It's been a while...

A friend created a new blog and I realized I should get back to ours.  It's been a year since we were last in Scotland with the children.  Since then, Rachell and I took a trip by ourselves to Germany and Italy to celebrate our ten year anniversary.  In order to make it fair for the kids, we agreed to pick a trip for all four of us.  So, we're going to the happiest place on earth...




Ugghhh....

It's not that I don't love my kids or I'm just some overly pretentious suburban yuppie parent who doesn't like conformity - it's that I've never been to Disney and I really have no desire to be there.  Still, Rachell has promised me the kids will enjoy it, it's a great time for the family, and we will not regret it.

Here's hoping her words come true.  I'll be posting as we lead up to this next trip and then giving reactions to follow.

Any suggestions about how we handle this joyful occasion?  We'll be there in mid-January.  I can't wait?

More on Riding the Bus

Bryce and Denali on a plane

Let's get back to this bus thing.  Yesterday, Rachell and the kids purchased a family bus pass.  I'm thankful my children can be so fascinated and entertained by the simple act of riding a bus.  While Denali rode the bus everyday to kindergarten last year, she and her brother are largely unexposed to public transportation in mid-Michigan.

So far on this trip, we've flown on planes, rode on fast commuter trains, enjoyed a leisurely steam train in the country, driven in rental cars on the wrong side of the road, hopped in taxis, and walked dozens and dozens of miles throughout the Scottish highlands, lowlands, cities, and farms.  These kids have traveled.

City bus in Aberdeen

Tonight we get on a gigantic ferry taking us 250 miles north east from Aberdeen to Lerwick in the Shetland Islands.  At the end of the day,

Scotrail trail

our children will have experienced nearly every medium of travel possible in this great northern kingdom...and they have loved it.

As adults, we don't seem to revel in the means of transportation.  By that I mean we don't get as excited anymore about the flight or the ride on the bus as much as we do about the destination.  To our children, these activities have equal merit.  Forgive the cliche, but they enjoy the journey as much (or sometimes more) than the destination.

The road to Skye

Waiting for the plane...we're VERY tired.

Can the trip itself be the end goal?  Can simply driving, riding, flying, or boating be the goal?  I certainly hope so.

We've been here before...

Green Lake, Interlochen, Michigan, USA

Before we left for Scotland, we stayed at the family cottage in Interlochen, located on the beautiful shore of Green Lake in the northern part Michigan’s lower peninsula.  My family has been coming to this gorgeous part of the world all my life.  My grandfather purchased the cottage, a few acres of woods, and 40’ of waterfront some years before I was born.  As a child, my brother and I spent whole summers up by the lake with my mother, while my father would join us on the weekends and for a couple of vacation weeks here and there.  

Needless to say, Interlochen holds a very special place in my heart (as well as that of my brother).  In spite of living all my formative years in Brighton, in a house that my parents still live in today, I identify my home as the cottage much more firmly than I do other places in the world.

Therefore, it should come as no surprise that I rejoice over the love my wife and children find for this same place.  There is a divine sense of nostalgia that occurs when you watch your children revel in the same places, things, and activities you yourself enjoyed years prior.  Everything changes yet the world remains remarkably the same.

There is a certain value in vacationing or retreating to the same place year after year, even month after month – though I personally struggle with this lack of exploration.  While the kids did get to spend two weeks with Rachell in Interlochen this year, because of our epic adventure in Scotland this month, they are spending much less time in Northern Michigan than they normally would this summer.  Both Bryce and Denali say they miss Interlochen in the midst of their enthusiasm and joy for the experiences we are currently having here in the UK. 

 

What types of vacations and holidays do you take with your families?  Do you go to the same place season after season?  Do you strive for the new each time?  What is helpful for children – when and why?  Just some thoughts about where we are and where we are going…

Travel with Booster Seats

Our children are not old enough (or large enough?) to ride in a vehicle without a car seat or booster seat.  As a reminder to us (as if we wouldn’t realize it otherwise) there are laws requiring us to place our children on some sort of booster seats while we are traveling in cars here in the UK.  So, we made the decision to bring two booster seats with us, rather than renting booster chairs from the car rental companies or purchasing seats from a store here in Scotland.  And because of that wonderful decision, we have had two annoyingly awkward booster seats with us everywhere we go.  At this point, we only have one more rental car (in Lerwick on the Shetland Islands this next weekend) and opportunity to use them  To be fair, they’re not the worst things in the world until they’re smacking up against your ankles as you walk down the crowded city streets, already heavy laden with suitcases, bags, and luggage.

                Is there a better way to do this?  Anybody have any world changing idea that would give other traveling families a better option?  It’s not a problem when you have a car the whole time during your trip.  What we’re doing on this adventure is staying in the city and the country, traveling by car, foot, ferry, trains, and airplane.  If I don’t get a good answer, I may just toss the car seats in the road the next time we’re trying to cross them like overloaded packmules.

