Stonehaven and Dunnottar Castle

Dunnottar Castle is a ruined medieval fortress located upon a rocky headland on the north-east coast of Scotland, about two miles south of Stonehaven. The surviving buildings are largely of the 15th–16th centuries, but the site is believed to have been an early fortress of the Dark Ages. Dunnottar played a strategic role in the history of Scotland from the Middle Ages through to the Enlightenment, because of the location: it overlooked the shipping lanes to northern Scotland; and is situated on a narrow coastal terrace that controlled land access to the coastal south via Portlethen Moss to Aberdeen during the medieval period.

The ruins of the castle are spread over 3 acres, surrounded with steep cliffs that drop to the North Sea 160 ft below. The L plan castle is accessed via a narrow strip of land, joining the mainland to a steep path leading up to the gatehouse. The cliff and headland formations, which extend to the north and south, is a notable bird sanctuary to pelagic birds.



http://picasaweb.google.com/mtwildflower/StonehavenAndDunnottarCastle

Crathes Castle

Crathes sits on land given as a gift to the Burnett of Leys family by King Robert the Bruce in 1323. In the 14th and 15th century the Burnett of Leys built a fortress of timbers on an island they made in the middle of a nearby bog. This method of fortiification, known as a crannog, was common in the Late Middle Ages. Construction of the current tower house of Crathes Castle was begun in 1553 but delayed several times during its construction due to political problems during the reign of Mary, Queen of Scots.


It was completed in 1596 by Alexander Burnett of Leys, and an additional wing added in 18th century. Alexander Burnett, who completed the construction of Crathes, began a new project, the early 17th century reconstruction of nearby Muchalls Castle. That endeavour was completed by his son, Sir Thomas Burnett. Crathes Castle served as the ancestral seat of the Burnetts of Leys until gifted to the National Trust for Scotland by the 13th Baronet of Leys, Sir James Burnett in 1951. A fire damaged portions of the castle (in particular the Queen Anne wing) in 1966. Another historically important structure in this region linked to the Burnett of Leys family is Monboddo House.

The castle contains a significant collection of portraits, and intriguing original Scottish renaissance painted ceilings survive in several Jacobean rooms: the Chamber of the Muses, the Chamber of Nine Worthies and the Green Lady's Room. The last of these is said to be haunted by a green lady. A green smoke or mist is said to have been seen by visitors. The ancient jewelled ivory Horn of Leys residing in the great hall above the fireplace, was gifted to the Burnetts by the king along with the castle grounds in 1323

The castle estate contains 530 acres of woodlands and fields, including nearly four acres of walled garden. Within the walled garden are gravel paths with surrounding specimen plants mostly in herbaceous borders. Many of the plants are labelled with taxonomic descriptions. There is also a grass croquet court at a higher terraced level within the walled garden. Ancient topiary hedges of Irish yew dating from 1702 separate the gardens into eight themed areas. Crathes and its grounds are open to tourists throughout the year. A visitors centre provides information about the castle and its surroundings.


http://picasaweb.google.com/mtwildflower/CrathesCastle

Merry Christmas!

It's definitely looking like winter these days in Aberdeen. We've received 2 major snow storms since I moved here 5 weeks ago. Knowing that I won't be here forever makes me appreciate winter and I've actually enjoyed watching the snow fall. I was able to get a more "snow worthy" vehicle. It drives like a tank but definitely does the job!

My dad arrived safe and sound on Christmas eve. We haven't been able to get out and about yet to do some site seeing due to the fact that I've been having to work. Such is the life of an operations geologist. We've got 3 more days together and I am determined to get out and start exploring my new home. Keep your fingers crossed that it happens. We did manage to walk around some of the more elite neighborhoods on Christmas day and I've posted the pictures from that walk on my Picasa site. I'll try to keep the pictures coming but can't promise anything. I have a very long list of places to go and sites to see. I hope that work doesn't keep me from my list for long. Enjoy the rest of the holiday season!

http://picasaweb.google.com/mtwildflower/2010AberdeenScotland

3 Weeks down and ?? to go..

When it snows here it pretty much shuts everything down and the locals use the “severe weather” as an excuse for weeks after the storm has broken. I was supposed to get my TV installed on Dec. 7th. After contacting Sky regarding my installation I knew that the technician was due to arrive at my flat between 12:30 and 2:30 on that Tuesday afternoon. I walked home at noon so that I would be there well before he might show. I cooked myself some lunch and sat down with some reading material for work that way I could kill two birds with one stone. By 2:45 pm there was still no sign of the technician. I emailed my admin back at work to see if she thought I should just come back. When I got back to work I phoned Sky to determine what had happened. They told me that the technician had cancelled the service call due to the weather. I then proceeded to explain to the Sky customer service agent that it was in fact a clear and sunny day here in Aberdeen and that the roads had been clear for the past 5 days! To make a long story short, I needed to reschedule my appointment but there were no available appointments until the end of January!!! I was told to keep calling back every day to see if there was a cancellation spot that I could grab. After 3 days of calling back I was able to get a rescheduled appointment for December 23rd.

