this is not an exit

Saturday, April 28, 2012

family times on the ranch - fredricksburg, tx

Nothing like spending time with family and getting in touch with nature! Snoopy’s family is just as much my family as it is his and we always have a great time together.

While out and about, I was able to get some beautiful pictures of the heart of the hill country.

well traveled path

flowing stream. the last time we saw this, the drought had dried it up completely

johnboat that had been moved by the rains

cactus!

butterfly on a wildflower

cactus!

thistle - they were beautiful but I later learned from Snoopy’s brother-in-law that these are not good for the land.

Some of my favorite subjects are of Snoopy’s little niece and nephew. His little nephew is so adorable as he explored through the tall grasses.

I love the sun shining in his blonde hair as he pushes tall grass out of his way

Friday, April 27, 2012

texas wildflowers

Springtime in the Texas hill country is a site to see for anyone!

While Snoopy was still overseas, my parents and I took a road trip to the Texas hill country to see the beautiful wildflowers and the Antique Rose Emporium. Unfortunately, I did not know the names of many of the flowers below.

nothing says Texas like grazing longhorn

rose

Texas Bluebonnets

Indian Paintbrush

aberdeen, scotland, uk

My last day in Scotland was spent wandering through the streets and beach of Aberdeen. Aberdeen was a gray town, which shimmers in the sunlight from the granite buildings.

Here, I felt the bone-chilling waters of the North Sea, and saw wild dolphins playing at the mouth of a salmon river. I saw the third university built in the United Kingdom and, in general, felt the everyday life of a Scot.

Beach of the North Sea

Barnacles

Splashing North Sea waves

from a hill by the beach, this is the Aberdeen skyline

tribute to the famous Scot William Wallace - Braveheart - in front of the old Aberdeen castle

graveyard outside the kirk

Kirk Steeple

Graveyard - it is normal for kirks (churches) to have graveyards surrounding them. We learned that there is a legend that the entombed are protected from grave robbers and body snatchers when close to a church, as well as properly guided to the afterlife

Chapel at King’s College - the 3rd university built in the United Kingdom

entry to King’s College

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Sunday, March 18, 2012

weekend in scotland

Snoopy had the weekend off and wanted to see Edinburgh after I was so excited about it. We covered most of the same tracks I had covered before in the previous days, but we did finally climb Calton Hill where we had the most amazing and commanding views of Edinburgh.

In this picture, you can see St. Giles Cathedral (the one on the left with the crown shaped tip), the Hub (an old church to the right of St. Giles Cathedral with a tall spire), the infamous castle rock and Edinburgh Castle (in the center, in the distance), and the tall building in the distance to the left of the monument, which is actually just the Balmoral Hotel, but it still looks neat.

Snoopy has more and better pictures from this hill top, this is just the one I took while he was eating his breakfast.

Snoopy finally got to tour the castle and amble down the royal mile. We almost started the hike to the top of the extinct volcano (not pictured above) to see another view of the city but we were running out of time. We capped off the Saturday evening with a night walking tour of the city that included ghost stories and ended in the cemetery I had snapped pictures of the day before.

Since Snoopy had the time, we were able to secure tickets to see a soccer match. The best part was that it wasn’t just an ordinary match, it was the Edinburgh derby - Heart of Midlothian (AKA, the “Hearts”) VS The Ancient Order of Hibernia (AKA, the “Hibs”). The crowd was rowdy as they chanted and cheered their teams. The Hearts won in dramatic form - a goal scored in extra time.

Friday, March 16, 2012

edinburgh, scotland, uk - part 2

Snoopy insisted that since I didn’t get a chance to go to the zoo that I should go again and see the zoo. I was hesitant, but realized I wanted to go again!

Again, I hopped on a 2 and a half hour train ride. Although this time, Snoopy was insistent that I e-mail him in the middle of the day to at least tell him where I was and what I was doing. This was difficult since the loss of my phone, as I had to find an internet cafe. RIP phone. I already miss you.

Anywho, I managed to get to the zoo, get to an internet cafe, then make it down to Holyrood Palace - the Queen’s choice of residence when she visits Scotland. They didn’t allow photos inside, but the outside is neat enough!

I made a beeline for the Pandas as soon as I got here. They heavily monitor the number of people and the time people are in to see them. I got a good 20 minutes in, but it wasn’t easy with all of the people. The pandas have brought in people from all over just to see them!