Oh Scotland.....We sure have missed you!

 When I made the plans for this September getaway,  I was hoping to rekindle that special feeling that this beautiful country has made on our hearts.  How could I possibly know that I would find myself arriving when the entirety of the United Kingdom is under mourning, due to the sudden passing of their beloved queen?

I wasn't quite sure what to expect, but I'm happy to say that our arrival was stress free,  and we have been treated to the usual Scottish welcoming that we have come to know and love. 

We rented our car through Celtic Legend, which was a smooth transition, and in short time we were on the road, heading to our first destination:  NewHailes Estate. 

It is located on the edge of Musselburgh, not far from the Firth of Forth.  The house dates from 1686 when the original structure was built.   In the early 1700s, it was purchased by Sir David Dalrymple, and it remained in that family until it was donated to the National Trust for preservation. During that time, it had two major additions, one on either side of the original house.  It also has a stable area, which has been converted to a cafe as so many of these trust sites do. 

You know that we wasted no time treating ourselves to some home made scones and some coffees. After all, we both managed about two hours of sleep on the plane. Some refreshment certainly made sense. 

Those scones were melt-in-your-mouth-tender!  Just what we needed for a quick jump start. 

I had prebooked a house tour for 11:00AM, and the timing was perfect.  Our guide was an enthusiastic woman who was a wealth of information. I'd say that she is the expert on the happenings of the Dalrymple family.  We can thank that family for keeping detailed and meticulous journals that outlined everyday life in this family.  

The tour begins in what is now the entrance of the house but had originally been the back.  

The owner wanted his guests to be awed by the view upon entering the house,  and he certainly was able to achieve that desired affect. 

Each of the rooms have been preserved rather than restored, which was the goal of the New Hailes Trust committee.  They are filled with many artifacts that had been held by the family. 

Apparently the dining room was used in one of the episodes of Outlander, and our guide told us that many people had come on the tour just to view this very room. 

There are three unique fireplaces in the house.  They were added in the mid 1700s, and the trust has the original invoices for all three, which were installed in the house at the same time.

The library was devoid of books, having been donated to the National Library in Scotland, but there is a stunning fireplace that is ornately decorated.

One of the unusual features of the house, is this wrought iron ornamentation that stands on the family staircase. The house had two full staircases:  one in the middle for the family and a second along the side of the house for the servants to run up and down. 

The tour took and hour and a half, after which we spent some time walking the grounds. 

There were bunches of blackberries ripening along the edges of the property.  

Someone could have a field day making pies!

Here you see an obelisk, erected in 1746, in memory of Sir James Dalrymple cousin, John, the 2nd Earl of Stair.  

From the trail, you can see the beautiful Firth of Forth.

and a view of what once stood as the front of the house, before it being reversed.

As you can see, the weather was extremely accommodating, and just perfect for walking. 

But it was time to head on, so we decided to drive along the coast to St. Abbs.

We had visited here in 2018, our last fall trip to Scotland.  At that time, we had walked along the northern cliffs, but we decided to head down into the village for a different viewpoint. 

It was certainly worth making the stop.

Now it was time to head to our night's destination:  Berwick upon Tweed. This town is actually in northern England, but just a few miles from the Scotland/England border.  

We are staying just one night here, at a B&B called the Walls.  I must say, this place is delightful!

The house stands along the walls that surround the city, with the river Tweed just a few hundred feet away.

You can see the bridges over the river in the distance.

And here is the view from our room.

We headed to the Queens's Hotel Restaurant for dinner, which was a great choice.  I had the foresight to pre-book.

Then we headed back to the B&B to enjoy some in-room treats and tea before hitting the sack. 

And, on that note, I've got a lot of sleep to catch up on! 

Tomorrow's another full day.  Would you expect anything less? 

Adventures in Omaha!

Tomorrow is the highly anticipated wedding of my sweet cousin, here in Omaha, which she now hails as home.  And to be certain that we wouldn't miss any of the festivities, we headed out of BWI yesterday in the wee hours of the morning,  traveling through Charlotte to finally land yesterday afternoon in Omaha.  

We were settled into our room by two, with the added plus of gaining an hour in time, so we decided to head out to see some of the sights, traveling by foot to make up for sitting in planes for so many hours.

Just around the back of our hotel, we were offered this great view of the city, behind an amphitheater (which I here will be filled with people tomorrow for a huge free concert.  Luckily, we will be celebrating at a different venue.)

We decided to walk into Old Town, as it is called, which was just slightly than two miles one way.  

