Analyzing myself

I have had two psychology courses, and that is enough to know that are subconcious plays out our inner issues in dreams quite often. I think last night I had a familiar dream for the very last time. Since we have moved to Corydon, I have had the same dream at least once a week, probably more. The details of the dream are always different, but the basic premise is the same: I have to go back to high school or middle school, at my current age. The school is always slightly different, but the same and it is a combination of the high school and middle school I attended. People I attended high school or middle school are there, but at the age they should be to be in school, but I am a 24 year old trapped in a middle school class room, and that is the best way to explain how I feel in those dreams, trapped. However, last night when I had this dream I got up in the middle of the class, told the teacher I am withdrawing from the school, and walked out the door. This has NEVER happened in the dreams before. Also, in this dream I found out why I have had these dreams for so long. In the dream, I decided to leave the school after I realized I would not have to substitute teach anymore. I believe the dreams were my subconcious way of dealing with anxiety feelings, related to substitue teaching. It is no secret that I did not care much for subbing, but on very deep levels, I must have felt hoplessly stuck in doing it. This is especially true, when I consider that half the time these dreams ended with me sinking in a body of water.
So do I earn an honorary Freudian psychology degree, for this amazing psyco-analysis? I guess I will have to wait and see if these dreams truly do stop.

What to do . . .What to do . . .

I have been by myself for five days, and I have decided that being a hermit, while it sounds kind of cool (because then I could wear hooded robes and roam the desert), really does suck. So while I have had some stuff to do like pack and fill out applications for Abigail, I for the most part have been alone and bored. Basically, I have been playing video games and watching DVDs. On the video game front, I finished Medal of Honor: European Assault. It is the most cinemeatic and epic WWII experiene available on the console, if you want to my full thoughts on it follow the colored words. Last night I got to spend like two hours playing Brothers in Arms online, this was fun because I am actually really, really good at it but no one is ever online to play against. I also began playing Shadow Hearts Covenant

It is a turned base RPG, but the combat system is actually cool and interactive (instead of endless menus).
As far as DVDs go I have been using the friendly Corydon library to hook me up. I have watched just about all of the first two seasons of the Family Guy. The show really is pure comic genius, even if it is a bit irreverant at times. I also checked out 12 Monkeys, which was a fairly decent mind trip. I also checked out The Village, which I watched tonight. I know no one will believe me, but I knew what the big surprise twist ending was (since every M. Night Shalyman films have one) in the first five minutes. This made the film a bit less enjoyable because with each clue they gave it just confirmed what I already knew (kind of the way it was with the Sixth Sense, since someone ruined that ending for me, but this one I figured out). This is not the first time I have done this, just ask my sister Kristen about The Others, which I have never seen, but accuaratly guessed the ending of. Other than that I watched Monty Python and the Holy Grail to see the places I had actually been to, and today one of the my former youth group kids came over to play video games so I got to break out Culdcept and play that awesome game some more, anyway that is it. . . like I said boring.

Filling in the time

Abigail is gone! She left to on Friday to go to Flordia for 10 freaking days. She is providing respite care for a boy with C.P., but she is gone for 10 days! It is day 2 and I miss her and I'm bored. As Jason said (who I got this from) Boredom=quizzes, so here you go:

THREE NAMES YOU GO BY
1. Sean
2. SeanXor
3. Mr. Johnson

THREE SCREEN NAMES YOU HAVE HAD
1. SeanXor
2. lesserthangideon
3. OB1johnson

THREE THINGS YOU LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF
1. my creativity
2. being a geek
3. choice in women (because Abigail is awesome!)

THREE THINGS YOU DON'T LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF
1. talk fast
2. horrible hand writing
3. phonephobia

THREE PARTS OF YOUR HERITAGE
1. English
2. Scandinavian (maybe?)
3. Kentuckian

THREE THINGS THAT SCARE YOU
1. rush hour traffic
2. Corporate America
3. Femi-nazis

THREE OF YOUR EVERYDAY ESSENTIALS
1. food
2. internet
3. seeing Abigail

THREE THINGS YOU ARE WEARING RIGHT NOW
1. old t-shirt
2. boxer shorts
3. um, birthday suit . . .

THREE OF YOUR FAVORITE BANDS OR MUSICAL ARTISTS (this is currently)
1. Thousand Foot Krutch
2. Pillar
3. Five Iron Frenzy

THREE OF YOUR FAVORITE SONGS (at the moment)
1. Blessed Be your name- Tree 63
2. Last Words- Thousand Foot Krutch
3. Voice of Truth- Casting Crowns

NEW THINGS YOU WANT TO TRY IN THE NEXT 12 MONTHS
1. Star Wars Battlefront II (in November!)
2. Actuall making the game idea I've had for 2 years now into a game
3. Parenting

THREE THINGS YOU WANT IN A RELATIONSHIP
1. love
2. laughter
3. support

TWO TRUTHS AND A HALF-LIE (in no particular order) (comment and guess which one's a lie)
1. I went to church last night
2. I bought a video game last night.
3. I watched seven episodes of the Family guy yesterday.

