Babymoon

Babymoon (according to dear friend Casey B): one last special trip away before baby takes over life. Fortunately, we were blessed to take a few days and visit the gorgeous, green Lake District of England. The most miraculous thing about it is that the Lake District is officially the rainiest portion of England, and, as we all know, "April showers bring May flowers." So, needless to say, we were expecting a cold, rainy, beautiful visit, with lots of curling up with a book. BUT, the weather was PERFECT! It was about 60 degrees with clear blue skies the whole time... incredible.

We stayed at an adorable B&B which we would HIGHLY recommend to anyone traveling to the Lake District: Ryelands in Grasmere. John and Lynn, the owners, were kind, pleasant, and so helpful. The breakfasts were wonderful; the place was immaculate, and the views were stunning. Look at the fabulous 1850's building:

The town of Grasmere, where we stayed, is the perfect size: large enough to have choice in restaurants, but small enough to have a village feel. The famous Grasmere Gingerbread Shop:

The perfect, cheerful daffodils:

And the sheep with their little lambs (SO cute!! And no, the mother is not dead; she's painted red as a kind of brand, signifying her owner):

On our first full day, we took a 5+ mile hike around Grasmere and Rydal Lakes. Aren't you impressed?!?! The hike started with a walk past William Wordsworth's (British Romantic poet) home, Dove Cottage.

We continued up the road to the "coffin stone," the place where they would rest coffins during funeral processions from southern towns to Grasmere, home of the only consecrated graveyard in the area for many years. I promptly took a rest:

The hike was beautiful, climbing into the hills and offering wonderful views of the lakes below:

We passed Rydal Church, where Wordsworth and his family worshipped:

And we made our way back down to lake level for some spectacular views:

The next day, with our sore feet, knees, and backs, we decided to take a day off from hiking and caught the bus to Keswick:

There we took a launch around Derwentwater Lake. It was beautiful! Doesn't this first picture make you think of "The Hills Are Alive..." from The Sound of Music??

That evening, we had reservations at The Jumble Room, an award-winning restaurant literally outside the front gates of our B&B. All the food we had in Grasmere was fabulous, but this meal was spectacular. My meal was especially incredible: seared lamb over creamy humus with oregano roasted eggplant and rosemary jelly... YUMMM!

Our last full day, we decided to be ambitious again and tackled a row around Grasmere Lake AND another 5+ mile hike. The lake was perfect in the morning: serene, quiet, and lovely. And my charming husband rowed me all the way around the lake:

The stillness of the water (since no motor boats are allowed on the lake) made for some spectacular images:

That afternoon, we hiked north, away from the lakes into the hills. We passed a beautiful stream and a great waterfall (which is way bigger than it looks, by the way; it was probably 100 yards behind us... it was just the only shot I could get):

Look how far I hiked!!! I know that pride's a sin, but I was pretty dang proud of myself for making this trek at 33 weeks preggers... In fact, if you look really closely at the second picture, you can see me high up in the rocks (see the third picture below for a close up, as unattractive as it may be...):

The goal of our hike was to reach the Easdale Tarn, a small lake up in the mountains. It was gorgeous, and definitely a fulfilling reward to our hard work:

Overall, other than the incredible bladder pain on the way down from Easdale Tarn (women who have been pregnant know what I mean!!), the trip was phenomenal. We had good food, great weather, fun adventures, and a very sweet time together. Although we are THRILLED about Oliver coming (we've finally agreed on Mr. Baby's name, by the way!), a last romantic getaway was a God-send. And we definitely recommend the Lake District to anyone interested!