November 27, 2008 by admin.

After leaving Inverness I headed down to Edinburgh where i had booked a 3 day Highland adventure. For the one night I was in Edinburgh I stayed at the Budget Backpackers Hostel. This hostel is great! There nothing esthetically spectacular about it, what makes it amazing is the staff and there way of looking at backpacking/hostel life. They go above and beyond the call of duty when it comes to socializing and entertainment. Every weeknight they have a free pub crawl (the hostel is surrounded by great little quiet pubs), every day at 11:00 they do a free walking tour of Edinburgh. They do pool tournaments and movie nights. all the staff are very friendly… sorry, enough about the hostels character. so I knew before the pool tournament and pub-crawl that i had to be up at like 7:30 to walk to the tour office. I knew that i had to leave the pub crawl early to go to bed early. I knew that if i enjoyed myself too much that first night that i would not enjoy the next morning. I knew that none of that would ever happen. i went on the pub crawl with every intent of leaving early and not drinking too much, but like i do i got caught up in people and conversations and drink. i looked at the time 10:15… OK cool I can do one more pub then its time to go. I looked at the time again 1:20… fuck.

The Tour:

The next morning i got up at 7:30 for the tour… it hurt…ALLOT! I made it to the tour office though. Aside from the need for a nap i was actually doing pretty good. We headed out. 16 of us and our tour guide. i feel it will be hard to describe the tour, but i will do my best, i think i will stick with the social parts and not bore you with the sights. our tour guide was very good at getting us to meet each-other, and by the time we arrived at the place we were going to be staying we had gotten to know each-other pretty well. After we had all checked in we walked into town for a demonstration on what it was like to be a Scott in the times of William Wallace. It was very cool demonstration, they showed us the weapons and all the ways of life including the clothing and how to wear it. when they asked for model volunteers i was the only guy to raise his hand, i mean why not when in Rome… Scotland. anyway, standing in-front of the 15 people i had met that morning, the demonstrator says ”so this being a demonstration of tradition, you have to be true to tradition,” the Scottish did not wear anything under their kilts. “drop ‘em , son” Crazy Sexy ken said to me (yes that is what he called himself), i laughed it off. “we are all waiting, take off your trousers,” “is he serious?” i asked one of my fellow travelers. “serious as a blood infection” says C.S. Ken, and i must say this was the first time i had to be talked out of my pants ( there would be pictures but i can’t get my camera to talk to a computer with out it crashing). after some coaxing from the women in the crowd and a quick check to see if i was actually wearing undies, i was standing in-front of 15 people who were no-longer strangers in nothing but red boxer-shorts with corn-dogs printed all over them. I am very glad I am a man of very little conviction. After the demonstration i needed a very stiff drink so We walked through the little one road town at the mouth of Loch Ness and had a very good meal of fish ’n’ chips , 4 Aussies a kiwi and myself. then we headed back to the hostel and settled in for a night in the hostel bar. Side bar- our guide asked us at the beginning to come up with a clan name, something original. so after a few beers we decided on clan McDirty-Jocks in lew of my earlier performance, and we had our clan tartan, red with little corn-dog prints.

The next day we went out to the Isle of Skye. this island is very sparsely populated. our guide told us of a tour he did for a sorority from the states (41 giggling 18, 19, and 20 year-old collage girls and one guy). when they went in to town of a night of drinking they filled a little pub that had the usual 3 or 4 drunk toothless Scott’s. the bar tender looked at the guide and said let me make a few calls. 20 minuets later all the 14-16 year old boys from town were in there just looking mouths agape. they had never seen that many women in one place ever before. i just wondered who the one guy in there group was and how could i be him. after our day on Skye we returned to the hostel where one of the 5 day tours had arrived for there last night of the tour. Needless to say there was much revelry and drinking. towards the end of the night, i came up with a great idea… how may times in your life are you staying next to loch ness all boozed up with a ton of like minded people, and what would be the one thing that i have never heard anyone doing? this is what i thought, and the answer was never and skinnydipping! so i organised a skinnydipping party. and sorry there are no pictures… its cold, and i don’t need any more jokes about my… corn-dog. point is have you ever gone skinnydipping in loch ness?

day 3 our last day

this was a mostly uneventfull day. We just headed back to Edinburgh. we did happen to stop for lunch and I had haggis! it was actually very good, once you got past what you were eating. when we got back we all decided to meet up that night and decompress and talk and drink a little. it was allot of fun. i would (and have) recommend the haggis tour to any and all looking for a tour.

