My Scottish Summer Adventures

Back in the States again

2009-10-24T12:12:00.000-07:00

Hi all!

I have finally returned to the motherland - good ole, U S of A!! I'm back in Florida for a little while and then will be bouncing back and forth between here and NJ. I still have many stories and adventures to recount from my travels in Scotland and also my East Coast road trip here in the states, so if its all right with you I'll keep going with my blogging if you're interested... I have about 2,000 pictures to sort through and I have to remember all the cool things I did while still in Scotland that I never told you about! My memory is pretty bad so I hope I'm up for the task. I'll have to carry around a pad of paper and jot down memories as they pop into my little head.

So I just wanted to keep you all up to date, and be looking for a new blog posting in the next few days!

See you later! :-)

The last group of pictures from the trail - promise!

2009-09-24T14:04:00.001-07:00

So, which way do I go???
The famous Old Course at St. Andrews Links - no that is not Tiger Woods putting...
The view of the city of St. Andrews from on top of St. Rule's Tower
Watching the sunrise
The best part of the sunrise at St. Andrews

I'm not kidding - more pics of the Fife path

2009-09-24T13:57:00.000-07:00

St. Andrew's Cathedral at sunset

My cairn -I wonder how long it will stand?
so WINDY!!!
Lunch break of banana's, granola bar and water - yum :-)

and more pictures of the path

2009-09-24T13:53:00.001-07:00

Quick picture break
The rock and the spindle - pretty neat

more beach walking!
My big feet :-)

Yup, more pictures of the path

2009-09-24T13:47:00.001-07:00

What?!?!?!?!?!
You gotta be kidding me? Wait for the tide to recede? I could be here all night!
The most North Eastern tip of my run
So pretty!
The cute little harbor of Crail. You can almost see my little lobster shack in the corner, too bad its a shack and its little :-)

Fife Coastal Path Pictures

2009-09-24T13:42:00.001-07:00

A cool rock formation along the way - can you spot the face?
St. Monan's Windmill
Lady's Tower
One of the many little lighthouses dotting the coast line
I have no idea what this is. It was in the middle of nowhere, for no apparent reason, and of course, I took a picture of it like a true tourist :-)

Pics from the Trail

2009-09-24T13:27:00.000-07:00

The home of Alexander Selkirk
One of the many beaches I trudged across :-)
All suited up in my rain gear!

A cute little fishing village along the way

Running the Fife Coastal Trail

2009-09-24T12:21:00.000-07:00

Hiya Everyone!

Again, sorry for the lengthy time between posts! I had to move flats (as expected) and it was a bit more cumbersome to get on-line from my new accommodations (which is a funny story in and of itself, but we'll talk about that a different time :-). I think I will continue to blog about my summer adventures even after I return home. I have gotten so far behind in my story telling, and you all seem to enjoy reading about my adventures, that maybe I'll keep going for a bit longer? Sound OK to everyone? I return to Florida NEXT Monday already! Wow, 3 months went quick! I won't be blogging for the following 3 weeks though, because I will be traveling the East Coast for a while. So I'm sure I'll blog about that as well once I return. OK, on to my latest adventure!

With my time quickly drawing to a close here in Scotland, the pressure was on to finish running the Fife Coastal Path. I've spoken of it before, but I'll give you a quick summary. This path is over 80 miles long and reaches from North Queensferry up along the east coast of Scotland, along the North Sea and ending at Newport on Tay. http://www.fifecoastalpath.co.uk/main.asp. I had already accomplished the first 15 miles of the trail earlier in the summer, but still had the remainder to finish, so it was now or never! I decided not to run the final 19 miles from St. Andrews to Newport because it was mostly inland, and the coast is the best part of the run, so that left 45 miles on the agenda!

Sunday, after church, I hopped on a train up to Kirkcaldy and then took a bus up to Leven, where I checked into a B&B, dropped off my bag, put on my sneakers and hit the trail for 10 miles. I had to run the section backwards so I was headed back down to Kirkcaldy along the Firth of Forth. It was a beautiful day, but windy, so it was a bit more of a workout than I had anticipated. Along the way I passed ruined castles, abbeys and towers. I finally got into Kirkcaldy around 6:30, only to miss the bus back up to Leven by 1 minute! Talk about frustrating. So I just dropped into the local foodstore and picked a nice pasta meal for supper and then waited for the next bus up the coast.

Monday was the day I was most nervous about. I had scheduled to run 20 miles from Leven up to Crail. I got started right at 9 am with the cloudy sky waiting to send its rain down on me. This part of the trail runs right along the Firth of Forth on my right and then more often than not, golf courses on my left. So I was always watching out for any flying golf balls that might come out of no where and bop me on the head (thankfully that never happened, but with all the signs they had up about it, I'm sure that it has occurred to some unlucky traveler in the past!) I ended up walking a good portion of the trail, because it was directly on the beach in many places. Absolutely beautiful, but hard going when you're walking in sand. Plus, it started to rain a bit, and who wants to struggle through sand in the rain as you run? I'm not that much of a gluten for punishment :-) The trail did bring me through some really cute towns along the way. Lower Largo is the home of Alexander Selkirk, whom Daniel Defoe used as his inspiration for the character of Robinson Crusoe. I stopped here and had a nice cup of tea and lemon drizzle cake for lunch - so that sweetened my run/walk a bit more :-) From here I continued on and passed Lady's Tower, an old ruin of a tower that was built for Lady Jane Anstruther, so that she could enter the bay below without the townspeople watching her. I also passed St. Monans Windmill, which was used once upon a time to pump seawater into the salt pans. Finally around mid-afternoon I hit my stop for the day - Crail. I stayed in a lovely B&B with great people who offered to come pick me up anywhere if I ran into trouble on my future days walk. I was a bit disappointed though, there was a little shack on the harbor that sells fresh lobsters and crab right off the boat. They cook it while you wait and then you can just sit there at a picnic table on the beach, eating the freshest lobster you will ever have. Just my luck, they were closed on Monday. Oh well, I'll just have to go back :-)

Tuesday rolled around much too quickly for my weary knees, but I only had 15 miles to accomplish so I knew I could handle it. Unfortunately for me, this last leg proved to be the toughest. There are NO towns along the way - it is completely along the coast of the North Sea, so no tea breaks for me. Plus, I thought Sunday was windy, it was NOTHING compared to the wind on Tuesday. In some places I had to walk almost bent at the waist just to stay upright. The winds along the sea are simply horrendously strong. This section is Scotland's coast at its best though. It was just mile after mile of crashing surf and cliff faces. I soon discovered that the path wasn't quite complete and proved a little difficult to navigate. Some areas you have to wait to cross if the tide is in. Rocky beaches again became my path as well as ruts along a 20 foot cliff overlooking the sea. Finally after 12 miles, St. Andrews appeared on the cliffs in front of me, about 3 miles away. I felt like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, seeing the Emerald City for the first time after traveling the yellow brick road. One of my favorite memories of this leg of the journey was stopping at a particularly rocky beach and building my own little cairn. It was my memorial stone tower of thanks to God for a fantastic summer and grateful for his protection over me during this little jaunt along the coast.

