Time to say goodbye

One of the hardest parts of military life is saying goodbye to friends. Moving every few years means that inevitably that time will come. This night we had a get together to say goodbye to some amazing women. In honor of these women, Charee, Lydia, Pam, and Maratee put on a memorable performance:

Goodbye LaDawn, Dana, Rachelle, Jody, and Katie. I miss you!

Getting set up for a group photo:

Rachelle and Becky with real goodbye tears:

More goodbyes:

Delicious cupcakes that I ate this night. I think eating these took away some of the sadness. :)

It's almost JUNE!

I posted to Erick's private blog. Go take a look  http://erickinthearmy.blogspot.de/

Scotland: Tantallon Castle

I have great friends.

Really.

Several months ago, one of those friends (her name is Jody) suggested that a group of ladies travel to Scotland for the Edinburgh Marathon. We did not run 26-point-whatever miles. Instead we put together two groups to do the relay Marathon and a few others to run the 10k. I signed up for the 10k. 

My sister-in-law Annette even joined in the fun. She flew all the way from Utah to run the half Marathon - and join all the fun of course. I'm so glad she did!

I flew to Edinburgh Thursday afternoon with another friend Sarah. When we got there Annette and her friend Melanie were waiting for us with a rental car. The rest of the ladies would not show up for several hours, so Annette had a plan: drive to Tantallon Castle in North Berwick.

Best idea ever:

I need to back up. We did not see the view in the photo above 'til the end of our visit. When we arrived at the castle sight, it was closed to visitors. But I learned quickly that a closed fence would not stop the likes of Annette and Sarah. We hopped the fence and walked toward the castle.  

Melanie and Annette:

Sarah and me:

When we got closer to the castle, we could see the coast. I fell in love with the cliffs and loved the breeze coming in from the North Sea:

Cheesy me trying to figure out a "signature" post for pictures. This was definitely not it:

We walked back toward the car feeling like we hadn't seen the view that we really wanted. Sarah suggested we walk down a street near where the car had been parked. It was lined by a great rock wall, and it lead us to this awesome shaggy horse. From a distance I thought it was one of the famous shaggy Highland cows. I was wrong:

The road and the rock wall did lead to a great location for photographing the castle, but the wall blocked the view of the cliffs and the water. So we hopped another fence... er... wall leaving nothing between us and the horses:

The view was well worth it:

Scotland: Annie's run and last day fun

Annie and I left the house fairly early for Annie to start her half marathon run. The morning was gray and hazy, but that didn't slow Annie down one bit. She was ready to rock this run!

Cue music. ♫ Bow-chicka-wha-whaow...

I left Annie to her race and walked off to find the bus that would take me to the finish line. On my way, I took a few photos of the city. Unfortunately, I had left the ISO setting on my camera very high from the previous night's photo shoot, so most of my photos from today are grainy. So sad. But the day was fun nonetheless:

Miraculously, I found the finish line. And I made it there in time to see Annie come running in:

She rocked it. Just like I knew she would:

This is how Annie chose to celebrate her accomplishment. McDonald's french fries and a balloon. She deserves any reward she chooses, I think:

Today was a day filled with trying new things. Pam tried this interesting soda recommended by our Scottish friend Pamela. Apparently it has iron in it as well as an ingredient that fights malaria. Hmmm. I can't say that I'd recommend it. It tasted a little like something a dentist would use to clean your teeth:

I tried Haggis for the first time. I actually liked it. Though you can see from my expression that I was nervous to try it. If you are going to try Haggis, I recommend trying it deep fried. Very good:

Pictures of the city:

Annie and I met up with her friend and walked up Calton Hill. The views were great:

While we were there, we ran into some of our travel buddies and roommates. They had just finished their relay marathon and decided to check out the views as well. Here we have Pam, Jody, Rachelle, and Nadja:

Later that evening, Mary Anne wanted to see Calton Hill. I happily volunteered to join her. I wanted to catch the views at night:

Ah, Edinburgh. You were a wonderful host. Thanks for having me.

Scotland: Loch Ness and Urquhart Castle

As we were driving to the Scottish Highlands, we saw these ruins and pulled the car over to take a picture. Annette was our amazing driver. She kept us alive on the left side of the road and only almost killed us once. Love you Annie! I'm so glad you came:

We went searching for "Nessie" around Urquhart Castle. Loch Ness was beautiful with mist rising from the dark blue lake. I searched and searched for the monster, but to no avail:

Proof that I was here and loving it:

Urquhart Castle is believed to have been built in the 13th century. It changed hands many times due to battles and political struggle. In the early 1900's, it was turned over to the State for maintenance. I had a lot of fun exploring the ruins and taking pictures:

MaryAnne took a lot of time on this trip to teach me to better understand my camera. From this point on, I shot pictures only in Manual mode. I learned a lot, but I also messed up a lot of shots. So please be patient with the photos from here on out.

Charee!

I thought we were doing silly pictures. We weren't. So embarrassing. Yet I wanted to share a photo of all the Germany girls who came with us to Loch Ness. This is the only photo I have. Nadja, Jody, Pam, Maratee, me, Rachelle, MaryAnne, and Charee. I love these girls. So much:

The girls who came all the way from Utah, Melanie and Annette:

We saw sheep grazing all over the hills of Scotland. We also saw these blooming yellow shrubs. I wanted to remember them both: 

Still no sign of "Nessie"

This was by far my favorite destination of the trip. Goodbye Loch Ness, Urquhart Castle, "Nessie," and the Highlands. I won't forget you!