I left a piece of my soul in Scotland

Time sure flies, huh?  I apologize to my many, many readers for my lack of blogging (that was sarcasm...ok, moving on....)  As soon as school let out, I took off and thought I might never come back!  But.... here I am.  I had an outstanding visit to Scotland where I spent some much needed time with sister Emily, brother Mike and baby Andrew.  Whom I love. A lot.  It took me three connections and 24 hours, but I finally did make it there.  My bro-in-law, Mike, picked me up and drove me home to their quaint little flat in Peter Culter (pronounced "Pee-ter Coo-ter).  Instead of inundating you with endless detail, I will condense my trip to few words and many pictures. In categories.

Category 1: Castles / Old Stuff

This was the gateway to the gardens of a castle called Cragevier.  All the castles were amazing.  Most of the castles we saw were between 13th to 16th century.  Yes, Andrew is on a lead.

This was the oldest we saw; Dunatar.  It's a ruined castle, which means only the old remaining pieces are left.  The crowned jewels were kept here at one point.  It must have been an amazing castle in it's time! (look closely.  It's on the cliff.)

Mike, Em and Andrew at Dunatar Castle.

Cragside (we stopped by England for a few days).  Built by Lord Armstrong, an amazingly brilliant and amazingly wealthy man.

View of the home from a bridge that spanned a small river.  All part of his estate.  Incredible.

The Wallington home (also in England).  Just think Jane Austin movie and there you have it.  Next time I live in 16th century England, this is where I will live.

So many castles, so little time.

Category 2: Nature / Beauty

This is the stuff God intended to make.  Once he had perfected his creating-things technique, he finished off Earth with this.

Category 3: Animals

For some reason, I have this thing where I love to be around, touch, feed animals.  So, naturally, I felt it necessary to stop at any available cow pasture, farm or horse stall to feed the animals it contained.

Hello, Cows..

This is Bessy. Naturally.

I'm soo happy!  So is Andrew.  You just don't know because you can't see his face.

Happy again!  Andrew is not.  You know because you can see his face.

Category 4: Me in front of stuff

In this category, you will notice me, in front of things.  Lots of Scottish / English wonders....and otherwise.

Oh my.  I really am a dork at heart, you know.  Maybe at brain, too.

"Oh, Em!  Take a picture of my sticking my head out of this window!  That will look reeeeaaaallll cool on Facebook!"

Hey.  It's me, or rather my giant head, above another awesome structure.

Here is some beauty.  And also there's cool trees and stuff around me....

"Maybe I could find a meadow to sleep in. Or a hollow log.  Or maybe a house of dwarfs.  I hear they are very hospitable!" - Giselle

Aw, Scottish Bagpipers.  The trip would not have been complete without them.

I liked these homes.  (are you getting sick of my mug yet? Hmm?)

Just a gateway.  A 900 yr. old gateway.

Classic.  I'm proud of myself.

Hadrian's wall.  I think this was my most favorite.  Simply because it was built in 600 bc.  Now THAT is one old wall.

Category 5:  The category with the rest of the pictures.

Isn't he adorable?  I can imagine he is trying to growl.

And now, so are we.  How embarrassing.

A little English village.  Rothbury.

Hexam Abbey.  Visited while in England.

The church goers used to have to pay for their seats.  The seats labeled "Free" were for the impoverished crowed.  Wow, that's the Christian spirit.

And this just needed to be sat upon.

I hope you have enjoyed this little (okay, not so little.  I may have gone overboard and swam ashore with the pictures) journey through my trip to Scotland/England.  It was a blast!  A hearty thanks to Em and Mike for letting me visit and taking me to see all these beautiful places!

Next adventure..... Mexico!