The Sky saga continues… I was scheduled to receive my phone and broadband on December 13th. I called Sky the morning of the 13th to verify what time the technician was scheduled to arrive. The Sky operator told me that for this particular appointment, a home visit by the technician was not required but that my phone line would be on and working by the end of the day. And that within 72 hours my router would be dispatch to me via the mail for my broadband. I asked the Sky operator again that no technician was in fact actually needed to visit my flat. I was assured by the Sky operator that this was the case. At 2:30 pm on that day I received an email from Sky stating that I missed my appointment with the technician and that I would need to reschedule and pay a 105 GBP fee to do so. I phoned Sky to figure out what the heck had occurred only to discover that yes in fact a technician was needed to switch on the phone line in my flat. At this point I explained what had occurred earlier that morning on the phone and was told that they would waive the 105GBP fee but that I would still need to reschedule for a technician. The kicker is that the earliest a technician can come out is January 14th!!!!!! I am so infuriated with by this!!!
The “severe weather” excuse roars it’s ugly head again but this time with a package that I am waiting to receive. I ordered a mattress topper for my bed since it’s like sleeping on a plank of wood. I ordered this mattress topper on November 29th, it was dispatched on December 2nd. The storm that blew in did keep the mail system from moving for a few days and I can completely understand this. The attempted delivery of the package occurred on December 9th. Because I live in a flat, no carrier will actually leave packages inside the main entrance, instead they leave a post card saying attempted delivery in your mailbox. The day after this attempted delivery I logged into the website on the post card to either rearrange delivery or find out where I could pick up my package. Both their website and their toll free number state the following: “We apologize that we are having to temporarily suspend the ability to select a redelivery date or arrange a local depot collection as a result of the severe weather conditions. Please be assured that your local depot will deliver your parcel at the earliest opportunity possible.”

1 Week down and 51 more to go...

The first week in Aberdeen has gone off without too many issues. I arrived Saturday the 20th with 4 very large bags and 2 carry on's. After waiting in the Que for a taxi for about 45 min, the driver loaded all of my stuff and made a quick stop at the Marathon office to get the keys to my flat before delivering me to my final destination at 82 Queens Road. Right off the bat the flat was ice cold! I had to figure out how to turn on the boiler system so that I could get heat but it wasn't really that bad. Took a quick shower and then met the Avis guy to get my rental car. Made a rather long trip to the grocery store, picked up some food and other necessities for the flat and called it a day!



























The first week of work went by very quickly and I think I am going to fit in here very well. My new job seems very exciting and there are some high hopes for what I may or may not be able to achieve while I'm here.. I think I will have to keep reminding myself that this is only for a year, give or take a month or so. There is a ton of work to be done and I am sure I will be working many late hours to try and meet my own personal goals.

This past Saturday I was fortunate to get a free ticket to the Scotland vs. Samoa Rugby match and tried to keep warm as I watch my very first rugby game. It was rather fun and I do think I will make it out to more matches. On Sunday I had planned on venturing out to get more supplies for the flat and stock my kitchen now that I had a better idea of what life outside of the office would be like. That plan did not happen. My rental car, a little 4 door Peugeot got stuck in the snow! Did I mention that it started snowing here this past Tuesday and hasn't stopped snowing since! It snows off and on with the in between times of sunny blue skies. The car is back in it's parking spot at my flat after spending the day in the middle of my parking lot, but in the end the Peugeot will be going back to Avis and I will have a new rental car starting tomorrow! I'm super excited because I will be back in a Land Rover!! I think they are bringing me a Defender 110 but won't know for sure till tomorrow.

Anyway here are a few things that I have learned since moving to Scotland…

In order to have packages delivered you have to pay the VAT on any shipping from outside the UK

They don’t plow streets when it snows unless it is a major road

They don’t plow sidewalks… the city of Aberdeen thinks that this is the responsibility of the person living at each residence where the residents believe that this is the responsibility of the city….

