Huh

And then, a dozen pages beyond anything else I had written, I found the following:

I guess it seemed like a good idea at the time? I really have no idea where it came from, or why I decided to stick it in my journal.

Author's Notes/Other Thoughts, 04-06 June 2004

04 June 2004 (04 April 2008)

• Ran into Luke again today, at the post office. We made some small talk, then went our separate ways.
• Alyssa tried on her Audrey Hepburn hat at the station, and pulled it off fairly well.
• Considering the fact that I didn't end up turning in some of my homework until October, I kind of wished I had gone on the sleeper train. Oh well.
• One of my drinks was made with Smirnoff, and the other used house vodka, and it was not hard at all to tell the difference.

05 June 2004 (04 April 2008)

• I actually had two days left on my rail pass at this point. If I had had any money left (which I didn't), and if my plane ticket hadn't been for the next day (it was), it would have been nice to get some side trips in.
• Trains have more legroom than planes, but only if there isn't anybody sitting across from you.
• I am very glad that I don't get plane/train/carsick by reading on the go... even if your seat is comfortable, eight hours is a long time to be stuck in a vehicle.

06 June 2004 (07 April 2008)

• Turns out the other folk on my flight would have been willing to take the lighters for me. Unfortunately, I didn't realize that was an option, and wasn't sure where they were during my "interrogation" anyways. Oh well. I think I gave the last one to one of my younger brothers as a souvenir.
• Hmmm... "souvenir" looks like a French word. I wonder what it actually translates as? [ed: according to Babelfish, it means "to remember"]
• Gotta love traveling with the sun. I flew for 10 hours, and landed two hours after I left.
• Jet lag sucks going this way too. It was only about 16:30 local time when I landed, but that was after midnight London time, so I feel asleep for most of the ride home. I managed to sleep a good 13 hours or so that night, but had trouble sleeping through the night for a few months after that.
• It was kind of odd having to fill out an immigration form to get back into my own country. Luckily, it was a much quicker process than actual immigrants have to go through.
• As much as I loved the trip, it's a good thing I came home when I did... I had right about $4.00 left in my bank account.

Author's Notes/Other Thoughts, 01-03 June 2004

01 June 2004 (04 April 2008)

• Kilt day was a great idea. But since I didn't have a sporran yet, it was really annoying not having pockets.
• I must have looked much more authentic than I felt in my kilt & hat. At one point Emily and I walked past a little girl & her mother, and we heard her say "Look mummy, a real Scotsman!" I had a hard time not cracking up, but I kept my mouth shut. I'm guessing they weren't from Scotland either, though the accent was British.
• Some of the water at the western beach & Columba's Bay actually looked tropical, which was very surprising.
• I've still got all the rocks I picked up in a bag somewhere in my room... I'll have to pull those out again one of these days.
• On the way back, we used some rocks to spell out "pudding" & took a picture of it for one of Emily's friends back home.
• Looks like I had a few complaints about Barb, so I should note that I don't have anything against her. She's actually a pretty cool lady, it's just that art isn't really my cup of tea.
• Corliss also mentioned that of all the study tours she had been on, we were one of the best in terms of how little drinking we did. While we certainly weren't wandering around plastered, that kind of surprised me.

02 June 2004 (04 April 2008)

• Yup, I did already mention how bad the roads were.
• I've still got a coupon from the distillery for £3 off a 70cl bottle of Oban Scotch. It's probably expired now, though.
• The only times I've seen Oban back in the US, it was going for $70+ a bottle, so I'm guessing it's highly regarded.

03 June 2004 (04 April 2008)

• I finally gave up on my travel wallet and bought a real/regular one (genuine leather) (also, made in Germany) at Ft. William. It's held up pretty well... I'm still using it today.
• Urquhart had a few stone troughs that started inside the castle and led to the outside. We figured they were either for toilets or pouring something on people trying to scale the wall, but never found out for sure.
• I was in a bad mood for the boat ride & most of the rest of the day, though I don't remember why.
• Rob downed an entire pitcher of Blue Lagoon that night, and somehow woke up without a hangover. So much for the whole "not a lot of drinking" thing.