sorry this took so long to get out, i have been… distracted. more to come

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November 18, 2008 by admin.

why is it that whenever you start talking about music it always leads to politics? seriously, every damn time! When I was in Inverness  on my last night I found myself in the middle of a debate about Scottish politics where a minuet before we had been discussing the greatness that is the Seattle music scene.

let me set this up for you, I had gone to a bar to see some music (the good stuff is few and far between here) and went out back to get a breath of fresh air, and ended up not going back in untill the end of the night. Out back some of the offduty barstaffwere sitting around discussing some local band by the name of Biffy Clyro (check them out, they are going to blow up big) the way I got into the conversation was they were saying that they have been disribed as a Scottish Foo Fighters (i guess i can hear it i say they are more of a scottish Finch but a bit more popy, so i say hey they are from my home town, and everyone stoped and looked at me… oh shit did say something wrong? “where you from” one asked. I lookedaround and said Seattle and the guy took a drag of his cigarette and moved down and said “come and sit, lets talk music.” and thus we were off to the races, we were talking about all sorts of stuff, favorite bands, most overrated bands, best shows, festivals; by the end we had our ipods out and introducing eachother to new bands… a very kindred spiret, FINALLY! just then i hear our friends start getting into a very  heated debate on scottish polotics. one supporting secession from england one with the opposit view. so i say “what are you two getting on about?” they both stoped and looked at me… Shit… why isit that i cant just keep my mouth shut? “what do you know about it, Yank?” “nothing,” i say “thats why i asked, id like to know” that was a mistake. i didn’t get up for an hour geting talked to and educated on scottish polotics. one was very open and enjoyable to talk with (mr. secession) the other guy didn’t like me because i was an american but when i pushed him he had no supporting reasons on why, and most time he just said “i’d like to tell you more but im here with lilly and i should realy get back to her” (she was fine by the way, having a good talk about cloths with her friend) . I must say it was the best conversation i have had since i came here, firey, invigorating, and passonate for all. i went home after we closed down the bar, and got up to go to Edinburgh in the morning. the next day i left for my 3 day tour of the highlands. ill tell you more about that later, but a litle preview… there is a loch ness monster, he’s not a big green lizzard, he is more lightly collored and very hairy (i suppose its due to the coldness of the loch).

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November 14, 2008 by admin.

ok so it is the halfway point on my trip, and I have been in Inverness and a tour of the highlands and now Edinburgh since we last spoke… since I last spoke to you… since I spoke at you…. forget it. I will fill you in on those stories soon, and trust me they are good. i just wanted to celebrate this momentous occation with you all, WOOHOO! So let the water flow like wine… scratch that, reverce it. through on bon jovi’s livin on a prayer and drink some thing tastey for me. you will all hear from me soon.

 live it, love it!

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November 10, 2008 by admin.

to get you all up to date,

Kilkenny (you bastards!)-

It was very cold when I got in. The hostel was very small I think maybe 15 people total. I lucked out also because most of them were young. I met two girls the first night, both named Erin, one 18 and one 20. Usually I wouldn’t have spent too much time with them, but one was cool, and they were really the only people I found so we went out grabbed a couple of beers and went home. When we were at the pub a couple of kids came in with painted faces and asked for spare change. Usually I would have thought this odd but I was told of this Halloween tradition by my friend tony before I left. The next day we tried to go do some sights (of which there were few) but it was too wet and cold so we went and made lunch then watched breakfast club at the hostel. That night we made friends with a pair who met on a tour and decided to travel around together. Her name was Shari and his name was Ben, so we had two Erin’s two Ben’s and a Shari. the next day we toured kilkenny (you bastards!) castle. that was cool but they wouldn’t let us take pictures :( That night we all went to get drinks and found some great “trad” music. The next day one of the Erin’s and I hitched a ride from Kilkenny (you bastards!) to Dublin with the other Ben and Shari. from there I took the train to Belfast.

