Tired of the typical: Easter

The boys had 2 1/2 weeks off for their Easter holiday- which was turned out to be a fun filled adventure for me. Easter Sunday we went to Jane's parents house for dinner. The boys were thrilled to be with their cousins and they all had a blast on their Easter egg hunt. We returned home for a night, before heading off to St. Andrew's with Jane's sister and her children. The hotel we stayed in was absolutely beautiful (and way out of the price range of a backpacker like myself). When I called home to brag to my Dad about being on the St. Andrew's golf course, he informed me that they woke up to snow that morning. I didn't want to rub it in too badly- but we were on our way from the golf course to the beach. Of course I didn't mention that the water temperature was colder than a meat locker, and any sane person would last no longer than 32 seconds with their toes in the water. The boys had a blast building sand castles and dodging sea gulls- and I got some beautiful photos of the town and golf course from the beach. We headed back to Edinburgh later in the week by way of the seafront. The drive was beautiful and it was so much nicer to be on a small country highway dipping in and out of small towns than it would have been on the large motorway. We stopped at a famous fish 'n' chip shop on the way home for supper. Although I'm not much of a fish person- I convinced myself that I was being cultured, and therefore should dig in. The chip shop won the award for best F'n'C shop in Britain 3 times (which considering the entire country of Great Britian can fit into Wyoming, isn't as prestigious of an award as when something is rated the 'best ___ in America'). Anyhow- it was pretty damn good. So good in fact, that it is a known favorite of Tom Hanks. Maybe fish isn't so bad after all.

We returned home midweek for a few days around Edinburgh before the boys started back to school. I have really taken a liking to the path I found a few weeks back, and have been back almost every spare day that I have had. Thankfully the weather has cooperated nicely and thus lends itself to nice long walks or quiet afternoons reading/writing/doing sudoku puzzles. I don't know what the path is really called, though I have named it 'The Path of Plenty.' I have chose this name because it always provides me with plenty of stories to write about. So often I see things and I think 'is this a dream' (like the man on the bike a few weeks ago). Earlier this week I was sitting on my favorite bench, minding my own business, listening to my ipod when I suddenly realized one of two things- either the particular song I was listening to unexplainably and randomly featured a bagpipe in the backup music, or a bagpiper had snuck up behind me and was drowning out my song. Number two prevailed. Now don't get me wrong- the bagpipe is a beautiful instrument... both in visual and auditory appeal... however it is strange to hear this sound suddenly appear on a path in the middle of a forest. Without trying to make my look of shock and confusion seem too obvious I slyly pressed pause on my ipod while keeping the earphones in my ear (to make it appear that I hadn't noticed) and tried to listen to the commotion behind me. When I just couldn't stand it any longer, I turned around. To my delight- it wasn't only a bagpiper... it was a five man walking band. Playing along the path. On a Tuesday. In kilts. Apparently no bagpiper travels alone- and on this occasion he brought his four mates- the drum, guitar, accordion, and flute. I couldn't help but laugh... but at least I turned back around so they didn't see me chuckle (hopefully). No sooner had I watched them continue on their journey down the path, when a half dressed lady walked past me with a bottle of wine in one hand an a banana in another hand. I'm not making this up... hence... the path of plenty. It is times like this that I wish there was a hidden camera recording my facial expressions. Since it has been so nice out- the boys love to go on walks with me on the path. Their favorite part is skipping stones into the river and hiding behind trees whenever they see a dog approaching.

It seems that the days turn into weeks and the weeks turn into months faster than I am willing to admit. I can't believe my time here is nearly finished! It feels like just yesterday I was having my 'goodbye dinner' at home in Gurnee... and soon enough I will be having my 'hello dinner' (hint hint Mom!) at home as well. Until then- I'll continue to explore and wander and enjoy all that I can in the land of the Scots.