Friday, we had to get up early to catch the 7:00 a.m. train to Aberdeen, Scotland. Today, we truly saw the Principle of Ministering in action. Our AAA, Brother Stronach, asked two of his friends from church to pick us up from the airport and show us around the area until he and his wife could get home from being out of town at a wedding. These two kind men, who we had never met before, truly became our friends, too! We absolutely LOVED visiting the seashore and three different castles (none of which were open at this time of year but fascinating to see, never-the-less), then they even bought us lunch--made this day one we will long remember. Talking to them about their lives and activities in Scotland was just the best! We laughed 'til we were sore--but mostly, our hearts were touched by two people who were truly ministering to two complete strangers in every sense of the word. That evening, we had dinner with our fantastic AAA and his wife, who had been up since 3:15 a.m. to get on the road, but still gave us time to meet and discuss church finances. That is truly devotion to a calling! Amazing, wonderful Scottish people!
That evening, we were able to meet up with our AAAs in Scotland, the Stronachs--such delightful people who do such a great job in their callings!
The next morning, we saldy said good-bye to our delightful hotel in Montrose.
Saturday, we rode the train over to Edinburgh. Gpa George and I really enjoy riding the train through the beautiful countryside and seeing the fields of green, the fluffy white sheep, and the stone fences. The fences aren't held together by any mortar, just rocks piled up that the farmers find in their fields, which serves two purposes--removing the rocks from where they are planting and making a beautiful, inexpensive fence at the same time.
We surely wished we had enough time to get off the train at this exit and visit St. Andrews and its famous golf course. Luckily, we had seen it when we came with our family group a few years earlier.
We finally knew we were getting close when we saw the Edinburgh Castle perched high above us.
We found out our hotel was quite a ways outside the city, so we dropped our suitcases at another Marriott Hotel which had no more rooms, but said we could leave our luggage there until we finished touring for the day. This was actually our P-Day, so we had no meetings and could basically plan the day how we would like.
We started out with the Edinburgh Castle, which has exited in some form or another since the 12th Century and is still used today. It has been the home of royalty, barracks for military, a prison for enemy soldiers as well as unruly occupying soldiers, the place where Mary Queen of Scots gave birth to her son who eventually became the King of Scotland, England, and Ireland; the home of the Crown jewels of Scotland, and the resting place of the famous Stone of Scone, which every monarch has sat on since 1296, which will be used when Queen Elizabeth passes away and the new monarch is crowned, most likely Prince Charles since he is next in line. Yes, so much history in that place, which we LOVED hearing about!
Inside St. Margaret's Chapel
At one time, Edinburgh Castle was a military prison with 1,000 prisoners inside.
We then walked down the Royal Mile . . .
visited the Edinburgh University Campus where our grandson, Carter, spent a lot of time reaching University students on his mission in Scotland/Ireland,
and we ended up at Queen Elizabeth's Scotland Palace--Hollyrood. By this time, we had been rained on, practically blown away by the strong winds, and were freezing, but just couldn't miss all of these wonderful places that we enjoyed seeing and learning from so much!
The next morning, we saldy said good-bye to our delightful hotel in Montrose.
Saturday, we rode the train over to Edinburgh. Gpa George and I really enjoy riding the train through the beautiful countryside and seeing the fields of green, the fluffy white sheep, and the stone fences. The fences aren't held together by any mortar, just rocks piled up that the farmers find in their fields, which serves two purposes--removing the rocks from where they are planting and making a beautiful, inexpensive fence at the same time.
We found out our hotel was quite a ways outside the city, so we dropped our suitcases at another Marriott Hotel which had no more rooms, but said we could leave our luggage there until we finished touring for the day. This was actually our P-Day, so we had no meetings and could basically plan the day how we would like.
We started out with the Edinburgh Castle, which has exited in some form or another since the 12th Century and is still used today. It has been the home of royalty, barracks for military, a prison for enemy soldiers as well as unruly occupying soldiers, the place where Mary Queen of Scots gave birth to her son who eventually became the King of Scotland, England, and Ireland; the home of the Crown jewels of Scotland, and the resting place of the famous Stone of Scone, which every monarch has sat on since 1296, which will be used when Queen Elizabeth passes away and the new monarch is crowned, most likely Prince Charles since he is next in line. Yes, so much history in that place, which we LOVED hearing about!
