Oh, I Do Like To Be Beside The Seaside...

Wow. We're back in the UK. It's my sister's wedding next Saturday, so we're over here getting ready for the big day. It's been quite emotional at times; this is the first time we've seen my family since our wedding, and so it follows the first time we've seen them since we got the news that we're pregnant. There were lots of tears at the airport, and when we got back to my parents' house, there were more.
My parents and my sister had gone a bit crazy with the baby clothes shopping, and presented us with about 6 bags of clothes. Some of them hand knitted by my mum. Incredible. There were also some things from when I was a baby, saved for this sort of thing, no doubt. We're getting quite a collection for the littlest Hardy, what with the stuff that Beth's mum has already gotten us at home.

Well, it's amazing here. The weather wasn't so good at first, but it's all got rather nice the last few days. It was particularly hot the day we went to North Yorkshire's Heritage Coast; visiting Whitby, Robin Hood's Bay (where the pictures were taken) and Scarborough.
Whitby was beautiful as always, but I haven't been there in the height of summer for years, and I'd forgotten how crowded it all gets. You could barely move. We did, however, escape from the hustle and bustle by popping into Sander's Yard for delicious cakes. I also enjoyed a tasty bottle of cider. Oh, the joys of England.
We moved on to Robin Hood's Bay, an old fishing village once very popular with smugglers, now very popular with families. The beach is clean, and full of rock pools, of the sort that you can find small crabs in. There's also a good amount of slate to be found, and within this slate, fossils. We hunted for the preserved remains of ancient creatures for a little while, and came away with a few good examples of shells, and some average ammonites. I haven't been fossil hunting with my dad for a long time, and it was rather fun.

Finally, our journey took us to Scarborough, where we were surrounded by chavs, scallies, pikeys and the likes. Lovely stuff. We took Marine Drive down to the town, and marvelled at the beautiful water, looking more like the Mediteranean than the North Sea. Like I say, I haven't been in the summer for a long time. We parked under the castle at the foot of the cliffs, and wandered past the fairground towards the sea front. Oh, man. It was rough. But it's all good fun, and you have to have the dirt and grime for it to be a real English seaside town, don't you? We ate fish and chips from Winking Willy's, where they still fry everything in beef dripping (it's terribly bad for you, but it tastes so much better that way). We spent ages in an amusement arcade, putting plenty of small change into the 2p pushers in an attempt to win a fortune (it never happens). Our last port of call was to be the Harbour Bar; an ice cream parlour on the seafront, but it was closed by the time we got there, so we returned to the car, tired and happy.

And that was that. We've been having a great time. We went out in Worksop with some old friends last night, and enjoyed the bank holiday weekend. James (my best man) is coming over today, and it's going to be great to see him. We went to Nottingham, and saw Rob Littler at a frisbee tournament, spent some time in the peak district, conquering Mam Tor, and headed to Leeds to see some old friends from my days in that wonderful city. We shopped in York, and enjoyed a cream tea at The Crossing in Worksop. The girls are off to Manchester tomorrow to do some shopping, while me and the boys enjoy a lovely game of football at Hillsborough (very stereotypical, I know).

I'm sure there'll be more to fill you in on by the end of the trip. It's fantastic being on vacation, and really exciting getting ready for Laura and Brett's wedding. No doubt Beth will be itching to fill you in on this stuff in a few days. Until next time, ta ta.