Nature provided another pleasant day for walking in the countryside.
At a railway overpass, I came upon Geoff and Dave, who said they were former
railroad men, watching the signals down the line in anticipation of an oncoming
train. I had met both of them previously. They are completing their final stage
of the Coast to Coast, Richmond to Robin Hood’s Bay.
I quickly launched into a discussion of trains, drawing upon
my extensive knowledge of railways acquired in the 1950s when my Lionel
locomotive chugged around the Christmas tree. I must have impressed them,
because they let me walk with them a good part of the morning.
After we stopped along the trail for a morning coffee break,
Andrew came along, and I joined him for a short walk to Ingleby Cross, where he
and I reached the pub just in time for another break. As we prepared to leave
the pub, Normand and Marie-Helene arrived, so Andrew and I extended our break. The
four of us were ready to leave, when Leo, Lynn and Charlotte arrived. Having
already had enough breaks for the day, I decided to move on with Andrew,
Normand and Marie-Helene. We continued on as Geoff and Dave arrived at the pub for
their second break. I’m beginning to understand why walking is so popular in
Britain, and it has very little to do with actual walking.
The Mt. Grace Priory is one of those heritage sites that
dates back many centuries – this one to the year 1400. When not actually
breaking, the British people visit these sites to remember how people once
built large stone buildings between their work breaks.
Despite all my breaks, I finally arrived at my destination.
It was too late in the day for another break, so I joined Geoff and Dave for
happy hour, after which we went to dinner and developed solutions for all the
world’s problems. I don’t remember all the solutions, but I think some of them
involved locomotives and Christmas trees.