Belfast-

That was an interesting place… I know the fighting has been over for a little while but the tension in the air was almost tangible. I never saw anything that would lead you to believe it was nothing but a peaceful happy city, but everywhere I went and every second I was there I felt very uncomfortable. It was the only place I have been so far that I left early. I got in Halloween night, and as you have read before, thought I had happened on a time warp of some kind. Fireworks and screaming all night. The next day I wandered for a bit and found myself a quiet little coffee shop, not good coffee but a nice barista who made for good conversation and she was quite easy on the eyes. That night I referred to a N.Y. Times article ( http://travel.nytimes.com/2008/10/19/travel/19Belfast.html?8dpc) sent to me by my very own Saint Christopher, my dear Aunt Carol. The article as you will read (and you should) is about Belfast regaining its voice and culture. I checked out a few places in the article and was impressed by the ability of some of these musicians. All the same I left in the morning for Glasgow.

Glasgow-

I took the ferry from Belfast to Stranner very, very early in the morning. This is what my dear Grandfather would call “the worlds smallest ferry”… this thing was gargantuan it was called the Stena HSS. it had 4 movie viewing areas, 3 cafes, an arcade, 2 kids play areas, 3 lounges, a store, 2 bars, 3 restaurants Internet kiosks, A NAIL PARLOR, a teen hangout, and 2 or 3 casino areas… big. After the ferry I took the train to Glasgow. Glasgow was not very nice; dirty, grimy, and not all that much fun. The first night I did go see Longhorn Slim and the War Eagles, and yes Ouis I met them all hung out and drank beers with them and next time they come to Seattle I can almost promise, you and I will kick it with them. Very cool guys, I got great pictures and videos. The next day I found myself in full on cold mode, runny nose cough the works, but that didn’t stop me from wandering around and seeing the town… in retrospect I should have stayed in and taken care of my self, but how often will I be in Glasgow…? That night I was at the bar in the basement of the hostel and met some guys going to the Slayer show, they told me to come with them but thank god I don’t like Slayer. So I stayed at the bar and met some people from Frankfurt in town for the Oasis show the next day. They were fun but drank too much and got drunk too easily…

I’m writing all of this too fast and missing some great stories, so ask me later and I’ll give you the details…

Any way I have a friend who moved here just before i went on my trip to go to veterinary school at the University of Glasgow but I didn’t at the time have her number, i do now through no small effort (again ask for the story later). We were going to have coffee but I found out that my train was leaving for Fort William an hour before out coffee date. So I had to bail on her… but now I have a reason to go back and give Glasgow a second chance (shes a bit of a looker) and this time I wont be in the gritty city center.

Fort William-

Holly crap the highlands are amazingly beautiful and vast and empty. I love it. For those of you who don’t know the story (and correct me if I get facts wrong) Fort William was built to help in the stopping of the Jacobite rebellion. Bonny Prince Charlie had his eyes set on the throne of England, and the English didn’t like that so the kicked his ass and raided Scotland killing or deporting any and all suspected supporters of the Bonny Prince. So back to Fort William, my ancestors, the Cameron Clan lived and ran the area just west of Fort William called Glen Nevis (and still do). They happened to be some of those Bonny Prince Charlie followers that were deported (this is the reason you all are cursed with knowing me). Any-who, this is where I stayed. I swear to god not 100 yards from “the mound of evil council” ask for the story later. The hostel was at the base of the highest mountain in all of the UK called Ben Nevis :). I would have climbed it but, I was too cold ridden so I just wandered the glen looking for family stuff. I had no idea where any of this stuff was so I walked to the Glen Nevis visitor center and asked. If I had known what I was walking into I would have brought more things too find… and a tape recorder. Those guys running the visitors center must not get allot of visitors, and the ones they do get must just go in and ask where Ben Nevis is, to which I imagine and hope they respond, “you see that big thing… the one made of rock… yeah that’s it.” When I asked about Cameron Clan points of interest they light up and went and got topographical maps, books on the history of the glen, brought up websites, bantered, bickered, and poked fun at each other… It was great! I found quite a few places but I never got to find Samuel’s Cave (where my ancestors hid from raiding parties) sorry mom, I know exactly where it is but its hard to get to and off the path. After Fort William I headed to Inverness, where I am now. You will get the story about here after I leave.

sorry this one is was long but now you are all caught up. Hope you enjoyed it and ask about stories.

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November 6, 2008 by admin.

I promis i haven’t droped off the face of the earth. im in Glen Nevis just outside of Fort William, Scotland. if you are a part of my Family this was and still is the place where the Cameron Clan lived. I have pictures, all to come soon.

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November 3, 2008 by admin.

