I'm sure you'll be able to figure this out, but this entry isn't by Hollie. Its written by her less grammatically coherent other half Jeremiah. During our stay here I've learned a few things, they are as follows. 1. No matter what they tell you, the people in Scotland DO NOT speak English! It may sound like English, you might recognize a few words they say or an entire sentence. But I assure you this is only to give you a false sense of belonging and comfort before they throw in words and phrases such as, "bangers and mash," "hoos," "nips [View Full Entry]

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We slept in *a little* this morning. Jer had to dress and move our car, which was in a no parking zone effective starting at 8am. We showered and dressed and went downstairs for our first Scottish breakfasts. Jer went traditional all the way: blood pudding, sausages, beans, fried egg (sunny side up), broiled tomato, toast and two rashers of bacon. I opted for the vegetarian version, which had veggie sausage and potato cakes instead of bacon. We checked out of our hotel, loaded up the car and wandered a little around Portree. The town is quaint and we were [View Full Entry]

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Getting in touch with Scottish heritage, or, The English are All Bastard-People! In contrast to yesterday’s stunning sunshiny weather, today was drab, dreary and wet. Rain rolled into the UK with a vengeance. Jer and I aren’t strangers to rain. We live in Seattle, for crying out loud! We KNOW rain. We know rain like true Northwesterners, so much so that we can discern between a drizzle and a shower, a mist and a sprinkle. Despite our familiarity on the subject, we learned today that there exists such a thing as Highland Rain. There is normal rain and Scottish Rain. T [View Full Entry]

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Today we began our adventure beyond Aberdeen. After breakfast and seeing the boys off to school, Alex drove us to the airport where our chariot awaited us. Our chariot was, in fact, a compact automatic with GPS. Jer was a tad bit nervous about driving on the wrong side of the road. He learned to drive on the left side as a teenager while he was in Australia, but that was (literally for him) half a lifetime ago. Scotland also is far less populated and lacks round-abouts. Scotland is all round-abouts. We hopped into our brand new econo car (less than [View Full Entry]

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Our day was full and enjoyable. We woke up early to have breakfast with Alex, Christina, Xavier and Theo. Toasty warm blueberry scones with marmalade and French press coffee. So good! Jer and I woke up a little late—despite our exhaustion we both awoke for about an hour in the middle of the night. I had just drifted off when we had to get up for the day. Our preparations for the day—our first showers since departing Seattle—made everyone run a bit late. We saw Theo off to pre-school and Xavier to his class. There are no school buses in Scotland [View Full Entry]

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We are here. In Scotland. The clock on my computer is set for home, which marks the time as 1:35pm. It is 9:35pm in Aberdeen. The daylight is finally filtering away despite the birds’ best efforts to keep the day going through song. I don’t recall the last time I had an “all-nighter,” and the journey to get here reminds me and Jeremiah that we are too old for such activities. We did not sleep on the airplane. We were pretty awake when we arrived in Aberdeen and were eager to start exploring the world. Consequently, aside from a couple of [View Full Entry]

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Waiting at SeaTac. I planned to post a quick write-up on the travel blog while Jer and I were stuck at the airport, but the interwebs had other designs. The airport seems like a very good location for free wi-fi. Maybe I am a dreamer. I got a good, uninterrupted night of sleep last night, woke up early and packed. Jer finished up his packing last night but I was too tired. So I did it today. In retrospect, I think it was a good idea that I did my packing after him; that way we weren’t in each other’s way. [View Full Entry]

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We are halfway though our flight. So far it’s not so bad. I watched Inkheart and then became restless and fidgety. I’ve been taking lots of photos out the window. Jer watched the Day the Earth Stood Still and Slumdog Millionaire. He really liked that one. He’s now playing the PSP. So far, we have utilized all of our electronic devices, so hauling them halfway around the world has already been justified! Not that we knock old technology; I have read a bit from my Steinbeck book. A good investment. We are seated near the kiddie section of the plane. Most [View Full Entry]

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For anyone seeking a quick getaway from the hustle of Seattle, Lake Quinault is a perfect destination. Several years ago, Jer and I stayed overnight at the historical Lake Quinault Lodge. We enjoyed our visit, though it was brief (we had a ferry to catch in Port Angeles early the following morning), and always intended to return. A ten year anniversary seemed a good excuse. The Past The last time we visited, we stayed in the boat house, which is adjacent to the main lodge. It was late May and still quite cool at night and in the morning. Our room [View Full Entry]

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Japan Bagelmonkeys Next to transportation, accommodation can be one of the more pricey expenditures of a trip abroad. I've always taken issue with overpriced hotels. When I'm visiting a place--especially for the first time--I don't want to spend much of my time in a hotel room. My expectations are meager. Of any accommodation, I prefer a somewhat private room, a reasonably comfortable bed with clean linens, a place to keep my stuff while I'm out exploring, a shower and/or bath in the morning, and access to a computer so I c [View Full Entry]

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