Thanks for your thoughts, prayers, and emails over the past six months. Our time here is finally drawing to a close. We'll be leaving Derry on Monday and spending the night in a hotel in Belfast to catch our early morning flight back home on Tuesday. Of course, I will let you all know when I get home safely.
We've been really busy since Thanksgiving. Tons of papers and projects to get done before school ends. We were able to finish everything and keep a smidgin of our sanity... somehow.
I got the chance to take one last trip a few weeks ago. I took off to Scotland for three days and rented a car for a tour of the Highlands. During other trips, I had gotten a chance to try out my stick shift driving skills, which honestly, left something to be desired. But still, I could manage if I had to. In Scotland, I didn't have a choice. If I couldn't learn to drive a manual, then there'd be no siteseeing. So, I was determined.
After driving around Aberdeen lost for two hours, I finally found my hostel. It was cold and dark outside, and I was really fed up with the traffic. I averaged at least one stall-out at every roundabout, but I was slowly learning a few tricks to keep myself going. I left the car and walked downtown to see the city. I found myself some beef stew and mash for dinner, picked up a road atlas, and got a much-needed night's sleep.
The next day, I left Aberdeen and headed for Inverness. Along the way, I stopped in the coastal city of Nairn to eat my picnic lunch at the beach. I've never seen a beach covered in frost like this one. It was -2 degrees Celcius outside (about 25 degrees to us), but I wasn't about to let that stop me. Once I got to Inverness, I spent some time walking around the river and the Victorian Market. It's a great little city, and it was all done up for Christmas. I bought myself a pair of those thick, knitted socks you would wear with a kilt to keep my legs warm the next day. Little did I know, I wouldn't need them anymore.
The next day was quite warm, relatively. 10 degrees C (50-ish). So much for my super cool kilt socks... I headed south from Inverness and drove around Loch Ness. Sadly, there was no sign of the monster. I decided to take the backroads over to Aviemore and the mountains where I would be staying for my last night. That was an interesting drive. Strictly one lane, very curvy, roads uphill & downhill through the mountains and little villages. It was very beautiful and I finally got to enjoy driving a manual. I'm not afraid anymore!
Aviemore is a little ski resort town, but sadly it was too warm for snow, so the view wasn't as pretty as I had hoped. Still beautiful though. I ate dinner at a bistro and had my first taste of haggis. I'm still not sure what it is, but it's good!
The next day I had to head out quite early to make sure I got back to Aberdeen in time for my flight back to Belfast. I enjoyed a few last views of the Highland mountains, and headed back home. I didn't have a wreck and I didn't kill the car. So I would say the trip was successful. :-)
Monday we went out with our Irish classmates for a few pints (Red Bull for me) and a round of bowling. I've never seen a bowling alley quite like this one. It had a restaurant inside that could rival the interior of the Peabody. Well, maybe not quite that nice. But really close. Anyway, it was not your typical American bowling alley interior. Mary Ann whipped us all in bowling. After, we all went over to Cafe Roc for some "good craic" as they say.
Wednesday, Brian, Quinn & I took a day trip over to the Slieve League in Donegal. What an interesting ride (and climb) that was! The pictures speak for themselves. Turns out, we were on the wrong road, but we didn't know it, so we pressed on. Driving our wee little Micra on a washed out sheep path up the mountain. When we couldn't go any farther, for fear of sliding off the road, we parked and walked. It was continually misting, so the path was really wet and muddy. We climbed for about an hour until the wind was almost knocking us over and we were drenched. The fog was so thick, we couldn't see much anyway, so we turned around and headed back to the car. Climbing up was hard enough, but going down was worse. Not as strenuous, but it was very easy to slip in the mud and have your feet go flying from underneath you, landing you on your backside in the mud. Good idea, Kell.. wearing your white coat.
We made it back to the car and back down the mountain. On a whim, we turned down a different road to see another site and found the road we were originally supposed to be on. It took us over to the cliffs, but by then it was getting dark, so we couldn't see a whole lot. Those pictures didn't turn out well at all, but you get the general idea.
This weekend, we're off to Newcastle to spend a day, and I'll be going by to see the MacFarlands in Gilford one last time. I probably won't get to send another email from here or post any more pictures. Our internet is in the process of being shut off. But, I ask for your thoughts and prayers on Tuesday as Brian, Mary Ann and I head back to the States.
Pictures 368-411
