Scotland trip, part 2

Wednesday, June 13
Our lovely weather didn't last. It rained all day on Wednesday. Fortunately, most of our day consisted of driving. First stop was Glenfinnan to see the railroad trestle used for a steam engine that still runs. This scene was used in the Harry Potter movies and is a popular stop for tourists. We had to hike up a hill to see the train come along the viaduct. It would have been lovely except for the cold and wet and midges. I had my umbrella with me so I was somewhat protected from the rain, but the midges liked being under the umbrella with me. I got to the top of the hill but decided not to stay, even though the train was due momentarily. So I went back to the car and waited, then "stole" Christy's picture.

On the other side of the hill we climbed, looking the opposite direction was a monument erected to the battle that had taken place in this valley in support of Bonnie Prince Charles.

I couldn't help thinking as we experienced all these beautiful spots: "How sad that in all this beauty, so much bloodshed, unrest and strife had taken place."

Thursday, June 14
We woke in the morning to gale force winds and rain. We left our cozy cottage and were on our way in spite of the storm. All that rain produced some significant waterfalls down all the high hills.

We were in the car for quite a while, but eventually came to Loch Lomand...stopped to take some pictures then drove on to Stirling Castle. Loch Lomand is long (24 miles long) and narrow, so it felt like we were driving beside it for a very long way. We finally found a spot to park and get out to take pictures and explore.

The bonnie, bonnie banks of Loch Lomand

We spent a lot of time at Stirling Castle because it was so huge and rich in history.

"Stirling Castle, located in Stirling, is one of the largest and most important castles in Scotland, both historically and architecturally. The castle sits atop Castle Hill, an intrusive crag, …and is surrounded on three sides by steep cliffs, giving it a strong defensive position. Its strategic location, guarding what was, until the 1890s, the farthest downstream crossing of the River Forth, has made it an important fortification in the region from the earliest times.

Most of the principal buildings of the castle date from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. A few structures of the fourteenth century remain, while the outer defenses fronting the town date from the early eighteenth century.

Before the union with England, Stirling Castle was also one of the most used of the many Scottish royal residences, very much a palace as well as a fortress. Several Scottish Kings and Queens have been crowned at Stirling, including Mary, Queen of Scots, in 1542, and others were born or died there."

Scotland loves using the red lion and lots of unicorns in their tapestries and art work.

The Queen's bed

The Queen's desk

We had a delightful guide at Stirling Castle who explained the history and functions of the different parts of the castle. It was fun listening to her thick accent.

Robert the Bruce with Christy and me!

Two of Scotland's most famous battles took place at Stirling. In 1314, Robert the Bruce led the Scots to victory over the English. He was greatly outnumbered by the English, but was successful because of his military genius.

Friday, June 15
We arrived back in Edinburgh Thursday evening so Friday was spent exploring the city. Driving the streets is a nerve wracking experience: they're narrow, some are cobblestoned and there are lots of roundabouts. Narrow streets don't stop 2-way traffic or huge sight seeing buses. In the earlier part of the week, driving through the country, there was less traffic and the people were generally gracious with our touristy driving. The city was a different matter and was more like driving in Philadelphia or any large city with lots of traffic and people in a hurry. Being honked at, though, does not help you drive better. In my opinion, it only exacerbates the problem, because now, you're not only doing the wrong thing (according to the one who honked), but you're adding anxiety to the mix.

Edinburgh is a very old city, even what they call the "new town" was constructed in the mid-late 1700's. The buildings reminded us of down town Philadelphia, built in rows right against the sidewalks (no front lawns), made of stone, 3-4 stories high.

And above the town is the imposing castle. The day we were there, it was mobbed with tourists.

The castle was impressive and awesome but harder to enjoy because there were so many people...long lines to see everything. We did persevere, though, and stood in line to see the crown jewels. (no pictures allowed)

Holyroodhouse was next on our agenda. This is England's royal (currently Queen Elizabeth II) residence when they visit Scotland on official duties. I didn't take a lot of pictures of these buildings because it was raining but this hedge was so impressive. We determined it was made of beech trees, trimmed to perfection.
 

the tree trunks were so thick - obviously ancient

The castle gardens and greenhouses were fun to explore.