We passed some very interesting structures and buildings along the way.

There was a lovely War memorial

An interesting set of statues entitled "Money Blomes". (no, that is not a typo)

The sculpture is supposed to reflect concepts related to money and the economy.  "Money is like a plan. If you care for it wisely, it can grow."  It was commissioned by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, Omaha branch.  So now you can see the connection.

Speaking of the Federal Reserve Bank, that stands along the road as well.  

and this sculpture entitled  "Angels Wings" is memorial devoted to the victims of September 11.

Walking further along, this historic playhouse captured my eye with all of the interesting outside details.

and I was impressed with this library of old, featuring emblems of the famous Classical writers in history. 

There were so many different architectural styles to admire along the way. 

Finally, we arrived at the Old Market.

We enjoyed a delicious dinner at the Twisted Fork, eating outside and having the place pretty much to ourselves.  Dinner gave us the stamina that we needed to march the two miles back to our hotel. Considering that my day began at 4am,  I crashed early, while Marty settled in to watch the Pitt versus West Virginia game on the television.    

We awoke bright and early this morning,  and decided to venture out to Joslyn castle, which is just a little more than half a mile from our hotel.  Walking along the very busy four lane road, it's hard to imagine that just a block from so much business, a tranquil oasis stands. 

The castle was built by Canadian emigrants, George and Sarah Joslyn, who came to Omaha with just $9.00 to their name in the late 1800s.  George made his fortune in the newspaper business and had this mansion built in 1899 according to Scottish Baronial Style. 

As you can see, it is quite magnificent.  One can tour the house on certain days, of which today was not.  But we were quite content to walk around and enjoy the beauty of the grounds. 

A lovely recreated bridge stands on the property, surrounded by lovely flowers.

There was a photo taken in 1909 that shows that the bridge once stood on the spot above a large pool of water. 

There was no sign of a pool anywhere in the vicinity.  

As you can see, it was a magnificent day, at least at this point, when the temperatures were in the mid 80's. 

It didn't take much time to tour the grounds, so we decided that we would head out to Lauritzen Gardens, as it had come highly recommended. 

I should mention here that Marty and I decided not to rent a car on this trip.  We are just here for a few days, and the hotel offered a shuttle...or said it did.  I don't need to elaborate on that.

The gardens are 6.1 miles from our hotel, and you can bet that there was no way we were attempting to walk that distance.  Especially since the temperatures are in the low 90s today.  So today was the initiation into the world of Uber.

Marty was so excited to finally use the App that he had downloaded on his phone.  He scheduled the pick up for Josyln castle, and in no time, a lovely woman named Dora showed up to shuttle us to the gardens.  Marty told her that she was his very first Uber driver.  She asked why, which was kind of funny.

In any event, she was a real trooper, and even let Marty take a selfie with her in the car.

I do have to admit that she gave me a sideways glance,  to which I just shrugged.   We probably made her day.  Or...she thinks that crazy people live in Pennsylvania.  

The gardens are undergoing construction.  A LOT of construction, so they must be planning something big.  Because of the renovations, all guests are taken by tram to the center of the planned gardens, which was kind of nice, because it cut off a lot of walking in the heat.

There were many unique and different gardens to enjoy.

A Japanese Park:

where I spotted this guy taking a little swim.

A beautiful herb garden

A vast rose garden featuring dozens upon dozens of different varieties.

A model railway garden, that had 6 different sets of train tracks, each with its own train line that ran across various trestles and bridges, all nestled among the trees.

This cute little trolley just transversed back and forth. 

Remember that historic playhouse that we saw yesterday?  Well, here it is, featured in the train display, along with many other historic building replicas that are unique to Omaha.  

We were told that each one is made completely of some sort of plant material. 

As you can see, the gardens are filled with countless surprises to enjoy.

and the shade was a lovely respite from the heat.

At the entrance, there is a conservatory, also filled with surprises.

Look carefully and you will see that the elephant's trunk is pouring water into the pool below.

Here is the view from the opposite side.

There were cacti

and various desert like plants inside.

and a lovely waterfall or two as well.

It was a delightful way to spend the early afternoon, but with the temperatures climbing, we decided to head back to our hotel.

Which, of course, required calling an Uber.  I guess we are pros now. ......Or, at least Marty is. 

Tonight we are invited to party with the family, and we await the arrival of Amy, who will join in the celebration with us tomorrow.  It's guaranteed to be a fun filled, fabulous event!

Omaha is truly amazing!