It takes anywhere from 1-2 weeks to get your TV set up but it takes 2-3 weeks to get your phone and Internet… and the technician says that he will call you on your home phone to tell you when they are coming to set it up.. uuuhhh hello!!! I don’t have a phone, hence why you are coming to my flat!!

You have to pay 140GBP to watch any TV in the UK!!

So Cheerio for now!

For the Rugby pictures:
http://picasaweb.google.com/mtwildflower/2010ScotlandVsSamoa

Flat in Aberdeen

I recently returned from my business mission to Aberdeen Scotland where I will soon be living for the next year. While there I managed to find a furnished flat that will be my future home. Here are some pictures of it. I will be living on the top floor.

Up and Coming Changes

For those friends and family members out there that haven't heard yet, I'm moving to Aberdeen Scotland for a 1 year rotation with Marathon Oil. I found out that I was selected for this job on September 17th and will be moving over there on or around November 1. Since finding out that I'm relocating, I've already moved my dog Kady back to Montana where she will be living with "grandma" and Ali for the next year. I think she has already adjusted to this change better than I have. It doesn't hurt that grandma and Ali spoil her! I couldn't be more happy to have her spoiled for the next year. I flew Kady to Montana on September 30, spent 48 hours getting her settled before flying to to Seattle. I only had 24 hours in Seattle but it was a great 24 hours! See the pictures below. I'm off to Aberdeen tomorrow, October 8th for a week. I'll be back state side October 16th for just 2 weeks before I'm gone. I'm looking forward to all of the 'what ifs' and adventures that are awaiting me over this next year. I'll have a 2 bedroom furnished flat in Aberdeen and would love to have visitors. Or I'll meet anyone anywhere in Europe for travels. Just let me know.

Ireland

At the end of June I got to travel to Ireland for work! What a great opportunity it was. The first week there I was staying in the lovely coastal town of Kilkee. After my field course was complete my mom flew over to join me for another week of touring Ireland. Here are a few of my favorite pictures from my two weeks in Ireland. The rest can be viewed on my Picasa site. http://picasaweb.google.com/mtwildflower/2010Ireland#

Me in front of the Cliffs of Moher.

Castle in Cahir.

Liza and me outside of an art museum in Dublin.

What better way to spend Memorial Day Weekend?

I got to spend Memorial Day weekend in Seattle where I was pleasantly surprised at how much Aislin has grown up. Plus she really didn't want me taking her picture. I don't blame her since she is always in front of the camera, but can you blame me? Look at how precious she is??

I'm Famous... well at least for a day

I had uploaded some of my favorite pictures from the Galapagos trip to ireport on cnn.com. About 2 weeks ago I was contacted by CNN requesting more information in regards to one of my pictures. I was then asked if they could use one of my pictures for their "Travel photo of the day". So here is my picture :)

Costa Rica

When I did the American Lung Association stair climb in May 2009 I was the second highest fund raiser. For every $500.00 raised you got your name entered for 2 First Class Tickets on Continental to the 48 states, Alaska, Canada, Mexico, Central America or the Caribbean. Well I don't win things very often but I was thrilled to win a set of these airline tickets.

I had decided to take my best friend Sheryl with me and the two of us decided to visit Costa Rica. We had a fantastic week long trip where we visited an active erupting volcano at Arenal for a couple days while staying at the Volcano Observatory. Then we headed west to the Cloud Forest in Monteverde where we stayed at the preserve. We wrapped up our trip in Manuel Antonio which is located on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica. Here are a few pictures from the trip.

The rest can be found at: http://picasaweb.google.com/mtwildflower

















Sheryl and I in front of one of the water falls on our hike at Arenal

Arenal Volcano which was always hidden in the clouds. We could hear it erupting but never actually saw the activity

This is one of the many humming birds we saw in Monteverde. The turquoise color is the feathers on the top of its head

The monkey's in the national park in Manuel Antonio used to be fed and since they don't feed them anymore, the monkey's have learned to steal from the tourists... this little guy grabbed a juice box and has figured out how to drink from it

Ziplining Costa Rica Style

One of the things we did in Costa Rica was go on a Rain Forest Canopy zipline tour in Monteverde. Here are a few pictures from this adventure. In all there were 15 stops and the entire tour lasted just over 2.5 hours. It was a blast and I will continue to find zipline activities on all my future travels.