Exploring with The Explorers

One thing I would definitely recommend to anyone moving abroad is to look into joining the American Women’s Association wherever you are. Aberdeen has an especially great group of women who have gone out of their way to make me feel welcome and to get me involved. I haven’t had this sort of explosion of facebook friends since back in my sorority days, and the AWA dues are about 1/10 of the price of the DZ ones, so I’m definitely getting more friends for my money hereJ.

Once you’re in the AWA, you have about 20 social groups to choose from depending on where your interests lie. Since I love to hike, eat, and read, I’ve gotten involved in three different groups pertaining to those interests.

Last Thursday was my first hike with the ‘Explorers’ who generally go on 7-10 mile hikes twice a month. Apparently, the Explorers is a more intense version of ‘The Walkabouts’ who take more leisurely walks that usually include a lunch afterward. I plan on joining both.

I was a bit intimidated to join the Explorers and worried that my amateur hiking skills would slow the group down. Fortunately, last week’s hike of the Circuit of Iverbervie, Beholm, and Gourdon was a good one to get started on, since it was only about 5-6 miles and involved a pit stop at the Mill of Beholm along the way. We had about a half mile initial climb and then the rest of the walk was pretty flat.

We had some great vantage points of both the countryside and the ocean, but our views were somewhat diminished by the thick fog that was out that morning. Though the fog was obstructive in some regards, it added an air of mystique to the scenery.

Our pitstop was at the Mill of Beholm which is a restored Mill secretly tucked along the route. The mill includes clean restroom facilities, a gift shop, and a cafe that doubles as a program for teaching culinary and hospitality skills to adults with special needs. I’ve noticed a few of these programs around Aberdeen and think it is such a wonderful social service to help these adults become integrated into the workforce.  

All in all, I think I held my weight on the hike and had a good time with great company. Of course, the best part for me was photographing cows.

Eventually I want to have a gallery wall filled just with pictures of Scottish farm animals. Honestly, I can’t get enough.

And I haven’t even had the chance to photograph any of the famously adorable highland coos yet. I hope I’m not driving the first time I spot one because I will surely run off the road in my excitement.

And really, could you blame me?

Samson's Best Day Ever

Samson and Bailey are about as opposite as two dogs can get. Bailey is big; Samson is small. Bailey is brilliant; Samson is more ‘simple-minded’. Bailey is rambunctious; Samson is all gentleness. Bailey is well trained while Samson is well behaved. Bailey is hyperactive; Samson is the dictionary definition of relaxed.

Since our two dogs are so different, they have an entirely different set of needs. Since Bailey is our more high maintenance dog who requires an hour of exercise per day, she’s been getting a lot of one on one attention lately; getting to go for jogs and hikes while Samson is often left behind.

I’ve been feeling mighty guilty over this disparity so on Sunday Jonathan and I decided to spend some one on one time with our baby boy.  I had heard that Crathes Castle Estate had a few forests trails that were about 4-5 miles long, so that’s where we decided to explore.

At the beginning of the walk, Samson was so excited and pulling on the lead so bad that I’m sure he didn’t appreciate how this walk was different than any other. However, shortly into the walk, we started walking parallel to the Dee River, which distracted this water dog enough to slow down and smell the rabbit poop.

He insisted that he get in for a swim, and since I was still feeling guilty, I obliged him. After about 3 miles of scenery such as this:

we decided to take a breather on one of the many park benches strewn along the trail.

Towards the end of the hike, we crossed a bridge over a fish ladder that helps salmon get upstream and I had to closely supervise Sam to make sure he didn’t jump in after them.

We also came across an old cemetery complete with Celtic crosses and that elusive thing known in Scotland as sunlight.

The drive to Crathes from Aberdeen only took us 30 minutes, and the paths were well marked and scenic, so we’ll definitely be making a return trip soon. On our drive back to Aberdeen, Samson napped in the car while Jonathan and I stopped to take a look around ‘The Mains of Drum Garden Center’ in Drumoak.

Garden Centers in Scotland are vastly different than what you would think of in the States. Yes, they have garden supplies, but they also sell clothes, furniture, gifts, food, etc and also have nice cafes located inside. If you’re ever in Scotland and pass by one of these hidden gems, I suggest you stop in for a look around.

I had a basket full of goodies when Jonathan’s hungry monster appeared, and he insisted that he couldn’t wait to be served at the restaurant and needed a snack NOW. Such is the nature of the hungry monster. I had to abandon my basket and take him directly to the car where I had my secret cookie stash. Oh well, it just gives me another excuse to go back soon.