No Pictures, Gaelic, or Tattoos

Bryce the Pirate

Looks like we left our USB cable at home.  So unfortunately, there will be no posted pics of the family until we get back.  That just leaves a reason for people to head back in September, right?

Three days of class under my belt.  Fantastic questions were presented and the dialogue has been outstanding.  In general, we're looking at changing technology and the ethics that potentially surround this innovative landscape with an eye toward what theological claims are at stake.  I'll put more about it on the church blog sometime.  For now, I'll leave it by saying this class is inspiring, challenging, and exactly what I needed.

Rachell and the kids have made the most of their days in Aberdeen.  They visited the Maritime Museum, complete with children's scavenger hunts.  Excellent time looking around pirate things, oil rigs, and fishing vessels.  The other days they've spent swimming at the next door pool, walking through city centre, and heading out to King's College to visit me at lunch.  They're walking a TON of miles out here and going to sleep very easily at night.

Lord's Prayer in Gaelic

Denali is fascinated with Gaelic.  She heard some folks speaking it on a train and watched the BBC station in Gaelic.  She asked if she can learn it in school.  Anybody's school offer it in the States?  The language is interesting.  It is listed with English on all the signs out here but the phonetics of it are so confusing to us.  The "b" is pronounced like "v..." or so I think.  What do I know?  I do know that I can tell Denali and she'll believe me.  Don't misread me, I'm not trying to lie to the kids.  But sometimes the incessant "Why?" questions get tough.

Bryce asked a "why" question yesterday that cracked me up.  We were in the locker room at the gym getting ready to go swimming when Bryce saw another man changing.  He was probably twenty something and tattooed from head to toe.  There were very few square inches on his body without tattoos. Bryce loudly says to me, "How did he do that to his body?"  The menacing looking gentleman hears us and thankfully, smiles at Bryce and said, "I did it with lots of help and lots of time."  To which Bryce rightly answered, "Why would you do that?"  The man laughed and something unintelligible in an extremely thick Scottish accent.



We just finished an incredible dinner of Scottish lamb and mint burgers and are getting ready for bed.  We're all happy and healthy here in the UK.  Thanks for reading!

First Week in Scotland!

Recap From Week 1 - Written on Monday, August 13 after class...sorry for the lack of timeliness! 

We're here at the apartment in Aberdeen for our second night after my first day of class. The apartment is a great size for us - 2 rooms, kitchen, washer and dryer...and they stock the fridge for us each day with breakfast food when they come clean.  It's much bigger than we expected and in a decent area by the city center.  Rachell and the kids went swimming today at the nearby pool, shopped, and took the day off from traveling around the country.  We finally got to cook a meal - fresh, wild Scottish salmon and vegetables.  Best part is the price.  Local meat and seafood is ridiculously cheap, considering how much all the restaurants cost. Rachell's got lamb, Highland beef, and some other treats to enjoy the rest of the week until Malcolm and Christine's this weekend.  Plus, scotch whisky is very cheap at the grocery store.  I finally got Rachell to have some and admit it was good.  After the tour at the distillery yesterday, she's a fan of The Glenlivet.

Here's a recap on our last week:

Tuesday - Landed in Glasgow and slept at the airport hotel.  Kids got to eat Scottish food and figured out new words.  Bryce keeps singing "Skip to the Loo" for "Skip to My Loo" because it's about the bathroom.  He finds that most hilarious.

Wednesday - Got our rental (Toyota Avensis) and headed up north to the Isle of Skye.  We made stops by some rivers, hiked around in the Highlands, ended up knee deep in muddy bog before finally arriving at my friend's parents' place on the NW corner on the Isle of Skye.  Driving out here has been a trip.  The left side of the road isn't a problem.  It's the tiny roads with curves, one lane, and blind hills.  As we were approaching Skye, Denali threw up all over the back of our rental car.  That was a fantastic surprise to the trip.  She handled it remarkably well and we cleaned things up and moved on.  On the positive side, with all the mountains and curves, oceanviews and glens, Skye is one of the more beautiful places we've ever been.  It's definitely been one of the highlights of the trip.

Thursday - All day in Skye.  The kids got along famously with my friend Rory's children (ages 6 and 9).  The four of them wandered all over the tidal flats looking for shells and treasures, ran around the hills, chased sheep, and had a ton of fun.  We went to a castle that day and did some touring around the area before having a barbque on the beach with Rory's family.  We took a seal trip earlier in the day and got to come within 6 feet of seals on the rocks.  It was a boat as big as our boat in Interlochen (14’ with 15 horse engine) and the kids loved it.