THREE PHYSICAL THINGS ABOUT THE OPPOSITE SEX THAT APPEAL TO YOU
1. eyes
2. hair
3. sense of humor

THREE OF YOUR FAVORITE HOBBIES
1.video games
2. reading
3. writing


THREE THINGS YOU WANT TO DO REALLY BADLY RIGHT NOW
1. See Abigail
2. play a paper and pencil RPG
3. take a shower

THREE CAREERS YOU'RE CONSIDERING
1. Youth Minister (sounds good to me!)
2. Video Game reviewer (definte dream job)
3. Tour Guide (not so much, but I would be good at it)

THREE PLACES YOU WANT TO GO ON VACATION
1. Russia
2. Flordia ( I miss going to ocean)
3. Italy (espcially Rome)

THREE THINGS YOU WANT TO DO BEFORE YOU DIE
1. Be a father
2. Change the world
3. Get published.

THREE WAYS I AM STEREOTYPICALLY A CHICK (...)
1. um, i'm not
2.
3.

THREE WAYS I AM STEREOTYPICALLY A DUDE
1. like violence
2. like to drive too fast
3. don't like asking for directions

THREE CELEB CRUSHES
I have no need for crushes because I am married to the perfect woman .. that is my official statement and I am sticking to it! But off the record I would say . . .
1. Catherine Zeta Jones
2. Drew Berrymore
3. Natilie Portman

The closest we will get to virtual reality?

I found this news report floating around on the internet:

As realistic as modern sports video games are, it still doesn't quite compare to the real thing. Still, Kansas City's idea of pitting two gamers against each other in MVP Baseball 2005, as reported by the Kansas City Star, while playing from home plate on the CommunityAmerica Ballpark's 16-by 24-foot video screen is pretty close.

The gamers will play out the first two innings of a match up between the Kansas City T-Bones and the Schaumburg Flyers, elevating "new meaning to the term 'fan involvement'," in the words of Mike Stone, commissioner of the minor-league baseball Northern League.

When the gamers finish their virtual innings, the real-life players will take the field and finish up the remaining seven. The gamers will be picked through a high score competition at local CompUSA stores.

Regardless of the outcome, it's definitely a unique kind of promotion. "Everybody in the world is going to want to do this after us," said Bryan Williams, T-Bones director of community relations.

Scotland Postlude

Leaving Scotland turned out to be a far greater chore than it should have been. First I woke up in the morning with a full blown sinus infection, that I am just now fully getting over. From the moment that we set foot in to the airport in Edinburgh to when we left the airport in Midway, 21 hours had elapsed. The start of the delays began in Edinburgh because when they were loading the plane they found one bag to many, so everyone had to get off the plane and indentify their bags. That took an extra hour and a half. Finally we got up in the air and made it to New Jersey. It was there we sadly found that according to U.S. customs Haggis from Britian is not allowed in the country (though had we mailed the four cans of haggis we would have been just fine). In Newark are plane was dealyed for an hour and half or so. However, when we finally boarded the plane a storm cell was planted right in the departure path and we couldn't leave. So we sat for three hours on a plane waiting to go. Finally we were off and got back to Midway safely. To top it off, I had a job interview the next day, which obviously went well because that is the job I just got!

So for this Celtic room that Abigail is putting together we got several items, so I'll just walk you through the decorations we have for it (either already had) or bought in Scotland. On the wall will be several items. First there will be the Cross of St. Andrew flag that Abigail got for me the first time she went to Scotland. Then we got a map of Scotland that is designed to look 1500-1600ish that we will frame and hang. There will also be the Stewart family crest (which Abigail got from her deceased grandfather) with a sword hanging over it. We got a small wall hanging of the celtic trinty symbol, and finally on the wall will be the picture that we decide to blow up and frame. As far as other decorative items go, we got a Steward tartin blanket (Abigail already has one) and we are going to use those has covering cloths for nightstands. We got two candle holders with Celtic designs (because we have near unlimited supply of candles from the wedding it seems), a decorative chess set (my main addition to the room), and 2 picture frames. The final piece is a lamb skin rug.

And that ends the daily Scotland updates, I will now resume the normal random and spastic update schedule.

