A Fab Day in Tynemouth (A Must-Read for VW Fans)

What a day we had on Saturday! We parked alongside Longsands Beach in Tynemouth, ate our picnic lunch on a bench at the top of a cliff, and walked along the beach to Tynemouth proper, where the village was decked out with banners and flags and had more foot traffic than we've ever seen. (Tynemouth is only about six miles down the coast from where we live so we go there often.)

On our beach walk, we took pictures of what looked interesting along the way...

Chilly enough to still be light-jacket weather. The water is COLD.

Algae-covered rocks at low tide.

Ollie's shoes look small in Mike's hand.

The beaches here are dog-friendly. Seems like dogs don't mind the cold water.

Well, dogs...and surfers in wet suits.

There have been two rescues in two weeks at the beach
because of strong rip currents. Swimmers are supposed to
stay between two flags posted on the beach; that area
is patrolled by RNLI (Royal National Lifeboat Institution).

A classic VW auto show was on for the day. We saw so many bugs and vans. All--well most of them--were restored and shiny-as-new. The show was on from 10am to 4pm, with a parade of all the cars at 4pm.

Named the "Doodle Bug," passersby were invited to draw in chalk all over
this bug painted with chalkboard-paint. 

One of many VW vans on the road.

Super cute. (Priory in the background, upper right).

All the colors were great!

Multiply this by 10 and that's about how many vans and bugs
we saw at the festival. There were people in costumes of the
era, and booths with food, and raffles and face painting.
It was a proper street fair.

While we waited for the parade to start, we sat on the grass with a bunch of other people just outside the Tynemouth Priory and bought some treats to pass the time:

Ice cream with flake, as it's called...the chocolate cookie stick that is stuck
down into your cone. We thought "flake" was like "sprinkles." Shouldn't they
call it ice cream with chocolate stick? Or ice cream with chocolate cookie?

Getting my vitamin D. And my beer.

Oh goodie! Time for the parade to start! This video is a bit long, but if you're a VW fan, you won't want to miss it.




We also walked out to the end of the north pier and lighthouse at the mouth of the Tyne River. It was a loooong way out there but what a great walk. The lighthouse was adorable. On the way out and back, some of the waves were crashing over the walls of the pier. Merrit really wanted to get wet, so we stood around for a while trying to predict the right place to stand. It was a bit like standing at the foot of Splash Mountain at Carowinds, but getting wet there is more of a sure bet.

Merrit finally got his wish!

Not soaked, but exciting all the same!

We made it to the end of the pier. This lighthouse is really
petite and cute. Not that old either. About 100 years.

There are stories of mermaid sightings all around these parts. I just read in the
 local paper the other day that a resident artist is trying to raise money to
create and place a mermaid statue somewhere on the rocks near the mouth of
the Tyne. Wouldn't that be cool?

We walked all this way! To the right: North Sea and King Edward's Bay.  To the
left: The Tyne River, which flows from Newcastle, about eight miles inland.

We walked back and realized we'd worked up an appetite. We ate dinner at an outdoor cafe in Tynemouth.

Look at those front teeth coming in!

Mike and Ollie take a little walk while we wait for our food to
come. Ollie, he's on the move. Always.

The sun started to go down at about 8:30pm. It's crazy how
long the days are here. Kids had a late night, but they slept great
after such a full day. We all did!