Atop The Whangie!

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[youtube=v3ARyAb_1Bs][youtube=372Ah0Z_L1w][youtube=NO0oRnMDC3Y][youtube=8No35aomeok][youtube=fEk6Hkdtquw]

Life carries on for us here in Glasgow, Scotland. Reflecting on these last couple of weeks had me thinking about the normalcy that is beginning to creep in. Looking at the last two weeks it actually appears that we have a social life. Last Saturday Elizabeth, Camille and I went hiking in the nearby hills. We were very proud of Camille. She managed to hike all the way to the top of her first hill. It was about 1 and 1/2 miles to the top of The Whangie. Yes, her first true unassisted hill is called The Whangie.

Then on Sunday I finally got to play my first round of golf. Stuart arranged with one of his friends, who is a member of the Balfron Golf Society (they take their golf seriously), to get us on his course at a reduced rate. So Stuart, Jerry, Chris and I headed out to the course. We arrived to find a tournament taking place and I was afraid my golfing hopes would be dashed. Fortunately enough, though they told us we could tee off in two hours. Stuart asked "What do four guys with nothing to do for two hours do?" You guessed it, the pub! As if I’m not a poor enough golfer already, put a few pints into me before I play and who knows what might happen. While imbibing I explained to them that I did just begin golfing three years ago and that I am no good and to be prepared for some serious rubbish. Then the game begin and I managed par on two of the first three holes. I was quite excited to be hanging with the boys and then all hell broke loose. My true form returned and I quickly demonstrated that the first three holes were nothing but pure luck. Apparently they don’t have mulligans in Scotland; after my fourth tee shot dribbled about 15 feet, I ran out, picked it up and drove it again. They all looked back and forth at each other as if I had just ripped the head off of an animal. After that I played all my shots where they landed and after the eighth hole we stopped keeping track of my score. The course was beautiful. Every hole had views of the mountains and surrounding lochs. I wish I had some pictures, but Elizabeth and Camille had the camera at the beach. She spent the day with Stuart’s wife Wendy and their son Alex. Afterwards we all met for dinner at Wendy and Stuart’s house. It was a gorgeous evening and we enjoyed a nice BBQ on the deck while watching the sunset.

Wednesday night I went out to the pub with my golfing mates to watch some football, Glasgow Celtics vs. AC Milan. I entered the pub, which easily had 100+ persons in it, all male, only to be amazed that it was so quiet. Besides the TV’s of course! Every face was glued to a TV; apparently this was a HUGE game. Once again it was an exciting game to watch. The Celtics won 2-1 in the 89th minute. Stuart is a Rangers supporter (Protestant) and Jerry is a Celtic supporter (Catholic). I am continually being asked which club I support by students and adults alike. When pressured by Stuart and Jerry to identify which club I will support, I replied I didn’t know, that I’d probably just watch both. Again the look, as if I ripped off another animals head! Jerry than politely let me know that “for fuck-sakes your name is Tim and your favorite color is green.” So there you have it, I support Celtics. I have committed to a team. I can still watch Ranger games, but must root against them, albeit quietly, to prevent a potential knife fight.

Friday night Elizabeth had a ladies night out with some friends. They hit the West End of Glasgow. Apparently a lot of fun was had. The cab dropped off E around 2 am. My night was not so exciting; I sat home with a bottle of wine and watched Die Hard, Jackass, and the Fonejacker. I’ve attached some good videos from the show on the blog. Here you can see first hand the quality of my evening. If you only watch one, watch the DVD one. If you like, enjoy more. Oh yeah and being a Sponge Bob and hip-hop fan, I had to include another video I came across on You Tube.

Elizabeth was showing the effects of ladies night on Saturday morning and after some time we did get out of the house. We went to a nearby creek that salmon spawn in. There is a waterfall that you can sit at and watch the fish jump as they work their way upstream. It was an impressive sight! After that we went to a nearby park and took a nice walk and enjoyed the sights and smells of autumn. At the park are the remains of a 13th century castle. Camille enjoyed making her parents chase her around the grounds of this castle for what felt like an eternity.

Who knows what will be in store for tomorrow. I’m not spending too much time thinking about it. I am too excited that next week at this time I will be in Italy! We are planning two days in Bergamo, four days in Venice and two days in Verona. Our accommodations look incredible and we have an exciting, but still relaxing, agenda planned. I’ll post again in a couple of weeks. And as always, we miss you all!

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Photos

The Falls
This is where we sat and watched the salmon jumping up the falls.

An old unmaintained castle at Mugdoch Country Park
A living roof

Mother and Daughter
Enjoying a nice fall day.

Bearsden Cross II
Notice the blue sky!

Comments

[Randy]

Soldier Boy
Hey Tim.. Its Solijha boy by the way.. haha

[Chris]

Golf
Heather and I played a PGA course in South Carolina this week. I was 77 over par and Heather was 74!! I definetly got my money's worth. Don't feel too bad.