First Road Trip, Destination: York

We took our first road trip over the first weekend of May. The destination - York. The first Monday in May is a bank holiday so the boys were off school and Brian was off work. We decided to take advantage of the long weekend to take a trip up to York. We had planned to leave Friday straight from school but had to make a stop back at home and then decided to pick up McDonald's for dinner on our way out. It was about a 4.5 hour drive up to our little holiday cottage so we arrived in the dark. We got the car unloaded and let the boys burn off some energy before putting them down for the night.

The next morning we got up, ate breakfast and then headed into York. We parked just outside the old city walls and then walked into town. We were a bit early so we stopped at the York Minster and took a quick walk around the inside of the beautiful church. Then we made our way to the JORVIK Viking museum. I wasn't sure what to expect and was pleasantly surprised when we took a cool ride through a viking village. We learned all about the different things the vikings made and how they lived during those times. Then after the ride was over, we walked through a small traditional museum before exiting back onto the main road. After that, we walked back over to the Shambles (an old medieval street where all the buildings are leading in) to do some shopping. We also went to Clifford's Tower which is the last remaining park of York Castle. James, John and Jude went up the stairs and walked around the very top of the tower while Jonah and I walked around the courtyard. After that, we got some lunch and headed to the DIG. The boys had an absolute blast there. They learned all about archaeology and even got to play in the dig pits they had set up. They each got their own trowel and got to uncover sections of ancient walls, bones, pottery, etc. Then after that, they got to spend some time sorting out artifacts and learning about the ancient civilizations that were in the area. After a very busy day, we headed back to the cottage for a late nap and then dinner in the nearby village.

Sunday morning was far more laid back. We got up, dressed and fed but not in any great hurry. It being Sunday, things open later in the morning. We decided to drive up north through the Yorkshire Moors and to the seaside town of Whitby. It was still quite chilly but we were blessed with lots of sunshine. We walked around the port and down to the beach. The boys had a great time running in the sand but we not happy when we wouldn't let them near the water. We kept trying to explain that the water was freezing and that they didn't want to get in. Next we had some lunch (hot dogs for the boys and fish and chips for Brian and I) and did a bit of window shopping. After that, we loaded back up in the car and drove out to the ruins of the Whitby Abbey. It's up on the top of this great hill with loads of grasslands around. The boys had an ABSOLUTE blast rolling down the grassy hills and running around like crazy. Brian and I took turns watching the boys and walking around the Abbey. After the boys burned off a bunch of energy, we loaded back in the car and drove down to Scarborough. We attempted to see the castle but the Sat Nav and road signs took us down to the water instead of up to the castle. It was getting late in the afternoon so we gave up and decided to head back to the cottage. We didn't really feel like eating out again so we hit the local Tesco (grocery store) and picked up some items for dinner that night.

Monday morning it was time to head home. We got all packed up and cleaned up the cottage before heading out. With the sun coming up so early, we were actually on the road pretty early and made it home in time for lunch. It was a really nice get away from it all and see a whole new area of this great island.