Scotland Day 10

This is the last day. It was overall a very pleasant and very laid back day. For the first time we stayed on the tour bus for the entire day. The morning started with driving out into the country side and seeing some Heilan (or Hairy) Coos (cows). We got to walk in the field with the (watching out for cow pies)

From there we headed to St. Conan's Kirk. This church is really odd. It was built by a rich guy who wanted to build a church that was closer to his mom so she wouldn't have to walk so far. However, he got carried away and it took like 20 years, and by time he was done she was dead. However, there is now a church that looks like a minature cathedral. Appearently if architecture is your thing then the place is extra cool because multiple styles clash inside the church.

Personally, I thought it had some really cool Stained Class windows

From St. Conan's we went out and stopped at our Kilchurn Castle, which would be the last castle we would get to see.


(incidently in the voting for which picture gets blown up it is currently #1 with five votes, #2 with four votes, and #3 with three votes. . .so keep giving your opinions!)

Next we got to eat lunch at an English Pub in Scotland. I am not entirely sure what the difference between an English Pub, a Scotish Pub, and an Irish Pub are, but on this trip I was in all three and they all seemed similar. From there we rolled on out to Rob Roy's Gravesite.

The grave was located in Balquhiddir Kirkyard. Balquhiddir was really cool because there was a ruined church surrounded by a graveyard, and then the church that is used today was beside it.

The final stop was in Stirling at the Wallace Monument (and the hideous statue at the bottom)

That is it. From there we went back to Edinburgh, ate at the same place we ate at way back on day 1, then we took a taxi to the hotel we were staying at, used up the odd and end coins we had left over to buy British junk food, and prepared to leave the next day.

Scotland Day 9

Due to the fact that the bus wasn't going to arrive in Fort William until 4:30 and we had to check out at 10:30, we had a lot of extra time on our hands. We started out by going to see Old Fort William. It was exciting. . .actually no, this is literally all that remains of Fort William After that we went to High Street with all of the shops open. Abigail had a list of stuff to get either for herself or other people and she was determined to get everything (and I think she did) We did the whole shopping thing (again), ate lunch, and still had lots of time left. It was a beautiful day so Abigail sat down in a community green, and I went to take pictures in a graveyard for her (because she wants a Celtic cross picture framed). She has a funny story that has to be seen to be believed (and yes there is a picture), let's just say it has to do with poop and public displays of nudity. If you want to know more, email and ask her because it is her story. We still had a lot of time, and I went to the Highland Life Musuem (Abigail continued to soak in the sun because she thinks history museums are boring). After that we went back to the Hostel repacked all of our stuff to get Abigail's new acquistions to fit, and waited. The bus was late, but that is ok because we finally got to go. The first stop was at Glencoe. This place is considered to be one of the most sceneic in Scotland (you may have picked up on a theme by now Scotland=Scenic)

The next stop we made was a special request. I saw on a map in Fort William that the route we would take lead us right by Castle Stalker (better known to Monty Python fans as Castle Aaaarrrgggh). I asked the driver if we could stop and he did!

We then ended up in our final destination of Oban. The weird structure on the hill is McGraig's Tower. He was this rich guy who decided Scotland needed more culture and decided to build a replica of the coluseum. However, he never finished it so a half built Coluseum just sits over looking Oban.

This was also the day that Scotland played Moldavia in a bid to get into the World cup. We thought it would be fun to go to a pub to eat and enjoy being around locals really getting into Football, but there were to many doing that because they were all full. So we ended up at a Fish and Chips restraunt that used fresh fish so that was cool. After that we decided to walk to right outside of the town, where Castle Dunoley set. As we were walking there we passed another couple coming back and they said there was a homeless guy there (personally I think he was camping there because there was a car parked by the steps going up to the castle, and it was out in the middle of nowhere, but anyway. . .). As we were walking up to the castle the fog rolled in.

This created a perfect gothic horror movie setting! A ruined Castle covered in Fog at the top of a forest path-you don't get much more goth than that.

So I go inside the castle say hello to the guy camping there and walk up pitch black slippery steps to the second floor. Then when I come down and Abigial and I are looking around the guy inside comes out. He is wearing a coat that drags the ground and he has the collar pulled up. Both Abigail and I see this out of the corner of our eye. And she got freaked out something fierce! She practically ran down the hill and the entire way back let her minds play tricks on her. Good times.

That is interesting

When it comes to the United Methodist Church, I am probably a bit more fundamentalist than the mainstream posistion, and my ideas for worship are definatly a bit more alternative. However, according to this internet quiz (because they are absolute authorities) I definatly look like a life long Methodist (theologically speaking) . . .sorry if it doesn't turn out. Half the time when I try posting these things you have to drag the cursor of the post to read it.

