Chapter 2: Day 69: 31 March 2019

After dropping Travis at the airport I caught a cab back to the house and crawled into bed for a bit longer. When I finally got up for the day I did not have much of a plan all I knew was that I needed to keep working on homework and that is pretty much all I did not the rest of the day.  

Chapter 2: Day 70: 1 April 2019

April Fools Day! This morning I got up early for a meeting with Patty to talk about my internship and make sure that I am keeping up to date on that. After the meeting I worked on some of what we had discussed until everyone else was out of class. Since Globalization did not have class today Sarah, Kyle, Malachi and I decided to go to Leith to explore. We did not know exactly what we were going to look for, but it was nice to get out of the house. After wandering for a while we ended up at the Royal Yacht Britannia. I did not have much interest in going through it, but others were interested, so we bought tickets and boarded the boat.

To my surprise I found it more fascinating than I thought I would. The ship was beautiful and very well preserved. We got to walk through most of the ship and see how the royal family used to live on it when it was still sailing. We spent a while wandering the ship and seeing everything from the queen’s bedroom to the underdeck working of the ship. Once we were done there we decided to get some food and ended up trying a place in the Ocean Terminal mall called Zizzi. This was a very cute, Italian restaurant that served delicious pizza, calzones and more. When we were done we decided to go see a movie! We ended up seeing Instant Family, which I had already seen, but loved so I did not mind seeing it again.

After the movie we caught the bus(es) back to Dalkeith. When we got back to the house Malachi and I decided to work on some homework for a while before calling it a night.

Chapter 2: Day 71: 2 April 2019

This morning I had the great opportunity to volunteer at the Penicuik Estate. Our job of the day was to clear up a path that was being overgrown. It was fun to get out of the house, work with my hands again and meet some locals. Everyone I got to work with was very nice and interested in what I was doing with my life. We spent some time clearing an area and then stopped for a Tea/Coffee and Cake break. It was interesting to me that they made time to relax for a few minutes and enjoy a cup of Tea/Coffee and Cake. After a wee break we moved onto another area where we were cutting back thorn bushes and just as you can imagine it hurt really bad. Since there was so much brush that we were clearing the ranger decided to start a controlled fire. It was fascinating to see that they could just start a fire in the middle of the woods and have control over it to only have burn what they wanted to. A bit after noon Cameron (Dalkeith Ranger) and I decided to head back to the estate and call it a day.

When I got back I made a bit of lunch since I had yet to eat. After that I check in on everyone to see what they were up to and hung out for a bit before deciding that I needed to get some more homework one, so I headed to my room and started working on that. Once I had made good progress on that I went back down to socialize with everyone and we decided to go to the store for a few things and come back and play games all night. It was a fun night with fantastic friends.

Chapter 2: Day 72: 3 April 2019

Today was a very lazy day of movies, working on homework and finally getting around to catch up on my blog. As much as I want to be go go go all the time I definitely needed a day to catch up on everything and start working on my final projects. After a while Sarah and Malachi came and joined me and we watched a few movies in bed and just hung out before calling it a night.

Chapter 2: Day 73: 4 April 2019

Today I got up and worked on my blogs and some homework which everyone was still in classes. Once everyone was done with class Sarah came back to the room and we ended up talking for a while and working on more homework trying to be productive before lunch. At noon we went to lunch and then continued on with homework and pack for our highlands trip this weekend! Once 4:30p rolled around I headed downstairs for dinner duty. Since the program is trying out a new system where they hire helpers we did not have much to do and got extra time to eat a relax which was nice.

After dinner duty I headed back up stairs for a dance party and movie night with Oliver and Jo (one of the professors kids). It was so fun watching them dance around with the biggest smiles on their faces and giggling like there is no tomorrow. We watched a movie called Shaun the Sheep, but since I still had homework to do I only half watched. Once the movie was over and I had gotten more homework done I went to the store with Andrew to get some snacks for the weekend and get Malachi some cupcakes since he said that he had been craving them. When we got back to the house Sarah and I ended up hanging out with the boys room for the rest of the night before heading to bed to try and get some rest for the busy weekend.

Chapter 2: Day 74: 5 April 2019

This morning we left on our trip for the Highlands! We loaded the bus and were on our way to our first stop which was to a small town to get a bit of cash and stretch our legs for just a bit. Then after a while back on the bus we stopped at the Tomatin Whiskey Distillery for a wee taste. I had a ginger mint in my mouth so the whisky tasted really weird, but it was still nice. With just a short stop there we were on our way to Loch Ness! Last time I was here we got the chance to go into the Loch and of course I wanted to do it again just because I could! The water was freezing and really hard to walk into with all of the rocks, but we managed to make it in and get a photo to prove it. Sadly we did not get the chance to see Nessie, but we will keep searching!

After a chilly dip in the Loch we were on our way to another scenic outlook for moment to take photos, toured through Culloden Battlefield and also stopped at Eilean Donan Castle. Once we were done with those stops we headed to our final destination for the night, Isle of Skye. This is where we will be staying for the weekend in a hostel. When we got to the hostel we unpacked and settled in for a bit before going to King Haakon for dinner. During dinner we got a watch the sunset and were done just in time to go walk along the shore and climb across some rocks to get a better view of the sunset. When the sun was mostly down we headed back to the Restaurant to meet up  with some others and hang out for the rest of the night. After a while there we decided to go back to the hostel to journal and see what another part of the group was doing. I got invited to play cards for a bit so I did that and then finished the night with journaling and heading to bed.

