I always heard that the French liked vacation and that nobody worked during the month of August. Although I am American, I was granted this inalienable French right. When considering where to spend our vacation, Janet and I decided we wanted to skip the hot summer sun and the hoards of tourists that flock to the South of France in August. Instead we opted to visit one of the more secluded corners of Europe where seals, sheep, and sea birds outnumber people thousands of times over and there is not a person on the beach without a winter coat!
We took a night train from London to Aberdeen and spent the day enjoying this great city.
At the
maritime museum which had a large section dedicated to oil and gas exploration, I was reminded of our time spent in Houston. This large model of a deep sea oil rig made me think of my brother Kevin who used to work on one of these off the coast of Texas. I was always a bit jealous that he got to go on
helicopters as this seems a lot more interesting that looking at numbers all day.
Jaxon and Jonas loved spending time with me on the top of the ship.
After a good night sleep in our cabin, we were ready to continue our adventure.
We spent the afternoon walking around the shores near the capitol of the islands,
Lerwick.
The sun even showed its face just in time for us to get this picture.
Jonas playing on the stairs of a 5 thousand year old house. This kids loved this neolithic play area.
Jonas really started walking during our trip. Here is him practicing with me.
I have always thought I could never drive a car in the UK, but felt driving on the sparsely inhabited islands was probably the safest place to try. We splurged for a two day car rental and Janet’s critiquing of my driving was greatly appreciated. She had to remind me on several occasions that I was on the wrong side of the road. The road crossed a small airport runway – a true thrill, but I was not sure what the red blinking lights were for…
With the car we were able to cover a lot of ground and see enjoy some amazing views.
We came
across this sandbar which led to a small island. We thought this would be a highlight for
Jaxon, but he was sick that day with a mild
fever and was
content to relax.
Shetland ponies graze all over the island. This one came over to say hello.
Jonas working out in our room.
Always pushing the limits, we decided to explore one of the most isolated places I have ever been, the island of Unst.
There were two ferries that connected the main island to Unst with the island of Yell in between dubbed the “gateway to the northern islands” by the tourist guides. When I asked a local about the island, I was told that it is known for its high speed race that occurs upon arrival of each ferry as the cars put the medal to the medal to get from one side of the island to the other in order to catch the connecting ferry. The consequence of missing the connecting ferry – being stranded in Yell for an hour and a half… I am proud to report that I was not among the stranded.
We hiked through a nature reserve to the most
northerly point in the UK -
Muckle Flugga (the white rocks in the distance). With nothing between us and the north pole we sat on the tops of the cliffs and admired the beauty. Sheep grazed on the soft green grass and thousands of migratory sea birds who made their nests on the cliffs also seem to value a good view.
We huddled together to shield the kids from the cold winds and admired the view from our perch when Janet noticed something big break the surface of the water far below. For nearly an hour we sat and observed a pod of killer whales as they swam in the shelter of this secluded cove perhaps hunting for seals or maybe taking a short break from their long voyage. Good eye Janet!
I was so proud of
Jaxon who hiked for hours that day and still had a smile.
Ben and Jerry's, which is not sold in France, was on sale, and after a long day of hiking it hit the spot.
Talk about child friendly; the restroom at the
Lerwick museum even had toilet training seats available. Oh, and the museum was awesome, too, not just the bathrooms.
And after an unforgettable few days in a place where everything was famous for being "the most northerly" we got back on the ship to go south to the Orkney islands.
As we crossed the north sea, huge waves were came over the front of the ship. We felt like we were on a carnival ride the entire 6 hour trip and I think Jaxon and Jonas were the only ones who found it fun. Janet spent the trip puking or trying her hardest to not start puking again. I therefore, had the joy of playing with the kids. After the journey, we were very pleased to get off the ship!
There were tons of seals hanging out in this cove, so we hung out and did a little seal watching. Looking at this picture, I just want to add that in packing for this trip, Daniel initially had me pack our swimsuits and snorkeling gear... Luckily he had me take it out.
The Ring of Brodgar, kind of like Stonehenge but supposedly better because you can get up close and personal.
Jaxon appreciated that the lightning knocked this stone down.
The Standing Stones (a lot of creativity in that name)
Enjoying Apple Crumble Orkney ice cream. Mmmmm...
We decided to rent bikes for one day to bike across Mainland. The kids really enjoyed it for the most part. Daniel quickly realized that biking uphill while pulling 60 lbs. behind you with 25 m.p.h. headwinds isn't as easy as you may picture it in your mind. But he survived and we plan on doing it again...somewhere less windy and less hilly.
We spied on the Scottish wedding at the church which was a lot of fun. And I think Jaxon wants to take up the bagpipes now.
Our next stop was Inverness, where are primary purpose was to go monster hunting at Loch Ness. However, we really enjoyed Inverness itself and got to see some highland cows.
On a boat on Loch Ness.
Jaxon was pretty brave at first, but then he got a little nervous looking out for Nessy.
At Urquhart Castle. Daniel still hasn't figured out how to say the name right.
Wandering around the Inverness Islands.
Jonas taking a nap during a mild rain storm. 
We were only able spend one day in Edinburgh, which I thought was a total shame once we got there. It was such an awesome city: great castle, great museums, great parks, and since we were there in the middle of their huge music festival, there were tons of street performers and lots of chaos; the stuff I really like. Or maybe I was just happy to have finally made it to a place where people definitely outnumbered sheep and cows...and it was warm enough to take my jacket off.
Jaxon practicing for his street performing act