You scored as Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan. You are an evangelical in the Wesleyan tradition. You believe that God's grace enables you to choose to believe in him, even though you yourself are totally depraved. The gift of the Holy Spirit gives you assurance of your salvation, and he also enables you to live the life of obedience to which God has called us. You are influenced heavly by John Wesley and the Methodists.

Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan		86%
Neo orthodox		71%
Emergent/Postmodern		68%
Fundamentalist		64%
Charismatic/Pentecostal		54%
Reformed Evangelical		36%
Classical Liberal		29%
Roman Catholic		29%
Modern Liberal		18%

Moving Out!!!

It is official. I have a job in Indianapolis. I will be working as the youth minister at Epworth United Methodist Church in Indianapolis. The way this all worked out is so incredible, that it really has the hand print of God all over it. Conicidences like this don't happen by accident. So Abigail and I are very excited! Now we have to pray that she will be able to find a teaching job in the area. If anyone wants to help pack over the next few weeks just show up with a box!

Scotland Day 8

The Jacobite Steam Train, along with being featured in Harry Potter, is considered one of the top ten most scenic routes in the world. It is also one of the top recommended activties in Scotland according to the offcial tourism board of the country. Needless to say, this is something that Abigail wanted to do from the get go, and it is why we jumped off in Fort William in the first place. However, we discovered that the line between Fort William and Malig that the steam train runs on is also a regular service line. As the ticket guy said "Same track, same speed, same scenery, half the price." So we did that and saved money (we also took the regular train because it fit our time table better). So was the train ride scenic? I'll let you be the judge:






We arrived in Malig and bought our tickets for the ferry, because we were going back over to Isle of Skye. We had an hour and half before the Ferry left so we explored Malig for all it had to offer . .which wasn't much. As you can see it is a bit of a small town.

Now the reason for going back to Skye was to go to Armdale. The tour books described it as a ruined Castle with gardens in and around it. I had always imagined something like Dunnottar only with gardens growing in the ruined buildings. However the extent of the garden castle combination was this

The rest of the ruined castle (which again was more of a mansion than a castle) was completely closed off. There was a nice garden around the castle though, if gardens are your thing, and it was a bit picturesque.

They also had a musuem about life on the Scotish Islands, but overall Abigail and I were just a bit disappointed with the Armdale experience (still glad we came out here though, if anything just for train and ferry rides). After we got our fill of Armdale we went back to Malig and after taking the train back (sitting on the opposite side of course) we got back to Fort William. The train station was right next to a Morrison's (grocery store) so we got some of the British food we knew we wanted to take back (like Lemon Fanta!) . After dropping the food of at the hostel we went out to eat. We ate at a restraunt, that unbeknowest to use was a tourist haven, but the food was good so we didn't mind. After that we went to McTavish Kitchens for desert. McTavish kitchens is one of those places that all travel guides say "This is a tourist trap, but you should go anyway". The trap part is that they have overpriced food and every night they have traditional Scotish music and dancing. Abigial and I both thought that sounded cool so we went for it. We were both expecting a lot of bagpipes. However, the majority of the music featured an accordian. I am fairly confident that is not a traditional Scotish instrament. When the bagpiper was playing (a third of the time) or the guy was singing ( a third of the time) it was alright, but the other third was nothing but solo accordian music. Neither Abigail or I could take it so we left a little early, and that ends day eight.

Scotland Day 7

This was probably one of our most low key days. The MackBackpackers bus was not going to be to Skye until 1:30 (though it really did not show up till two). So we once again got to sleep in. However, unlike Pitlochery, Kyleakin did not have many shops for Abigail to go into in the morning, so instead we took a walk behind the town through the salt marshes, and then we ate lunch. After that we had nothing else to do but wait, so we ended up waiting for about an hour, and then the bus came and we were off. The first stop was at Elian Dohn Castle. The most photographed castle in Scotland (and also one of the least real because the building that currently stands was built in the 1920's).
From the castle there was an amazing drive through the rugged highlands, that led to a stop over Loch Garry. Now this Loch has something special about it, before scrolling down see if you can notice


Figure it out? The loch is in the shape of Scotland. After this we drove along Loch Lochy while being told about the Battle of Shirts, where 800 clansman clashed in a clan argument, and it was so hot that they took off their shirts to fight. Only 11 surived and both sides claim victory. Definalty an excercise in futility. Anway, that same area is also where the British Commandos (WWII special forces) trained, and they built a monument to them out in the middel of nowhere.

From there we rolled into Fort William, which is the "outdoor capital of Europe" mostly because it lies in the shadows of Ben Nevis, Britian's highest mountain.