The Fife Coastal Path, is actually the path that pilgrims would take to get from Edinburgh to St. Andrews, where the bones of St. Andrew are supposed to be. It is a really cute town. Lots of great little stores, restaurants and old stuff :-) too check out. St. Andrews Castle, which was built for the Bishops of the church, is built right on the cliff face. You can also check out the old Cathedral and St. Rule's tower, which was built in the 14th century and has amazing views of the coast if you climb the 108 stairs to the top (which of course, I did). The beach scene from Chariots of Fire was filmed on the East Sands beach in St. Andrews (I've never seen it, but I guess I'll have to check it out now :-) Plus, if you're a golfer, St. Andrews Old Course is there to play 18 holes of very expensive golf. (Someone told me that Golf got its name this way - G (gentlemen) O (only) L (ladies) F (forbidden). I don't know if its true, but..... Mary Queen of Scots got into a lot of trouble when she wanted to play golf...

My B&B in St. Andrews was again, wonderfully comfortable and I was thankful for a warm shower and comfy bed to rest my weary body. Of course, my running wasn't over just yet. I saw a postcard taken at sunrise and also sunset in St. Andrews and thought how fun that would be to get the same shot and how handy it would be to do during a run. So, that night at 6:30 I ran 4 miles back up the coastal path to try and get some great shots of the city in the waning light and also at 6 am the next day I was up and running again with my camera in my hand ready to take some fantastic shots. The sunset & sunrise weren't as great as the postcards, but I'm still glad that I tried, and I did get a couple good shot :-)

Another super long post I'm afraid. Sorry about that. I hope you enjoyed looking at the pics from my run and reading about the cute fishing villages I passed along the way. See you later!

Almost done with more castle pictures

2009-09-03T14:13:00.001-07:00

A highland coo
The covered walkway in the garden of Glamis castle
Glamis castle
Yup, I climbed a tree for this pic :-)
Glamis castle up close

More Castle Pictures!

2009-09-03T14:03:00.001-07:00

The amazing Huntley castle front door

Along the way to Findlater castle
Me, hanging precipitously out the "window' of Findlater :-)
Findlater castle from the mainland. Yup, had to cross the great divide to get to that little bit of organized rock there on the left.

More Csatle Pictures

2009-09-03T13:57:00.000-07:00

More Castle Pictures!

2009-09-03T13:41:00.000-07:00

The very cool Dunnotter castle
So pretty!
Visiting my ancestral home :-) Maybe I should make it my new summer home? Anyone want to finance it for me?
Slain's castle - yup, still raining
Slain's castle from across the burn. I had to walk about 1/2 mile inland to get around the ravine and then back again on the other side until I was even somewhat close to the castle - but still, look at that view!

The Castle Trail

2009-09-03T13:00:00.001-07:00

Hi again!

I am so far behind I almost forgot that I didn't tell you all about one of my weekends away in the northeast corner of Scotland! Wow!!! That was a really fun weekend that I am very excited to share about! So here it goes!

One of my favorite places in all of Scotland is Cruden Bay, where Slain's castle is located. Slain's castle is the previous seat of the Hay Clan (my ancestors, well, some of them - I'm a Duncan too!) Slain's castle is perched right on the cliffs over the sea and it is an AMAZING view. This is not like the other ruined castles where it is taken care of and made safe for the general public - no, this is a RUIN in all senses of the word. No caretakers - nothing, just the way I like it. I took a coastal path (of course it was raining, as usual) and got soaked in the process of the 2 mile journey through some boggy marshland and also a wheat field - ssshhh, don't tell :-) I got a bit turned around, but eventually the castle was spotted! The castle had been added on to many, many times in the past so it truly was like a maze. I really wish I could have seen the castle in all its glory and saw how it all flowed. Over the course of the years of occupation it was blown up twice by the owners of the castle (they were a bunch of nutters it would seem :-) Yea, for my ancestors!) Most recently, and this was in the late 1800's, Bram Stoker, who used to vacation in Cruden Bay, used Slains Castle as his inspiration for Dracula's Castle. Pretty neat, eh?

I also got to visit another one of my favorite castles in Stonehaven, Dunnotter castle. Dunnotter, is also built right on the cliffs, but is a little more dramatic in its presentation because it is built on a little rock island of sorts that is only attached to the mainland by a small strip of rock. Again, one of the most beautiful castles in all of Scotland. It was here that the Scotland Honors (the crown jewels) were hidden from Oliver Cromwell when he attacked Scotland in the 1600's. Legend has it that they were secreted out of the castle by being sewn into the clothes of the washer women that were allowed to enter the castle during Cromwell's siege of Dunnotter. Cromwell's men even helped the washer women carry their laundry baskets from the castle to their cart :-) Those sneaky Scotsmen were pretty smart :-)

My next adventure took me on an 8 mile hike along the coast by a little town called Portsoy. It started out a bit mundane, but the closer I got to the coast the more outstanding the view was. Eventually my path led me to Findlater Castle - another TRUE ruin in all senses of the word. I had to climb down a step embankment and then cross a small strip of land to get to the castle that was truly built right into the cliff wall. Many parts of it had fallen down and there were huge gaping holes in between the different levels of the castle, but it was so amazing to be there. I can only imagine how cold it would get in those rooms when the wind was blowing on a cold and blustery night in the middle of winter. Perhaps I took more risks than I should have when exploring this castle, but.... it was worth it!

Onto another castle, I warned you, this was a castle trail! Huntley Castle is like most other castles you need to pay to get into, except they had some terrific stonework with such detailing that I can't compare it to any other place. The section of the house where the front door is, has a 3 story tall, ornate stone carving, that I have no idea how they managed to create. The fireplaces and mantles were also works of art in the stone cutting world. (on a side note, I got to stay in a true castle that was now a hotel in the town of Huntley and it was pretty neat. One of the most interesting parts of my stay was chatting with the castles owner and him recounting how he had only known his wife for 8 days before they got married - it was love at first sight, and still is over 40 years later! All together now, Aaaawwwhhh!)