Since Jon was still hungry when we got home, I made him a peanut butter sandwich with the last of our JIF Natural Jar (sniff, sniff). Since I needed to clean out the peanut butter jar before it could be recycled, I decided to cap of Samson’s perfect day by letting him lick it clean.

Now, Samson is a rescue dog, so I can’t speak for the first 4 years of his life, but I’m guessing that Sunday, the 10th of June, will go down in his record books as the best day ever.

The Olympic Torch comes to Aberdeen

Since the 2012 Summer Olympics are being held in London, the Olympic torch has been making a tour around the United Kingdom. We were there to greet the torch as it’s made its way into the Aberdeen city center last night, and Bailey and I saw it again this morning as it passed a block from our house. A block from our house! How cool is that?

Last night was a very festive time in Aberdeen and the crowds were out in full force. Our friend Kristin was gracious enough to invite everyone over to her flat which was a block from the route downtown. After feasting on fajitas and other Tex-Mex goodies, we headed to the route to catch a glimpse. The procession was a bit anticlimactic since before the torch was scheduled to arrive, there were several buses blaring music that we thought were leading in the torch bearer.

However, after the buses passed, we were left in silence for about 10 minutes, until all of a sudden a few cop motorcycles came by, a tall person commented that they could see the torch, and boom, it was right in front of me.

Unfortunately, this short girl couldn’t see over the crowds of people, but Jillian got a great picture that she shared with me. 

I figured this morning would afford a clearer view of the actual torch, so I grabbed Bailey and headed out to wait for the procession as it passed right by our house.

Even Bailey could feel the excitement in the atmosphere, but after a few anti-climactic fake-outs, she decided to take a nap.

Of course, I knew the musical buses signified another 10 minute wait, so I wasn’t fooled this time around.

The interim time was very atmospheric though since a bagpiper was playing from a balcony in the apartments behind us, and the crowds were singing along to what I assumed to be the national anthem. For a moment, I got really homesick and longed to hear the words “and the land of the free and the home of the brave”.

After about 30 minutes of standing in the cold-windy-rain (would Aberdeen have it any other way?), we caught a great glimpse of the legendry flame. I still didn’t get a picture quite as good as Jillian’s last night, but it was much improved over what I could snap in the city center crowds yesterday.

Altogether, it was a memorable and surreal experience; one that I feel honored and blessed to have participated in. The Olympics have a special significance to our family since my cousin Katherine is an Olympic medalist.

She earned a silver and bronze medal for short track speed skating during the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games, and the sacrifices that she’s made to reach that elite status is nothing short of inspiring. Thinking of her training regimen has gotten me through many P90x sessions. Realizing that my hard workouts are her ‘light’ days is truly humbling. 

Because of her, anytime I think about Olympic athletes, I’m left with a chill on my flesh and a tear in my eye. Sorry to be so sentimental, but it’s the stinkin’ Olympic torch, people. The Olympic torch! A block from my house! Life is so amazing sometimes.

A Typical Scottish Saturday

I figured I’d share with you what a typical Saturday in Aberdeen looks like for us. The mornings generally look something like this:

Can’t spot Samson? Don’t you worry, all you have to do is pull back the covers, and you’ll find him.

After wrangling these 3 sleepy heads out of bed, we usually get some morning exercise before plotting out the days’ activities. This past Saturday included a “crawfish boil” hosted by Schlumberger out at Fraser castle. That was a lot of information, so let me repeat myself. A crawfish boil. At a castle. Seriously.

Now, I have to admit that calling the event a “crawfish boil” was a bit of false advertisement, but there were boiled shrimp, lobster, and langoustines which bear a striking resemblance to crawfish. I’d say the potato to Langoustine ratio is reversed from what I’d traditionally label a crawfish platter, but beggars can’t be choosers.

On another note, how fun is it to say the word ‘langoustine’? So much fun that for the time being, I’ve renamed Samson by this appellation. He just looks more like a ‘Langoustine’ than a ‘Samson’, wouldn’t you say?

After chowing down on lunch, we were treated to a tour of Fraser castle and a walk around the castle grounds, which was a perfect way to break in my new Hunter Boots.

For dinner, we attended an AWA dinner that Jillian organized at Ciao Napoli, which is a great little Italian place. We had great appetizers, entrees, and wine, but were still tempted by dessert. The only issue was that we couldn’t decide whether we wanted to share tiramisu or gelato. When pressured to make a decision, we decided to go with the tiramisu, but as luck would have it, the waitress accidently brought out an extra gelato, so we graciously volunteered to take the complementary dessert off her hands. We’re just good people like that. Plus, sharing is so much easier when you’re splitting two desserts.

