Seaside

We are at the tail-end of the Easter Holidays here in North Yorkshire.  Since early words and associations hold so much meaning in your life it wasn't until I switched over to calling it Spring Break that I felt that thrill of freedom and fun.  Spring Break!  And thanks to some new friends who opened their home to us, we even got to do the quintessential spring break thing and go to the beach, or as they say here, the seaside.

I've been really aware lately of what a difference the sun makes, turning a very grey world into one of such vivid color.  For example...

It's still beautiful, of course, just a lot more grey and brown, though all the better for seeing James's bright orange bucket.  I was also thinking this week about how in the heat of a sunny, Alabama summer, I longed for the rainy days.  I longed to see the clouds darken the sky and hear the thunder in the distance because it meant relief from the relentless heat and a sense of coziness in our home.  There's an opposite mindset here:  The sun is out!  Hurry! Get outside now!  

We had such a good time hunting for sea glass and walking on the beach.  The three days we had away were only marred by my getting a killer case of plantar fasciitis in my left foot, which I had back in the fall but returned with a vengeance after I wore flat shoes with no support for a week.  I hobbled along on the inside of my foot because when my arch hit the ground a stabbing pain would go shooting through my foot.  Ugh.  I'm trying to stay off it as much as possible, do lots of calf stretches, ice it, and take ibuprofen, and I think it's improving.  But hey, forced rest and all of that.

On Wednesday we drove to another coastal town we last visited with Parker Windle two years ago, Robin Hood's Bay.  There was some beautiful scenery along the way, as you can see.

I love those patches of bright yellow in the midst of the green this time of year.  Farewell, Whitby!  You were a good place for some spring break fun.