Now upon seeing this picture my sister said that it looke like something out of Braveheart, and that is because it is! Braveheart (and Rob Roy) were filmed in Glen Nevis. Once we were all checked in at Fort William we took a wonderful river side walk that ended at Inverlochy Castle. This old Castle was definatly built as a fortication. It was four towers connected by walls, and it use to have a moat.
We walked back, and went down High street (the city center) Most things were closed but we found a restraunt to eat at, where I got to have Haggis again. From there we basically called it a night, and got to see an amazing sunset.

Short Break

There will be a small pause in these daily updates recounting our trip to Scotland, because we are hitting the road again. We are first going to my parents house to share with them the Scotland Picture love, and then it is back up to Highland (again. . if you have been keeping track this is the 3rd time in a month), then we are going through Indianapolis because I have a job interview. Actually, this is the second interview at the same place (the first was on the way back to Corydon from Scotland). It is for a youth ministry posistion at Epworth United Methodist Church. The whole thing sounds really, really promisng and exciting despite the whole moving thing. In the meanwhile, Abigail and I would like your help. We are going to be blowing a picture from Scotland up to frame and be one of the main pieces in this Celtic themed bed room. It will be one of these three pictures. Please leave a comment about which one you like the most. Do you prefer
1) Castle Moil

2) Kilchurn Castle

3) Castle Stalker


Please give your opinion! The trip updates will resume on Monday.

Scotland Day 6

I am being absolutly mean to dial up users, once again I will have 9 pics up for today, so sorry about that. Anyway, Abigail considers this day the highlight of the trip. Before we got there we arranged to hire a driver to take us all around Skye. It is really hard to convey what we saw, because while we stopped at places the main point of today was just to see Skye. The place is incredible. The landscape is rugged and beautiful. Sheep rule the inland parts and they freely reign. However, there scattered everywhere are remanents of a time long past. There are piles of stones and it could be the remians of a 16th century house (which we saw lots of), an even more ancient church (which we saw several of), a Cairn (which we saw on the island), or just a natural pile of rocks (which it has in abundance). More than any other place we were at in Scotland, Skye felt ancient. As if the land itself could just start telling epic stories of romacne, tragedy, and war from an era no longer remembered. But that is enough waxing romantically, on with the show. Our first stop was Elgol. This small fishing village is suppose to offer one of the best views Skye has to offer. Sadly when we were there, the clouds were hiding the Black Cullins, but it still is nice.

From there we drove on (actually half an hour back to the main road) and then started winding through the Red Cullins, with a brief stop at a waterfall called the Grey Mare's tail

We then stopped a the ruins of a truly ancinet fort that predated the Roman arrival in Britian. All that remains is the foundation, and the picture isn't all that interesting, so I am skipping it to be nice to dial up people. Anyway, we then went to Dunevegan Castle, the seat of Clan MacCloud.
We thought that it might be covered by a pass we had (and used for most things up till now), but it was not and really the castle was overpriced, and just full of mansion like rooms so we skipped going in. Not going to the castle freed up sometime, so I looked at the map and saw that there was an old church listed as a historic site, and it was near where we would be going anyway, and the driver had never been there so we went for it. On the way there we made the planned stop at SykeSkins Tannery, where we got to see how Sheep skins are made.
Yes, if you are curious we did get a sheep skin to use as a rug in our celtic theme bedroom Abigail is making, and if you are concerned about furs and what not, then you will be happy to know that all the sheep skins they use come from sheep that have already been turned into haggis. From there we continued out to the church, which was cool because it was right on the ocean and the sky was clear and it was possible to see all of the Western Islands (though the pictures of those only turned out so-so) The church was an ancient place that was the site of a massacre. It was also an even more ancient place of law, and had a judgement stone . The way this worked is somone was blindfolded, and they given a small stick if they could get the stick in the hole on the firs try (the hole is on the other side of the stone) then they were inocent, if not they were guilty, and if they were accused were being a witch they checked to make sure they weighed the same as a duck. Anyway from there we stopped a pottery place because Abigail wanted to, but 8 pounds for a saucer (the cheapest they had) ensured we were there for less than five minutes. We then wound oursevles into Portree to eat lunch, and after that we headed north. The way Skye's landscape changes is quite remarkable. In the southern part it is very rugged, and that is the best word for it. However, in the north it is very green and the mountains are replaced by rolling hills (they are still rocky though). We got to see the Old Man of Stor, which if you are a Harry Potter fan might look familiar from the Prisoner of Azkaban. .
We then stopped at another waterfall, who's name I can not remember (if you have not yet guessed Abigail loves waterfalls, which is funny considering how hydrophobic she is)

We then made one last final stop at Kilt Rock, which has a waterfall that flows right into the Ocean, and it is a truly gorgeous sight. From that point we were sadly out of time, to stop anymore because of where we were on the island and where we had to go back to. This was sad, because we drove past a WWII observation post and a ruined castle, but that is ok because the drive itself was worth it. We ended back in Kylekin where we started. Since we could we walked up to the WWII memorial, and it looks a lot like the pitlochery one. We then waited a while so we could walk on the beach at low tide, and in doing so got a brilliant picture of the sunset.