Chapter 2: Day 75: 6 April 2019

This morning we started our tour at 9:00am with a quick stop at a waterfall. After a few photos there we headed to see a couple hairy coos and take a stop in Portree (the capital of the Isle of Skye). While we were in Portree we had some time to look around and check out the harbor as well as a stop in a cute bakery that had cheap and delicious pastries.  When we were done exploring we hopped back on the bus and headed to the Old Man of Stor. There we got to do some hiking and had a great view of the highlands. It was all fun and games until I fell twice on the way down. I was doing so well and thought that I was on stable enough surface but apparently the ground just needed a hug! After regaining my dignity and cleaning off my hands we kept going down the mountain to make it back to the bus in time to go to our next stop, Brothers Point.

Brothers Point was a beautiful and scary climb! We ended up going through sheep pastures, crossing over a river and scurrying up a wee narrow path of mud that led up the side of a steep cliff. By the time we got to the top my boots were soaked and covered in mud, but the view was worth it. When we got to the top of the hill we hung out there for a while, took some photos and took in the amazing views. After a bit Riley and I decided to climb down on the other side of the hill onto a flag surface that eventually got us down to the water. At first we were the only two who wanted to go, but then the guide followed and eventually a few more people made their way down to join us. The location we were at was beautiful and I definitely could have stayed there for a while longer reading a book and listening to the waves. Sadly we did not have much time at Brothers Point so we snapped a few photos, had a good laugh and headed back to the bus. The two hikes we just did were very fun and muddy, but absolutely worth the view.

After the hikes we headed to a few different places for a few short stops. The first stop was to an ruined submarine outlook tower. This is where they would station people to look for submarines that were trying to come and invade.When we were done there we headed to another ruined castle and got to see some dinosaur footprints. Since we only had time to do the castle or footprints I chose to go down to the beach and look for the footprints. Once the group of us got down to the beach we split up and were trying to find the prints. Lauren and I ended up hunting together and were trying to walk across some rocks and ended up slipping and sliding all over the place, but managed to stay up! After searching for a while Kate said that she might have found what we were supposed to be looking for, so we called it good and said that it was what we wanted to look for.

When we were done with the castle and footprints we loaded up again and headed to our last stop, Isle of Skye Brewery. Our main purpose to stopping here was to use the toilet one last time before heading back to the hostel, but we also got a chance to pick up a bottle of their local brew (I got the Isle of Skye Black and it was delicious). With only a short stop there we were on our way back to the hostel for the night. Once we got back to the hostel Malachi and I went to a cute seafood shop for dinner. We ended up meeting up with others from the program too. The food was delicious and extremely fresh. The owner ended up giving up a free container of Prawns that had just been cooked. To prove himself he showed us the crate of live ones he had under the counter!

When we were done with food we headed back to the house for the night. I still had an unusual amount of energy left after a busy day, so I ended up going on a run down by the river. The night air was cool , crisp and clean. It was nice to be able to run and have some time by myself. After I was finished running I made some tea and sat outside to continue to enjoy the night air, until Chet asked if I wanted to go to the pub with him, Lauren and Logan. Even though I was tired I knew it would be fun so I went for one drink. The pub was very busy, but they had a live band which was very fun to listen to! After one drink Logan and I headed back to the hostel for the night. I checked out the lounge to see if anyone was in there and sure enough Riley, Malachi, Kate and Stewart (our tour guide) were in there. The fire was still going and the room was all toasty so I decided to hang out and chat and work on my journals. A bit later everyone but Malachi and I went to bed, so we stayed for a bit longer working on journals and talking before calling it a night.

Chapter 2: Day 76: 7 April 2019

Today was sadly our last day in the Highlands. We started the day at 9:00a again and headed out to our first few destinations. Our first few stops were just very quick with a few scenic outlooks and a rest area. They were all beautiful and I definitely could see myself have a house tucked away in the mountains here. One thing that I have learned from traveling in general, but specifically being in Scotland is that I love to hike. I had done a bit of it before coming here, but there is something about this time that has brought out my love for it even stronger.  After a few short stops we headed to Glen Coe for some hiking. We only had about an hour to hike up the mountain so we went up as fast as we could. The views at Glen Coe are that of a fairy tale and I just wanted to hike to the end of the earth. Once we reached the top and started to head back down Riley and I decided to run back down the mountain. Just as we were about back to the bus we had a little hill to go up and I was maybe a few feet away and ended up tripping in front of half of the group and the driver! Luckily I caught myself right away and did not get cut at all!

When we were back on flat ground safe and sound we were on to a few more stops, Doune Castle (where Monty Python and the Holy Grail was filmed), another ruined castle and our last stop of the day was the Wallace Monument before going home. Once we got back to the house and the tour was over the tradition is to have a dram of whisky when you are done, so that is what we did. After setting in a bit and unpacking a group of us went to Black Smith for dinner. It was nice to have an actual meal, not on a bus. When we were done with that we headed back to the house and I watched a movie with Riley and Andrew for the rest of the night before crawling into bed.