But I’m making progress

I took a break the other day and went to York. I walked around for a bit, had a lovely lunch in a tearoom, and sat on a park bench until it was time to go on my tour of North Yorkshire- the dales, moors, and a couple of small towns.

It turns out that besides Kevin, driver/guide, the only other person on the bus (14 passenger) was Rudy from Chicago. It was fantastic. We’re all of a similar age with similar taste in music and political leanings. And we all like to tell stories.

We drove through agricultural countryside that reminded me of Oregon. Our first get-off-the-bus stop was in the market town of Helmsley. I had a cup of coffee and wandered the town for a bit. I also bought some candy at the sweets shop. Here’s what’s left of the Helmsley castle.

More driving had us passing several abbeys and the Kilburn white horse, modeled after the Uffington prehistoric one. Both in Wikipedia if you’re interested.

Sheep abound in the area as they can handle the landscape and coarse vegetation. Lots of dry stone walls in North Yorkshire because the hedgerows don’t do as well in the climate.

Our next stop was at a church at the head of the dale. Buses, especially the big ones, can’t get here. Headstones so old you can’t read them. But you can eat a picnic amongst them and later call your folks from the phone booth nearby. I understand it works.

On the way back to York, we passed Howard castle, which is open for public tours. On my list of things to do. Queen Anne Boleyn was a Howard.

Things I learned on the tour:

1. Dame Judi Dench is from York.
2. So was Guy Fawkes of failed gunpowder plot of 1605, mask, bonfires fame.
3. So was Robert “Mousy” Thompson. His descendants still make furniture.
4. Rowntree candy company began in the 1800’s in York. Nestlé’s bought them out. And that’s how Americans know to break off a piece of that Kit Kat bar.
5. We wondered about York peppermint patties, but they came from York, Pennsylvania.
6. Kevin the tour guide/driver plays bass in a band in Liverpool most Sundays. Definitely going to see him play. He’s a hoot. He told us the story of the young son of George Martin being upset because Uncle Paul’s band, Wings, was breaking up so that he could form a new band called the Beatles. I don’t know if it’s true, but it was a cute story.

Catching up on other developments:

1. I bought a bed and washer/dryer for the house – both new.
2. Today I bought a sofa, nesting tables, kitchen table with chairs, wardrobe, dresser, bed tables, and a sleep sofa – all at a charity thrift shop. More thrift shopping tomorrow. Discount store shopping on Sunday. Move-in is Tuesday. Trying to avoid Amazon.
3. My stuff I’m moving from Oregon is currently in the North Atlantic. If you’ll recall, my original mover was apparently a front for the Russian mafia money laundering scam. I’m now good friends with the lead investigator for the NYDOT, as several hundred people got scammed too. See my prior post “Scam Alert.” My small claims court date is next June – trying to get my money back. I’m not optimistic, but any discomfort I can provide to them is a little bit of justice.