LOCATION: Whitby to Leeds
What's happening?
The whole purpose of heading north was for @Mac to catch up with long time online gaming friend @Joe. Mission accomplished and what a success.
The Adventure
We had spent the late afternoon and evening in Whitby and loved it, so wanted to double down this morning because Whitby was bathed in sunlight.
In order to meet our Leeds time frame of a 2 pm meetup, we needed to be out of Whitby by 11 am which meant we had to choose between the 199 steps up the cliff face to the Abbey that inspired the creation of Dracula or the walk uphill and then downhill to Captain Cook, the whalebone and the beach. Didn't have enough time to do both.
Opted for the latter!
Whitby is where Cook became a seaman. At age 18, he moved to Whitby and apprenticed under Captain John Walker, a Quaker shipowner whose fleet of Whitby-built coal ships (colliers) trained Cook in seamanship, navigation, discipline, and schooled him in the mathematical skills he later used to chart half the world!
The famous HM Bark Endeavour, along with Resolution and Adventure, were Whitby-built colliers — sturdy ships designed for the coal trade but perfect for long Pacific voyages. Whitby literally built the vessels that carried Cook to Australia and into history.
Made the climb up the West Cliff to find the Captain Cook monument where he gazes out over the North Sea and posed in the Whalebone Arch. Stunning views up there across the beach and pier.
Took the winding pathway to the beach and the dozens of beach chalets - the colourful little huts that line the beach. They can be rented for the day for about $60 AUD and provide a little bit of shelter for the beach goers.
The town was quiet (still recovering from last night) but the traffic on the beach was starting to pick up and even with water temperatures of 12 degrees some hardy squealing children were in the sea.
Rewarded ourselves on the stroll back with a plate of seafood that we had to fight the seagulls for - the gentleman we purchased from warned us there were four local residents perched on top of his van ready for a fight! No chance against us.
Found the obligatory morning coffee, collected the car (that was handy that checkout was at 10 but they let you use the car park till 12) and plugged in our Leeds address.
It was just a two hour drive on the highway to Leeds. A little confusing here and there with highway numbers and huge roundabouts and overpasses but the navigation system on board, now that we had worked out how to have the spoken instructions on, ensured we were on track.
Again, you get it all in such a short drive. The climb from Whitby immediately opens up dramatic views across the moorlands and back to the coastline, next is forested dips and winding roads, rolling farmland, sheep dotted hills, open fields dusted with the first haze of purple, stone villages and finally entered the green, gentle classic Yorkshire countryside that wraps around Leeds.
We made very good time and found ourselves parked outside our Savile Place apartment way too early for checkin. Ended up pulling up a spot outside a football club to get changed in the car and made our way for the face to face meetup.
What an afternoon and evening we had with @Joe, his family and friends. Such welcoming and fun loving people and the FOOD. And being corny - it could have been a Clash of Clans, but it was a Final Fantasy.
This was a friendship 12 years in the making. @Mac and @Joe have been building kindoms and saving civilizations together for all this time across these two games. @Joe is a bit of an online master and has been @Mac's mentor all these years and. @Mac has been the willing, loyal and trusted apprentice. @Joe runs a tight ship - sort of like his kitchen - and there are definite standards for the guilds he manages. When @Joe has taken breaks from the game @Mac has been his "Kingdom Keeper." They have shared so many life stories through the years with the game as the background to connection. Hu
But get this - they have NEVER spoken with each other - haven't heard each other's voices. It has all been through messaging in the games. I guess this could have gone wrong in a thousand ways. But it was an absolute hoot - their embrace on meeting was like two long lost brothers had been reunited.
After our first half hour, it was obvious that a few "rhums" were going to be shared so we took the Mini back "home" and got a cab back to the BBQ.
@Joe (or Jose) is Spanish. And a chef. This was no ordinary slap dash BBQ. He had been prepping for days and the gathered crowd were high in praise for what was to come. We were surrounded by @Joe's family and friends - @Martine, @Alex and Evan and partner @Noah (wife and sons and girlfriend), @Kendal and partner @Joe (confusing) and @Clifford - the in laws, Christine, True, Eric and Esther, Charlod and Dave, Ally, Simon and young Nancy (friends) and of course their three dogs. It was a "packed" garden!
The afternoon weather was perfect! Perched under outdoor umbrellas, we talked, drank, ate and laughed our way through the evening. So many stories and everyone juggling the talking stick to get their two bob's worth in
The food - seriously wonderful - it was endless - meat that was so tender and tasty that the only exertion was bending your elbow and lifting it to your mouth - accompanied by vegetables and salads that were legendary amongst the family and friends. @Joe chopped, tossed, turned and served food from that charcoal BBQ for two hours - he never stopped. His family and friends were very familiar with the way the menu would unfold and paced themselves in anticipation of the next treat that would land on the table. They were the best eaters I have ever seen.
Think we would do better next time - maybe we went a little too hard on offerings 1 and 2 - with the benefit of local knowledge would have saved a little more room for offerings 10 to 15!
Food prep done, @Joe and @Mac got down to the serious business of saving the world! The conversation and stories continued around them as they plotted deep in conversation and strategy.
As it approached 10 pm, it was an all hands on deck clean up and a return taxi ride home for us.
What absolute magic people. We were so welcomed and included and there was this shared excitement about "finally meeting" - apparently @Joe had been on a high for weeks in the countdown to the prep. The joy for us was in the family so willingly sharing the funny stories that have become "family legend" over time - the retells obviously embellished as the years roll on - but nonetheless, had the laughter echoing around the garden.
Plans for tomorrow were set - a meet up with TourGuide @Clifford at the Corn Exchange (not to be confused with the Porn Exchange - need my hearing checked) and lunch at @Joe's restaurant.
Hilarious really - after all that - the night did round out with @Mac and @Joe online, in the same time zone, a couple of suburbs apart, still texting, still saving the kingdom.
Survival Barometer
Steps: 9 853
Weather: 29 - perfect evening twilight and outdoor eating weather
Today's Spot the J clue - there is one!
"I like working stuff out with my friends too."
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