All in all, it was a pretty perfect Saturday, and actually pretty reflective of how we spend our weekends here. There is always something going on, you just have to go out there and find it. We’ve been making a habit of saying yes to every invitation that we can possibly attend, and it’s making for a pretty busy social life. We’re having a great time, but Saturday naps are becoming a necessity as well.

Today, the Olympic torch is making it's way through Aberdeen, ending with a concert in the City Center. Jonathan and I definitely plan to be in attendance, sporting our red white and blue. I'm just glad that our two countries share the same colors. Go Team USA! (And Team UK, of course.)

Friday Phone Photos: Making Friends

I went on two breath-taking hikes this week which means that my handy dandy camera phone was replaced by my fancy schmancy Nikon to better capture the scenery. I still managed to capture a few of this week’s moments with my iPhone to share with you on this Phone Photo Friday.

Last Friday we said good-bye to a couple as they made their way back to the States. In honor of their departure we had dinner, went to the Aberdeen Beer Festival, and then sang Karaoke at a Scottish Pub.

At the Beer Fest we each sampled a few out of the hundreds of options and all got really excited to see this ale from Houston. It was a bit of a letdown to discover that ‘Houston’ was simply the name of the brewery rather than its location.

From what I tasted, the Aberdonian Beer Festival could use some Texas beer to add a notch of tastiness to the event. Of course, most of the beer was served at room temperature so that may be skewing my opinion. They don’t seem to like cold beer in Europe so maybe that just takes some getting used to on my part. It was still a fun cultural event that we were happy to share with our new friends.

Another cultural observation from the night: The Scots love their Karaoke and take their performances very seriously.  I have to respect them for keeping a straight face while singing Disney songs and 80s classics. I was under the impression that karaoke was meant to be a bit goofy and silly. After a while, us American girls decided to show them how we do Karaoke, USA style. This picture is mainly to prove to my parents that I am making friends in Aberdeen.

 After singing “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun”, we decided to call it a night. On Saturday morning, we took the dogs for a walk in Countesswells woods and caught some pretty pictures while there.

After our walk, we walked another 2 miles to the International Street Market and proceeded to eat our way up and down the street before walking the 2 miles back. I will say that one part of living in pedestrian friendly Europe is guilt free eating.

The International Street Market is a semi regular event hosting food and crafts from countries all over the world, most of them European. The crepes were the first thing that caught my eye and I stood in line for dessert while Jonathan tracked down a Venison burger.

While I waited in line, I was treated to the stylings of quite possibly the worst bag piper I have ever heard. My ears were seriously assaulted this past weekendJ. Usually I am a huge fan of bag pipers, but this guy was not doing the reputation of the polarizing instrument any favors. I had a chuckle and just had to smile about this moment that my crazy life had brought me to. Standing in line, waiting for a crepe, at a street festival in a Scottish city that I call my home, listening to a bag pipe that I originally swore was a dying cat; it just hit me that my life is pretty cool and that I am pretty happy. 

 On Sunday, our friends Jillian and Ryan took us to their 'secret spot' with their puppy Angus. This picture is to prove to my parents that Bailey is also making friends in Aberdeen.

So this is Bailey playing in Loch Skene with Angus. And this is Bailey directly after playing in Loch Skene with Angus.

And this is Bailey the day after playing in Loch Skene with Angus.

Can I just say: we love Angus. On Tuesday we met back up with Jillian, Ryan, and Angus for a hike around the Glen Tanar Estate. I’ve already told you all about that, but what I didn’t tell you about is the hot chocolate that we stopped for in Banchory afterwards.

Jillian had heard that this one chocolate shop made their hot chocolate by pouring hot milk over pieces of chocolate and since I had previously mentioned that I love hot cocoa we decided to try it out. When we got inside, they had two options: Swiss Chocolate and Dark Chocolate. Since both of us are dark chocolate aficionados, that’s what we both ordered. 

When the drinks were served, they were the consistency of chocolate syrup and unbelievably rich. We had to ask for extra milk to mix it with which elicited a fussing from the store clerk that we should have ordered the Swiss chocolate option. Noted. It was still delicious and has curbed my chocolate craving for about the next 6 months or so.

On board for this weekend we have a “Crawfish Boil” at Fraser castle, an AWA dinner at Ciao Napoli, and lots and lots of home shopping to do. Our shipment is supposed to arrive in Aberdeen today and once it goes through customs it will hopefully be delivered to us sometime next week. I am so excited to finally have our belongings and to start making our house feel more like our home.