Scotland Day 5

Today started bright and early with leaving Inverness at 9pm. From Inverness we began to really get deep into the Scotish highlands. Like most people who journey there, I fell in love with the highlands of Scotland. There is just something about them that has some sort of undescribable pull. Anway our first stop was Rogie Falls on the black isle (even though the Black Isle really isn't an isle)
From there, after a great drive through the highlands the next major stop was a picturesque location over Loch Carron.
This brought us to Kyle of Lochalsh (and if Kyle happens to be, you know, your namesake then you might be surprised that in Galeic it's true meaning is "narrow straight of water"). Everyone who is staying on the bus the rest of the day got of and found lunch while everyone who was jumping off in Skye went across the bridge and found ourselves in Kyleakin. Kyleakin is a small fishing community, that also happens to be an extremely popular meal stopping point for big tour buses. It is also blessed with absolulty brilliant views . We got checked into the hostel and then ate lunch, where I finally got to have Haggis! The stuff is awesome. I have the recipie and the minute I figure out how to get hold of a sheep stomach, lungs, liver, and heart I am so going to make it. It was now about 2:00 and we had the whole day ahead of us. Abigail and I decided to jump on the bus and go back across the bridge to Kyle of Lochalsh. From there a glass bottom boat did cruises, and that was something Abigail had always wanted to do, so we did it. It was a goregous day so we got to see a lot of great scenery from the boat along with a lighthouse upclose,

jellyfish (in Scotland, who would have thought!),

and seals.

We then explored Kyle of Lochalsh for all it was worth exploring (it is not very big) and then went back to Kyleakin. Abigail got her much missed afternoon nap out of the way while I went through our pictures, and then it was off to Castle Moil.
The castle lays just one the outskirts of Kyleakin (which again is really small). It was built in the early 12th century by a Viking Princess known as Saucy Mary. She is saucy because legend has it that she would put a big chain across the Kyle and demand a toll. If boats paid a little extra she would then flash them. The castle (which only has two parts of a wall standing) was also home to King Hakkon who was the last viking king to rule over the islands of Scotland. At low tide to get upto the castle all you have to do is walk up along the coast. Unfortantly we went there at high tide which gave two options. 1. Walk in the cold water 2. Climb through the hills. Abigail was not feeling adventerous so on my own I opted to climb through the hills. It was only the marginally dryer choice. Because of the rain yesterday it was an absolute mud field. Going through the mud wasn't the problem. The problem is that the path of least resistance led me to the top of a hill that had a steep way of going down. Typically this would not be all that hard but the rain again made it a mudslide, so I just carefully controlled my fall. I don't have any pictres that give a good idea what this was like, but here is one that has the hill in question, and shows my path (sort of)
I can assure you the hill is steeper and bigger than that picture makes it out to be. It was really fun standing inside the remains of the castle. On the way back I decided climbing back up the hill was a bad idea, so I climbed around the rocks on the coast and only once had to step into the water. After that I went back and put on dry shoes and socks and we went to eat at a local pub. Since it was Saturday night they had some live music coming in, so we waited for that and while we were waiting we got the pleasure of seeing a rainbow

and a Shinty team (Shinty is a Scotland sport that is basically field hockey minus the rules, imagine giving rugby players sticks and using a baseball as a puck and you get the idea). We only stuck around for the first preformer and then took a walk on the beach before calling it a night.

Scotland Day 4

After yesterday's wirlwind excitement we slept in today. This was ok, because the bus was not going to be there to pick us up until 1:30. Abigail was excited about this, because by time we left the Hostel it was just after 10:30 which gave her 3 whole hours to shop in Pitlochery! Actually it was not to bad, as we did begin to find items for her Celtic themed bedroom. This is the only picture we have from the town of Pitlochery itself: I can only assume England is the same way, but in Scotland every town has a WWI and WWII memorial for those who died from that town. This one from Pitlochery really shows what most of them look like. The MacBackpacker's bus was on time and we were off. The first stop we made was at the Pass of Kilicrankie There the tour guide/bus driver who was an incredible story teller told us the story of Bonnie Dundee and the Highland army he led against the British there in 1689. From there we continued up towards Inverness. The next stop was the Ruthven Barracks After the Glorious Revolution, the Scots refused to be ruled by a foregin king and instead supported the Stewart family (who really were the rightful heirs to the Scotish and British thrones) this led to a series of Jacobite rebellions, and to control the rowdy Scots, the British built a series of forts, and this is one of them. From there we made a breif stop at a group of cairns. These are essentially elaborate graves that date from the same time as the stone circles. From there it was not to far until we stopped again at Culloden fields. This was the site of the last battle on British soil. The most successful Jacobite rebellion was led by Bonnie Prince Charlie who was close to attacking London, but the British brought troops back from France and pursued the Jacobites to Culloden, there the cannons of the British laid waste to the Scotish. Once again the guide was an absolutly incredible story teller and he really made it possible to feel the history, to the point that seeing the memorial built there was an emotianl experience for all . We made one last stop at Loch Ness, mostly just so everyone can say they had seen/swam in the famous loch. From there it was off to Inverness for the night.

