HARROGATE WITH FRIENDS

I finally arrived at 'Three Acres', the small certified location on a farm just outside Harrogate.  Certified locations, are hidden gems offering picturesque solitude away from the crowds and they are exclusively for members of the Caravan club. Not all of them have any facilities but this one had a toilet and shower as well as drinking water and somewhere to empty my toilet cassette. ( I have spared you the detail of doing that, surffice it to say, I just knuckle down and get on with it every time I have to empty it and I try to think of other things whilst I am doing that.) and to be honest it is no where as bad as I thought it might be to do it.  

I took myself off to have a lovely walk in the surrounding area for a couple of hours and it was beautiful Yorkshire countryside. I Could see Menwith Hill, the satellite communications station, in the distance 

 When I got back I noticed that one of the sheep in the field alongside the motorhome was in a spot of bother. It had got entangled in some of the fencing and could not break free. So I called the farmer out to rescue it. He told me that he had switched the electric fence off for ten minutes to remove some other sheep and this little fella had taken the opportunity to make a bid for freedom. 

Thankfully the farmer was able to extricate the sheep from the fencing and all was calm on the farm. But not for long, the heavens opened and the very heavy rain started again. I have never seen so much rain. It is just my luck as soon as I start my travels it rains every day. Saying that I have so far been fortunate with gaps in the rain to go out and explore. It seems to start raining hard again the moment I step foot back in the motorhome. Tonight I am expecting my ex sister-in-law, who lives in Harrogate,  to come for dinner and a sleepover. So I set about decorating the place and hanging up the fairy lights to make it more homely. 

I cooked us a delicious spicy prawn and tomato sauce spaghetti dish and we sat and nattered over gin and wine until the early hours of the morning. Again it hit home just how nice it is not to have to worry about work the next day and to be able to be present in the moment and spend quality time with friends.

Talking about good friends, I was so pleased to be able to call on my dear friends Jake and Gilly. I had been joking with them in the run up to my adventures that I would just turn up like the 'Lady in the Van', and camp on their driveway! If it was good enough for Alan Bennett it was good enough for them! Ha! Ha!. But joking apart they welcomed me with open arms and cracked open the bubbly and christened my new home. They plugged my motorhome into their mains electricity (without giving me a bill on departure) Even Tatty enjoyed having a good nosy around and made herself at home.

After a delicious meal and a good old natter I settled down for the night on their driveway. And the next morning, before I headed off, Jake kindly checked my tyre pressures on the electric bike. I think I may have introduced him to the joys of the electric bicycle after he had a little ride around the block.

Seeing my friends enthusiasm for what I am doing only makes me more excited about this trip. Society wants to stereotype people who are sixty and I want to break that stereotype. Even though I am sixty, retired and a pensioner I can embark on the next phase of my life with as much zest for adventure as before. I want to learn new things and have new experiences. And I am eager to meet people along the way.