I have been very badly not holding up to my end of the bargain, you all read ‘em but I haven’t been writin’ ‘em. So with out further adieu… Galway.

As it was described to me Galway should be known as “The Great Galway,” no one hated Galway, and I heard nothing but good things about it. I can see why they would say that; it felt like an idyllic Irish city from the 1800’s except for all the tourists. I heard very few Irish accents during my 4 days there, aside from store clerks and bar workers. It is a great jumping off point for the ring of Kerry and most of the little towns to the north. There is a standing energy around Galway that you can’t help but notice. Everyone is happy and chip and generally in good moods. But it wasn’t what I had expected or wanted to see.

I had met up with a kiwi girl named Julie who was looking for work when I was down in Cork, and it just so happened that she was going to be in my hostel in Galway. So I didn’t have to worry about not knowing anyone. The only problem was that it didn’t force me to go out and meet people. It is very easy to slip into a comfortable situation and not put yourself out there, which can be cancer for a lone traveler. I found myself only doing things with her and another American girl who was also there to find work. They had no money to do fun things so we only did the free stuff. Though it was, fun it required being in the 32 degree temperature for entirely too long. So after about two days of this I decided I was going to venture out on my own. This is when I picked up my sweater from Omilee’s. Quick little bit of history for you all, in 1952 John Ford and Hollywood descended on a small village outside of Galway to film a movie staring John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara. It is about an American boxer who quits the ring to find his childhood village and settle down for a more subdued way of life. Omilee’s was the store that outfitted the entire cast. This is one of my favorite movies by the way. So when I saw the store I had to go in. The nice, patiant lady that ran the place helped me pick out a very warm and soft sweater, after realising that I had a knack for picking out women’s attire. It went something like this,

“Oooh I like this one.”

“Now that, my boy, is made for ladies.”

“Oh, OK… WOW this one is nice!”

“Now that one is for ladies also, why don’t you try this one on it is a very nice one and popular with the men in the town.”

“oh, OK… Ill take it!”

It is a very nice manly sweater. I didn’t know this but the patterns in the wool tell your fortune or bring you good tidings.

The next day I rallied the hostel troupes for a night of fun and revelry. Again it seemed we had a meeting of the Jr. UN ambassadors, French, American, New Zealand, Australian, Italian, Spanish, and i think one Germain were all represented. We found a very large pub that was playing some “trad” music (don’t worry dad i got video), where we stayed for the rest of the night. I met a very sweet, pretty, american girl who was teaching English in France and living with ’sigh’ her boyfriend. But we watched the music, and drank, and laughed, and tried to understand the Spaniard who had been speaking English for about 4 days. Then went back to the hostel for what was going to be for some, a very short nights sleep.

Then I headed to Kilkenny (you bastards!), which will be the next entry.

Till then, remember, Heart is where the home is.

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November 1, 2008 by admin.

Stepping out of the Belfast central train station i am hit with repeated concussions from huge blasts. I look around and i am the only one that is put off by the fact that everyone in the train station has passed through some sort of time warp to the battle field of years ago. the repeated concussions are frequent enough that moments of peace are less then those of booms and pop, pop, pops. I soon realize that its not the aggressions rekindled but the revelry of Halloween. as i look to the sky the flashes of pink, blue, green, and red fireworks light up the overcast night in a sort of visual percussive concert. Halloween is much more of a celebrated event here and not just the excuse for young men to dress-up like beer kegs and superheros and the young women to become scantily clad faerie book characters and shiver uncontrollably (which they all do with great enthusiasm) but to celebrate a holiday which originated here and has a deeper meaning for the citizens. The drumming of distant and near fireworks went long into the night as did the screaming and shouting of the revelers dressed in varying states of disguise.

I have been too long from a computer so i have allot of updating to do from Galway and Kilkenny (you bastards!) and they will come soon, i just felt like i had to write this while it was still fresh in my head. quick bit on both; i was told that Galway was amazing and i would not want to leave not as true as i was led to believe. Kilkenny (you bastards!) was very small, quiet, quaint, and calm and i did definitely liked it allot, though i didn’t get to see as much of it as i wanted to.

after Belfast i Will head north to Scotland to find my families historical cave of hiding along with “the hill of evil council” (swear to god that’s what its called), Galway for concerts Edinburgh for what i hear is the most fun city in all of the British isles.

keep checking in for updates.

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