Springtime Sunrise

 So what’s been happening …?

It has been another busy month.

Lots of fun with friends and family, both in New Zealand and in the United States. 

We had another birthday celebration - Combining mine and Lance’s. We enjoyed an amazing dining experience at Le Petite Chef(@ the Intercontinental hotel). The food was delicious and the “presentation” very entertaining!

We enjoyed a screening of “Mum, I’m Alien Pregnant” at the NZ International Film Festival. 

This was a local indie film that Eric worked on with some of our good friends at Scale Studios. This film is not for everyone…

https://youtu.be/3jGYW1fzIw0?si=khTdsEXNlwAgAbPw

We also checked out the Star Wars Lego exhibit that is currently on. Very cool displays of Star Wars characters, droids and ships. They had some fun interactive activities as well. 

We then traveled back to the states to visit family and friends. 

Got to enjoy a few more bday celebrations, including a small surprise dinner and backyard movie night hosted by my brother. 

The kitties really missed us!

And as promised, more highlights from our Scotland trip. 

We are still talking about it!😁

William Wallace Monument

       Doune Castle - might recognize from Monty Python Holy Grail!

         - yes- that is a swallow.

          Kelpie Sculptures at Helix Park in Falkirk

         Sterling Castle

Glamis Castle

Aberlemno Standing Stone

Winter in July (here)

Greetings -

It has been cold, wet and windy but we have had a few nice sunny days and sunsets in between. Still enjoying the new windows and keeping warm with the kitties.

Time continues to fly. We have been back now for over 7 weeks, and it has been a whirlwind of activity and catching up with everyone.

I celebrated my 60th birthday with a fun fiesta among dear friends at Viva Mexico-my favorite Mexican restaurant.

We were also able to get away for a quick overnight in the Wairarapa visiting friends. It is a beautiful and relaxing place.

The Roxy cinema, our local movie theater has been running a lot of fun retro films and we have been enjoying many of them.

    Ferris Bueller's Day Off

    Legally Blond

    Independence Day

    Mad Max -Eric watched all of them in a marathon showing while I just saw Beyond Thunderdome

    Close Encounters of the Third Kind

We have also seen some new releases:

    Death of Robinhood - dark and rough to watch at times but very well done film -spoiler not a happy ending.

    Disclosure Day - this film has received mixed reviews, but Eric and I enjoyed it.
    Odyssey - We liked this film too, quite the undertaking by Nolan, great on many levels.

And watching several shows at home:
Local Hero -a recommended older film that takes place in Scotland

Good Omens 3 -the conclusion to a fun story

Daredevil Reborn -season 2

Sheep Detectives  - really cute and fun

And the first few episodes of House of Dragons -season 2 - dark, as expected LoL

Eric has started painting again. We did a test swatch of the cranberry accent wall for the kitchen. Not a great photo but you get the idea. 

With all of that going on, I am only now starting to edit all the photos from Scotland. I am enjoying reliving the trip, and looking forward to putting together an album.
 
It has been sad to see the recent news and postings of the various fires that have been burning in Scotland since we left. Places we enjoyed, engulfed in flames.😢
    Arthur’s Seat

    Cairngorms National Park

    Prince St. in Edinburgh

But here are some highlights from our first few days in Edinburgh. More to follow soon.

      Edinburgh Castle

      Arthur's Seat

      At the top of Arthur's Seat

      Dean's Village Bridge

      Dean's Village

                          Textures on the Royal Mile

   

      Piper on the Royal Mile

                           Sir Walter Scott - Scott Monument

      Inside Edinburgh Castle

    Local flavor on the Royal Mile

Cheers,
Stacy & Eric

We are back!

 

Scotland was amazing! Can’t believe how fast the month went by.

 

We packed so much in, and are looking forward to sharing stories and photos. It is going to take us a wee bit to go through all the photos and choose the heroes. 

We also need a few days to get over the jet-lag, unpack, do laundry, market, and spend some time with the kitties, who we have missed and who have missed us (I think). 

But here is our Scotland trip by the numbers and a few fun photos for now. 

32 days 

8 flights

2 trains

3 ferries

3 boats

3 tour buses

13 Uber rides

And a rental car- We drove a total of 1,685 miles 

Saw over 40 bodies of water/ Lochs

17 castles

6 monuments

11 museums/other sites

3 kirks (churches)/abbeys

2 movies -Highlander and The Mandalorian & Grogu

5 stops at local pubs with live music (@ 3 locations) 

14 different accommodations -hotels, lodges, bnbs, rooms, and castle!

21 cities/locations

4 isles/ inner Hebrides 

422,000 The total number of steps (per Eric’s watch)

18,830 Most steps in a single day 

Averaged 13,220 steps per day

Temperatures:

Low of -6 to high of 25C (21 to 77F)

Photos taken: 12,661 total

1,794 Stacy iPhone photos
2,626 on camera

2,488 Eric iPhone photos
5,753 on camera

Too many to count:

Sheep

Cows

Crows/Ravens

Fries/Chips

Travel Times:
40 hours to get to Scotland
42 hours to get back home

Favorite Scottish proverb…

“Be happy while yer livin; for yer a long time deid.”

(Be happy while you’re living; for you’re a long time dead.”)

Dalhousie Castle and our amazing room

Fingal’s Cave on the Isle of Staffa

Standing Stones -  Kilmartin Glen

Sunset in Oban