Abigail and I walked around the river front looking for a pub she ate at the first time she was there, and we found it but they said they were to busy to serve us. So we ended up at some Itallian restraunt. This was actually ok because it turned out to be the local date place. Seriously with the exception of like two families the entire place was couples, they also had Abigial's much loved Gellato so that was good. It was our plan to then go walk on around on a series of islands in River Ness that are all connected by foot bridges. However, as soon as we started, it started to pour rain so we turned around and called it a night.

Scotland Day 3

56k users I apologize, this post will be most unkind to you. This day was one of the most action packed days I have ever had. It started with eating breakfast at the B&B with eating a duck egg omlet and talking with a reporter from BBC radio. From there we had a driver scheduled to pick us up and take us around the area. Our first stop was the absolutly incredible Dunnottar Castle.
This place was so neat. As you can see it is a great ruined castle built on a rocky landmass that is just barely conected to the mainland. The ruined castle is still in decent condition, and it is open to be freely roamed around in. Which I did with wide-eyed wonder.

I probably could have spent all day there, but after close to two hours of exploring every nook and cranny we left. Our next stop was the town Banchory for a "wee bit" of shopping (whoop-te-doo) but Abigail found this bowl she really liked and is going to fill with rocks and sand from Stonehaven so that will be cool. We also ate lunch, and I had a prawn (read shrimp) and mayo sandwich which was really good. I found it interesting that the turkey sandwhich was actually more expensive. Shrimp is appereantly more common in the UK and therefor less expensive, which I had no complaints about. From the town we headed out towards Fraiser Caslte (and no the picture is not crooked, everyone we took looked this way, it is some weird effect the curve of the land has) The castle was still in great condition, and was full of room after room with antique furniture from the late 17th to mid 18th century. It was alright, but after the awesomness that was Dunnottar, fancy mansion rooms didn't quite light my fire as much. From Fraiser castle we drove deeper into the Scotish countryside and stopped at a remote stone circle known as the Easter Aquhorthies. Scotland has more stone circles and standing stones than any place in the world (think stonehenge like, just none that big). No one knows what they are for. Most of the conjecture says it as to do with nature worship but those are just guesses, and personally reminds me of the black box theory (if you aren't in the know about what that is, ask me sometime). Sadly our tour was about to end with a visit to one more castle. Like Dunnottar, Tolquhon Castle is a ruined one that is still in decent shape. However, where Dunnottar was a true castle that served as a fortification as much as a stately home, Tolquhon was created to be a bit more mansion like, but it was still a ton of fun to roam around in.

From there we had to go back to the train station to get a train to go back to Pitlochery, and after a dramatic run across a platform to catch our connecting train in Perth (and I had to do this carrying a suitcase full of Abigail's rocks) we made it back to Pitlochery and checked into our hostel. However, this does not end our day. I somehow convinced Abigail to make the hike outside of town and walk to a waterfall known as the Black Spout This did however create a small problem when we walked back to town, because we discovered that while most pubs are open until midnight they stop serving food at 9 pm which is right when we made it back. Fortunatly, we found a resteraunt that must of still had their fryer on because they said the could make us fish and chips so that was happy. We went back to the Hostel and Abigail slept while I packed up all our stuff and finished the last few pages of Shatterpoint that I was not able to read on the plane.

