Monsoon Fun

I'm taking a break from posting about my vacation...I'll get the second half up shortly. So consider this post a brief intermission.

Okay. I had a little visitor camping out in my backyard last night. It was time for bed so I went to call my dogs inside for the night. I noticed that my dog Coco was paying particular attention to the grill on my patio so after I more forcefully told her to get inside, I took a better look at the grill to see what was going on. I saw something big moving underneath of it. Now I was freaking out!

For those of you who know me know that I am a BIG scardy cat when it comes to creepy crawlies and critters of almost all types (especially the dreaded spider). Immediately I thought that the thing that had the nerve to hide under my grill was a tarantula. I went into instant protective mode (for myself or my dogs, I'm not sure) and shut the back door very forcefully. That would teach it!! But now I had a problem. If I ignored the critter than my dogs would hunt it down and kill it in the morning. What if it was something poisonous?

I decided to put on my big girl panties and take care of the problem. I shut my dogs in my bedroom so they wouldn't run out of the back door when I opened it and then I got my flashlight and a tupperware container and went hunting. After searching the area around my grill for a minute or two (and getting scared by the light of my flashlight...I was jumpy, what can I say?) this is what I found.

A FROG!! In my backyard!! How does this happen? I can understand snakes and spiders, crickets, and roaches...but frogs? This is the desert after all. Wierd! The only expanation is that it is monsoon time and my neighbors (who have been gone for quite awhile) have a pool in their backyard. Perfect place for frogs to live and breed.

I got my tupperware container and went into action. Thankfully frogs are not one of the critters that I am afraid of so it was easy to get it inside it's plastic prison. And I'm sure my neighbors were glad it wasn't a tarantula so they would not have to listen to me screaming bloody murder every time it twitched.




Now what should I do with it? I decided to march the frog through my house and out the front through my garage. It seemed like a better plan than tossing it over the wall and into my neighbor's pool or giving it a thrilling ride through the city septic system. I left it on the curb to fend for itself (or to hitch a ride to somewhere other than my backyard).


I was pretty proud of myself at this point. I took care of a critter problem without breaking down in hysterical sobs and saved my dogs from the fate of eating a potentially poisonous frog. I went back to the bedroom to free my dogs and guess what I found? Guess how they decided to reward me for saving their lives?

One of them PEED on my BED!!!! Yep...good times.

The Best of Britain and Ireland: Day 6

Hooray for Scotland!! I was so surprised that Scotland turned out to be my favorite place that we visited on the trip. I loved the scenery, the history, and of course the accents. The first thing we did this morning before entering Scotland was to visit a part of Hadrian's Wall in Northern England. This wall was built by the Romans as a military fortification of the northern border of their hold in Great Britain.

Hadrian's Wall

After leaving Hadrian's Wall we drove into Scotland and stopped at the border. We were greated by a bagpipe playing Scotsman dressed in the traditional kilt. I thought this was the perfect way to start our day in Scotland. :)

Our welcoming Scotsman...doesn't he look good in blue. ;)

Our next stop was a "comfort" stop but we got to view the beautiful Jedburgh Abbey founded by King David I in 1138.

Jedburgh Abbey

Our next stop for Lunch was in the town of Melrose. Of course they had an Abbey as well, the Melrose Abbey. It is said that the heart of Robert the Bruce is enshrined here. Pretty morbid but I learned that the Scots love Robert the Bruce (more on that tomorrow).

Melrose Abbey

Melrose Abbey

We walked around the town for awhile. It wasn't very big but there were some interesting shops. Erin bought some earrings there so she could say she got something on Melrose. ;)

Our next stop of the day was the grand city of Edinburgh. I would LOVE to visit there again! We were there for about a day and a half but there was so much that we didn't get to see. (I see another trip coming on!)

A beautiful building in Edinburgh

When walking towards the information center in Edinburgh, Erin and I passed some bagpipers playing their toons. I think I must be my father's daughter because I really liked hearing the echo of the bagpipes in the city. At the information center, we got a map of the city and began our plan of attack.

View from a bridge crossing over into Edinburgh old town

Erin and I decided to go walking the Royal Mile which is about 1 Scots mile running between the Edinburgh castle at the top and the Holyrood Abbey at the bottom. The roadway is very steep and is lined with tall buildings, cathedrals, and of course, many, many shops. One of the first shops we stopped in was a jewelry store where I got a bracelet made out of heather. The stems of the heather are bound together, shaved down, dyed pretty colors, polished up, and made to look like a stone.

A street view on the Royal Mile


A cathedral on the Royal Mile

A view of the city

Erin and I made our way back to the bus and after settling into our hotel room, we left for an excursion...a traditional Scotish night (at least that is what they called it). There was singing and dancing as well as story telling. At the end of the night they had the "Ceremony of the Haggis". Where they brought out this scary looking blob of something on a bed of antlers...yes you saw that right...antlers!! The host of the evening said something in Scots Gaelic over the haggis and then stabbed it with a sword. Then he ate some of it and invited all of us to try some. The waiters and waitresses brought us each a plate with a pile of haggis and a pile of mashed potatoes and turnips. So Erin and I decided to be brave and try it. It actually wasn't too bad. It was very spicy (I'm sure to hide whatever other flavors were in there). But I'm glad that I tried it...just to say that I did.

PROOF!! Erin and I tried Haggis.

Next Up: Another day in Edinburgh