My last stop was Glamis Castle, this castle is still used as a residence, so it is completely filled with old furniture and everything else you need to really get a feel for what life is like living in a castle! This is where the Queen Mother (the current Queen's mom, who died in 2002 at the ripe old age of 101) was born and grew up. They have many ghost legends and haunting tales to tell of murder and mayhem. The castle dates back to the 1400's and lots of history has been made here. What castle would be complete without their very own herd of highland cattle! Yup, out back there were many highland coo's. Some were mama's with their babies and others were some nasty looking males, waiting to trample you if you climbed over the fence :-)

Whelp, I know it was another long post, and its my own fault for falling so far behind, but hopefully I have kept you all entertained for most of it! More fun to come in the next storytelling time! See you later!

Rugby Pics and around town shots

2009-08-30T14:35:00.001-07:00

Just in case you forgot what I looked like, here is a recent picture :-) Honestly, I think the clouds are really neat in this picture, just ignore me, I get in the way :-)
It was amazing, they just hefted these guys right up in the air so that they could grab the ball and run with it.
Greyfriar's Kirk Graveyard, the beginning of my Murder & Mystery Tour - doesn't look too scary...in the day time :-)This is called a 'Scrum' in Rugby. Each team locks arms and sometimes legs, and tries to get the rugby ball, that is thrown in under their feet, to their side of the group. It's hard to explain, sorry, I guess you gotta be there :-)
The Meadows, where the truck mishap happened :-)

Summer (mis)Fun

2009-08-30T14:02:00.000-07:00

Well, I have gotten quite a few e-mails about my references to my summer mishaps and I figured I better get another blog in the works before it got out of hand :-) We'll go right to the good stuff then - my run in with a truck!

Walking through the meadows (the park I have to walk through everyday to get into town) I had to walk around a truck that was backed up over the sidewalk and partially in the road. I couldn't go behind him on the grass because they were pouring concrete, so I had to go around him in the street. Well traffic was pretty heavy so I was standing directly up against the front of the truck waiting to go around him (mind you the truck's front window isn't that tall, so my head could be clearly seen by the driver) when the driver decided he wanted to pull out and I was in his way, so he just started going forwarded trying to move me out of the way using the TRUCK!! He didn't yell anything out the window or ask me politely to move, he just decided to push me out of the way. Crazy, I know.

The fiasco in my kitchen wasn't my fault at all. One afternoon I was walking into the kitchen when I heard an odd noise coming from within. Upon entering, my eyes are immediately drawn to the new waterfall of running water coming from the ceiling above the counter. It proceeded to keep going like this until the ceiling partially came down from the weight of the water! The running water only lasted about an hour, but in that time, my flatmates and I, were frantically dumping buckets of water and replacing them with empty ones. The washing machine in the flat above ours was leaking and I guess over time the water built up until it finally came crashing through the ceiling. Thankfully, we are not responsible, but it still hasn't been fixed... Good ole insurance companies, they are the same no matter what country you are in! :-)

This past week was the last week of the Fringe festival and I decided that I probably wouldn't have another opportunity like this to take advantage of all the "culture" so I had better see something to say I had participated (I've been avoiding it because of all the tourists, I hate crowds). Well, there was quite a lot going on this week that I really enjoyed. I went and saw the play, "Emma" (which I thought more resembled the quality of a high school play then a 9.50 pound fringe worthy event) I also went and saw and Irish Step Dancing Spectacular. The dancers were fantastic, the dances themselves were a bit more modern than I would have liked, but there was still a lot of the traditional step dancing to keep me entertained.

I also went on a Murder and Mystery Graveyard tour of old Edinburgh. It was a lot of fun (although VERY cold) and I learned quite a bit about the more nefarious history of Edinburgh. Like the true inspiration for Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde, what happened to Mary, Queen of Scots, murdered secretary, and Burke and Hare, Scotland's first pair of serial killers! After my graveyard adventures, I went to a late night classical music event at Old Saint Paul's Church. It was a great way to end my night. Picture sitting in an old stone church at 10 o'clock at night, with only candles lighting the inside, a warm mug of hot coco in your hands as the gentle caress of Mozart fills your ears, played by an accomplished viola, violin and cello player. Very tranquil.

This week I also got to go to my first Rugby game!! This is something I have been looking forward to ever since I started planning my trip, and thankfully the beginning of the season has just begun! My trusty rugby teacher, Stuart, explained all the weird rules and names they have for the game. I love the fact that the teams can pick up their own players so that they can catch the ball when it is thrown in, and then unceremoniously drop them on the ground in a pile. Rugby players are brutes! They are HUGE! and tough. These guys would just bash each other to get the ball. I love Rugby! You can keep American football, Rugby is a real man's sport!

In my next blog I'll start recounting some of my adventures when my two friends from Florida came to visit. Edinburgh, London, Roslyn Chapel, Linlithgow, Fireworks, lots of good stories to recount. See you all later!

Pictures from Golfing and the Military Tattoo

2009-08-25T04:59:00.000-07:00

Yeah! Golfing for the first time :-)
My great golfing coach - Stuart. Patience is always necessary when teaching an Eelman to golf!
I always seemed to hit the ball to hard when putting, I have to work on that...

A view from the Argyle Steps of the Castle - so pretty! The picture really doesn't do it justice, you'll just have to come over and check it out for yourself!
The 2009 Military Tattoo - a really NEAT experience, again, you have to come over and watch it!

I'm so far behind, where do I begin?

2009-08-25T04:25:00.000-07:00

Hello, Hello! I can't believe it's been 3 weeks since my last post! Sorry about that! I have had SO much going on in my little Edinburgh world that the time has just flown by. I had 2 great friends visit for 10 days and it was a whirlwind adventure with no sleep! After that I took some classes through Edinburgh University and also helped out my local church with some Fringe events that they were hosting. Maybe I'll start with some current events and then back track to my friends visits and our adventures down in London. Sound good? Good.

August in Edinburgh is an insane time! There are so many festivals and events that are going on its crazy. The population swells to immense proportions and you can't even walk down the Royal Mile with out wanting to kill people because you just can get through all the swarms of tourists! The 2 biggest events are the Military Tattoo and the Fringe. The Tattoo is put on nightly within the castle walls and it's a mix of talent from different country's military groups and also local pipe and drum bands. Here is the web-site that can do a much better job at explaining what the tattoo is all about. http://www.edinburgh-tattoo.co.uk/tattoo-experience/castle.html. Check it out, there are some great pictures that look a lot better than mine!

