Rik here ...
We went on our first excursion outside of Aberdeen yesterday. We came back late after a full day of trekking and were too tired to tackle the blog last night, so it's a Sunday morning posting. French toast and early morning Brit videos on TV are trying their best to distract me, but I'll try and stay focused.
Digression ... our favorite Saturday/Sunday morning routine has been hard to pick up here ... eggs and tea while thoroughly dissecting the local paper. The Press and Journal is the more respected of the local papers, but we're not finding it up to snuff. It's a little too locally focussed. Actually people say the reputation of the P&J can be best seen in their lead headline the day WWII broke out: "NorthEast Man Grows Largest Onion". Looks like they could use a few more hard-hitting, professional journalists like my sister (see her latest series in the Edmonton Journal...)
Anyhoo, we started out for Dunottar Castle, located in nearby Stonehaven. Although it is just a ruin now, it is an incredible sight. Perched on a cliffside over the ocean you can see what a formidable defensive structure it must have been - it held off Cromwell for quite some time. It still has tunnels, dungeons, passageways and a multi-story tower. After getting our fill of history we went Discovery Channel on the tidal pools located in the bay under the castle. Being prairie kids we both appreciate a good tidal pool and boulder strewn beach.
I managed to appease my inner child by skipping several flat stones, my inner geologist by marveling at the massive conglomerates, my inner historian by learning about the 167 Covenanters who were locked up and tortured in the castle, my inner ornithologist by snapping some birdie picks for my sister and trying (unsuccessfully) to find puffins and, finally, my inner cardiologist by finding and eating a deep fried Mars bar. And it was barely past noon!
Enjoy the pics ... I'll continue the story of the day in part 2 ...
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