Can We Rock Out Yet?

When Andrea asked me what I wanted to do for my Birthday, all I wanted to do was head over to the coast and have a relaxing weekend. I assumed that it would be like going to Ocean Shores or the Oregon Coast and that it wouldn't be weird for us to want to do this. Well I was wrong! As we started to do some searching, all our questions were answered with intrigue and in some cases disgust. People here couldn't believe that we wanted to do this in the cold, wet, and windy weather. I'm pretty sure they all thought we were a little crazy or stupid. This didn't deter us, we finally decided on a town about 100 miles north of us called Cleethorpes.

Enjoying the Beautiful (cold) Weather

After about a 2 ½ hour drive, we pulled in to Cleethorpes around 7pm. Our bed and breakfast was really small, but nice. It was right on the seafront, and we had a spectacular view of the water. There are only 6 rooms in the place, and we were 1 of the 2 guest rooms filled. We could tell that this was going to be exactly the quiet, relaxing weekend we wanted. Since it was late, we immediately headed out to find dinner.

View From Our Room (Tide Out)

After walking about ½ a mile, we realized that it was a lot like your typical ocean side town. Small, unique restaurants, bars, and shops lined the streets and we were having a hard time deciding on where to eat. We looked inside a nearby hotel, called the Dovedale, and saw a really nice looking bar and restaurant. They had a very tasty looking menu, and an extensive drink menu. Andrea has been pretty disappointed in the drink selection at the local pubs. They usually just serve beer, and if you want a mixed drink it is usually your standard fare. We asked for a cosmo once and all we got was a blank stare. We had an extremely good dinner. My garlic bread was by far the best we have ever tasted. We quickly realized that the local people are very friendly and talkative. There was a gentleman having dinner by himself, and we ended up spending like an extra hour at the restaurant talking with him. We made it back to the hotel by 11pm and decided it was time for bed.

 Andrea Playing in the Snow

After a goodnights sleep in our double bed (that is the standard size of beds at most hotels) we woke up just in time to get breakfast. The owners of the B&B made us a really great breakfast and then we headed out for a day of exploring the town. We wanted to walk around the beach and take in the sights. The tide was out, so it was fun to gather shells, walk out into the tide flats, and play in the snow. That's right, we woke up to snow! It was a little weird to see snow on the beach. We had coffee at a little café on one of the manmade lakes and talked about what to do for the rest of the day. We slowly made our way back to the B&B, this time choosing to walk along the road to browse the shops and see our options for lunch. We ended up having lunch at a local pub, I had another Pie! After lunch, we made our way down to the pier to see what was going on down there. We stopped at the local library to get tourist information. We ended up getting pamphlets for almost every area in the UK. So when you come and visit, we have a great selection for you to look through to help you decide where you would like to visit.  

 Downtown Cleethorpes (Notice Big Bag of Pamphlets)

The pier was what you would expect in an ocean side town. They had an arcade, fish and chips, restaurants, a weird amusement ride, miniature golf, and some shops. Andrea really wanted to try out her Wellies and decided to go way out on the tide flats. I tried to keep up, but my hiking books didn't match her big old rubber boots. We spent the rest of the afternoon in our room taking advantage of the free wireless internet. I know, how dorky, but since we haven't had a consistent internet connection for almost 2 months, we really wanted to take advantage of it. 

Climbing Despite the Anti-Climb Paint

For dinner we decided on a great little Italian place on the same block as our B&B. Once again we had fabulous food, and met some really friendly locals. The family sitting next to us stroke up some conversation and we ended up talking with them the whole 2 hours we were in the restaurant. I really wanted to check out a local pub called Willy's. They brewed their own beer, and looked like a pretty cool bar. We walked in and made our way to the bar, and when we got there, my jaw dropped. I couldn't believe what I saw, Celebration Ale! This is a beer that I get excited for every winter. It is brewed by Sierra Nevada, and is limited in its distribution. I look forward to it every year, and since I was in Alabama I didn't get a chance to have one. Little did I know that I was going to find some in a small pub, on the eastern coast of England! I drank 2 at the pub, and bought all the remaining bottles they had (4).

By The Pier

After another great breakfast, we checked out and headed off on another adventure. We headed west to Lincoln. We wanted to see the castle and cathedral, and browse around the local shops. We are really glad we went, Lincoln is a very cool town. The castle is small, but has a lot of cool history. It was a prison for most of its existence and houses an original copy of the Magna Carta. We spent most of the afternoon popping into the small shops along a really steep street that led to the castle. We bought fresh chocolates and some wine from a place called Wigs and Wine. We left in the late afternoon because I really wanted to get home so I could enjoy my new toy. Andrea, against her better judgment, got me Rock Band for my Birthday. I couldn't wait to get home and to do some rocking out! I had a really great birthday, got to see some really cool sights and got a new toy for my Wii. Even though I claim to not care about birthdays anymore, I really enjoyed this one and hope all my birthdays to come are as fun and exciting.

Andrea Trying Her Wellies Out in the Tide Flats

Andrea Running In to Avoid the Tide

The Castle at Lincoln

Exploring the Castle

 Cathedral View

My Birthday Gift