Christmas 2020

For Christmas this year, things were still a little unsettled.  While we had originally hoped to be in a new home by now, we were starting to realize we may be spending an extended time in the corporate apartment.  It also threw a wrench in school planning.  I had full intentions of Brenna attending either Atascocita or Kingwood High School.  Her 8th grade year was quickly coming to a close and if we were in the apartment when that happened, she was getting districted to Summer Creek.  This added even more concern to finding a home quickly because I really didn't want to switch high schools.  The whole point has always been that we would relocate with company as needed until she started high school and then we wanted to stay stationary for those 4 years.  It would be ridiculous that after all these moves she would have to change high schools simply because we couldn't find a house in the place we were already located!  But again, Covid's impact on the housing market was not making this an easy task.

We decided that spending Christmas in the apartment wasn't really what we wanted so we went home to Mississippi for Christmas for the first time since Brenna started Kindergarten.  It was a nice visit after being away for so long in Scotland.  We enjoyed the time with family, visited Christmas in Columbia for some ice skating on Main Street, and caught up with all the cousins. 

Coming to America - Back from Scotland

We've moved lots of times, but this particular move proved to be the most complicated of them all thanks to COVID.  All the things we thought we knew went out the window in these strange times and what we thought would be the usual 30 day turnaround on a relocation turned into nearly half a year before we finally found a place to call home.  

The first issue concerned packing.  Normally we would have a definitive time line on when our belongings would reach us on the other end.  Due to slowed ocean freight movements and rigorous inspection and sanitation processes, they were not able to give us an estimation on when we might have possession of our things back in the US.  So, we packed our suitcases as best we could.  What we didn't know at time is that the contents of these suitcases would be all we would have for nearly 5 months.  That information would have most definitely caused adjustments to my selection process, but hindsight is 20/20. 

Next, the normal journey home would have looked similar to our arrival, with a non-stop international flight directly from Edinburgh to New York.  Due to COVID, nearly all commercial travel across the Atlantic was suspended and flights were very limited and constantly getting canceled!  Since it does take some time to coordinator moving companies and freight carriers, we had two planned flight itineraries canceled prior to our actual departure.  Within the final week we were able to coordinate a plan that resulted in an extra-long return journey where we flew from Edinburgh to London, with an overnight stay at the hotel inside Hearthrow for an early morning departure.  

The Run Down - The Last from Scotland

Halloween 2020 - Covid Style

Absolutely no Trick or Treating in Scotland thanks to Covid!  So she dressed up in last years costume, complete with cat protective face mask!

London at the Last Minute

At this point in our time in the UK we had been notified that the company was pulling expats back home due to pandemic related issues.  We were very disappointed that our time was quickly coming to close and that the pandemic had nullified much of our plans for European travel.  However, there was also an overwhelming sense of relief to finally be going home, back to our family, back to America!  I don't recommend taking on a pandemic in a foreign country.  

A trip to London had been planned many times over, but the pandemic kept ebbing away at our opportunities.  Knowing that another lockdown was soon pending, we planned the trip, booked it, and waited cautiously ahead of the October break in hopes that we'd get to go.  In the week leading up to the trip the government announced that a new circuit breaker would be beginning soon, with the start date to be announced in the following days.  At this news, I contacted my travel agent and cancelled all the plans thinking that there'd be no point in traveling to London if everything was closed.  Just two days before the planned trip date the government announced that circuit breaker would be focused in the most affected areas rather than country wide.  No doubt, this was an effort to try to help keep a dwindling economy stumbling forward and not take another tremendous loss at the hands of another lockdown.  And as luck would have it, London was not scheduled to go into the circuit breaker.  I called my travel agent back that night and rebooked everything.  We packed up the next day and caught a nearly empty train to London!

Earl of Wemyss and Gosford House

One crisp Scottish morning, my very dear friend Michelle arranged for a private tour of Gosford House, which is a neoclassical country home owned by the Scottish Nobleman the 13th Earl of Wemyss.  The home serves as his holiday home, since his primary residence is in England.  

The estate was built in 1780 and sits on more than 5,000 acres that includes stables, an ice house, curling house (very unusually for Scotland), boat house, and the family mausoleum.  The estate includes 1,700 art pieces with original works by Da Vinci and Michelangelo.  The home has been host to the Queen Mother, Princess Margaret, and Princess Anne.  It's also been used in the filming of The Awakening and Outlander.  

