Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Can you spot a Puffin?

One of the things that I wanted to make sure I did while living in Scotland was to see an Atlantic Puffin.  I found out that along the cliffs just south of Aberdeen, Puffins nest during May and June.  I found that the local Royal Society for the Protection of Birds was giving Pick Out A Puffin! walks.  So I signed up!
What better way to see puffins than from a bird enthusiast!  We learned all about the sea birds that nest along the cliffs near Aberdeen.  Here are some pictures from my evening walk on one of the most beautiful Scottish days I've had yet.  It was still 75 degrees at 8 PM! 




Can you spot a puffin?


Here's a hint as to what they look like


Scotland at 9PM!


Planes, Trains & Automobiles... well planes and automobiles that is

My second home trip was another whirl wind of flights, delayed baggage, cancelled flights, one of my longest and closest friends wedding and a new family member.  To say the least I had a blast and even caught up on some sleep.  I started my 12 days off from work with 3 flights that took me from Aberdeen, Scotland to Santa Barbara, California.  I had 4 great days with my dad relaxing and enjoying the company of all his early morning coffee shop buddies.  I was able to catch up with some friends from my UCSB days, went to Robert and Patsy's wedding and got to hug my god daughter.
After a fun filled weekend I was on my way to Seattle to help entice my nephew who was 10 days over due to make his first appearance.  My flight to Seattle was cancelled and to my surprise Alaska Airlines not only bought the entire flight dinner, they brought in a plane from another city, and gave us a $300 vou1cher towards a future flight for being inconvenienced.  Must say, very impressed with Alaska Airlines. 
I arrived in Seattle 1.5 hours before my nephew was born.  It was such a joy for my grandma and I to see Cadel within the first 5 hours of his life.  What a little bundle of joy!  My mom arrived later that afternoon and we had 4 generations together for 6 days.  It was wonderful to see everyone together and to see how Aislin is with her new little brother.
Here are some pictures from my latest adventure back to the States...

Did we coordinate our purples to match?!?


Robert and I

My dad and I

Everytime I held Cadel he fell asleep








"GGB what is Cadel doing?" asks Aislin

Full of giggles

So serious!

Four Generations

The Finley Family

Saved the best picture for last!