And I walked 500 miles....the other way!

Seriously????.....I thought they had either died or disappeared. I was wrong. They are now touring Scotland and I've seen this sign just about everywhere. 

Help!

Da Da Duh Da! (Da Da Duh Da).....Da Da Da Da Da Da Da Duh Dee Duh Dummm!

And the rains cometh!

Yet another train ride to Aberdeen. I thought I had said my final goodbyes last to week to my adoptive Aberdeen family, but due to my procrastination, I’ve had to scrap my plans for Skye. Pretty much every reasonable B&B was booked for tourist season. I am sad that I won’t get to see it, but I’ll just have to come back…darn….

I’ve re-arranged my plans to get to the area surrounding Aberdeen. Stonehaven looks promising and I may try to go to Crovie again. I can’t thank my friends family enough, though for putting up with me. They have, after all, been teaching me the tips and tricks for survival in this country. One thing in particular that everyone keeps making fun of me for is the juice….yes….I know you all thought  I was going to say plastic parakeet….but when I did my first day of shopping I bought some grapefruit juice. When I poured my first glass, I thought it looked a little thick…and yes….the taste was very strong. After about 3 days of choking down the awful liquid, I just decided to start adding water.

When I first went to Aberdeen I noticed that they had some of the same juice. I exclaimed, “that stuff is awful!!!” My friend Steven just looked at me…I went on to tell him my story…as he stood there with a look of horror. He then yelled at me and told me that I had to dilute it!....NOW….they don’t tell you this on the bottle, so I don’t feel at fault. I, however, have narrowly escaped diabetes I think!

Right now on the train, the rain and clouds have separated to give us a bit of a light show…wow…that is so great seeming my camera is in it’s bag and tucked away under several others!

I barely made it out of Waverly today. When I first arrived at the station, I knew there was a problem. There were thousands of people standing around and many of them were American…OH NO….thousands of people and most of them don’t understand the rail systems that well….I know how I felt when I first came into the station….so I can only imagine what they all were thinking. Due to the rain, there had been some flooding north and south of the Waverly tracks…well….there’s only North and South ways to get out!!!

I thought my plans would have been scrapped, but I managed to get a train that was delightfully late. I now have a good seat…and am starving…I forgot to eat!...Looks like I’m heading to the CHIPPER!!!

Also, they willingly offer you vinegar for your fish-n-chips…I have come to the conclusion that I love this place!!!!

Apparently...I'm allergic to Heather!

OK....I am loving Aberdeen and the area around it. I was fortunate enough to have my friends family drive me around yesterday and see some of the sites. We started out the day by going to a local park where there was a massive rose garden and an animal park. The animal park, had seen better days, but it was really neat to see something like that in a "city" park. 

This is where I had a tourist moment. I was looking in on a cage of parakeets and saw two out of the corner of my eye...one of which was calm and not moving...I sneaked up and took a few frames just as one of the birds flew. I got some pictures of the remaining bird...WOW....it's still not moving....I pulled the camera back and just frowned. The bird was PLASTIC!!!...everyone had a good laugh at the American. 

The next stop later in the evening was to a historical park. We went towards the closing hours and got in for free.  It was neat to see an area that was similar to an Ohio Historical Site. 

We then went on to Suie Hill and then onto the Don River. We climbed the hill..which was more than less a mountain...and got out of the car. I ran down the hillside to get knee-deep into the heather and to just to soak in the scenery. I got some great pictures, but realized that my eyes were burning and watering...yep...allergies. Being a nature photographer is killing me...literally!....It was well worth it though. The river was really nice as well....cold though!