And to top it all off, they had a cafe there so we could sit in out of the rain and enjoy a "cuppa" tea/coffee with some Scottish shortbread. The girls enjoyed testing various flavors of tea, but I loved a "cuppa" mocha.

All the castles have so much history and are interesting in their own right. You would think that seeing so many of them, you'd eventually get bored of visiting one more. But that was not the case. At the Holyroodhouse, there were buildings that were built as early as the 1,000's. That's hard to fathom for us who come from such a "young" country.

ruins of the Abbey

Saturday, June 16
It rained all day which didn't stop us from walking all over town. I was still wearing flip flops and my feet were cold and wet all day. The sidewalks were slippery and I had to be very careful not to slip and fall, but at least my blisters weren't hurting.

Our first stop was the royal yacht, Brittania. Most of that tour was inside the yacht, although we did walk outside on the decks at several spots. The living space of the royals was quite nice - fit for a queen.

From the yacht we hopped on a bus to go to the botanical gardens. Some of the gardens were inside under roof, but we still had a lot of walking around outside.

Back in the city, we ran into a gay pride parade, but it was a peaceful mob so we popped into and out of shops continuing our hunt for souvenirs to buy. We happened upon a street magician and watched his show. Then we had our dinner at a pig roast restaurant called, "Oink, Oink!" To finish out our Scottish food experience, we went looking for a place that would provide us with the deep fried Mars bar. Yes, it's Scottish and believe me...it's decadently delicious. I'm sure it's right up there with Turkish Delight!

By the time we decided to call it a day, the buses had stopped running for the day. It was still raining, and since it was a very long walk back to our flat, we hailed a taxi. The price wasn't that bad, and we had an interesting conversation with the driver. He was asking us all kinds of questions about America which we didn't mind answering. But when he started talking about politics, I decided it was time to change the subject and asked him about England's royals. Fortunately, he took the bait until we arrived at our destination.

It was so good to get out of my wet flip flops, soak my feet in a hot tub, then get into slippers for the rest of the evening. After we arrived "home," the sun came out.

Sunday, June 17
Since our plane wasn't leaving till 5:00pm, we were able to fit in one more sight seeing adventure by going to the Tantallon Castle. This castle is mostly in ruins, thanks to Oliver Cromwell, sitting high on a promontory opposite from Bass Rock. This rock is the nesting site for 150,000 gannets every summer. We could see the tiny white dots flying over the rock and ocean but they didn't show up in the picture.

As always the castle was impressive, even in its ruins. We were able to climb to the top, but being so high gave me butterflies in the pit of my stomach. I can understand why they built those castle so high... you're able to see for miles around up there. I guess the builders weren't afraid of heights!

And so ended our Scotland trip. It was such a nice break for me, away from the routine and stress of my life and all I deal with every day. I also immensely enjoyed being with Christy and the girls. We had such a good time together, and I came home relaxed and at peace with my situation.

It's hard to believe it's already two weeks in the past, but I have a lot of pictures and memories that will keep me going for a long time. It was kind of the Lord to give me this gift.

Scotland trip, part 1

We've already been back a week...so sad the adventure is over. But wow! We had a great time and saw some amazing sights and enjoyed every minute of it. Well, almost every minute. There were some stressful moments getting used to driving on the left side of those narrow roads. 

Friday and Saturday, June 8 and 9
The vacation began for me on Friday, June 8. I took the day off from work in order to do last minute laundry for myself, as well as Andy's parents. Then I packed my suitcases and stopped to see Andy before driving over to Christy's to pick her up, along with Grace and Anna (Grace's cousin).

