Keswick Part 2

Our second day in Keswick started off with a boat ride across the lake to get to the hiking trails.  The boat took us all around the lake so we were able to check everything out.  It was quite windy and cool but thankfully the rain held off most of the day.

The hike was really steep!  I'm not sure if you can tell from this picture, but the trail just went straight up.

looking down

looking up

It was ridiculously windy once we got towards the top!  You could lean into the wind and it would hold you up!   It might not look like it here, but we felt like we were about to be blown off the mountain.  

On our way back down we hiked through a beautiful, storybook forest. 

We even came across some giant Sequoias- they were massive!

We ended our hike with a picnic by the lake. 

By this point the rain had set back in and our boat ride back was quite cold.  We found the cutest little cafe in town and warmed up with some cappuccinos and scones.  

After a nap we hopped in the car an headed out for a "car hike" as our Rick Steves guide book called it.    Basically, it was a scenic loop through more of the beautiful lake district.  Turns out, a car hike was the perfect way to spend our evening, as the wind and the rain continued on.  It didn't bother us one bit though!

This drive was amazing! These pictures don't do it justice!  We barely saw another car the whole time, but passed plenty of sheep and farms. 

a waterfall

Here was my view-  Nick on the right, Rick Steves Great Britain 

 

We stopped in the next little town, Buttermere at a pub to have a pint before we headed back.

See the waterfall?

The Lake District was such a beautiful place! We thoroughly enjoyed our time there and highly recommend it!

Keswick,UK

Tuesday morning Nick and I woke up early to beat the London traffic and headed out in our rental car for the Lake District in Northern England.  While Nick was hoping for a sporty hatchback, we instead got this Vauxhall.   

After a quick adjustment to driving in the right side of the car and on the left side of the road, we were off.  Although it was a 5 hour drive, everything about being in another country is an adventure.  Along the motorway are "services" which are all in one stops with anything you could want from gas, all kinds of food, and even Starbucks.  They were quite convenient. 

A funny side story about one of our stops..... 

If you have ever been to England you might have noticed that they have tons of coins for their currency- 8 different ones in fact.   Nick kept ending up with pocketfuls of heavy change.  So, we had ordered coffee and Nick decided to use some of it up.  After fumbling with the coins for awhile and looking like a complete foreigner he looked up to see the coffee guy smirking and me laughing.  After that point he put me in charge of the coins.  

We finally made it to Keswick, where we were staying for two nights.  Our B&B turned out to be wonderful- very clean, charming, and walkable.  

After lunch in the town we spent the afternoon exploring.  The Lake District is an area of mountains (they call them fells) and lakes carved from glaciers.  People come from all over the UK for the hiking.  It seemed like every other shop in town was an outdoor store - we felt right at home!

Derwentwater lake (yes thats the real name!) was just a short walk from our hotel.  We cut right through a field of wooly sheep.  The "fells" on the other side of the lake are known as the Catbells.  You can take the ferry across the lake to get to the hiking trails.   

Catbells and the ferry

We then headed to the other side of town to do the Latrigg hike.  It was a quick hike- only about 15 minutes, but the views were so rewarding! 

Derwentwater

Keswick

Our next stop was the Castlerigg stone circle.   It is one of the many stone circles around Britain and is thought to be over 4,500 years old.  The stones line up with the peaks surrounding them.  We were trying to catch it at sunset, but we were a little early and it was very cloudy.  Still, it was very cool to see.

We ended our day in a cozy pub next to a fire, sharing a beef and ale pie and a couple of pints.  Have I mentioned it was very chilly and rainy our whole trip?  It was the perfect ending to a wonderful day!  

I know that was a super long post so thanks if you read the whole thing!  Much more to come!

London 2012

As you probably know, Nick's sister Cait, brother-in-law Josh and three precious girls live across the pond.  While we miss them dearly, it does have one huge perk- the fact that we get to go visit them in London!  Another perk is we try to make the most of our time together.  

We had a smooth flight over and a wonderful first day, picking Lilly up from school and eating lunch.  Unfortunately after that I started to feel really sick and came down with a stomach bug.  I know they did other things while I quarantined myself upstairs but not much happened for me until Sunday.  Thankfully no one else got it.  Sunday night Nick and I kept all three girls by ourselves overnight so Cait and Josh could have a night out.  It went very well and we were proud of our accomplishment- ha! 

Monday we went to the London Eye which is a giant Ferris wheel on the Thames River right in the middle of the city.  You get a birds eye view of the whole city which was pretty amazing.

Big Ben, Parliament and the Thames

Scotland Yard

The Eye has giant "pods" that you can walk around in to see every angle. 

The big girls checking out the view

Later that night we went out to dinner with Cait and Josh to The Harwood Arms.  It is the only Micheline Starred pub in London and it was amazing!  It's fine dinning in a cozy pub setting.  We had a blast.

Young Life 5K

While I am working on my posts from our most recent adventure, I wanted to make sure I posted this.  A few weeks ago I ran the Young Life 5k in Raleigh.  Emily and I met in college during YL leader training, were on the same YL team and now get to live in the same city.  I love supporting Young Life and their mission. The 5k was to raise money to send kids to camp.  The weather was beautiful and there was free ice cream at the end.  What more could you want?  

                              

Sunday Afternoons

I think we can all agree that weekends rock.  Friday night is normally date night.  Saturdays are for a fun breakfast and some sort of outdoor adventure.  Sundays are for church and a really great nap.   We love our church and especially love that Anna and Kyle go there too.  Normally on Sundays we try and hang out after church which sometimes involves lunch and a trip to the park.   After lunch we always need something sweet.  A few weeks ago we went to Benelux Cafe which is in the City Market downtown.

                   

 You can get something called a stroopwafel which is two thin waffles with caramel in the middle.  You place the stroopwafel on your cup of coffee and the steam heats it up and melts the caramel- yum!

Of course we love hanging out with this little cutie pie, Copeland.  She loved the stroopwafels too.  

Joyner Park

It's been quite awhile since my last post (again) but I think I am ready to get back into blogging!  Several weeks ago Nick and I were exploring around Wake Forest.  We stopped at the Farmers Market,  a few antique shops and had lunch.  As we were on the way home, came across this amazing park.  It was one of the first really warm days of spring and we just happened to have some books with us, so we found a sunny spot and spent the afternoon there.  A perfect Saturday!

Joyner Park has several different trails around it that are perfect for running or biking.  Instead of names, they are labeled with pictures.

We have been back several times since! It's hard to believe that it is only 10 minutes away- it seems like a mini vacation!

Checking In

 I have not completely forgotten that I have a blog, contrary to how it may seem.  And while I have been away from this blog for quite a while, I have been doing some guest posting.  My mother-in-law, Chris writes a fabulous cooking blog and my father-in-law, Scott takes all the gorgeous photographs.  She has such a natural gift for cooking and teaching.  Her passion for these things is evident in her creative posts everyday.  Through Nick and his family I discovered my own love for cooking and have learned so much from Chris.  All that to say I've had the privilege of posting on her blog a few times in the past couple weeks which has kept me busy.  You should definitely check out The Cafe Sucre Farine if you haven't already!