Exploring Aberdeenshire...

Wooooohooooooo!!!! Sarah gave me permission to do a guest post or two for her while she’s off gallivanting around Europe!

First: An Introduction. I’m Kaitlin. I am the daughter of the Bringer of the Kraft Dinner/Mac ‘n’ Cheese. You may remember my mug from her post “The Minor Fall, The Major Lift.” I’m also Sarah’s coolest neighbor here in Aberdeen and The Donator of Travel Supplies. Oh, and I go to school with her hubby. When I’m not creeping on Sarah’s blog, you can catch me on my blog, Adventures of the Mischief Machine. But, for now, I’M HERE!

So, as I sit deep in thought over what my contribution to Ocean in Your Bedroom should be instead of, you know, writing my paper for school, I can’t help but wonder…. What would Sarah do if I raided her closet?

Hmm….. That might be worth exploring a bit later on.

For now, I think I will dress out of my own wardrobe and share some of my other adventures.

The View of The River Dee from the Bridge to Balmoral Castle

So, I spend a lot of time complaining about Aberdeen. However, since coming back to Aberdeen after my winter holidays, I've been attempting to explore the area a bit better so no one can give me crap about it when I go home in January. My mom came to visit me at the beginning of April and it forced me to put my thinking cap on, so here's a short list of things we did, things we thought about, and things we didn't have the time for.

• Aberdeen Beach and Foot Dee--It almost never fails that whenever I make the effort to walk to the beach, it rains but, when it's nice out, the beach is kind of tranquil. The little fishermen's village is adorable and the beach huts are pint-sized and perfect. If you're craving a lawn gnome sighting, this is the perfect place to go.
• Balmoral Castle--This is the Queen's summer home out in Braemar. It's open to the public for just a couple months out of the year, and although you don't get much of a chance to see the inside of the castle, the grounds are just as beautiful. It's situated in the Cairngorms, which are home to rolling hills (mountains, by Scottish terms), highland cows, lots of sheep and ponies, and beautiful views. In September, the Braemar Games will be on, and I am determined to make it back out there for another truly Scottish experience.
• Dunnottar Castle--These ruins are just south of Aberdeen in a town called Stonehaven. I did a placement in a community hospital down there and used my Season Train Pass to head out there on the weekend. It's an adorable little harbor town and home to the deep-friend Mars bar. The castle itself is about a mile hike outside of city centre, but it's a beautiful hike along the coast line and the views are breathtaking. One of my favorite parts about Dunnottar is that visitors have a lot more freedom to explore the castle. It didn't seem like as many parts of the castle were restricted to explorers like being at Edinburgh Castle or Balmoral.
• Allenvale Cemetery--I admit that this one is a bit creepy, but it's a beautiful cemetery by Duthie Park and there really is something so majestic about it. Most of it's residents passed away back in the 17- and 1800s, back when the Granite industry was at its finest here in Aberdeen. The headstones are huge and intricate. I was quite surprised to find that there was usually one headstone for a whole family, but that each family member had a short little blurb about them on it. The blurbs usually included things like place and date of birth, place and date of death, occupation, place of internment, and who they were survived by. I also found it really interesting to see design trends by the decades and naming trends throughout time and families.
• Inverness--It's about a two-hour train ride to Inverness and, while I've spent a lot of time there on placement, I didn't get a chance to take my mom. I keep telling Brandon and Sarah that we'll have to go up there to see my friend's band play though. There are lots of places to visit in and around Inverness, but it is tinier than Aberdeen, so it doesn't really take more than a long weekend.
• Edinburgh--About a three-hour train ride away, this is the capital of Scotland. I've been here for a few brief day trips and decided to bring my mom out to explore for a day. We visited the Royal Yacht Brittania and Edinburgh Castle. Edinburgh Castle has great views, but it's set up a lot like a museum, which makes it not quite as exciting for me. The Royal Yacht Brittania was awesome though. It's like a mini cruise liner. It was a lot of fun to see how the Queen traveled up until 1997 when it was decommissioned. I definitely recommend this for anyone visiting Edinburgh. I'm looking forward to heading back to Edinburgh in August for the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo. I just love seeing all the troops perform!
• Isle of Skye--So, I haven't been here yet, but I'm determined to go before I leave Scotland. It's the biggest island in the Western Hebrides, and supposedly there are some amazing walks, sheep and places to just hang out. Although, I've been told it's rather touristy, so I should attempt to explore some of the smaller islands as well.

Well, I believe that's it for me just now. I think, this weekend, I might try to play dress-up with Sarah's clothes, so hopefully I'll be able to update you on that with some funny photos before Sarah get's back from her travels.

À bientôt!