The fringe is a HUGE festival that encompasses everything from comedy shows, plays, music, exhibits, dance, opera and children's shows. The fringe book, which lists all the shows and when they are happening, is over 200 pages long! My church sponsors Christian plays and music that people can attend during the festival. They have had a great turn out and I've gotten to see some great shows after helping out before the shows begin. This is the last week and I'm helping steward (usher) for 2 nights this week. We saw an expert of the play during church on Sunday night and it was hilarious. It should be a lot of fun and I'm looking forward to it

The past 2 weeks I took 2 classes, The History of Scottish Clans, and the History of Edinburgh Castle, through Edinburgh University. I got to go to the castle everyday and have my classes there. It was SO neat! The teacher was a local writer, I think he has penned over 10 books on Scottish history and stories. He was a bit scattered in his teaching, but was interesting non-the-less. He could rant and rave for an hour about how all history is biased and how we shouldn't believe anything that we read, quite ironic since he is a writer of history :-). He is hugely patriotic to Scotland and was a lot of fun to listen to. My favorite part of class, and this is going to sound funny, was leaving the castle. I would come down the Argyle Steps, from the top of the castle rock, and the view was simply amazing. I could see all of Edinburgh, over the Forth and into Fife. It just takes your breathe away.

I also had my first golfing experience this past weekend! The weather was perfect, albeit a bit windy, so take advantage of the good weather while you can and play golf! My favorite part was the initial teeing off. I love hitting that little golf ball and seeing how far I could get it to fly off into the distance. (more often than not, I missed the ball on the first swing and then after contact it would usually veer off to the right side of the course) All in all though, I think I had a decent showing and I managed to get under par on a few holes on the course. I would definitely play again if given the opportunity.

Well, I'm going to sign off but I am planning on blogging again this week since I have 3 weeks of adventures to catch up on. I'll tease you with a bit of what is to come: following the castle trail in the northeast corner of Scotland, sleeping in a castle, getting hit by a truck (I'm OK, don't worry, no injuries, promise! It's just more of a funny story than anything :-), the misadventures of trying to see the fireworks in Edinburgh, and the ceiling crashing down in the kitchen of my flat. Intrigued? Good, see you later!

My Other MisAdventures

2009-07-30T03:21:00.000-07:00

I have no idea what these little beasties are! Rams? Sheep? I don't know, but with their ears hanging down and their horns sticking out, they look a bit odd...
The Front yard of Hopetoun House
The path along the side of Hopetoun
The Backyard of Hopetoun - I would hate to cut that lawn every Saturday afternoon :-)
Newhailes House

Clan Gathering Pictures

2009-07-30T03:13:00.001-07:00

The Clan Village sitting underneath the Salisbury Crags
There were kilt clad men everywhere!
I LOVE the bright yellow wellies paired with the kilt - what a cute brother and sister!

The 2009 Clan Gathering and aother Misadventures

2009-07-30T02:45:00.000-07:00

July 2009 was the BIGGEST Clan gathering since 1822, with more clan chiefs in attendance since the Battle of Culloden in 1745! Over 30,000 from around the world descended upon Edinburgh to rediscover their roots and explore their ancestors lands. It was a 2 day affair with a clan village (over 85 clan families were represented, with the Hay's and Duncan of course :-), highland dancing, caber tossing, stone throwing, hill racing and much more. I have never seen so many kilt clad men in my life :-) Everyone was proudly displaying their family's tartan. Even Prince Charles showed up for the occasion. While I hate crowds, it was a neat experience to be around all these people who were so excited about their history

While, I enjoyed the clan gathering, I was even happier to escape the crowds and head over to Musselburgh to explore Newhailes house. The day got off to a rocky start though, as always I missed the train to Musselburgh by about 2 minutes and the next one was in 1 hour. So I had a decision, wait an hour to take a 4 minute train ride, or hop a bus and arrive 40 minutes later in Musselburgh (yup, you read that right, 4 minutes compared to 40! Insane!) Anyway, I opted to have lunch in town and then get the next train. This would have been fine, had the way to Newhailes been marked properly on the maps at the train station. But, having learned from experience, the best way is to ask people, so I stopped in a bakery and asked for directions. The kind women sent me down the street about a mile. There was NO Newhailes in a mile... I stopped at a gas station and was told - "Oh, you need to go BACK into town about a mile, then continue on about 2 1/2 miles in the OTHER direction to get to Newhailes." At this point, what could I really do? So an hour after arriving in Musselburgh, I arrived at Newhailes house in the rain. (yup, it got better when it started to rain :-) The house is an old country estate house that was built in the early 18th century. The Scottish National Trust just took it over and their motto is "Conservation not restoration" so everything is a bit threadbare and dingy, but you can get the idea of what it was supposed to look like. My favorite room was the library, where there were floor to ceiling bookcases. Unfortunately there is a no picture taking policy, so you only get to see the outside of the house (unless you take a look at this web-site: http://www.nts.org.uk/Property/47/) Thankfully I asked the caretaker for directions back to the train station, and he sent me on a little shortcut and it only took me 10 minutes to get there :-)

My next little adventure took me to Hopetoun House. This is the huge family estate of the Hope family that has been in their possession since 1709! It is a huge house with 150 acres of land out back. This time I knew I was in for a 2 mile walk to the house from the bus stop, but it was a pleasant walk along the coast, so I was happy. The house is absolutely amazing with vastness of the rooms and the beautiful land outback. I got to have afternoon tea in the tea shop (which used to be the stables) and it was great! My new favorite treat is a ginger oatcake slice - very yummy! They have a 10K the end of September that I think I might enter. That would be a fun way to end my stay in Scotland :-) If you have time checkout their web-site, there is absolutely no way I could do the house justice in trying to explain it to you - it is absolutely palatial! http://www.hopetounhouse.com/

Since beginning my stay in Scotland I have had to learn a lot about Scottish appliances. The stove, for instance needs to be started with a match (definitely not used to that). There is no dryer, so all my clothes have to be hung up all over my room to dry after being washed. The shower, needs to be switched by a little pulley next to the sink, and then you have to be careful not to soak the bathroom, because there are no walls around you! Since being here I have realized even more how thankful I am to have ALL the modern conveniences that we have in the states. Shower curtains are a wonderful thing :-)

See you all later!