Author's Notes/Other Thoughts, 30-31 May 2004

30 May 2004 (04 April 2008)

• We were greeted at the train station in Glasgow by a fairly disturbing sight: a girl in a short skirt, fishnet stockings & a thong (yes, you could tell) leaning over a railing. I've got nothing against short skirts, but fishnet stockings are pretty much always unattractive, thongs just don't look like they'd be comfortable, and those three things in combination should never be seen in public.
• The dancing girl at McTavish's kept flashing us when her kilt flew up from all the spinning she was doing. In her defense though, she was either wearing decent underwear or whatever it is that cheerleaders where under their skirts.
• We found out later that the tower outside of town actually had a name. I can't remember it at the moment, but I'll put it in here when I do. [ed: Dunollie Castle]

31 May 2004 (04 April 2008)

• There were all sorts of little jellyfish floating around in the water by the ferry.
• We had some porpoises following alongside the ferry for awhile, but they were gone by the time I got my camera warmed up.
• Random thought: one of the pastors from my church took a sabbatical on the Isle of Mull. I didn't see much of it--just what was along the road--but I don't think I'd have any problems with spending a few months there.
• This must have been one of the times I journaled in close proximity to the actual time of the events, because it doesn't look like I left much out.

Author's Notes/Other Thoughts, 27-29 May 2004

27 May 2004 (02 April 2008)

• I think the reason I liked the Scottish Royal Museum so well is that it felt like a big version of a small, local museum
• Also, it had one of the coolest pictures I have ever seen: a Scottish bagpiper in full regalia, with a penguin next to him, staring up at him.
• Because of the beef in the Frankenstein burger, I wasn't allowed to donate blood in the US for two years after eating it. But since I like my blood right where it is and never donate it anyways, it was no big deal.
• Arthur's Seat was named for a local legend, though we never found anyone who could tell us the story behind it. I got Matt a rock from here too.

28 May 2004 (04 April 2008)

• I still tell everybody that I talk to about the trip to avoid Glasgow if possible. [ed: Still saying that; got sick again passing through there on my latest trip]
• I've got nothing against smoking or smokers, I just don't like having the entire hotel smelling like cigarettes
• I think the "murder capital of the world" thing was either a misunderstanding or an exaggeration, but Glasgow does have a crime rate higher than the Scottish average in nearly every category. Also, part of the group witnessed an attempted mugging.
• When we went to see Kill Bill 2, the theater originally started playing Scooby Doo 2. Somebody complained, and they fixed it.

29 May 2004 (04 April 2008)

• The park we walked through was called Kelvingrove Park. If it hand't been raining, it would have been nice to spend some time there and get some more pictures.
• I completely left out our visit to St. Mungo's Cathedral. Who names their kid Mungo? It wasn't as impressive as some of the others we had visited, but it was pretty nice. It also featured the coat of arms of the Blackadder family; being a fan of Rowan Atkinson's work (especially his role as Lord Blackadder), I found that fairly entertaining.
• I also seem to have left out the Glasgow necropolis, which I got a few good pictures of. Found out later that I sat on John Knox's grave without even knowing it. As a student at a Presbyterian college, I probably should have been more excited than I was.

Author's Notes/Other Thoughts, 25-26 May 2004

25 May 2004 (01 April 2008)

• Pretty sure it was a blood sausage that was served with breakfast. I've got nothing against blood, I just don't think of it as food. I'll leave that to vampires and mosquitoes.
• Durham Castle is actually used as a college dormitory now; the group that did the semester long trip got to stay there.
• I've never really understood the whole veneration of the saints thing. Yeah, they were people who did great things for God. But if you can pray directly to God via the Holy Spirit, why add an extra middle man? On the bright side, all of the saints means lots of bake sales at the Catholic Church in Waterville, and those ladies make some darn good bread.
• This actually applies to every day of the tour: I need to go back with a better camera. My photography skills have improved a bit, and I've got a much better camera now, which should make for less blurry/messed up pictures.
• Picked up a couple tubes of Cadbury eggs for mom; she really likes them, and they're only available around Easter in our area.
• Sadly, I don't remember how Emily gimped her knee in the first place.
• I still have paint on my backpack from a railing at the train station in Durham. [ed: It's still there, and the backpack itself is in better shape than the much newer one I took on my last trip]
• Another advantage of my new camera: it runs on AA batteries, so replacements will be much easier to come by.
• I've started to develop a taste for wine since then, but haven't been able to find any mead around Waterville.
• I also forgot what Alyssa and Geanna knighted me for... I'll have to ask. [Asked tonight; current guesses are getting in the stone coffin at Yorkminster, and walking Geanna back to our B&B one of the nights there, so she didn't have to walk it alone]

