A Record of a Lifetime of Wanderlust
Blaringone, Scotland When we checked into our first Airbnb, I was immediately taken with the scenery in our backyard. I took a photo, sent it to my brother, and he succinctly replied, “Looks like home.” In all honesty, all I could think about was just how much this place looked like the Sauratown Mountains of…
Berwick-upon-Tweed, England Visiting Berwick-upon-Tweed was a fantastic step back in time. However, being able to take a cruise on the River Tweed was an absolute treat. We booked a cruise on Berwick Boat Trips, which was very easy to do online. We booked the Evening Extended Estuary Trip, but there are many options available on…
Berwick-upon-Tweed, England On our 2026 trip to Scotland, my mother had a simple request. She requested a side trip to England, as she had never been. While planning the trip, I researched Berwick-upon-Tweed, the town that is the Northern-most in England. After looking at what the town had to offer, Berwick-upon-Tweed became a great afternoon…
Edinburgh, Scotland All good stories take inspiration and perspiration, and it is inspiring when you can find sites that are directly related to a beloved story. While we were in Edinburgh, we saw a couple of locations directly related to the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling. The Harry Potter series began in earnest when…
Edinburgh, Scotland The definition of loyalty: Bobby was a Skye Terrier who belonged to a man named John Gray, a 19th-century Edinburgh Policeman. In February 1858, John Gray passed away, and a remarkable occurrence happened. Every day for 14 years, Bobby would come to his former master’s grave in the Greyfriars Kirkyard Cemetery. At first,…
Edinburgh, Scotland Going into my senior year of high school, the entire world changed. On July 5th of that summer, Dolly was born, becoming the first-ever cloned mammal. Dolly was cloned from an adult ewe and developed into a full-fledged sheep. During Dolly’s life, she was born as a normal lamb, but she seemed to…
Edinburgh, Scotland The National Museum of Scotland has a wealth of treasures, where you can imagine archaeologists going around and telling people that their items belong in a museum. Scotland is home to a rich cultural history of its own, so the National Museum of Scotland is divided into major sections; the first focuses primarily…
Alloa, Scotland, and Glasgow, Scotland Many places around the globe have their specific regional drink that they call their own. Here in North Carolina, we actually have two beloved regional beverages in Cheerwine and Sun Drop. For a state that was the birthplace of Pepsi Cola, that is quite an impressive feat. For Scotland, the…
Edinburgh, Scotland The oldest building in Edinburgh stands at its highest point and is a chapel dedicated to Queen Margaret, the only member of Scottish royalty to have been granted sainthood. Margaret’s story is interesting, as she was born in modern-day Hungary, the daughter of an exiled Prince Edward, who had a claim to the…
Edinburgh, Scotland Edinburgh Castle towers over the city and the surrounding area. At the highest point in Edinburgh, Iron Age warriors built a fort on the site of the current castle, and a castle has stood there for around 1000 years. King Malcolm III of Scotland first built Edinburgh Castle in the 11th century, but…