Lakes, Mountains, Beaches, and Mystery

I'm Posting from our new computer. We've been living in the Stone Age, apparently. This screen is amazing - huge and clean and has a camera inbedded in it. The keyboard is also nice and clean, bright white, and we have a new laser printer that's awesome. I just love new toys.

I've been just itching to write about our travels in England. I made reservations for a rental car with National which had an office in downtown Warrington. The kids and I packed a lunch, loaded up backpacks with drinks, school work, and maps, and headed out on the bus for Warrington. We got to the bus station and walked through town centre to the large traffic circle on the south of town, then crossed the bridges and traffic circles (we had to cross about 6 roads) and found our way to National. We signed the papers and took off.

Shifting with my left hand was interesting. Driving on the left side of the road was more interesting and driving on the right side of the car was another step up. But the biggest problem, by far, was remembering to look to the left to see through my rearview mirror instead of to the right. I spent two days looking out the right window before I realized the mirror wasn't there.

Monday was our day to the Lake District in Cumbria (a county in England). The Lake District is on the Northwest coast of England and is mountainous with amazing lakes everywhere. You would be on a narrow, windy road and look to your left. A lake would drop off directly from the road, with no barrier between us and it, except curbs in some areas. I was unaccustomed to the size of the car and driving from the right side, so I hit curbs at least 3 times. Despite feeling like we could fall into a lake at any minute, the Lake District was incredibly beautiful. The most amazing part was driving through the base of two mountains with them rising on either side to craggy cliffs at the top. Going up the mountains, all the way up the steep slopes to the summit, were impeccable stone walls, handmade, each stone chosen and placed carefully to fit perfectly, some hundreds of years ago. The fields were traversed with these walls, each with sharp, pointed stones on the top. I'm told it's to keep the sheep from jumping the walls.

The children and I drove through some minor roads and found a castle that we wanted to visit right off the main road we were on. We drove through the property and were shocked to see an imposing castle rising above us on a hill. However, it was closed for the months of December through March. Am employee of the gift shop came out to the car to talk to us. This castle is a family home still inhabited by family members. Over the holidays, they like to entertain and spread out, so the castle is closed. The rest of the year, they live in one wing and the rest of the castle is opened for visitors as part of the National Trust. The children and I drove around the front and looked at the battlements, trying to imagine what it must be like to have a castle for your family's home.

We ate our picnic lunch along the way but, as the temperature began to drop and the roads got icy, I decided it was time to head for home. We drove to a point at the far north of the National Park, then picked up the Motorway (the English version of the Interstate) and headed home. It was a lovely day.

Tuesday morning, we loaded up the car and headed out early, this time without a lunch. On Monday, we passed by snow-topped mountains. The kids went crazy and begged me to stop so they could play in the snow. It was impossible, though that seemed difficult for them to understand. Monday night at dinner, they prayed for snow the next day. I tried to explain that it would be dangerous for me to drive in the snow, so they added to the Lord that the snow should be on the side of the road, not ON the road. I was trying desperately to not burst their bubbles or rob them of their hope or faith that God COULD answer their prayers, but I also didn't want them to be disappointed. If driving through the mountains didn't produce playable snow, driving across a flatter part of England certainly wouldn't. I kept trying to explain to them that chances were slim to none that we would encounter snow, but they continued to pray and trust that God WOULD answer their prayers.

So, we headed across England, the children ever-hopeful. The temperature was -2 Celsius, which thrilled them and scared the daylights out of me, but it soon warmed up and the streets were clear. We drove for a couple of hours and then hit the outskirts of York. And wouldn't you know it?!? - SNOW, on the side of the road, not where it left the road slick. Dane and Deanna shrieked and thanked the Lord for hearing and answering their VVVVERY specific prayer. We pulled over to the side of the road and they made snowballs and had a mini snowball fight. We got back on the road soon after, but I took a wrong turn accidentally and we headed towards York proper. About two blocks down the road, we found a restaurant (a Toby's Carvery, if you know what that is) with several cars in the parking lot, covered in snow. There was no traffic or movement, so we pulled in and the children played for quite a while in the snow. I videotaped them and Deanna taught them to make snow angels. I took pictures and Deanna taught them how to make hard, big snowballs. I showed them how to scrape the snow up with their feet to build enough of a pile to make larger snowballs, and Deanna taught them how to salvage used snowballs and make them bigger. (My little girl has learned a thing or two about snow in the last 10 years.) They all had a wonderful time (and I got some great pictures - and a few snowballs in the face, to boot.)

After a very fun time, we got back on the road headed for the East Coast and Scarborough ("Are you going to Scarborough Faire? Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme.") We had only been back underway for about 30 minutes, talking excitedly about how good the Lord is and how much fun the snow was and how the children KNEW he would answer their prayer, when it BEGAN TO SNOW. It got harder and harder and the kids absolutely squeeled with excitement. I handed Deanna my phone and she called my friend, Anne, to tell her. I had to concentrate on driving. We drove for about an hour in snow, then it began to clear up and the sun came out. It got very warm just as we reached Scarborough. We followed the signs to the Beach and drove down a steep hill through the mountains and directly onto the BEACH. The sun was shining and surfers were out in the waves, which were huge. It was like a scene from Hawaii. We drove up and down the boardwalk, then parked and the children got out and played in the sand while I took pictures. Then we headed out of Scarborough and turned north to Whitby, driving along a coastal road through the mountains. The road is hazardous and narrow, with no shoulder, and it winds up and down, up and down. It began to sleet, then hail. The children laughed, I cried. How could you go from sunny surfing to sleet and hail on a little tiny mountain road within 15 minutes? Welcome to England!!

As we were driving along, it seemed extremely foggy. The sky out in front of us was dark grey and bleak. All of a sudden, I noticed a ship and realized that it wasn't fog, it was the ocean. Tankers were chugging up the coast. Suddenly I realized that, if we weren't careful, we'd fall off our mountain road into the ocean. It was quite shocking. I slowed down and we continued down the winding road to Whitby.

It's hard to describe Whitby. It is an ocean port (obviously) where Bram Stoker wrote the book, "Dracula". The port and town is between two mountains, both topped by cliffs. On the right cliff is the ruins of an old Medieval Abbey. The town is cut into the other cliff. Below, the ocean cuts deep between the two mountains, dividing the town into two parts. In the bay between, there are whalers and fishing ships. There is one bridge that joins the two sides and it only has one lane. There's a stoplight to allow one directional traffic through at a time. We crossed the bridge, parked along the bay, and walked to a seafood restaurant on the other side - Trenchers. We had fish and chips and a cup of hot tea. We sat for a while and savored the lovely town of Whitby. Then, an hour before dark, we took our final pictures, loaded back up, said goodbye to the beautiful Whitby, and headed back over that treacherous road to Scarborough. From there, we headed home, praying for clear roads and warm weather, but all thrilled with our day.

I think Whitby is possibly the most beautiful town I've ever seen. It has a style and flavor that's unique in this day and time, an old-world charm that steals your heart. And the mystery of that Abbey and the cemetery alongside it, calling to visitors to explore and take a step back into time, searching for the truth about Count Dracula. It's the stuff good novels are made of.

Wednesday was even more amazing, but that will have to wait for another Post. Besides, it's pretty hard to follow Whitby and I want to let the memory of that picturesque town settle in my memory.

It was a day I will remember forever and the shouts of joy from my children are are videotape to remind us all of the pleasure of snow and the hope of prayful children.