But everything is not as it seems from the outside.  During World War 2 the British Army occupied the house and during a lively party burned down the center block of the home.  By the 1950s, areas of the house had been abandoned, left roofless, and significantly damaged by fire.  An aerial view of would show a hollowed north wing.  Only the south wing is functional, but it's glory still shines through.  The main part of the house is consumed by that extravagant three-story Marble Hall laddened with art and gleaming with natural light from the beautiful glass dome ceiling.

The idea that this is someone's personal home, who's not even in the monarchy, leaves me a little awestruck.  It was an interesting day touring the house and walking the grounds.

Belated Anniversary at The Fingal

Along with the many other travels that Covid eliminated, there was one particular trip that I was especially disappointed over.  Jacob and I tried to travel as much as we could during our early years of marriage, despite the limited resources and time off that goes along with being a new hire fresh out of college.  We even took a babymoon while I was 5 months pregnant, knowing it may be our last chance to travel as a couple for a while.  After Brenna was born, we continued to travel as often as we could, but having a baby on board completely changed not only the way we vacationed but also the destinations that we travelled to.  Some of our bucket-list destinations got put on the back burner for more kid friendly options like beach vacations and Disney World.  As she grew, so did her sense of adventure and love of travel, which was a joy for me to see except for one minor detail.  She loved to travel so much that the idea that we would leave her behind on any trip was a devastating thought to her!  And so, its been 13 years since Jacob and I had a "trip" for ourselves.  

But this year was gonna be the year that we snuck away!  It just so happened that Outdoor Education Week was scheduled for the same week in May as our anniversary.  Brenna would be off camping on a small island off the western coast of Scotland.  Jacob scheduled the time-off and I booked us a great 3-day getaway at the Trump Turnberry, also on the western coast of the Scotland, but alas, Covid struck and the pandemic destroyed our plans.  

We did get some consolation a few months later after Covid restrictions eased a bit.  We enjoyed a rare night out.  Brenna was spending the night at a friends house one weekend and we decided to take the opportunity to stay at the Fingal.  We combined two of our favorite things: ships (albeit, not a cruise) and food!

The Fingal was originally commissioned by the Northern Lighthouse Board in 1963 with the purpose of ferrying lighthouse keepers, essential supplies, and maintenance staff to lighthouses, as well as undertaking repairs to navigational aids throughout the West Coast and the North of Scotland. Fingal retired from lighthouse service in 2000.  After serving in several different capacities in the following years, The Royal Yacht Britannia Trust (caretakers of the Royal Yacht) acquired the ship in 2014.  With much planning and design work the ship undertook a £5m conversion over more than two years that transformed it into a luxury floating hotel with each of the 23 cabins onboard the Fingal named after one of the lighthouses in its previous service.

First Day of 8th Grade / S2 / U4

As the pandemic continues to rage on, the girls and the parents were all so excited to be able to go back to school in person (unfortunately, for what we would soon find out to be only a short while).  For someone as social as Brenna, online learning became tiresome and dull.  She was happy to be back with her friend!  

Our rhythm of school now follows the routine of dropping Brenna at a friends house every morning where the girls all congregate and walk to and from school together.  Its a good group of kids, it saves me from a little traffic congestion at the school's entrance, and the girls appreciate they're new found freedom, so its a win-win for everyone!

This is officially 8th grade middle school by US standards, S2 high school by Scotland measures, and Upper 4 according to St. Georges classifications.  

Fox Lake Adventure

The girls squeezed in one last adventure before the return to school.  Fox Lake is just outside of Edinburgh and it's an outdoors adventure park.  It has over-the-water rope courses, wake boarding water courses, ringo pulls, ziplines, and segway tours.  We had hoped for better weather, but that's not the kind of thing you can wait for in Scotland.  We've learned that if you want to do things, sometimes you have to do it in the rain!  

