Nearly a year ago my family planned a vacation to Mexico. It was going to be a week of relaxing on the beach drinking pina coladas while my parents and sister played with Zahara. Dan and I planned a special kid-free lunch at a restaurant nestled in a jungle only accessible by boat. Sounds lovely, right? Sadly, it didn't quite work out that way. Due to Zika virus, I had to cancel my trip to Mexico. Rather than sit at home and mourn my lost vacation, I truly made lemonade out of lemons by planning a trip to Harrogate!
It's been a year and a half since I'd seen my friends back in England and I missed them terribly. If not for this unexpected bonus trip, I honestly don't know the next time I would be able to see them all. I feel so lucky that this all worked out as it did.
I've mentioned the yoga mums before, but I really can't say enough about these girls. A group of eight of us have been friends since our kids were in utero. I have literally watched their kids--who are mere days apart from Zahara--grow up. Thanks to the power of technology, we've been able to keep in nearly-daily contact. Because of that, from the moment I arrived it was like nothing had changed. Except for the two new babies and three new bumps, of course!
The second I mentioned my plans to come to Harrogate, I felt an outpouring of love that literally brought me to tears. People were fighting over who would host me! Can you imagine? We mapped out the days so that I would get to spend the most time with the most people. Basically, it involved talking, eating, and watching the kids play. It was heaven. Here are some of the highlights:
The Kids
These kids! I cannot believe how big they are. I realize that my own daughter is exactly the same age, but my last in-person memory of these kids is from before they could walk or talk. Now they are little people with amazing personalities and imaginations.
Betty's
Betty's is one of my all-time favorite spots in the world. There is just something about their tea that can make everything right. I crave their scones, and I've never seen Welsh rarebit done anywhere like it's done at Betty's. I love this place so much that I went there four times in my six days!
Friends
The real highlight of the trip was spending time with my friends.
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| Baby's first plane ride: 18 weeks pregnant |
It's been a year and a half since I'd seen my friends back in England and I missed them terribly. If not for this unexpected bonus trip, I honestly don't know the next time I would be able to see them all. I feel so lucky that this all worked out as it did.
I've mentioned the yoga mums before, but I really can't say enough about these girls. A group of eight of us have been friends since our kids were in utero. I have literally watched their kids--who are mere days apart from Zahara--grow up. Thanks to the power of technology, we've been able to keep in nearly-daily contact. Because of that, from the moment I arrived it was like nothing had changed. Except for the two new babies and three new bumps, of course!
The second I mentioned my plans to come to Harrogate, I felt an outpouring of love that literally brought me to tears. People were fighting over who would host me! Can you imagine? We mapped out the days so that I would get to spend the most time with the most people. Basically, it involved talking, eating, and watching the kids play. It was heaven. Here are some of the highlights:
The Kids
These kids! I cannot believe how big they are. I realize that my own daughter is exactly the same age, but my last in-person memory of these kids is from before they could walk or talk. Now they are little people with amazing personalities and imaginations.
Betty's is one of my all-time favorite spots in the world. There is just something about their tea that can make everything right. I crave their scones, and I've never seen Welsh rarebit done anywhere like it's done at Betty's. I love this place so much that I went there four times in my six days!
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| Cream Tea! |
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| Welsh Rarebit |
The real highlight of the trip was spending time with my friends.
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| Ripley with yoga mums |
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| Royal Bath Chinese |
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| Betty's with Becky and Chloe |
The yoga mums put together a little "mummy shower" for me on my last night. We had virgin mojitos, had a fantastic dinner, and played fun games.
In addition to my yoga mum friends, I also saw some good friends from other circles. I spent a wonderful Sabbath dinner in Leeds and got to see my friends and their one-week-old baby!
I have several American friends who still live in England (though many are moving back this summer, yay!). Tom offered to make his world-famous cinnamon buns and have the whole group over. Sadly I was having too good of a time to take many pictures.
Well,this turned in to a novel. I think it's clear though that I have the best friends in the world. I can't wait until our next reunion!
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