Category: Travel
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Perhaps the Heart
How do you capture the sky a sunset over the ocean? Is there some enchanted glass I can hold in my hand whisper and watch as the satin tapestry of seascape hanging before me, gilded blue and molten shimmering rippling, gathers at the hem and slips like a cool drink past that vial’s lip, the […]
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Scotland Road Trip | Day 11, Kilt Rock, the Quiraing, Fairy Pools and More….
Day 11. What a beautiful day. Blue skies. Sunshine. In the 70’s. A little heavenly really. As much as I love road trips, I don’t feel like I’ve experienced a place – really connected with a place – until I’m outside, breathing its air, walking its paths. So this day, as we hiked the hills […]
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Scotland Road Trip | Day 10, Mysterious Cargo, the Isle of Skye & Faerie Glen
I find myself putting off these last few posts. Partly because the vacation glow has almost entirely faded, and I’m fully back to what we know as “the grind”. But mostly, I think, because I feel completely, wholly, entirely, incapable of conveying to you the beauty and wonder of this place known as the Isle of […]
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Scotland Road Trip | Adventures in Laundry
Soon I will be coming to the most anticipated part of our Scotland road trip, the Isle of Skye. But first, can we take a moment to chat about laundry? Specifically, the adventure of doing laundry in the UK? About halfway through our trip, while in Inverness and the Isle of Skye, we stayed in rental […]
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Scotland Road Trip | Day 9, Orkney Isles
Guys, I’m so freaking tired. One of our family mottos is “Work hard. Play hard.” We didn’t choose that motto, like, “Hey, we value you hard work and fun so let’s live at the speed of light.” No, it’s more like we woke up one day and realized, “Wow. We work hard. And we play […]
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Scotland Road Trip | Day 8, Scotland Described, Loch Ness and a Family SCORE!
Scotland’s Landscape: Unique and Familiar As we drove through towns, parks and cities of Scotland, I often asked myself “What does this remind me of? How would I describe this to people?” Well…I think I’ve got something: The landscape of Scotland combines the best of coastal California, inland New England and coastal Maine. (Remember, I’m […]
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Scotland Road Trip | Day 7, A Family Find
Elgin Cathedral We left Aberdeen for the northern city of Inverness, and on the way, we stopped at Elgin Cathedral. Abandoned after the reformation, the cathedral lies in ruins. Isn’t it interesting that we find ruined things so interesting…so beautiful? What does that mean for us, on those days when we feel like our lives […]
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Scotland Road Trip | Day 6, Gardens, Tea and Old Things
So today we decided to “take it easy” which meant not leaving the hotel until 10am. Everyone would really like a day to rest and relax but there’s so much to see and so little time. Pitmedden Garden Greeted by a bright, sunny morning, we drove about 30 minutes to Pitmedden Garden, an estate that […]
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Scotland Road Trip | Day 5, Family Castles, Golf and Rainbows
Crichton Castle At my wedding, people kept asking Doug “How did you get Sean Connery to come to your wedding?” They were referring to my grandfather, Thomas Mansfield Creighton I. And he really did look a lot like Sean Connery. My grandfather was very proud of his Scottish heritage. On his 80th birthday, we surprised […]
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Scotland Road Trip | Day 4, Edinburgh
Because of Edinburgh’s annual Fringe festival and the crowds that come with it, we opted for a taxi ride into the city. Our driver brought us up the narrow, cobblestone streets of the Royal Mile, right to the castle gate. For only £25…just like royalty. Edinburgh Castle Guys, I hardly know where to begin. Passing through […]
Lightning Bug 