The girls started the day with a segway tour around the lake then they changed into wetsuits for a long day of wake boarding.  It was Brenna's first time wake boarding and I wasn't sure how well she's do.  After watching other people with little experience make attempts, it was apparent that your level of enjoyment was directly related to how long you could stay up on the board.  Otherwise, you're just being dragged around the lake in muddy cold water.  Luckily, she took to it easily and quickly mastered the art of the getting the board up in the water.  After several runs through the course the coaches began to teach her how to steer and maneuver.  Overall, her first wake boarding experience was a success!

Despite the less than desirable weather, we were fortunate not get any significant rain through out the day.  We all enjoyed lunch lake-side and the moms spent the day visiting.  After so long in lockdown, it was wonderful to have what felt like a normal day out with friends.  The start of school was right around the corner and future plans were uncertain due to the increase in covid cases.  We knew another lockdown was coming and we appreciated the opportunity to just be with friends.

Three Bridges Tour

Scotland summers are fleeting at best and with lockdown consuming a portion of that short time, we were determined to make the most of the time we had left before school (virtual or otherwise) began again.  One very chilly summer morning we decided to join friends for a boat tour onboard the Maiden of the Forth for a day out!  Both the girls as well as us moms were excited at the prospect of a whole day out of the house.  We joined the crew for a leisurely sail around the firth enjoying the sights and history of the bridges as well as Inchcolm Island.  

One highlight of Edinburgh is it's location nestled between the North Sea and the Firth of Forth (not to be confused with 5th of 4th).  Firth is a word used in the Scots language to refer to a coastal body of water.  We would think of it as a straight or an inlet.  Forth refers to the River Forth, which is one of the major rivers that feeds into the inlet that connects to the North Sea.  The famous Three Bridges stretch across the Firth of Forth to connect The Lothians with the Kingdom of Fife.  The three bridges sit side-by-side-by-side across the firth as a symbol of engineering evolution.

The first bridge was the Forth Rail Bridge that was completed in 1890 and provide a vital means of moving supplies across Scotland by railway.  The bridge was the first of it's kind as a cantilever suspension bridge made completely of steel, rather than iron.  Both the designer and contractor were knighted for their work on the Forth Rail Bridge.

The second bridge emerged as Britain’s road system flourished in the 1930s.  There became a clear need for more convenient vehicular passage between Edinburgh and Fife.  The bridge was approved in 1947, however due to numerous delays work did not begin until 1958.  The Forth Road Bridge was officially opened in 1964 as the fourth longest bridge in the world and the longest outside of the United States.

The Forth Road Bridge had a life expectancy of 120 years, but in the 21st century the planned capacity of 11 million vehicles per year had risen to more than 23 million.  A maintenance inspection conducted on the bridge in 2003 discovered that the main suspension cables had suffered a loss of 10% due to corrosion. The accelerated loss of strength threaten to limit the bridges capacity by 2014 with closure by 2019.  This information, along with the strategic transport importance of the bridge, prompted discussions for replacement.  In 2007 the Queensferry Crossing was approved at an estimated cost of $5.2 billion.  The bridge was completed in 2017.  Queensferry Crossing is the longest three-tower cable stayed bridge in the world and has more than 23,000 mile of cable.

Brenna’s 13th Birthday

Brenna’s 13th birthday was, like so many other things, hampered by Covid.  She very much wanted to have a big party with all her friends, but we were still under strict Covid restrictions that would only allow for a limit of three households indoors with a maximum of seven people.  Looking back we were really fortunate that her birthday fell during that time.  It wasn’t long before the restriction were reapplied and we wouldn’t have been able to have even the little gathering that we did do.  

Despite the limitations, we wanted to give her something special to mark her passage into her teenage years.  We used a creative interpretation of the rules and hoped that none of our neighbors took notice of the infraction and turned us in!  We counted Caitlin as part of our household, since she had technically been part of our social bubble through the previous weeks thanks to our Scotland getaway.  She invited two other friends and they had a fun celebration at home.  The cupcakes, pizza, and popcorn were free flowing.  There was a homegrown game of jeopardy that was all about the birthday girl and a role-play murder mystery that carried on for hours.  The girls stayed over and spent the entire night doing makeup and tiktok dances.  She’s got a great group of girls here and we were thankful to have the opportunity to celebrate with them.