I drove my Prius up to the Stewart International Airport with the four of us and our luggage. Christy had chosen that airport because the flights, as well as long term parking, were more reasonably priced. Another advantage was that we avoided city traffic congestion. I suppose with pros, you can expect some cons, though. We had to sit on the tarmac for an hour before taking off. And the flight was interminably long, especially since I couldn't sleep at all. In the sitting position, my legs just couldn't get comfortable. It didn't help that people around us were eating, chatting, and having a great time. I might have slept 1-2 hours, but it didn't feel like I slept at all. 

When we arrived in Edinburgh, we got our rental car. That was an adventure, to say the least. The roads in the city are very narrow, some are cobblestones, with high walls right next to the road. Because of the narrowness of the streets, Christy was driving very close to the left curb and it was pretty scary: for her because of cars coming at her from the "wrong" direction and for us on the left side of the car because it felt like she was going to hit the curb or wall. We found a place to eat our lunch, and had our first meal in Scotland - fish and chips. 

After eating, we drove out of the city toward Dornie where we stayed the first half of the week.

On our way, we got stopped behind a line of traffic. Cars were at a complete standstill. When we got out to investigate, there had been an accident. The scenery at that spot was a bonus, though.

Those lavender rhododendrons and yellow flowered bushes were growing along the roads all over Scotland, helping to make the drive a little less stressful. After a helicopter arrived to airlift casualties, we were on our way again. We hope the victims were not too badly hurt.

This first day was tiring, considering we didn't sleep much on the plane, then most of the day was spent getting used to driving and being in completely unfamiliar surroundings. We arrived in Dornie, settled into our cozy cottage and slept long and well.

What we saw when we looked out our windows!

Sunday, June 10
We all slept a little late but felt rested and ready to begin our sightseeing. First on the agenda was a trip to Loch Ness. There are ruins of the Urquhart Castle on Loch Ness. It was a lovely spot with a lot of history. Many battles were fought during the years to gain possession of the castle. The last Highlanders who gained control took all the gunpowder and blew up the main gate house. It was never rebuilt or restored. According to the brochure we received, this is "one of Scotland's mightiest strongholds." "With 1,500 years of history, Urquhart Castle was fought over by medieval armies, played host to lavish royal banquets and inspired generations of poets and artists. Today, scarred by warfare and the passing of time, this great fortress remains a magnificent sight."

We did get a glimpse of the Loch Ness monster. Unfortunately, none of us had our cameras out when he surfaced so we are unable to prove it. You'll just have to take our word for it.

Our cottage was less than a mile down the road from another castle, the Eilean Donan Castle (pronounced Ay-len). This one is privately owned and the owners still return several times a year for family reunions and functions. There are parts of the castle that are open to the public and it is pretty impressive. The guides posted throughout were fun and provided interesting tidbits. This castle also had a delightful cafe next to the visitor center that we were happy to frequent for tea/mocha/coffee and shortbread/scones.

We were delighted to hear this fellow play the bagpipes one of the times we stopped in.

Monday, June 11 

We drove over to the Isle of Skye. This was a short distance from where we were staying in Dornie, crossing a bridge that separated the Isle from the mainland. This is an amazing island, with more highlands and breathtaking views of the sea around every bend of the road. We hiked up a mountain to see Old Man Storr at the top. The brochure said it was a strenuous hike. You're never quite sure if their definition of "strenuous" is the same as yours, but this one was accurately labeled. According to my phone, we hiked 4 miles, 10,767 steps and climbed 72 floors! The view as we climbed was spectacular. It was a bonus that the skies were blue with fluffy white clouds. It was pretty windy at the top, but quite bearable. 

 

There he is - Old Man Storr - behind us

Unfortunately, all that walking produced some significant blisters on the backs of both my feet. By the time I got to the bottom again, they were bleeding and pretty painful. What a start to our vacation. 


After the hike, we found a hotel restaurant in Portree, Skye, and had our one meal out for the day. I ordered cullen skink soup. If you google that, you'll find it's "just a strange Scottish name for Smoked Haddock Chowder. Cullen Skink may sound like an animal, but it's actually an incredibly flavorful, chowder-type soup originating in Scotland." It was very tasty and I would like to find a recipe I could try at home.

