The White Cliffs of Dover

More Scotland Pictures

Edingburgh Castle

The Scottish Wool Center in Aberfoyle where we ate breakfast almost every morning

A giant game of checkers

Walking around the hotel grounds

Stopping for snacks

Walking the 246 steps of the Wallace Monument

William Wallace's sword

Loch Ness

Highland cattle.....furry cows!!

The view from our hotel room

Scottish Adventures

Hi!! It's been like, what...six weeks or something? Holy cheese! Well, it's been a very crazy, and very busy six weeks. And in case you haven't talked to me (or Brian) recently, we just got back from our first ever, for serious family vacation. We took the kids up to Scotland for a week - what?! 

Yes. It was amazing! 

So let me tell you! First. We stayed up in the lower part of the mountains, near the Trossachs. (You have no idea what that is, do you? Well, it's about an hour north of Glasgow.) And it's gorgeous there! The downside of it was that we got to our hotel at about 9 at night...and the road going to our hotel is tiny. T.I.N.Y. And runs right along Loch Lomond. At night it is super creepy. At one point I looked at Brian and said "ok really...if you see anyone standing in the road, don't stop. Seriously." 

During the day it was amazingly pretty. Ferns and trees and moss everywhere. But that road was still tiny and we have a minivan.

Yeah. Just yeah.

Our van took up a good portion of the road. And that tiny little rock "wall" is the only thing that kept you from going off the road and into the loch. (We drove very slowly.) So that was the downside. The only downside.......We fell in love with Scotland.

Our first day there was really spent just relaxing and checking everything out at the hotel. When we went to Bath, we only had 1 day to see as much as we could and everything felt rushed. This time we wanted to relax and just *be*. So that's what we did.

We watched TV...

...And played games. I taught Kierstin how to play backgammon, which she is now addicted to

And when the kids discovered a cupboard of crystal stemware, I taught them how to make music with them

We even explored the grounds of the hotel and found some really fun stuff!

And when we did go out exploring, it was amazing! Although I did realize that any time we go on vacation there is going to be some kind of hiking involved. Apparently we don't vacation in flat places. Lol We went over to Edinburgh Castle, which I was super excited to see. And I (foolishly) assumed it would be like going to Windsor Castle...just walk up and go in. But no. Those Scots make you work for it. 

We got over there and a string of expletives ran through my mind when I realized we had to hike all the way up there to get to the castle. (It took forever, in case you were wondering.)

The kids had a great time though, and that's what matters, right? Ok. We all had a great time. Lol Edinburgh Castle is a fabulous place! There's so much to see there - we even got to see the crown jewels. But I don't have any pictures of them for you (or for us). There are no cameras allowed in that room. Will you settle for cute pictures of the kids instead?

Anyway, if the climbing up to the castle wasn't enough torture...we went to the William Wallace Monument. And again, I thought of something like the presidential monuments in D.C. -- walk up and go "oh pretty!" and then be on your way. (Bahahahahaha!!) No. 

They went and made this gorgeous monument, right? And then said oh, we filled it with so much amazing stuff....and if you want to see it all, you have to climb 246 steps all the way to the top. (And again, the string of expletives in my head.) For the record - our next vacation will not involve staircases, or castles with hiking. I'm putting in my request for a flat vacation now! Lol!!

Anyway, after all that climbing, we decided we needed a day of no climbing and off we drove up to the Highlands. (Eek! Super excited!) We drove through Trossachs National Park, up through Glencoe and eventually found our way to Loch Ness. We found roads even scarier than the one going to our hotel - ones that were mountain on one side and huge drop off on the other. But! It was GORGEOUS!! There are really no words for it.

Honestly, me showing you this isn't even good enough. It's so much better when you're there. It just takes your breath away. 

Unfortunately for me, up there in the Highlands, I could not escape the reaches of the universe that has an unending desire to laugh at me whenever possible. There was one point when we stopped to take pictures (because yes, they have areas where you can pull over for "prime picture taking spots")...and it was muddy...and I didn't have the right shoes. And I should probably mention there was also a boulder. This boulder and I had a small disagreement. I slipped. And now I have a damaged tailbone. (Or as my sweet Kenzie-bug calls it - a broken booty.)

Broken booties aside, it was a great trip! We had so much fun and enjoyed everything. And it was really awesome to show all of that to the kids. Great places, beautiful scenery, and amazing food! (Seriously, the Scots can do wonderful thing with the potato.) And if you ever find yourself on this side of the pond, with time to spare, make your way up to Scotland. You'll thank me!! (Promise!)

So, I hope all is going well in your neck of the woods. Hopefully things won't be so crazy that I take another six week hiatus. Until next time....