Scottish Highland Adventure

Just a short two weeks after our England getaway, we were off again.  During lockdown, as we were patiently waiting for restrictions to lift, a friend and I planned a joint Highland adventure for our families not knowing whether we'd be able to actually take it or not.  As it turns out, it ended up being a celebratory trip!  We celebrated both Brenna and Michelle's birthdays.  We were trying to make the most of our very short, socially distanced, don’t leave the UK summer.  

  

The trip started with a curvy drive through Glencoe.  The highlands are incredibly beautiful!  Brenna snapped pictures along the drive of all the mountains and valleys.

English Country-Side Getaway

It's no secret how much I love travel and when we took this assignment I had dreams of making my way through as many European countries as possible during our time here.  Unfortunately, between the extended unexpected plant outage which was immediately followed by the four month covid lockdown, all my plans were laid to waste.  Over the course of the year I planned and canceled a fall Baltic cruise that covered Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Russia, Finland, and Sweden, a Christmas trip to Portugal, a winter break in London, and an Easter trip to Belgium and France.  My dream of a stamp-filled passport has fizzled! 

But!  My travel loving spirit would not be deterred!  Once we were granted access to the world beyond the four walls of our home, I booked a trip!  We were allowed to leave our homes, but not the UK, so I focused my efforts on all that Great Britain had to offer.  While I had originally hoped to do London, it had not fully reopened and still had it's fair share of the covid related restrictions.  Instead, I decided what better place to socially distance than in the English countryside!  

I've stated on this blog before that our family is not a fan of road trips.  I much prefer planes and cruising.  However, in an abundance of caution we decided to limit our exposure and drive across the country.  We split the trip into segments, both going and coming, and stopped off at attractions along the journey.  We left Edinburgh mid-morning and drove through south Scotland and into England.  Scotland is beautiful!  It's like driving through a Thomas Kinkade painting.  The little villages are nestled into the base of the rolling green hills with streams and wildflowers scattered about.  The further south you go the terrain changes and England doesn't have that same fairytale type feel.  

Five hours into our drive, we reached our first stop at Liverpool, home of the Beatles.  We stayed right alongside Albert Docks and were blessed with some amazing weather that allowed us to really enjoy all the shops and activities during our time there.  We took in some shopping at Liverpool One, which was exciting in itself since we hadn't done it in so long.  We enjoyed lunch out (that I didn't have to cook!), frantically raced to beat an Alice in Puzzleland escape room, and enjoyed dessert (and even breakfast the next morning) at Heavenly Desserts.  Liverpool was an interesting town to see and provided a great kicked off for our time away.

Coronavirus, Covid, or Kung Flu! Oh My!

These three memes most accurately capture my sentiments on the current world pandemic.  

7th Grade (S1) School Highlights

This school year has been an adventure on so many levels!  It will certainly be one that won't be forgotten.  Brenna started St. George's all-in, being completely enamored with all the choices.  The course selections were incredible!  In total she was enrolled for 17 classes for her regular school day.  What we consider as core classes (Math, Science, History, and English) were broken down into Physic, Chemistry, Biology, Modern History, Religion and Philosophy, Geography, Double Math, Double English, and Library.  Then add in supportive classes like Food Technology, Drama, Art, Music, Physical Education, Product Design, Information and Communication Technologies, and finally a wide selection of Languages to chose from, of which two were required.  Brenna chose French and Spanish, although she's trying to convenience me to switch one to Mandarin for next year.  She also jumped right into extracurricular activities with things she already loved and picked-up lots of new activities that would only be available to us here in Britain.  She signed on for Choir, Debate, Judo and Self Defense, Field Hockey, and Lacrosse.  Needless to say her schedule was packed with both before and after school activities four out of the five days a week and the sports competitions spilling over into the weekends.  Normally, I would have pumped the breaks on all these activities, but the school made everything very accommodating.  School actually felt like an extension of home.  I contribute it to the boarding school environment.

Her broad range of activities connected her with lots of friends.  And since the school is very international, her friend group was a wide collection of nationalities, not just from Scotland, but also England, Switzerland, Spain, and France.  It's been a very enlightening cultural experience.  The school also did a great job of supplementing the all-girls experience with joint activities with our brother school, Merchiston Castle all-boys school.  There were sports days, ceilidhs (a traditional Scottish country dance), and dances.