Clash Of The Tartans

Last Saturday morning we walked to the Huntingtower Castle and back, and in chatting with the lady at the gate found out that, "a bunch of Jacobites are coming round this afternoon." We said, "That sounds wonderful. We'll come back with the kids." As we left we both whispered to each other, "What's a Jacobite?"

 Wikipedia says:

Jacobitism was (and, to a limited extent, remains) the political movement dedicated to the restoration of the Stuart kings to the thrones of England, Scotland and Ireland.

It turns out that this "bunch of Jacobites" were a group called Na Fir Dileas (The Loyal Men). Their forum page says they are a "Jacobite oriented Scottish historical and cultural society whose main aim is to create a greater awareness amongst fellow Scots to their countries history and potential." They were the nicest people. All turned out so splendidly in tartans they designed themselves, and had woven especially for them. How much MUST that have cost! One man told me that his socks alone cost him £120. They dressed the kids in plaid and let Brenna play the bagpipes -- what more could you want from a day at a Scottish castle?

As the Jacobites say, Fear God, Honour the King.

Owen gets a lesson from Jacobite Bob in fighting.Hey, you can't wear jeans under your kilt!

You think it Looks stupid? You should have HEARD it!

Where We've Been, And Where We're Going - Part 2

In Part 1 of this post we complained incessantly about the ferry that took us from Amsterdam to the UK, and we promised we'd send pictures. The King Of Scandinavia, its hospitality, and its inhabitants were memorable. In that way that makes you laugh for years to come as one of your best "worse ever," adventures. Before the ship left dock, however, was amazing. The departure was windy, and dramatic, and beautiful.

So now we've been in Scotland for almost two weeks. We don't hold our breath and

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A Week In Venice

Venice! What more is there to say? Well... the pasta is for shame! The prosecco is a dream. The vaporetto attendants are not to be trifled with. The city is magic. Crowded, crumbling magic. Go get lost there. We did. Several times a day. Here are some pics:

Grand Canal in Venice. First day there.

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We're Featured On "Almost Fearless"

When you do something a little unusual, like traveling for a year and blogging about it, very quickly you find out that it's not so unusual after all, because you get connected in some way with everyone else doing the same thing.  Bob and I have admired Christine Gilbert and her blog

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Where We've Been, And Where We're Going - Part 1

The other day Owen was talking about Magic The Gathering game strategy (it happens a lot these days), and he said, "Sometimes I don't like making a move unless I'm guaranteed success".  

Bob started laughing. "Owen - you're in the wrong family. A guarantee of success seems to be against our better principles".  

Owen was giggling. "We're From Here To Uncertainty, not From Here To Success"

"Yeah - we're From Here To... wait, where are we again?" Eleanor chimed in.

It went on a bit - our family laughing at our strange, meandering life without guarantee or, at times, even a loosely cohesive plan. In that vein I present you with the itinerary of which we are currently in the middle:

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