of the nicest people on earth.  They welcome you into their home having had no previous contact with you whatsoever; they wine and dine you; they make you laugh (and kindly laugh at your own attempts at humor); they gamely travel to Hadrian's Wall and the Alnwick Garden (where they frolic with your children so you can look at the flowers)...

...AND to the seashore AND the fabulous second-hand bookshop that used to be a train station...AND the place with the really huge scones.  Plus they kick soccer balls and play tag with your kids, and bond over shared musical tastes with your firstborn (that last is a theme that got repeated with several blog husbands, fabulously enough).  They even thoughtfully furnish information that the tourist info office might have overlooked.

(Thank you, Papa Driftwood.  You are the bee's knees.)

~ Tess.  Tess, who drove to Carlisle and waved a British flag on the train platform, and remained cheerful even though we were NOT on the intended train, and even though she had to deal with endless curvy one-way streets and a puking small boy as she endeavored to get us to the (cleverly hidden) rental-car office.  Tess, who led us to Appleby as we drove poorly (sleep deprivation + OMG-that-oncoming-traffic-looks-awfully-close-now-that-I-am-on-the-right-side-of-the-car!)...who tucked us safely into our gorgeous lodging and went on her merry way, but not before fortifying me with tea, cake and conversation at the best little place ever, showing me around the town, and showering us with food, drink, guidebooks and birthday presents.  The same Tess who later hosted us at her own home in grand fashion, feeding us meal after delectable meal; who bravely helped us to navigate roundabouts and skinny roads and to become semi-competent (or at least non-deadly) drivers; who didn't complain when we ended up doing a lot more lying around and eating than castle-visiting and culture.  xoxoxoxo

~ Coffee Lady.  Who is so adorable that she is practically edible, and who has an equally adorable little family.  We spent a charmed day together in the North Yorkshire market town of Skipton (on my birthday!), lunching at a sidewalk café, touring the castle, enjoying a long, leisurely stroll on a woodland path, and, of course, drinking COFFEE.

One day was not nearly enough, and I think our train ride "home" (while breathtaking, with its views of the Yorkshire Dales) was somber and quiet from grief as much as from weariness.  Heaps of love to you, CL, and to the Mister and the lovely ladies.  And special thanks to Mr. Coffee for providing those lovely coloring sheets for the littles (see what I mean about Blog Husbands being the BEST?).

~ Castlerigg and Keswick.  We didn't see much of the Lake District this time, given our need to adjust gradually to driving, a new time zone, etc.  But the ancient stone circle was amazing (Big Lad and I both got mystical "buzzy heads" there).

And it was in Keswick that Little Lad had his first of several Meaningful Dog Encounters.

 As well as a meaningful goose encounter, apparently.

~ As I mentioned above, Little Lad turned out to be a Car Barfer, bless his soul.  This was new to us (not so many wind-y roads around here, I guess), and we were mighty grateful to Tess for perhaps her greatest gift of all, a small plastic Emergency Container (it came in handy again on the curve-up-the-mountain drive to Northumberland).

That's the thing about blog friends.  They aren't just friends; they are superheroes.  See?

Back tomorrow with more pictures from Week One, and maybe another memory or two.