Bizarre Happenings in Bonnyrigg

So, here's the Real Story.....

We were supposed to be in Ireland this weekend...in Co. Donegal.  Marty scheduled two vacation days, and the plan was to leave early Thursday morning, drive to the west of Scotland, take a ferry over to Ireland, then finish the drive to Inver.  We were going to finally meet Annie Harvey Burke.  Her father, William, was the younger brother of Mary, who was Marty's great grandmother.

I've been corresponding with the woman, who is a delight, for about 5 years, and this was going to finally be the meeting that we had hoped for.   Genealogy at its best!

Unfortunately,  issues involving Marty's work here in Scotland resulted in our plans being cancelled, and I found myself scrambling around with some place to stay this weekend.

I have mentioned before how I seem to have bad planning when it comes to getting rooms, and this time was no different.  Apparently British students were off for the week, and don't return until Tuesday, and their families use the opportunity to travel to Scotland, thereby limiting the room availability.

Why bother with the true confessions?  Because I feel the need to explain just why we are sitting in an extremely bizarre hotel rather than enjoying ourselves in a comfy B&B.  This was the only place that could assure internet for Marty and give us 3 straight nights, and be within close proximity to the airport.  After making requests at dozens of places, the Castle Retreat was the only option that could satisfy my criteria and not cost a ridiculous amount of money.

The Retreat Castle Hotel....

It's certainly different, I'll attest to that.

The woman who greeted us, Jude,  went out of her way to welcome us and help us find a room that actually had wireless available. It was one of my stipulations and Marty needs to be able to access the internet for his job, and she wanted to be certain that it worked for him. 

Well, the first room did not, so she shifted us to this one, where the bathroom door does not close, and, quite obviously, never did close since the door is wider than the jam.  

And, although the bathroom is huge, the shower and the sink share the same space, with a drain in the middle.  No shower curtain or anything to keep the water from splashing up the bathroom, which is exactly what happened when Marty took a shower.

The bed is much smaller than the original room, and very soft.  I'm kind of worried that I'll be rolling out of it later.  If you don't see a blog tomorrow, you'll know why.

We decided to try the hotel pub since there is nowhere nearby for dinner  that we could find, and that in itself was an interesting experience.

I'll admit, I  found these guys to be a bit entertaining.

But I don't quite get the cards on the ceiling.

And, I couldn't resist taking this photo

I'm just not sure why someone feels the need to be watching me while I'm eating dinner.  

Creepy.......

Add to that lights that suddenly pop on while you walk down the hall, and one could get a sense that someone was really watching them.

On that note, I better bid farewell.......