Linlithgow Palace and Melrose Abbey Pics

2009-07-27T03:10:00.000-07:00

Melrose Abbey
Me, hiding from the rain at Melrose Abbey
The really neat fountain at Linlithgow Palace
A view or Linlithgow from across the loch
My favorite room: The Great Hall

Linlithgow, Rosslyn Chapel and Melrose Abbey

2009-07-27T02:46:00.000-07:00

Hello All!

After my long adventure up into the highlands I decided to stick a little closer to home and visit some local attractions near Edinburgh. Linlithgow Palace is only a 20 minute train ride west and great place to visit. http://www.historic-scotland.gov.uk/propertyoverview?PropID=pl_199&PropName=Linlithgow%20Palace. This is where Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots was born in the 1500's. This palace is another fantastic ruin that you can run around in and explore. My favorite room was the Great Hall. There was no ceiling, but I could just imagine the torches glowing from the side walls, and the tables that would have lined the room filled with venison, pork and chickens. I could hear the shouting between men and the sound of music coming from the musicians playing the harp and lyre from the corner of the room. Even today, this would be a really neat place to throw a party, you could hang twinkle lights everywhere and really decorate the place up nice! (of course you would have to keep your fingers crossed that it wouldn't rain since there is no roof :-) The Palace is set on a loch, which is a nice 2 1/2 miles round and a great place for a walk. That day was particularly windy and all the little sailboats on the loch kept falling over and dumping their occupants into the water. I felt bad they were all getting wet, but it really was quite funny :-)

After Linlithgow, I headed over to Rosslyn Chapel. The chapel is about a 1/2 hour bus ride from Edinburgh - not too bad. Most of you will remember that it is featured in part of the book/movie "The Di Vinici Code". All I can say is it is so much more impressive in person! I was completely awed when I walked in. The chapel is under some serious renovations (after the movie the number of tourists visiting jumped from 11,000 a year to over a million a year (I think.. don't hold me to that :-) There had been some bad structural decisions made over the past century so they are now trying to be corrected. I wish I could post pictures, but no picture taking is allowed in the chapel anymore. This is all thanks to some stupid lady who was walking around taking pictures and not looking where she was going and she tripped. Well, of course she sued and ended up winning, so now no one can take pictures in the chapel. Thanks Lady for wreaking it for everyone else! So here is a link to the web-site so you can check it out yourself http://www.rosslynchapel.org.uk/. I do think this is one of my favorite places that I've been to so far. The inside of the chapel is small, and everything is a limestone white (this was done to protect the soft sandstone, but ended harming the building more than helping) but it gives the chapel a peaceful feeling. The stonework is unbelievably intracit and it amazes me that masons were able to do this kind of work over 500 years ago! If you ever get to Scotland - you have to visit, it's worth the trip!

My next stop was Melrose Abbey. http://www.aboutscotland.co.uk/mel.html Yeah.....well, that wasn't as great as I would have hoped it to be. I was under the misguided impression that the bus trip would take about an hour, it took 2 1/4 hours! Once I got there, it started pouring - what could I do but walk around anyway? The abbey itself is another ruin with no ceiling but the work was so beautiful. About 300 monks and laymen lived there once upon a time and they really did have a lot of modern conveniences for their time. After exploring for a couple house, I contemplated continuing my journey south to Jedburgh Abbey (where I would also be in the rain) or giving up and going home to get dry and warm - I gave up :-) I'll leave Jedburgh Abbey and Dryburgh Abbey for another day (If I get up the courage to get on the bus for another couple hours ;-)

I hope you like the pictures I've posted for these past few adventures. Keep an eye out, I continued running more of the Fife Coastal Trail and it was another amazing 9 miles! Pictures coming soon :-)

2009-07-24T13:27:00.000-07:00

My first Scottish thistle sighting
Quirraing
Keep going - all the way
Made it!
The disappointing Kilt Rock Waterfall

2009-07-24T13:14:00.000-07:00

Old Man Storr starring solemnly down at me
I had to partially hike through some woods to get to the Old Man and I thought the light filtering down through the trees was so pretty!
Garden behind Dunvegan Castle
A REALLY cool Ram!
My supper of Prawns starring at me - I should have named them :-)

2009-07-24T13:02:00.000-07:00

Skye Bridge with a cutte little lighthouse underneath
Elian Donan Castle
The Glenfinnan Monument
The beginning of the Lost Valley hike - straight up to the tippy top of the highest peak you see!
The Lost Valley rediscovered!

The Isle of Skye

2009-07-24T12:17:00.001-07:00

I finally got to visit the Isle of Skye off the North Western Coast of Scotland. It was a great weekend with a few funny stories to throw in along the way :-)

It is about a 5 hour trip from Edinburgh to Skye, with a few breaks in between it was a bearable trip. The fun began at 6 am Friday morning and continued in the car until 8:30am when a stop to hike to the Lost Valley of Glencoe started. I was under the impression that it would be an easy hike. NOPE! It was straight up a mountain! (my 35 mile bike ride to Falkirk earlier that week hadn't help the state of my knees, but that wasn't discovered until 1/4 the way up the mountain) It was an amazing hike though. Waterfalls, neat rock formations and the view at the top was unbelievable. I have always wanted to hike in Glencoe and I was happy to have the chance (side note: Glencoe is in the middle of the country and this was where the McDonald clan massacred the Campbell clan because they didn't sign a peace treaty with England on time. Glencoe is a hauntingly beautiful valley, that spurs the imagination to thinking that you can almost see the fighting going on between the men and the women and children running for their lives in the cold of February) This hike was neat because there were absolutely no other people around! Coming down the mountain I could see the tour buses all in the parking lot, but no one ventured even close to the base of the trail - silly tourists you missed the best part!

I also made a stop at the Glenfinnan Monument. It's a tower with a statue of Bonnie Prince Charlie (he tried to reclaim the Scottish throne during the 1700's but was defeated. It was at this place that it all began). It is a beautiful area, with the monument at the foot of a loch in between 2 mountains - the only sad thing was it was a TOTAL tourist trap! You were supposed to pay to park (2 pounds), pay to use the restroom (20 pence), pay to go into the garden where the tower was (5 pounds) and you weren't allowed to put your trash in the garbage can unless you bought it from their coffee shop! Really?!?! Come on! Well, I did park and I did use the restroom and I did put trash in the bin - and guess what? I didn't pay a pence and I don't feel bad about it! So there! :-)

Elian Donan Castle was another stop along the way that was pretty neat. It is one of the most photographed castles in all of Scotland. You might have seen it in the movie "Maid of Honor". It's a beautiful castle set on a little island in the middle of a loch. The last time I was in Scotland my mom and I got to go to a concert held in the castle - it was one of the neatest experiences!

