Sunday 26 April 2015

The joys of camping in the car

Hello. Woke up to brilliant sunshine this morning, typical, could have done with this yesterday. Anyway, the camping story. We found a pitch on a camp site near Whitby on Friday night. I decided not to put the tent up because it was windy, all the tents around were flapping madly. We stayed in the comfort of the car, and watched others put up their tents. A group of bikers arrived and had theirs up in no time, but a couple opposite were struggling with theirs, in took them nearly an hour. I haven't seen a tent like that before, the wind kept blowing it along the ground before they had chance to peg it down. As it got dark we bedded down in the back, plenty of room with all the paraphernalia stored in the front seats. Goodnight Rocky. 
It started as soon as we closed our eyes, the clicking noise and the hazard lights flashing. It stopped and it started again a few minutes later. The lights went off, then they came on. I worked it out that there was a sensor detecting movement inside the car. Oh bugger, I will have to lie still all night long, an impossibility on a hard surface, I will need to change positions. The flashing lights stopped for a while, but came on again as I turned over. In the meantime I was pressing the buttons on the key to stop it, that didn't work. Then I reckoned that the keys need to be outside the car, so I tied them on a piece of string and lowered them to the ground through an open window. That seemed to work, but still I kept my movements to a minimum. I eventually got some sleep but kept waking up several times to check there were no lights on. I didn't want to disturb my fellow campers. This is something I will have to look into if I sleep in it again. When I turn the ignition off and take the key out a notice comes on the screen that the interior electronic scanning is on. There is an option of turning it off, so I will have to refer to the manual to find out how to do that.

It was cold and windy the next morning. I had a makeshift breakfast, Rocky got his normal food which comes in pouches. Now why don't they make a human breakfast in a pouch which can be eaten without warming it up, ha ha. After a chat with my camping neighbours I decided that I had seen enough of Whitby and didn't need to go back, so we set off down the coast to call in at Scarborough. I followed the signs for North Bay and parked on the sea front. The sea was a tad rough, and it was a bit nippy. These hardy people were having a surfing lesson. You wouldn't get me jumping about in a cold rough sea.

The sky was a bit overcast and I was shooting into the sun which was struggling to make an appearance.

 Twenty minutes later as we were walking up the beach, the sun eventually broke through. Look at the difference, there's blue sky here. Howzabout one of these Beach Chalet's, fancy one? Don't they look fab.

You can rent one for £40 a day, or £210 for a week, or you can buy one, but I think you need to make an enquiry before they tell you the price. 
Double Deckers here, if you fancy one upstairs.

The sales office is now open. No this isn't a sponsored post, I get nowt for telling you this.

Rocky likes walking along the beach, and having a paddle. 
Our one hour parking time was up so we set off again. I thought we might have a look at Filey, but when we got there the weather turned a bit chilly, and there didn't seem much point in walking along another Promenade. Maybe a separate trip is needed for that. There was rain about so it was sensible to carry on. We stopped at the Country Park on the North Bank of the Humber Bridge for a walk. No sooner had I turned the ignition off than the black clouds came over and it chucked it down. Oh well best carry on. It seemed a bit brighter on the South Bank so we went to Barton for a walk, and I had a look at the art exhibitions at The Ropewark. Nothing very exciting there.

Back to normal today, working in the garden. I gave the lawns the first cut of the season, left it for as long as I dare, other people cut theirs weeks ago. Lady dog is here for the afternoon as her owner has gone on a coach trip and will be back from his ramble later than usual. I'll take her home in a minute.

Hope you have had a good weekend, thanks for popping in. Catch you tomorrow.
Toodle pip

22 comments:

  1. The newer the car, the more complicated they get. Hope you can find out how to turn off that sensor.
    when I was young , I would swim in the sea daily but it has been many a year since I lived at the seaside.

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  2. I love the colours those beach huts are painted in. When I was a child, my great aunt and uncle had a holiday home near Filey so we used to regularly head Scarborough Way. My aunt now has the holiday place, but I don't go very often at all. There isn't much in Filey itself to make it worth a trip back, in my opinion, but Flamborough Head is nice and RSPB Bempton Cliffs is well worth a visit - so many seabirds!

