3.

Oh hey! 3 posts in one hour. When you're on a roll...you stop eventually. This is my eventually for today.

On day three in Scotland we went to Loch Lomond (loch = lake) and climbed Ben Lomond (...a hill. I prefer to think of it is mini-mountain, but whatever). It. was. BEAUTIFUL. The fellowship, the scenery...oh gosh, it was lovely! It was so pleasant being with our friends and one another (good, good people.). I got some of my favorite people pics here, and they are on FB. Here are a few scenic ones...

This was part of the climb. TOMS are just not made for that sort of climb...at least mine were not. I fell once (not here, praise the Lord). Fortunately it was just in mud and my shoes and jeans took the brunt of it (instead of my camera or sweater).

Scotland recap continued

Oh how ambitious I was when I started my Scotland recap. We'll see how many days I can blog about. The blogging took a hit when I went house-sitting and my internet didn't play friendly and I couldn't get on. I think I was feeling very "bloggy" a couple weeks ago, and now I'm dozing off most nights at 9:00 p.m. Woo. Hoo. (And, I have some good recent things to blog on, friend visits, grilled peaches...) But back to Scotland. Woo hoo!

Moving along quickly...

Church was Sunday. Church was awesome, being with our family across the pond. Afterwards we picnicked inside (when the Scots say it's unseasonably cold for them, you know its cold) and went for a stroll around the nearby glen (park). LOVELY! And then back for tea (dinner) and resting (it did not get dark till around 10/11:00 p.m. and I was definitely thrown off a wee bit by that).

(Pictures from the glen)

Scotland Recap, Round One of Nine/Ten/Eleven

Scotland Recap, Round One of Nine/Ten/Eleven? What sort of title is that? Well, I've tried counting the days and I cannot figure out how many posts to make (or dual posts/etc.) A far more accurate title would be "round one of of number to be determined." Instead of a long post of "this is what I saw" and "this is what I did" and "this is what I learned" etc. (which those are lovely, BTW) I'm shortening it up a wee-bit and posting a story per day.

TRAVEL DAY(s)

Brookie-bell said it best when she was taking me to the drop-off spot "breathe." I had to work before leaving that evening and it was a mad day at the office (yes, I will be interspersing as many U.K. terms as possible into these blog posts, thankyou) as I finished up making arrangements for while I was gone. I ended up leaving late (which was no good since I got off at 5 and had to be being dropped off at 5:30) and had to finish packing a few bits and pieces at home. One of my most distinct memories (other than crying in my office at around 1:00 p.m. because I was freaking out about not finishing my work) is sailing through the air as I tripped when I tried on the TOMS my flat-mate had picked up for me. Regardless, the team all got to the airport with passports and luggage in hand, got on a plane, and had a (blissful) night flight across the pond.

(Have I mentioned in prior blogs how much I love the people I was traveling with?)

In Amsterdam after cruising around the airport for a while (and getting an overpriced mocha) we got settled in for our "city-hop" flight to Edinburough. Here is where I pulled out my camera for the first time and tried out the awesome lens a friend lent me.

Wee!

And then we were there! We got through customs (praise the Lord!) and met our new Scottish friends! We had lunch at the church (and encountered Scottish scones. Oh. My.) with people of D-Link and then headed off to our host homes. I stayed with the most lovely mother and daughter...it was great! I travel well and had been feeling fine during the flights, reading my book, chatting, but I conked out during lunch. It was a struggle to keep my eyes open (apparently somethings never change, regardless of what side of the ocean I'm on). And the next day was...