Scotland Day 2

So the thing about Scotland in the summer is the days are crazy long. The sun does not really set until just after 11 pm, and then the sunrises around 4:00 am. This inevitably led Abigail and I to be woken up every day between 4 and 6 because we thought it was way later than it actually it was (because it was perfectly light out!) Anyway, after being woken up early and falling back to sleep our day properly began around 9 am when we boarded the MacBackpackers bus. If any of you are ever planning on going to Scotland for any amount of time, then MacBackpackers is seriously the way to do it, the drivers are informative, funny, and the variety of things to do and see is quite high. We left Edingburgh and drove through the Fife to arrive in Dunkeld. Originally we were scheduled to go to a waterfall, but for what ever reason plans were changed to stop here. This was perfect for Abigail and I because we were already going to go to Dunkeld to see the Cathedral. Dunkeld Cathedral is really cool because it is really old. A church originally stood on the location as early as 586 AD. The cathedral itself was started in the 1200s and was modified and expanded up until 1551. During the reformation and the zeal to destroy icons the church was burned. The sactuarly was restored and reroofed, while the Nave never was. This led to a very unique cathedral that contains a beautiful, ancient sanctuary
And then a haunting but traquil ruin, all part of the same building.
Overall the cathedral is a very, very cool place. From Dunkeld we rolled onto Pitlochery and up into the hills behind the town to stop at Edradour distillary, the smallest distillary in Scotland.
Personally I did not care all that much about the creation of whiskey, but I did get to try genunie Scotish whiskey, and I must say that it is a lot better than I thought it would be. From there it was back to Pitlochery where we jumped off the tour and checked some bags at the hostel before going to the train station, and we boared the train to go to Stonehaven so that we could do a tour of the castle trail the next day (there is some forshadowing for you!) Anyway, the train ride it a two hour dealy in Dundee, so we went out and walked around only to discover Penguins in Scotland!
We finally made it to Stonehaven, which is a little costal town. We were staying at a little bed and breakfast right on the coast, and thanks to a small mistake on their part we got a great view. The first thing we did was obviously go down to the beach and snap pictures, while Abigail pilfered rocks (it is a compulsion she has).
We then walked around and explored the town. It was really cool because I seriously think we were the only Americans there. We went back, unpacked our stuff, discovered British TV is just as obsessed with reality shows as U.S. tv and then ended the night with an evening walk on the beach.

Scotland Day 1

Our "holiday" to Scotland began in Edinburgh.
It also began bright and early at seven in the morning, which is when we arrived at the airport. Now ideally what you are suppose to do is sleep for 3-4 hours on the plane so you won't be quite so tired on arrival. I however was unable to find sleep on the plane, and this lead to going 31 hours without sleep, the longest I have ever done. Anyway after a bus ride from the airport we walked to Hostel and checked in. From there it was straight up some steps and to Edinburgh castle. . Seeing castles was one of the reasons I wanted to go to Scotland and Edinburgh was definatly the biggest. Unlike other castles, they have really done a great job at making it a one stop, all encompasing stop for tourist's stop. I did enjoy the Scotish war museum, crown jewels exibition, and the national war memorial. From the castle we walked the entire length of the Royal mile, stoping at several stores (of course). At the end was the HolyRood palace, but first because we had a pass that got us in, we went to an art gallery of Queen Elizabeth's personal collection. I didn't care much for it, but it was my first time to ever be anything resembling an art museum. HolyRood Palace is still the place that the queen stays when she visists Scotland. It was also the home of one of Abigail's old releatives, Mary queen of Scots, which is why she wanted to go there so that was cool. However, what I really liked about HolyRood was not the palace, but the ancient abbey that was originally built on the location. It is in ruins now, but it was still incredible. After we left the abbey I had my first pub experience. At this point the whole no sleep thing was really starting to hit me, and Abigail was tired as well. We decided to rest and get onto a city tour bus that allowed us to jump on and off. It was nice just to sit back and have somone tell us about what we were seeing. We jumped off for some cool pictures, and then jumpedback on to be taken through New Town. The bus finished it's route right at Prince Street, which is the main shopping strip of Edinburgh, so of course we had to check that out. We then jumped back on the bus and got dropped off on the royal mile, Abigail looked into a few stores she had not yet been in, and from there we went back to hostel to drop of the day's purchases (Abigail has Extreme makeover home edition inspired idea for a Celtic themed bedroom, and one of the thing she wanted to acomplish on this trip was to get all the decorations for this room, after I run through the entire trip I will talk about that in more detail). From there we decided to explore/find some place to eat and in doing so we got a bit out of the tourist central that is the royal mile and ate a pub on Grass Market street. I had my first (of many) British fish and chips exeperience. After that we went back to the hostel unpacked some, and fell asleep at the late time of 9 pm.

Now this is intimidating

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And We are back!

We got back to Corydon today. After traveling to Scotland, seeing 15 castles, being in airports or airplanes for 21 hours on our way back, and being gone for two whole weeks we finally made it back. Everything is just as we left it for the most part. The fish beat the crap out of each other while we were gone. The biggest vacation feeder we could find was 10 days, so we got that and put in in right before they left, but that left them four days or so without food. They resorted to canbalism and nibbled at each other's tails. though they are all alive, so that is a good thing. we took aprox. 750 pictures while over in Scotland, and hopefully starting tomorrow you will get to see some of them along with a blow by blow account of our travels.