Finally - Skye, 10 hours after leaving Edinburgh! Once upon a time there was a 7 pound toll to cross the Skye bridge but thankfully the Scottish National Party took control of the government and said no more to that - so it is now free and easy to get to the Isle of Skye (Skye is Norse for clouds - which seem to blanket the island ALL the time!)

It was too late to do any more hiking that night (I was pooped from hiking in Glencoe anyway) so a nice dinner off the island in the little coastal village of Plockton was the choice for the evening. I, as always, wanted to try cultural foods, and the local staple is Prawns. Right.... Well, no one told me that they come STARRING at you! They are like little baby lobsters that you have to break open and eat (except they are so small and not nearly as good as lobsters!) For my main course I had Game Stew (I think it had venison, pheasant, any other roaming animal from the area :-) It was OK, the sauce was incredibly heavy, so you really couldn't taste anything anyway.

Saturday dawned bright and early and the day begin with a trip to Dunvegan Castle, the stronghold of the McLeod Clan. It was a neat castle, as far as castles go. Nothing terribly exciting though. Next on the list, a hike up to the Old Man of Storr! It was great! (rained the whole way, but great!) This was about a 2 hour hike uphill (of course, like all of the other hikes in Scotland) and the views were simply amazing. The legend goes that an old Shepherd and his wife were transformed into stones when they stopped to look back at the giants behind them. The wife fell over a few years back, but the old Man is standing strong :-)

Kilt rock was next on the stopping points, but that was a HUGE disappointment. From the postcards it looks amazing and it looks like a great hike along the coastline, but it's not. There is a car park next to the waterfall and the water barely trickles over. Not too exciting - Sorry.

My favorite hike of the weekend was the Quirraing. The views were fantastic, I felt like I was standing on the edge of the world. Sheep dotted the landscape (you couldn't really forget about them because you had to keep dodging their presents they left everywhere) I really don't know how I am going to decide which pictures to post because they are all my favorites! You could really go anywhere on this hike and explore. I felt like I was discovering a new place for all mankind (it did help that it was raining buckets and there were no other people around)

Sunday came around all too quickly for my weary body and another trip to the coast was set out upon. This time it was a practically unmarked trail that lead me to a little beach with neat rock formations that reminded me of Giants Causeway in Ireland. Little seals followed my progress along the rocks from the safety of the cold cold water It was so peaceful and relaxing to be where no one else was and to have the beach and coast to myself (except for the sheep who were apparently trying to get tans as well - yup sheep on the beach! Who would have thought!)

The only "funny" thing about the whole weekend was that I have been hearing about the great highland hospitality for a while now. I have met MANY great and friendly people in the south of Scotland, so I didn't see how that could be beat. And it wasn't. If anything, people were downright rude. Service was terrible in the restaurants, you had to ask for things time after time, and even then you didn't get them. I stopped at a rest area along the way, only to be snarled at by the custodian that it wasn't open yet and that I needed to leave! (I think he could have been a bit nicer in his response) There were a few other surprising incidents over the weekend that really astounding me. Where was the Scottish Highlands Hospitality? Has it disappeared during tourist season? I would think now would be the most important time to have a welcoming smile and a kind word...

Once again, my post is a long one. Hopefully I haven 't prattled on too much and have lost everyone :-) In a few days I will post some fun trips to Linlithgow Palace, Rosslyn Chapel and Melrose Abbey. Stay tuned!

Falkirk Wheel

2009-07-16T04:22:00.000-07:00

My trusty mud covered bike
The Falkirk Wheel
My 32 mile long path
A canal boat going over one of the 100 foot high Aqueducts
Another Aquaduct

A Busy 3 Days

2009-07-16T03:57:00.000-07:00

I am about 5 days behind in cataloging my activities and I'm afraid it's only going to get worse :-) Lets see if I can get in all of last weekend and Monday's adventures...

Saturday was a low-key day for me (one that was overdue). I went to the Edinburgh Farmer's Market which is on Castle Terrace (hence the name, the castle is directly over you on the hill). It was so NEAT, although not quite what I was expecting. I have become spoiled with Central Florida's farmers market and their plethora of fruits, veggies, cheese and flowers. The Edinburgh market consisted of about 2 veggie booths, NO fruit and at least 12 MEAT booths! Yup, every kind of meat you could ever want to buy was here. Can you tell this really is a county that likes its red meat? There were a few jam sellers and cheese mongers, but then there were at least 10 hot food booths. Why you would go to a farmers market to buy fried buffalo burgers I will never know - but it was fun none the less. The afternoon consisted of a lazy walk up the Braids ( just a residential neighbor on the side of a hill that afforded beautiful views of the city and the Forth). I did find a place where I might finally get to try my hand at golf! For only 5 pounds I get to play 9 holes (I think) We'll see how much of a fool I can make of myself :-)

Sunday was church and another great message from Pastor Peter. Unfortunately for me, this was his last Sunday. He is going to be teaching expository preaching in a college starting in the fall. So after 17 years of faithful service to Charlotte Chapel, he decides to leave the summer I arrive. Figures :-) After church I went on a picnic with the 20's & 30's group in the church. It was a nice time (with a few sprinkles thrown in) of playing frisbee in the park and chatting while we ate our lunches. They seem like a great group of people and I look forward to getting to know them better. Sunday night was another hike up the Salisbury Crags. This time I looped around the lower trail and then hiked up to the top again. It is such a great hike with unbelievable views, this might just become a regular hike every Sunday night. I do believe it is one of my favorites.

Now onto the exciting adventure that happened on Monday - I decided to bike down the Union Canal from Edinburgh to Falkirk - 32 MILES AWAY and back again! Yup, you read that right, 64 miles in 1 day. Perhaps I was a bit over zealous? :-) The trip was a lot of fun. It was really neat to be riding my bike through the countryside along the canal. Riding a bike doesn't afford the easabilty (sorry, made up word) to take pictures though, so there really aren't a lot of them. I got to ride over 100 foot high aqueducts overlooking rivers and roads and I also got to meet a few interesting people. One little old man almost jumped in front of my bike to get me to stop so he could tell me about the little ducks that were getting carried off by the seagulls. The hardest part was 7 miles before I got to Falkirk when I ran into a thunderstorm. It was nasty. I managed to wait the worst of it out under a bridge with a runner, but then after the brunt of it passed it continued to sprinkle and the trail was just all mud. By the time I got to Falkirk, I was covered in mud - what a sight was I!