26 May 2004 (02 April 2008)

• Our place in Edinburgh actually ended up being my favorite B&B/hostel/hotel of the trip. It was located somewhere along Dalkeith Road (I think)... near a swimming pool, but not near any of the historical sights that I was after.
• Edinburgh is also where I finally found a replacement battery for my camera. The old one wasn't completely dead, but it wouldn't keep the camera running for more than a few pictures before it needed a rest.
• The only original building remaining in the castle is St. Margaret's Chapel, constructed sometime in the 1200s.
• The castle also contains the Scottish Crown Jewels. While not as sparkley as their English counterparts, they were much older, since Cromwell never got a hold of them.
• The kilt I ended up buying was in the colors of the MacKenzie clan. To the best of my knowledge I have no connection to them (being of German & Irish heritage), but I liked the colors. At some point I may go with a Blackwatch (military) kilt, and avoid the clan thing altogether. [ed: or possibly a utilikilt]
• Along with securing a projector for our dorm room, Dave had managed to get a hold of the first seven seasons of Stargate SG-1, which was enough to get me hooked; I now own all 10 seasons of it.
• I never confirmed this, but I heard later that the reason Cuban cigars aren't what they used to be is because all the good cigar makers moved to Nicaragua to get around the trade embargo. Or maybe they've always sucked, and that was just an excuse.

Author's Notes/Other Thoughts, 22-24 May 2004

22 May 2004 (28 March 2008)

• It's not just the cabbies who are insane; pretty much everybody there is a crazy driver. I recommend looking both ways at least 15 times [ed: more like 50 if you're in Rome] before attempting to cross the street.
• Our B&B was outside of the city walls, but it was just off a street that took us straight to the Minster, which made navigation very easy. It was especially great for me, since I tend to lose track of direction when I leave the area around my home.
• According to Emily [ed: paraphrasing, of course], the folks who set up the Jorvik area of the city attempted to recreate the smell as well as the look of the old Viking city. I don't think I missed much by skipping it.
• Still a fan of vodka, but now I prefer it with grapefruit juice.
• Also, don't drink lots of alcohol before going on a long walk. Chelsea was actually tempted to pay the cover fee to a club just to get in & use the bathroom there.
• At some point in life, Corliss developed an allergy to most meats [ed: not sure if that's actually possible, may have been some other health issue], forcing her into vegetarianism. Which is why she was delayed at lunch... finding a vegetarian restaurant was apparently none too easy in York.

23 May 2004 (31 March 2008)

• Awesome! I put the bit about Corliss' vegetarianism under the wrong day. Don't you love correcting corrections?
• Also, it turned out that Corliss finished the wall walk on her own as well.
• The ruins were from St. Mary's Abbey: Founded by William II in 1088, walls built around 1266, and "decommissioned" under Henry VIII in 1539 (Thanks Emily!)

24 May 2004 (31 March 2008)

• The character was Silk/Kheldar, from David Eddings' "Belgariad" & "Mallorean" series.
• Timo Little was the guide's full name, if I remember correctly. And he actually had a degree in medieval history, which explained his interest in and knowledge of the period. If you ever end up taking a tour of the Minster, look for him.
• The people from York occasionally make fun of the people from London, since Yorkminster is also a cathedral (from "cathedra," the name for the bishop's chair) while Westminster isn't.
• Screw etiquette. If I had been holding my silverware the way I was used to instead of the way I was "supposed to," I never would have knocked my food on the floor.
• Backing up slightly, the crossing tower at Yorkminster had a wire "cage" over the top of it, apparently to keep people from jumping off. Must be a British thing [ed: the top level of Tower Bridge was closed while we were there for the same reason]... I'm much more likely to spit from a high place than jump from it.
• Backing up even further, many of the cool things in the undercroft were discovered when they were doing excavations to shore up the pillars that supported the crossing tower. I don't remember the exact weight, but Timo said that each of the four main pillars was supporting the weight of ten Boeing 747s.
• Still not sure how the whole haunted sink thing came up... I'm guessing there was alcohol involved. But haunted or not, their sink did turn itself on for a few seconds, and then turned itself off again.