a trip to the land of bart

I went to Bart's English home-town, Yarm, this weekend where I stayed with the coolest couple ever! Mark and Carlie are the greatest people- and I had a blast! they picked me up, drove me around, fed me, gave me a place to stay, wouldn't let me pay for anything, and served as tour guides. We laughed, told stories, even sang in the car in three parts (which I managed to screw up repeatedly because I couldn't stop laughing!)! They just got married in April, and are so wonderful together. Ahh- newlyweds...

Carlie and Mark are a couple of Bart's old friends from youth group when he lived in the area. They have a cozy little house and a big fuzzy cat named Dave, who fought me for my bed the first night. And I also met Carlie's entire family, the Toops- the sweetest people in all of England, and several of Carlie and Mark's friends, who all seemed to know Bart too. I was "Lindsey, Bart's Girlfriend" all weekend, a title that I held with pride and made me glow. That's right- he's mine! :)

On Saturday, we took a tour of Yarm, which absolutely beautiful. I saw Bart's house, the main street in town, his school, where he used to run and row, and anything else they though might be of interest. We went in several shops, and then ate sandwiches out on the river. The sun was bright and the day was beautiful. And Bart, you will never believe this, but I got a tan in Yarm! See- I knew you'd never believe it. Apparently, days like the one I had there are few and far between. After Yarm, we went over to see the Toops and chat for a bit. Then, we were off to Whitby, which is on the coast. Whitby was beautiful!!! I was so enchanted by the sea, the lighthouse, the ruined abbey, the shops and boats...it was amazing! We toured the ruined abbey, then went through town. Whitby is known for a few things- one is Whitby Jet, which means tons of nice jewelry stores, and the other is Dracula, because Bram Stoker wrote it there. Needless to say, the attractions and stores varied greatly and there was much to see.

The coast was incredible- perfectly round rocks instead of shells, steep cliffs topped with bright green grass, and sunsets to die for. I wrote a message to Bart in the sand, then the waves took it away to him for me. I hope it gets to him before he leaves his ship. We walked along the piers and stared out into the sea. When we got back to Stockton, we headed over to Vicky's house, one of Carlie's friends, where we watched a rather bizarre film, though I can't say that I really understand British cinema. I hit the bed hard that night- it was a great day.

Today we woke up and went to church, Stockton Baptist Tabernacle- Bart's church. Afterwards, Mark and Carlie both got in the kitchen and whipped up a meal that left me full the entire train ride home. And I found that it is much more enjoyable to get on a train when there is someone to wave goodbye. I didn't want to leave them, but I will definitely see them again.