Falkirk is a popular point to ride your bike to because of the Falkirk Wheel. This wheel is a massive structure that takes the canal boats from the Clyde Canal and swings them up 3 stories high to get them onto the Union Canal (since canal boats cannot go uphill, its necessary to do it this way to link the 2 waterways) It really is a neat thing to watch. So, once I arrived in Falkirk and warmed myself up with some hot coco, I was on the trail again. But, of course the rain followed me, so I gave up a few miles down the trail and hopped on a train back to Edinburgh. I was never so happy to sit down on a real cushioned seat and just relax. A well deserved supper at the Earl of Marchmont finished out my evening and completed my day.

No deep thoughts for this post I'm afraid - too many stories to tell. Perhaps in later post I will start my ponderings again :-) I have quite a few bouncing around in my head, but I think my adventures are a bit more interesting than my rantings. See you all later!

Fife Coastal Path

2009-07-14T02:48:00.000-07:00

What a view!
The old church along the way
Wouldn't you like to live in that lighthouse? I know I would - I wonder if they have any job openings :-)
The fun little tunnel I had to run through
The beginning of the trail which takes you right under the Forth Rail Bridge. So I got to run under the bridge and then also got to ride over the bridge on my way home :-)

The Absolutely Amazing Fife Coastal Trail

2009-07-14T02:35:00.000-07:00

About 2 years ago, before I even had an inkling that I would get to live in Scotland for 3 months, I saw a program on T.V. about the Fife Coastal Trail (http://www.fifecoastalpath.co.uk/) It is an 80 mile path that runs from North Queensferry (just over the bridge from Edinburgh) and then 80 miles up the Eastern Coast of Scotland up to Aberdeen. There are B&B's along the way if you want to walk/run it all in 1 shot, but I decided to take it a little bit at a time. (no sense in paying for a room for the night when I already am in Edinburgh - look at that, I am turning Scottish already :-) So all I have to do is hop a train in Edinburgh and then jump on the train in whatever town I decide to give up in - very convenient!

Anyway, I decided to conquer the first 16 miles of the trail last Saturday and every step was unbelievable! The whole walk I marveled at the beauty of God's creation and wondered how did I get so lucky to be able to take on this adventure! There were a few sketchy moments :-) 2 large dogs came tearing out the woods at full speed towards me, thankfully I guess I didn't look like that great of a meal so they kept on going. I unfortunately went about 2 to 3 miles out of my way when I lost the trail in one of the little towns you pass through. Whether it was though poor markings on their part or my lack of attention to details - I guess we'll never know :-) I think my favorite part was stumbling upon castle ruins, or an abandoned church with an old graveyard out back overlooking the harbor. It was like discovering a little secret all to myself (although, anyone along the path discovered it as well :-)

I did meet some really nice people along the way. Those wonderful people who pointed me in the right direction so I wouldn't get lost again :-) I spoke to a really nice lady while wandering through a field, and the nice store manager who wanted to know what exciting things I had planned for the summer.

The pictures I have posted do not even begin to show the beauty of the walk. I can't wait to start on the next section of the trail - All aboard for Kinghorn and the next section of the Fife Coastal Trail!

2009-07-12T01:46:00.000-07:00

The waterfall on the Water of Leith Walk
The tall ships docked in Leith Harbor
The Grecian Woman holding a Coffee Cup!
A view of the Breathtaking Tram works messing up the city
A defunct church now known as Bedlam Theater

Church = Theater, B&B or Restuarant

2009-07-12T01:27:00.000-07:00

All over Scotland and the UK there are beautiful old churches. They have ornate stain glass, high arches and beautiful architecture. Unfortunately many of these churches are no longer used as churches. Just in Edinburgh alone, there are churches converted into restaurants (very pretty to eat in, but sad that it is no longer a house of worship), Theaters, Apartments and even Bed & Breakfasts. There are still many old churches that still function as churches (like my church Charlotte Baptist church http://www.charlottechapel.org/home.php) but it makes me wonder, is this the path that the USA is on? There is a theory that the USA is about 5 to 10 years behind in the political and social trends of the UK, so is this the fate that our churches have to look forward to?

Enough of my musings, onto the fun stuff :-) I can't believe another week has gone by already! I feel like I am always busy with something to do, but really without work - how busy can I be? I got to visit the Sir Walter Scott Memorial this week. Only 287 steps up a narrow spiral stone staircase! Only 1 way up and down, so anyone you pass on the staircase..... We'll you get the idea :-) It is a beautiful view from the top of the memorial. You can see Leith, the Firth and also the beautiful tram works all the way up and down Princess St (ick!) A highly recommended trip to the top if its a beautiful day (otherwise you will have spent 3 pounds and had your leg muscles burning to only see a foggy grey cloud all around you)

I also had the opportunity to walk the Water of Leith trail. It's a nice 12 mile walk from Balerno all the way to the Leith Docks on the harbor. The only frustrating part was the lack of sign posts when you hit the towns. I think I might have gone a mile out of my way just because I had no idea where to go. My favorite spot on this walk was St. Bernard's Well. I'll describe the scene so you can picture it: You're walking down a tree lined path along a river, when you come around a corner and see a great big Grecian temple with a Greek Woman holding a COFFEE cup in her hand! OK, I'm sure it's not a coffee cup, but that's what I imagined it to be. There is supposed to me mineral water in that well with healing powers. I guess the poorer people who couldn't afford to travel down to Bath, England for their healing got to stay in Edinburgh to taste the icky water here instead. No thanks, I'll stick to tap water - thank you :-)

I can't wait to do my next post and put up pictures! I started running the Fife Coastal Trail and it is an unbelievable run the whole way, all along the coast of Scotland! See you later!

2009-07-08T04:41:00.001-07:00

The very ugly Scottish Parliment
Inside Holyrood Palace
The Abbeys out back

2009-07-08T04:30:00.000-07:00

The Salisbury Crags viewed from Holyrood Palace
A view of Edinburgh from the Salisbury Crags

Arthur's Seat - yet to be conquered :-)

Skype to Skype With no Top Ups, On the Snip

2009-07-08T04:07:00.000-07:00

While being in an English speaking country does make life MUCH easier - it also has a few problem areas. The slang in Scotland is completely different from the USA and even every day terms are quite different from the America's. The title of this blog actually refers to texting and buying more minutes for your cell phone (sorry - your MOBILE phone) As if it's not hard enough to understand some people with their Scottish accents, they also throw in words like: thrapple, blootered, ramfoozle, bahookie and dreich! We might speak the same language, but theirs is completely foreign to me sometimes. Who knows, maybe I'll finally be fluent in another language when I return in the fall. I'll be fluent in Scottish!

