Past 2 days in Scotland

We woke up and got showers – always a good start to the day. Shane slept in until the last minute as he still isn’t fully adjusted or caught up on sleep. We ate breakfast and the boys met us at the hostel. We left for the Castle and went in to see all it had to offer. I bought an audio tour so that we could know about the different sights. I loved the old Church and the stories around it. It was built by David I and named after his mother, who later died in the Church of broken heart after learning of her husband being killed in war. Josh climbed into a cannon, I have this documented on video, and didn’t think he was doing anything wrong because the sign said don’t climb “on” the canon, not in it – only Josh. We got pretty tired after walking around the castle for a few hours so we decided to head back to the hostel and have lunch before going further.

After lunch we walked down to the train station to see about tickets to Carnforth for Saturday and for Stirling Castle on Friday. We bought our tickets to Carnforth, saving a bit of money by buying them in advance, and decided against pre-purchasing our Stirling tickets. From there we walked up the hill and stopped in a store so Bruce could get a hat (he bought a beanie) and I got a little animal for Bodi – it’s the lockness Monster in red-plaid.

After this we parted from the boys and planned to re-connect around 7:45 for dinner then to the ghost tour at 9 p.m. I got to skype with mom and Sarah at their lunchtime and was able to catch up on emails too. Mandy and I got to sneak away for our daily girl-time which usually involved tea and we also tried some amazing cookies. We only got about 30 minutes but it was fun. We also were able to Skype with Courtney G. which was so nice! We are so bummed that her flight is likely delayed and she might not get to the school until Monday. It was good to talk to her in general though and both Mandy and I can’t wait for her to join us on our girl-times.

Dinner was really good and the prices were even better! They have a cheaper menu for people staying in our hostel so I got a full plate of food for £3 – baked potato with salsa (not SoCal salsa but that’s ok), beans, and a salad. They also have live music so we are going to go back for dinner and music on Friday. We ate dinner and also got two different orders of fried Haggis with different sauces. It is good but knowing or thinking about what is in it kills it for me. I have tried it though so that is good.

After dinner we walked to starbucks to get warm drinks before beginning our ghost tour. The tour was fun and pretty informative. The boys scared Mandy about 4 times between them but didn’t try anything on me – granted I was in charge of making sandwiches and I am Shane’s bank for larger purchases (I have the Credit Card). We learned a lot of things about the town; some interesting, some a little creepy. At the end of it we received a free beer – Shane and Mandy’s first. Shane drank about half of it and Mandy had about 4 sips of hers. I had wine but none of us were in the mood for any of it so we didn’t finish and just went back to the hostel. I got on the computer and waited to see if my mom would get on – which she did – and we were able to talk for about an hour and a half. During that time my grandma called and I got to briefly talk to her as well as say hi to my grandpa (though he couldn’t hear me through the phone and computer). Mom and I got some much needed mother-daughter talk time which I was so grateful for since it has been a month since we had that – just us. Shane interrupted briefly when he heard me talking about him but that was fun . I waited for dad to get home and was able to quickly say hi to him before going to be (it was 2 a.m. my time). I also got to see my little B, who I hear has been naughty without Shane and I there. He is not happy about us leaving and after hearing my voice through the computer the other day with dad, he went out and dug a hole in the backyard (and yet, I will still give him a toy because he is my baby).

Hayley sent me a video of her and baby Logan, just for me. He is the cutest baby and it has been so special to see these videos. I can’t wait to meet him in 3 months! He is going to be so big but still little enough (the four month mark is my fav so I am really grateful for that). I am going to have to buy him a little kilt because it’s too cute. We can pass it around the three of us girls for our boys, if we have boys, in the future but Logan will be the first little one to show his international side.

April 16, 2010
After a good night’s sleep where I only had to wake Shane up once for his snoring, I got up and ready for the day. Josh called to say that he and Bruce were going to skip Stirling and so the three of us ate breakfast, packed lunch, checked email and headed out. We stopped on our way to get postcards and then went to the train station. As I was walking down the steps I saw a watch shop and stopped to get a new batter, which came with a lifetime warranty (in case it dies while I am in Scotland again). Then off to get our tickets and get on the train.
We made it to the platform but got confused by the trains. I stepped off to check the front of it, leaving Mandy and Shane on, and when I returned they were stuck on the train. The doors weren’t opening and so we had to get someone on board to let them off. That was the wrong train. Ours pulled in moments later and we asked, to make sure we had the right one this time, and then got on and grabbed a table to play cards and face each other. The ride to Stirling was quick and we talked, played speed and looked out at the sights. Once in Stirling we headed to what we thought was the castle, but was actually the Wallace memorial, until turning back to find some tourist signs which lead us to a map and eventually up to the castle. Along the way we found a cute small park area were we ate our lunch. Around the Castle was a large cemetery with great views of the town, hills and Stirling castle. We got some good pictures before continuing up the hill. We took pictures with the statue of Bruce and talked about spiritual warfare and prayer – good topic!
On our way back down the hill we hit the gift store where I found a tea-towel for the Scott clan and a stamp for Miller which is very cool. After paying I found the funniest mug, a kilt and two legs coming out of it. I had to buy it and so I went back to the front for my final purchase. Mandy found a cute little Lockness stuffed animal for her niece – it’s seriously cute – and then we were off to get Shane and head back.
On the train we had a fun run-in with a large bumble bee (two actually). That was a bummer but we all survived to tell about it. Just such a weird thing to have on a train. Mandy and Shane played cards while I caught up on my blog. After we got off the train we did some shopping before getting back to the hostel around 5 p.m. Shane took a nap while Mandy and I went and had our daily girl-time over tea then dressed cute for dinner.

Dinner was at the same place and we all enjoyed it, and the price. After we sat at Starbucks drinking coffee while Josh told us about Capernwray: what to expect, how to prepare, etc. We parted ways around 10 and I packed and then got to skype with Erin for about 30 minutes - so fun! We just laughed like usual and caught up a little on life.

Courtney's flight is delayed because of the volcano in Iceland so that is a real bummer but she's is being so positive about it. We can't wait to see her!!!

Tomorrow we go to school where the internet will be limited so not sure how much blog time I will have but pray for good connection:)
My love to all,
Nat