Tuesday, June 12
We packed a lot into this day between driving and hiking and exploring. First things first: we stopped at a cafe to buy our morning coffee and indulge in a scone or shortbread. (When in Scotland, do as the Scottish do!) We also bought a pair of flip flops for me since my feet couldn't walk in my shoes. Those flip flops enabled me to enjoy the rest of the week, to keep up with the younger ones without hobbling.

We drove back over to the Isle of Sky and spent our second day there. We first drove to the Fairy Pools, but when we got there, we saw there were no toilet facilities. Well, that would not do...there was no way we could do any hiking with all that coffee backed up in 4 bladders. So we decided we would visit a castle first and come back to the Fairy Pools later in the day. On the way to the Dunvegan Castle, we saw a Highland cow (pronounced by the Scots: "hay-len coo." He was happy to pose for us. Is he used to tourists stopping to snap a picture of him?

Dunvegan Castle is privately owned so it was not in ruins. Parts of it are open to the public so we walked around inside and ate our lunch outside on the terrace overlooking the water. 
 

The castle gardens were spectacular, such variety and unusual specimens. We couldn't stop taking pictures.

Did you ever see blue pine cones??? Or a blue poppy?

We could have spent a whole day in this lovely setting, but then we would have missed other treasures. It was hard to break away, but we wanted to see the beach with white sands. It wasn't far from the castle, so we drove about five minutes away, then hiked into the beach, through fields with cows and sheep. A lot of Scotland's coast is rocky so it was surprising to see a beach with sand. The water was so clear you could see to the bottom. There were no waves to stir up the sand.
 

 

Such a beautiful spot...it was hard to leave, but we wanted to fit in the Fairy Pools before calling it a day. And we're glad we did. No one's sure how this stream got its name except that the water cascades over rocks from high in the hills, sometimes settling into pools before continuing its way down. We hiked along the stream and up into the hills. By the time we got back to our car, it was 8:00 pm but the sun was still fairly high in the sky. According to my phone, that day we logged 16,000 steps and 4 miles again. My flip flops worked fine for me, allowing my blisters to begin healing.

That was a lot to fit into 4 days. And we still had another 5 days of adventures ahead. What fun to spend it with Christy, Grace and Anna. I enjoyed the company of Christy and the enthusiasm and giggles of the girls.

I will post a part 2 as I have time this week.
 

A friend pointed out to me that in Romans 8:18-25, Paul uses the idea that we eagerly wait 3 times. Waiting shouldn't have negative connotations for us. Think of Christmas. I remember as a kid being so excited for Christmas. As soon as presents were put under the tree, I would shake them, feel them, and try to guess what was in the package. And do you remember the chain links we created out of construction paper to indicate how many more days there were till Christmas? Or crossing off the days in December as each day was finished? This is a beautiful example of how we eagerly wait for something. 

Paul tells us in verse 19 that "the creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed." Then again in verse 23 he says we "wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies." He says that this redemption is what we hope for. "For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently."

So true...I've been waiting for months to take a trip to Scotland with Christy and Grace. When I was first invited to join them, June seemed so far away. But here we are and I'm on my way. So when I return, I will upload some amazing pictures, and share my experience on this blog. And I will no longer be waiting eagerly for my trip.

But I will still be waiting in eager expectation for God's plan to unfold. Every day is an adventure as a child of God. His mercies are new every morning. Great is His faithfulness. We have so much to look forward to...an eternity with the One and ones we love in a perfect heavenly paradise. And so we wait as patiently as possible, eagerly anticipating that blessed hope.

There didn't seem to be anything in particular, maybe just everything in general, but Friday felt especially heavy to me. My natural response wants to figure out why I'm dealing with these feelings. Why do I feel like crying when nothing has happened to add to what I'm already going through. Oppressive humidity? Attack from Satan? Lack of sleep? In this case, though, I have to be satisfied with no answer. I just don't know.

But as usually happens when I'm feeling low, God provides the encouragement I need at the precise moment of my need. I am currently reading Liturgy of the Ordinary by Tish Harrison Warren.

