Esha Ness, Shetland

This is where we sat and had lunch.  While looking out into the ocean, we discovered a seal watching us.  He would pop under water for a little while and then pop back up somewhere else.  It took us a little while to realize that there were actually two seals.  They watched us the whole time. 

We also thought we saw a raft of otters - and we were really excited about our luck - but it turned out that it was just seaweed.  Brown seaweed that turns white when it is out of water and exposed to the sun.

Holyrood Park

Scotland again

Glass house and the Royal Botanical Gardens

Sea walk at Kirkcaldy

Kirkcaldy castle and boat

Scotland in Grave Markers

Too many cool, old gravestones to photograph.  Apparently, skull and crossbones were a pretty popular images on grave markers in the 18th century.  In Scotland, a church yard is called a kirkyard. 

Throughout Scotland, many of the kirkyards that we came across hadn't been used in a hundred years or more - like this one.  We were just walking along the beach and found this unused kirkyard with the old pastor's house in the corner.

This one shows how, over the years, the words get obscured by lichen that have been growing there for a really long time.

Occasionally, the facade has crumbled away leaving only snippets of dates or names.

Scotland - Day One

Multiple views of Edinburgh Castle.  Someone tells me the last one is pretty boilerplate, although I cannot say I have ever seen it before.

Scotland - Day One

We like to walk when we are in a new place.  It is the only way to get around that is slow enough to see everything there is to see... that and just try driving around Edinburgh ... I am SO glad I had a GPS (I can still hear: "Prepare to go over the roundabout...")!

This day was rainy - from what I hear - pretty typical. Beautiful old buildings and street closes like these two.  There is something pretty photogenic about about a space where you cannot get a car down.

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