Friday - Left Skye and hit Loch Ness (major disappointment with that touristy area...even Bryce found it depressing), the Talisker Distillery, and every sight along the way to Inverness.  In Inverness, we toured the battlefield of Culloden after hours.  It was like going to Gettysburg...accept you know nothing about either side, what was at stake, and what the consequences were.  People were emotional and really into the battlefield while Bryce and Denali were busy looking for graves of the English.  Very sensitive of them.

Saturday - We took a short ride down to Aviemore, where we took an old steam train ride to the middle of nowhere, hopped in the back of a van, and went to a Highland Games celebration in Nethy Bridge (the Abernethy Games).  Excellent day out.  The weather was incredible (as it has been everyday but today).  The games were unlike anything we expected...definitely to the better.  They had the massed pipe and drum bands (150 pipers at the same time), feats of strength (ridiculous Scottish Highland games...throwing rocks, trees and hammers as far as you can while wearing a kilt), piping competitions, and tons of Highland dance competitions...plus participatory games for the crowd.  You could sign up for a bunch of events, so we entered into the three legged races - Bryce and Rachell in the mom and child race and me and Denali in the Father and child race.  Rachell and Bryce did not come in last, which was the only goal.  Denali has a competitive streak that we are always shocked by...we came in third and she got a ribbon.  Awesome.  After the games and train we hung out in the mountain town, did some walks, visited a brewery, and stayed in a really nice bed and breakfast.

Sunday - Yesterday was a short drive through the Highlands that had a few hiccups.  First we did church at a Kirk of Scotland congregation in Aviemore.  The kids were marvelously well behaved, though Denali had a bit of a meltdown during the sermon. She must not have dug the exegetical work of the preacher…or she wanted crayons, one of the two.  After service, we started driving toward Aberdeen.  We approached a town to get gas and found out there was no station...nor were there for many miles.  Our dashboard display showed how many estimated miles we had left on the tank.  After a major detour to get to a station, I can proudly say you can drive 10 extra miles after the display says you have zero left. Besides the gas fiasco, we hiked around the ruins of a castle and drove the whisky trail.  We only stopped at The Glenlivet but it was worth it.  We saw hairy cows finally this day (much to the kids' delight) and eventually had dinner with my classmates at the home of one of our Scottish colleagues before checking into our apartment last night.  Our place is wonderful, but the only way into the building was by pincode that they texted to our cellphone…in the US.  We went through a fiasco for a night trying to find a way in.  Needless to say, we made it but only after major frustration and more hours than we wanted to find a phone.

We Cannot Sit Still

This blog is a little late!  As a way of sharing our adventures of traveling abroad with our six and four year old children, we thought we’d post our experiences.  This blog will continue to share our adventures domestically when we return to Michigan.

When Rachell and I lived in Brighton, there was a wonderful couple from Scotland who provided us an incredible, tangible example of how to experience their world.  They made travel a priority for their family.  They lived life to the fullest in Brighton, but they did not allow themselves to stay settled in that one place.  They were constantly traveling, visiting, and experiencing the world near and far.  At their urging and with their gracious support, we left in 2004 for a trip around the world, traveling from Detroit to Detroit, always flying east for 14 flights over a little less than three months.  That transformative experience changed our goals and priorities.  We now strive to meet new people, see new places, eat new foods, and be a part of the plethora of communities out there in our great big world.

With the arrival of children (Denali and Bryce…yes, named after US National Parks), we recommitted ourselves to this endeavor.  Therefore, we insist our kids see the world from a young age and get used to the idea of planes, trains, and automobiles (along with ferries, walking, hiking, and more).  While they have already experienced a lot in their short lives, we are beginning the documentation of these adventures with this recent trip to Scotland.

I’m (Andrew) working on my Doctor of Ministry degree in Reformed Theology through a partnership of University of Aberdeen (King’s College) and Pittsburgh Theological Seminary.  This cohort based degree includes a mix of UK and North American clergy who meet each January and August for seminar classes, with reading, papers, and conversation in between leading up to a final project that is intended to be used by the local congregation. 

I currently serve as the senior minister of The Peoples Church of East Lansing

in East Lansing, Michigan – a wonderful, multidenominational, intergenerational congregation of people next to the campus of Michigan State University.  This degree is intended to help me better minister to this congregation while helping them understand who they are and what they are called to do.  The overarching question I feel we are being asked in East Lansing is, “Would it matter if we weren’t here?” 

And so, we left the States on Monday, August 6 for the UK.  We’ll be here for the better part of a month before returning right before the start of the new school year.  Thanks for reading and we truly hope you enjoy the pictures and stories of our adventures in the UK and beyond.  Feel free to leave us comments, encouragement, advice, and ideas. 

Peace and grace be with you all,   

Andrew, Rachell, Denali and Bryce