We did it!

We did it!

Wind was our foe in the final day.  Rain swept through at night leaving only sprinkles at best but the wind gusts were enough to push off your balance-especially carrying a pack.  We started out near the military facility, using a combination of roads traveled in the 15-19th centuries to bury people in the moors and some right bushwhacking through the heather.  We climbed down into one valley and then up again, still amazed at the lovely muted colors of the moors.  After about an hour, we got our first view of Robin Hood's Bay and the north sea!  We stopped at a burial cross which might be the oldest in England before targeting a tower on a far hill as our destination point from which we would enter RHB.  The wind started really whipping at this point, making the small drops of rain seem like hail.  There were a couple of points where the wind almost made me lose fmy balance.  Ultimately, we made our goal and set off align a road to RHB, down some steep hills my thigh muscles did not appreciate before we rejoined a trail to take us down, up and then down again (needed to get in one last steep mini-hill) to the beach.  Just as we hit the beach, the sun began to shine a bit and we walked along the sands to get closer to the town.  Keeping with tradition, we added to our journey waking out to the north sea, as the tide was out, to take off our boots and walk barefoot in the sea.  (you dip your boot in the Irish sea and your foot in the north).  There were a few smiles and hugs and then Liz and I decided we needed ice cream which we got from a truck on the beach.  It was a local brand and very good.  One more very, very steep hill to climb to the van and we said good bye to RHB - the final leg of our odyssey across england.  Will admit to a few nights where the legs and the feet hit so bad I wiondered if I would make it but I did and am darn proud of my certificate proving that I am a coast to coaster.