Hangin' Out in Maryport

On Sunday, Frankie and I went to the Maryport Aquarium. We have a season pass there, and it has quickly become our favorite place to go in town.

We visited the fish, had a nice leisurely lunch in the aquarium's cafeteria, and capped the afternoon off with a visit to "Shiver Me Timbers," a pirate-themed playground located just a stone's throw away from the aquarium.

I talked to a nice older couple in the playground, who seemed genuinely dumbstruck by the fact that they had Americans living in their town. They regarded us as genuine oddities, and left the conversation whispering to each other about how they were going to have to call their friends and tell them alllll about the Americans in Maryport. "Wait till Charlie gets a load of this!," he said.

On Monday, it was a "bank holiday." I'm not sure what the exact origin of the bank holiday is. All I know is that they are public holidays, and that schools and most workplaces are closed. There are quite a few bank holidays throughout the year, but there doesn't seem to me to be any rhyme or reason to how they're distributed. They seem to happen consistently and randomly. They're a  bit of a mystery to me. But, really, they're also kind of awesome. Every month or so, it's like everyone is given a random "bonus day" to tack onto their weekend. Can't argue with that!

On the bank holiday, I took Frankie down to a local restaurant called The Old Mill. The Old Mill is right down the street from Frankie's school, and is a really warm, cozy little pub. I had never been there before, and I really liked it. It had dark purple carpeting on the wall, dark wood on the tables and booths, and a cozy fireplace. Very homey. Frankie ate fish and chips (a dish upon which she's starting to become an expert) and I had what they call a "bacon butty." A bacon butty is essentially a bacon and butter sandwich, which is every bit as delicious and unhealthy as you might imagine.

Later in the day they had a barbecue for the locals, and set up a bouncy castle for the kids. Frankie can't resist the lure of a bouncy castle, so even though we had already eaten our lunch there, we came back and crashed the afternoon barbecue. We didn't eat, just hung out and bounced. Frankie saw quite a few kids from her school, and had a grand time. She saw her friend Maddie (whose birthday party she's going to next weekend), and her buddy Jack. (Jack's the boy in the red shirt.)

Jack is a few years older than Frankie, but has really taken a shine to her. I think it's partly due to Frankie's accent, which everyone seems to find totally adorable, even when Frankie is being naughty. While Frankie and Jack were horsing around, one of the other little girls came over to me and whispered, conspiratorially, that Jack was in fact Frankie's...boyfriend!

I don't think Frankie is aware of this, however. Still, it's kind of an adorable little non-consensual courtship.