Keswick ..........

When we awoke the next morning, the wind was blowing rain in wild torrid sheets across the fells. The wind was in seemingly never ending huge gusts and it brought the rain against you like a wall. If you intend to travel in England, you have to be prepared for the weather. ANd we were.

We had a quick breakfast and coffee and headed into the small town of Keswick just 2 miles down the road. We went through many shops and loads of outdoor stores. There were dogs out with their owners everywhere and of course Jack would ask each person if it was ok if he pet their dog. These folks love their dogs and it shows in the animals. (I do believe one of the favorites was a British bulldog named "Clive". Jack just couldn't get enough of him!)The dogs are all well-behaved, on leashes and travel in and out of the stores and the tea rooms and pubs with their owners. We ate lunch at the "Strawberry tearoom". It is a lovely little shop that over looks the town center of Keswick.

On Saturdays there is a wonderful open-air market, so we went around to the white tents and stocked up on all fresh local groceries. Cheeses, fish,meats, poultry, eggs, a wide selection of fesh fruits, jams, and loads of baked goods. We made sure to include a dozen scones, fresh jam and a tub of clotted cream. Everything was out in the open and there wasn't a bit of shrinkwrap anywhere in the town! By the time we were finished in town we had also acquired a bottle of wine, fresh baked bread, Yorkshire tea. By this time the rain had stopped and the wind was dying down a bit, so we headed home to try and get in some hiking before dark.

We went out the back door and hiked Brackenrigg Fells. It was a lovely hike and it really excited us for the next days adventure. The sheep roam all over these fells. You can see them way up on stony craggs as well as dotting the landscape in all directions. Jack found a sheep carcass, so of course it had to examined thoroughly. It was mostly bones at this point, but interesting to a 10 yr old boy nonetheless.

When we got back down off the fells, it was dark. I whipped up some dinner for us with fresh beef,sauteed onions, English peas and corn,and freshly baked bread. It was quick and still tasty!

The end of the night found us all in a high stakes poker game. High stakes if you count using matches as chips!! I was out in like.......3 hands. And after way too many hands to count Austin ended up winning. ANd still LATER a Jiu Jitsu match ensued between Race and Austin.......and Austin won that too.

It was a great day and a great evening. We all went to be to the muffled sounds of the wind and rain howling once again. Those stone walls are amazing for a good night's sleep!



Below is Race's NEW favorite outdoor store. (And I actually love it too, because there's a tea room upstairs. Brilliant!)