Now on to my adventures of the past few days. Sunday I got to go to church at Charlotte Chapel Church (http://www.charlottechapel.org/home.php). It was great. It was so neat to sit in such an old church and sing songs to our God with like minded believers when I am so far from home. I am very much looking forward to getting more involved at the church and meeting new people. After church a hike up Carlton Hill was in order - unfortunately for you all, I didn't take my camera because it was raining when I left the flat - of course it was beautiful by the time I got to the top... I'll have to make the trek back up there and take some pictures for you all to see :-) Sunday night i hiked the Salisbury Crags. I had never been up them before and was quite happy to have the chance to do it. The hike is a pretty easy one and when at the top gives great views over the old city and over the Firth of Forth.

Monday I checked out the Queen's residence when she is in town, Holyrood Palace. This is where Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots, lived and also where her secretary, David Rittzio was brutally stabbed 56 times by her jealous husband Lord Darnley Some say you can still see the blood stain on the wood floor even though it has been replaced countless times since the 16th century... There is a beautiful old abbey out back that is in ruins, but many many kings of Scotland had worshiped there once upon a time. Even as far back as Robert the Bruce in the 1340's. Pretty old history around here :-)

Next stop: the "new" Scottish Parliament. Scotland finally got their own Parliament back in 1999 (they lost control of their country after Bonnie Prince Charlie was defeated in 1745) The building was supposed to reflect the land of Scotland, the trees, hills, upturned boats on the beaches of the fishing villages along the coast. Unfortunately while the idea was a good one, it came out hideously and cost the Scottish people and extra 300 million pounds over the estimated budget.

I hope you all liked my little history lesson along with the slight differences in out culture. Maybe you'll learn something new about Scotland that you never knew before - I know I am :-) See you later! (See the following post for pictures)

A Scottish Sundown

2009-07-04T12:10:00.000-07:00

Hello to all my friends scattered from Florida to NJ! I started this blog so that you all might be able to see what I am up to this summer and the the many adventures (hopefully) I will have! I thought this might be the best way to post pictures and share stories with you all. This first post will be abnormally long just because I am days behind, but I promise to make them shorter after this one. Now lets see if I can remember all the way back to Wednesday when I arrived....

After a dreadfully long and painful red eye flight, packed to the gills, I arrived safe and sound in Scotland! Yeah :-) After being interrogated by customs for a bit (maybe 3 long minutes) I was on my way to pick up my 2 large suitcases and try and wrestle them along with my carry-on suitcase and my laptop to the front gate where my friend Stuart was waiting to pick me up. Thank goodness he was there - I have NO idea how I would have managed to get all my stuff into the city without and extra pair of arms! Thankfully he was in charge of driving so I didn't have to think about which side of the road I have to be on (for future reference its helpful to remember Left is easy and right is hard (this is to be used in conjunction with turning - because that's the hardest time in trying to remember where you are supposed to be) So after numerous round abouts and other odd intersection we made it to my new flat for the next 3 months! Its great! One floor up from the street level with lots windows and high ceilings in my room. Very spacious. I think I should have brought more stuff with me to fill it all up! Quickly after arriving we left again to go grocery shopping, cell phone purchasing and to try and open a bank account for me. Grocery shopping was no problem (aside from the fact I couldn't understand the cashier at all) and the cell phone purchasing was again easy peasy. The bank account situation a bit more tedious. I think there was an alert out not to accept money from me or something - no bank would take it! I thought I would never see that day when a bank would refuse money! After the 3rd try and a bit finagling, an account was opened. Great all the essentials are done! Now on to my first Scottish dinner- salmon and then an early night to bed with my jet lag hanging over me like an albatross.

Thursday my first day of not working and not traveling... What to do with all the time?? A run was in order of course and then into the city center for a bit of looking around and some more general purchases. (I had already managed to blow out one of my adapters trying to plug in my hair straightener) (Yes, Wendi and Lauralin, this is the SAME straightener from 4 years ago that the very same thing happened to - this time it might not get fixed...) After a flit around town it was time for a hike up Blackford Hills to the Observatory. It was a great view of Sir Arthur's Seat and also Edinburgh Castle. It was this day that I realized the sun doesn't set until 11 p.m!!! It's like the land of the midnight sun! It stays out until 11pm and then its up again at 4;30am! For a person who is used to going to bed when it gets dark and then up when the sun gets up - this is a serious adjustment to make, one that hasn't truly been accomplished yet :-)

Friday, I was a bit overzealous. I have been remiss in my running schedule because work has been so tremendously busy, so I haven't been keeping up with it as I should. On Friday I thought, what a perfect day for an 10 mile run down the canal path along the city. It started out great, but pretty soon my body was protesting quite loudly that the abuse was too much to bear. I gave in and stopped at 8.5 miles but was quite happy with that length. Afterwards it was a rainy walk into the city to try and replace my blown adapter and a few other odds and ends that needed picking up. The night ended with a viewing of Johnny Depp's new flick, "Public Enemy". In Scottish cinemas they think it is OK to show a half hour of commercials before the movie - not previews, COMMERCIALS! Every kind of car imaginable, coke, and various other things were advertised to a captive audience. Honestly, though I think I might have enjoyed more commercials than the movie. It was AWFUL. Don't go and see it. It starts out strong but after ten minutes it dies a long and painful death!

Saturday I was awakened (at 4:38am) to a beautiful blue sky and the knowledge that I was going to hike the Pentland Hills. Don't let the term "Hills" fool you - they are MOUNTAINS!! After my run around yesterday I was in no shape to hike the Pentlands today (it didn't help that we had to walk a million miles to get to the start of the path to begin with and then to get home again - thanks Stu :-) but I survived, with a few breathing stops along the way. At the top of the first MOUNTAIN, the view was unbelievable you can see forever. The hike was totally worth it to see Scotland from that high up. I managed to get a bit sunburned while out, but all in all a good trade I believe. For more info and great pictures check out this web-site: http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/phrp/index.html

More adventures are soon to follow. Tomorrow I am going to church for the first time while in Scotland and hopefully more adventures will follow after that. Perhaps I'll try haggis for lunch tomorrow. Yum.... I think...

I do have to give a huge shout out to Stuart. He has done so much for me this week to help me get settled and make the transition easy for me. I don't think this summer would have been possible without his help right from the beginning either. He has gone above the call of duty to help me and I am extremely grateful for his help. So thanks Stu :-)