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  3. Glad you adopted Rocky, he looks so happy.

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  4. Pleased you had a good time and as always the photos are great. Always difficult arriving at a campsite in bad weather and then struggling to put a tent up on your own. I have an old canvas ridge tent which is a doddle to pitch unlike some of the modern fancy ones. Rocky looks lovely and snug in the car and no doubt wasn't bothered by the flashing lights.Kristel.

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  5. Rocky looks like he had fun! Sorry about your camping trip. I didn't know cars had sensors like that...hope if you have to camp in your car again, that you are able to turn it off. I'm sure it was good to sleep in your own bed again.
    Those beach huts are pretty! I don't think we have any like that here in the U.S., but I could be mistaken.

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  6. There is a switch to stop the monitor sensor. Mine has a kind of squiggle on it. I am so very pleased to see Rocky living a wonderful life. X

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    1. not Ilona here but most are only able to use on a day time basis. People will own or hire one and go there and use them to sit in. Last year I was in Mablethorpe which has these chalets too. I met a couple of ladies who were sitting crocheting blankets. It wasn't a nice day but they had the front open so got the sea air. They usually have a way of making a hot drink and a simple meal so all day can be spent there. Hope this helps

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  7. Here's a question from a place without beach huts: how do people use those beach huts, Ilona?

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    1. Hi. They are just like a box. They have electricity on a meter, a smallish kitchen for preparing food and drinks, and comfy seating. People go for the day, or every day if they live near enough. They open the doors and sit outside, chill out, and they can store their beach equipment if they are going there on a regular basis. It it's a bit cold they can sit inside for shelter and take in the views through the open doors.

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    2. PS, see cycling's comment above.

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  8. Well, that Rocky knows how to live! Never mind the Life of Riley, here comes the Life of Rocky.

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  9. The beach huts look beautiful,they remind me of the colours on a stripy stick of rock!
    Jane x

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  10. Little rocky looks very snug. They dont care as long as they're with you.

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  11. I love the colours of the beach chalets.

    Rocky looks so cozy and sweet sleeping in the car.

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  12. Oh! You missed Flamborough! Here was I following you down the coast expecting a wonderful surprise! Well Whitby isn't a bad substitute, but not Scarborough and Filey. Rocky is certainly well looked after.

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    1. Sorry about that, Chris, but Flamborough is not a good place to push a buggy around. The cliffs around Whitby were steep enough, even with a footpath, the lift down to the beach wasn't working unfortunately.

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    2. is it ok to disagree?! I love Scarborough and Filey - so many happy memories of holidays there. And the beaches are wonderful. (Flamborough's good too, though!) Thanks for the photos. Linda J

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  13. The sea water & air will be good for Rocky. Natalie

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  14. made me chuckle imaging you dangling the car keys out of the window.....ingenious!

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  15. I wonder if you left your key in the ignition and locked the doors the alarm might not have gone off. Or maybe cover the sensors somehow.
    New vehicles are getting over complicated, i've managed to wind the windows down, change gear, lock the doors, switch lights and wipers on myself in the past and i don't feel i'm in control sometimes.
    Dave.

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  16. Hi.You've been out and about lots lately and have a bit of that gypsy spirit,I think.I often get restless to go away and then am so happy to be back home again after having done so,till the urge strikes again.Weather being moody,sensor issues aside,Rocky looks so content wherever you may be as you look after him so well and understand his special needs.I vote for sleeping in a car or trailer nowadays as getting a tent and campsite ready can be too time consuming when I'm travel weary.Those are lovely photos and the chalets are so cheerful looking and a great idea.Thank you for sharing,D.

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  17. Ilona, As you know - I am reading your entire blog from the very beginning. It is Oct 18, 2016, morning hours here in the U.S.A. as I read this post. I don't cry often. One look at the very first photo of dear Rocky and I cried buckets. Jackie

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