Whitby

I always love remembering "what we were doing this time last year," and this year that means remembering a lovely get-a-way we had on the North Yorkshire coast during the Easter holidays.  You might notice that beach attire in North Yorkshire is a little different from your typical American spring break.

We met a lovely couple last year who own a bed and breakfast in Whitby, and they invited us to visit for a few days.  The Birdhouse was so peaceful and relaxing, and we enjoyed getting to know Doug and Hillary so much.  This was my first week dealing with the now infamous "glass in the foot" episode, so the first day we arrived I wasn't able to go walking with K.J. and the kids.  I was really disappointed, but I had a good book and a cup of tea and a view of Whitby Abbey in the distance, so who could ask for anything more?  Besides not experiencing stabbing pains when walking, of course. 

Let's just take a moment to marvel at how the sun changes everything.  Our first full day in Whitby was brilliant in every way.  Walking on the sand ended up being really hard on my foot, but we had so much fun looking for sea glass and pottery washed up from the North Sea.  All the rocks were so unique and colorful, too.

 

The biggest gamble in any British holiday is the weather, but apart from one very wet excursion into Northumberland we usually had at least one magnificent day on our trips.  Maybe they were just normal sunny days, but when scattered amidst cloudy days, the sunny days always felt special.

As someone who grew up with Alabama and Florida beaches, I'm always struck by green fields running up to the sea, the ocean to one side and cows grazing on the other side of the street.  The gorse was blooming beautifully.

This was my first chance to explore the streets of Whitby, which I did until my foot couldn't take it anymore, and I called K.J. to pick me up.  It was such a delight.  Take this punny name:

There are many charming shops in Whitby, but any exploring I do is always going to be of the book-browsing variety.  The Whitby Bookshop is your place for beautiful new books, items of local interest, bookish gifts, and lots of charm.  There's nothing so charming as a spiral staircase in a bookstore.

This shop had the most amazing prices on Usborne Illustrated Classics.  A book I'd spent 20 pounds on at Christmas was in here for 8 pounds.  Funny story, I accidentally shoplifted at this shop.  I was holding a book I was debating on buying.  I decided against it but forgot to put it back on the shelf and made it all the way to the bottom of the 199 Steps before looking down and realizing I was holding a book I hadn't paid for.  I walked as quickly as I could back to the shop, nonchalantly strolled inside and put it back on the shelf before exiting quietly.

This was the place to find second-hand treasures, my favorite kind.

Books I Didn't Buy

Whitby really became a place we loved on this trip.  I highly recommend it.

"Every young man's story should have a bookshop."

- Matthew Pearl, The Last Bookaneer -