The Parents Visit pt 2

Hello all!

We awoke to mostly sunny skies today, and so after some waffles for breakfast it was decided a quick jaunt up Craiglockhart to be followed by a visit to the Royal Botanical Gardens was in order. A worse day plan could not have been thought up. Halfway down the road to Craiglockhart, a steady drizzle started falling, even Audry didn't put up a fuss upon turning around. As we entered the front gate of the flat, lo and behold, the sun! Out to the Royal Botanical Gardens it was.

March might not have been the best month to go out, but with the sun showing again we thought at least the grounds would be pretty and the glasshouses would be fun to wander through. As we got off the bus we were greated with our second least favorite weather of Scotland, the gale winds. Walking the grounds now seemed a bit daft, but the glasshouses would be nice and warm.

Glass houses, what a great idea! The only problem is they closed them down right as we arrived due to high winds. Wonderful, now what. Off to lunch for a quick regroup, we figured we were out here, might as well explore the grounds. Though wind blown, we did get to enjoy some parts. There is an amazing beech hedgerow that is over 100 years old. It stands at 20 ft high, and without all the leaves it was incredible how thickly intergrown the branches had become.

Onto the Queen Mother's Garden. Usually covered in roses and hedges, it was slightly tired looking, but what do you expect, it is March in Scotland. The gazeebo in the back of the garden was well worth the walk. Inside, the walls were completely covered in seashells, to the point where it could be mistaken for wall paper, and the ceiling made out of pine cones. There was some serious effort involved in the interior, and we were all impressed with the skill and workmanship that went into it.

With the wind continuing to beat on us, it was time to head back to the house. One can only take so much wind before all you want to do is sit down and not have air moving around you. It was also time to Skype with family back home and make sure everybody was doing fine with all the snow back in Rhode Island.

All that was left was dinner, so Montpelier's it was. A good hot meal and everybody was ready for bed. Walking 4.5 miles in gale force winds will make even the strongest willed person ready to crash out at 9:30.

More soon.

-L&A