Inside St. Margaret's Chapel
Sunday, we attended church in Edinburgh. It turned out to be even a more wonderful experience by finding out we were right next door to the Scotland/Ireland Mission Home, where Carter began his two-year mission experience and just returned this past July! Soon we were quite the celebrities when missionaries and members alike who had worked closely with Carter and loved him while he was here in Edinburgh found out we were his grandparents! So proud of all the good he did while serving here!
The train ride as we left Edinburgh through the beautiful mountains with the gorgeous, fire-like sunset, was so enjoyable!
The Sgian Dubh which is worn as part of the traditional Scottish Highland dress along with the kilt in the top of his stocking.
After church, the taxi driver who took us to the train station from the church, pointed out Harry Potter places of inspiration, as well as The Elephant House, where J. K. Rowling did much of her writing for her books since this is where she lived. Although I don't know that much about the books (Sorry to say that to all the fans!), but I could see how the castles, churches, and schools could give Ms. Rowling ideas for her Hogwarts and School of Wizardry.
The train ride as we left Edinburgh through the beautiful mountains with the gorgeous, fire-like sunset, was so enjoyable!
We arrived later than we thought in Inverness due to our train being cancelled (that's another story--so stressful!), but we made it!
The Sgian Dubh which is worn as part of the traditional Scottish Highland dress along with the kilt in the top of his stocking.
Monday, we felt so blessed that the taxi driver we had met the night before who took us from the train station to our hotel, was a real treasure! A genuine Scotsman who said he would show us around Inverness before we had to fly out the next morning. We thought no way would we have time! But, what a fantastic tour we had! First, he came all dressed in his Scottish tartan attire and picked us up from our 200-year-old hotel--crazy! You had to go upstairs to go down!
Anyway, we traveled along Loch Ness to the 500-year-old Urqhart Castle; we may have had a Loch Ness sighting, but Nessie disappeared when we turned around.
Other historical sites in Inverness.
We then went to the Culloden Battlefield, where 1,500 Jacobites were killed in under an hour by the British, basically putting an end to the clans. In the Visitor Center, the battle is re-enacted in four screens all around you--it brings you to tears!
Each of these stones stands for a clansman who lost his life at the Battle of Culloden.
Finally, we visited a 4,000 year old burial ground where there are standing stones all around. Most all of the American, Diana Gabalden's ideas for her "Outlander" books were from the area around Inverness. We were able to do all this and still make it to the airport by noon! We will never forget the beautiful countries of Ireland and Scotland and the fantastic people we met there!
Touching the stone--then it took me right through it to another time! (Hah!)
We were able to do all this and still make it to the airport by noon! We will never forget the beautiful countries of Ireland and Scotland and the fantastic people we met there!
Tuesday through today - We have been so busy catching up on all our work that accumulated while we were gone. Fortunately, we are able to answer lots of emails on our phones, but there are some things that just have to be taken care of in the office.
Sorry this is so long, but with all these memories, if I don't write them down, I know I will forget them. Plus, this is my journal that I put on the blog with all the pics I take.
This past Monday was Preston's 12th birthday. What a joy he has been to the Wilde family, his extended family, and all who know him! Although he may be the caboose in his family of four boys, he keeps up with them all! He just received the Priesthood, and we know he will approach his assignments there just like he does everything else--with a great attitude and work ethic! Hope your day was great, Preston!
This past Monday was Preston's 12th birthday. What a joy he has been to the Wilde family, his extended family, and all who know him! Although he may be the caboose in his family of four boys, he keeps up with them all! He just received the Priesthood, and we know he will approach his assignments there just like he does everything else--with a great attitude and work ethic! Hope your day was great, Preston!
This Friday, April 1st, we remember that birth of our dear little Cannon. He would have been eight years old! It still brings me to tears thinking of this brave little fighter! Although we all want to eventually be where we know he is, we all still miss his sweet little countenance and the lessons we learned daily from him through his short almost four years on earth. We surely LOVE him so much and will never forget him!
We send our love to everyone! On another email, I sent out the information for our Copeland Family Reunion that will take place after we return to Salt Lake City on Monday, July 29th, so the reunion will begin July 30th in St. George. Please look that email over and RSVP by March 15th! We're so hoping for 100 percent attendance!
Love, Gma Laura
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