She writes about God being a part of every detail of our lives: when we wake in the morning, when we lose our keys, when we eat leftovers, when we sit in traffic...

In her chapter, Sitting in Traffic, she focuses on patience and being unhurried. I had heard a phrase in a song, and I don't remember which song at the moment, about God always being on time, never late. Trish reminds us that "we live in a waiting world, a world where time itself, along with all of creation, groans as in childbirth, waiting for something to be born." We live our lives each day in light of a future reality. Our best life is still to come. But in the middle of waiting for that future hope, are we patiently enjoying the days we have in the present? Waiting itself can be a gift. Our waiting is active and purposeful...God is at work in us and through us as we wait. A couple of days ago, I was struck with a feeling of expectancy as I wait for God to work things out for me. He is so creative in the way He works, not tied to uncertainty, but the Sovereign Ruler of all things, working for the good of his children. In my own perception of things, my situation looks hopeless...but that is not taking into account God and His divine purposes.

Recently I've noticed Steven Curtis Chapman's Glorious Unfolding being played frequently on KLOVE. It was recorded in 2013 so I really don't know why I hadn't heard it until recently. But it has spoken to me and been an encouraging reminder to me.

Lay your head down tonight
Take a rest from the fight 
Don't try to figure it out
Just listen to what I'm whispering to your heart
'Cause I know this is not anything like you thought the story of your life was gonna be
And it feels like the end has started closing in on you
but it's just not true
There's so much of the story that's still yet to unfold.

And this is going to be a glorious unfolding
Just you wait and see and you will be amazed
You've just got to believe the story is so far from over
So hold on to every promise God has made to us
And watch this glorious unfolding.

God's plan from the start
For this world and your heart
Has been to show His glory and His grace
Forever revealing the depth and the beauty of
His unfailing love
And the story has only begun

We were made to run through fields of forever
Singing songs to our Savior and King
So let us remember this life we're living 
Is just the beginning of the beginning

Of this glorious unfolding
We will watch and see and we will be amazed
If we just keep on believing the story is so far from over
And hold on to every promise God has made to us
We'll see the glorious unfolding
Songwriter: Steven Curtis Chapman, copyright BMG Rights Management US, LLC

That's right: Don't try to figure it out. Someday it will all be unfolded and we'll be amazed at the glorious plan of God.

I was able to have some family time on Tuesday when I drove up to Lancaster County to spend a couple of hours with Amy and her kids. They've been doing a lot of work to finish the upstairs of their new house as well as doing some outside projects. It was a joy to see those projects and be with her and the kids in person. After lunch we investigated a new park Amy had found. There was a huge lake that was an opportunity for the kids to fish and explore. There was also a paved trail around the park that we hiked. The sun was hot but the breeze was cool and refreshing. Amy and I stayed in the gazebo to chat while the kids played and fished at the lake.

Amy and I were amused with the momma duck and her babies on the lake. Whenever Chase would cast his fishing line, the ducks would paddle quickly to where his line was and follow it as he reeled it in. In spite of his moving from place to place to keep far away from the ducks, he did manage to catch a fish.

I heard a teacher on the radio tell about the story of Gideon in Judges 6. When the angel came to tell Gideon that God wanted him to fight against Israel's enemies, he addressed Gideon as "mighty warrior." Isn't that interesting? Gideon hadn't done anything yet. But in anticipation of a great victory, God calls Gideon a mighty warrior. Along with that pronouncement, God promises to be with him.

"When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, 'The LORD is with you, mighty warrior'." (Judges 6:12)

And there's the whole reason God could address him as a hero before he had even gone into battle: because God was going to do the fighting for him. It reminded me of David's confidence in Psalm 18:29 and 2 Samuel 22:30 (both verses have the exact same wording): "With your help I can advance against a troop; with my God I can scale a wall."

Scripture is full of God's promises to always be with us and to fight our battles for us. With God, the victory is assured.

"I can do everything through him who gives me strength." (Philippians 4:13)

"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." (2 Corinthians 12:9)

"He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak." (Isaiah 40:29)