Whitby

 Yes, we took a steam train.  It was sooo cool!

 Pickering!  It was such a cute little town!  This is where we got on the train. We were early, so we decided to roam around.  We bought some food from Cooplands and some fresh fruit from a little food store.  They were selling things on the streets with little canopies over their makeshift shops.  There was one vendor selling underwear!  I didn't get many photos, though; this was the day I accidentally left my camera on on the way!  I was trying to conserve battery.

 Kyler (I think it was him....) found this amazing little flower!  I thought it was the coolest thing!

 English countryside:  you can't help but love it.  

 Whitby!

 It was a bit less touristy and also more urban than Scarborough.  The day we went was also more English weather than what I had been treated to for most of my trip.  

 Walking the steep and narrow back streets of Whitby.

 This is looking over the rooftops across the bay(?) to the church and castle ruins.  

 There were so many cute little shops!

We stopped at that little candy shop.  There was a bunch of delicious-looking and cheap candy!

 This church was just so cool! It was built in the 1110 AD!  Nikki and I had to walk up an insane number of unbelievably steep steps, but it was so worth the effort!

 These headstones have probably been there for over a century, being damaged by the salty wind.  This entire area was separated from the sea only by virtue of being on a cliff.

 I saw so many old-fashioned ice cream trucks on my trip!

The architecture was beautiful!

The castle ruins.

There was a little neighborhood on the top of the cliff.  It was amazing that people could have th privilege of living in such an amazing location!

The view from the top!  So pretty!

Another amazing flower found by one of the boys.  (I think it was Rylan.)

Near the bottom of the staircase, you have an amazing view of both Whitby and those insane stairs.

Remember when I mentioned that many places in England have stairs down to the water?  That's where I'm standing!

While walking around, I noticed a solicitor's office.  "Solicitor" in British English translates to "lawyer" in American English. I really did laugh out loud.

Beautiful Nikki.  Love this girl!

Boarding the train in Whitby.  It was sad, but I remember being pretty cold, so it was welcome.

Just another snapshot of English countryside because it is amazing!

On the way back "home", we upgraded to first class.  Notice the fancy seat?  I think "first class" translates to "Harry Potter Style".

Preston and Scarborough

 This is the first glimpse of the Preston, England LDS temple.  Though I think that the Church owns much of the land surrounding the temple, the actual temple grounds are quite small.  Small does not mean less beautiful, however!  Everything surrounding the temple is just beautiful, but in a very different way from DC or Salt Lake City.  

 Notice the stained glass?  There is stained glass in a few places on the temple-- so pretty!

 The small hedges you see here are arranged and kept in a maze pattern, with those beautiful red flowers in between.

 It was Rylan's first temple trip!  That is him and his dad Wes walking the temple grounds.  I promise I did not set up this shot!  It totally just worked out!

 A sole petal on the perfectly trimmed and well-kept grass. 

 Me in front of the temple!

 Our way back included many adventures, including an entertaining trip to McDonald's.  But this was a stop at a "Car &Cycles" store.  My American self thought that a bit odd.  Is it a bike shop?  Or a car parts store?  In Jolly Old England, they're one in the same!  It makes sense, too; gas is so expensive there.  

 Scarborough!  The entire town overall looked very much like this snapshot.  Except the shore area, of course.  

ERROR: GORGEOUS OVERLOAD

 I think that Scarborough has the coolest shells!

 This was hilarious.  And inside, there were a whole bunch of amusement park games.  

 These.  Steps.  Are.  Steep.

 British ice cream-- weird, but good!

 Oh Kyler....

 It reminded me of the TARDIS.

 There were seagulls everywhere.  Think the Jersey shore has seagulls?  Florida?  Virginia?  Combine all of their seagulls and multiply by four.  

 They actually ride these busses to school, too!  So... British!

 I was so surprised to see Nutella in England!  Until I was informed that Nutella is European.  Oops. 

It almost seemed tropical.  Confusing since it was pretty cold!

Many places in england have stairs down to the water.  I love it!  

We built a pretty epic sandcastle, if I do say so myself.  The sand was so soft, too!  

Photo credit to Wes.  I love this picture!