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.

Aberdeen Harbor (Harbour, for our UK and Canadian friends)

Monday – August 20, 2012

Class restarted today, which means we’re back in Aberdeen.  After a wonderfully refreshing weekend with our dear friends from Kirriemuir, we have returned to the Granite City for the final ten days in the UK.  We’ll be here until Friday while I take a fantastically inspiring class from Wes Avram on Worship in the Reformed Church (emphasis on proclamation in our post-modern context…my added definition of the class based on what I’m seeing so far).  On Friday night, we’ll get on a very long ferry boat ride across the North Sea to the Shetland Islands for the weekend, returning on the same ferry Sunday night.  

The journey from Aberdeen to the Shetlands is approximately 12 hours across rough waters toward Norway.  We’re telling the kids this is a “cruise ship,” since we’ll have a cabin on the ship.  Rachell and I understand this is VERY different from cruise ship accommodations.  It’s funny what our Scottish friends have been saying to us upon informing them we will be heading to Shetlands.  Their answers tend to include two statements:

            1. I’ve never been there before.

            2. Why in the world would you go there?

We have not doubted our plans but we do feel the need to justify our decision to head off to the middle of the North Sea to a series of islands primarily populated by wind and Viking myths of the past.  The ferry is located immediately outside our apartment window so we get to see the gigantic ship enter and exit the harbor every couple of days.  The kids are impressed each time it moves.

White-Beaked Dolphin

Speaking of water, we went out to the beach at Aberdeen Harbour this evening after class ended to run around in the FREEZING cold water and have dinner by the water.  Again, FREEZING cold North Sea water was a little more than Rachell or I could handle, but the kids jumped right in and ran around in the surf.  They were having a blast when we got an incredible treat.  A group of white-beaked dolphins appeared less than 50 yards off shore from us and put on a show for the next 15 minutes – fully jumping out of the water and causing everyone on the beach to stop.  EXCELLENT time by the water.  As Bryce said, “This was one of the best days EVER.”  I have to agree.

Rachell is Awesome

Friday –August 17, 2012

(written by Andrew)

Rachell is the perfect mother and spouse.  Her instincts for both are incredible.  She keeps the rest of us (me and the kids) grounded, safe, happy, and healthy.  As a mother, she knows just what to say when.  She also knows how to put me in my place.

I have the tendency to get stressed when things are not going according to plan.   

When traveling with children, nothing goes according to plan.  Rachell rolls with the punches and keeps things flowing nicely.  As we rushed to get to the train station on Friday afternoon, we were faced with whiny children who apparently broke their arms and legs sometime during our request for them to carry their backpacks.  We were annoyed and didn’t have time to argue.  There were tears and fits by Denali especially.  I started to get irrational and upset so I was ordering Denali around and demanding she do or not do certain things. 

She stepped onto a platform by the road and I went ballistic telling her she cannot step on something like that.  Denali, with tears in her eyes, looked up to Rachell for comfort and shielding from the scary frustrated Daddy who lost his mind in the midst of Aberdeen rush hour traffic and train timetables.  Instead, Rachell said, “You heard your dad!  Stay off that step, NOW!”

I love that she backed me up and presented a unified, consistent parenting front.  It was perfect.

What makes her such a great spouse is her ability to keep that moment in her mind and confront me later after the kids were asleep.  She said, “You know I want to back you up on parenting issues and be a team…but sometimes you’re just wrong.”  She was completely right.  She said she almost laughed at herself trying to maintain some ridiculously arbitrary line I had established in the sand.  She told me to relax more and not worry so much.

Brilliant woman.   

Absolutely brilliant.

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.