Trip Report
Monday, March 28, 2005
We started a little later today, having breakfast at 7:30 and leaving on the coaches at 9:00.
We traveled through the new part of Edinburgh on our way to the Britannia, which is the Royal
Yacht. Although the last time the yacht actually traveled was during the six month honeymoon
of Prince Charles and Lady Di, it’s still used for special occasions and special diplomatic
dinners. The "walls" between rooms can be removed and the table extended so there can be 250
served. Each person had his own hand-held talking device that told about most of the rooms and
the purpose of each one. We "visited" bedrooms, galleys, the laundry room, and even the garage
which houses a Rolls Royce. The method used to get it and out of the garage is quiet elaborate.
The tour ended with a gift shop in a very nice three level mall in which the travelers shopped
and had lunch. (Don’t be surprised if your daughters return home with new shoes. The way these
girls ran toward the shoe stores would make you believe Americans didn’t have shoes stores, but
since my own daughter has 3 pairs more than she started with and I have an extra one myself, I
have to say, the shoes are cute here. Actually Mr. Kreischer was also seen in new shoes doing
a little dance and saying, "I have happy feet.")
Before I continue I must point out that today was the weather we all feared we’d have the whole
time we were here. It rained all day. After lunch we were bussed to the Holyrood Palace. We
saw the outside a couple of days ago when we walked up the Royal Mile, but we didn’t have the
opportunity to tour it until today. We were able to go into the palace and see the home in which
the Royal family stays when in Scotland. It was interesting to see royal possessions that date
back hundreds of years. For example, we saw a lock of Mary Queen of Scots hair and a bit of her
needle work. We also learned that she was almost six feet tall. Once again we had personal
handheld devices that allowed us to tour at our own pace.
When we were done with the tour we were free to do what we wanted. Many of the students felt
like they had made the transition to true Scotsmen today as they walked through the rain for
a least a couple of miles without complaint. Some of the others ventured onto the public
transportation (double decker buses) to protect themselves from the rain a bit. Fortunately it
wasn’t as cold as yesterday even though there was a lot more rain.
After dinner the students had free time with their groups. Due to the rain and the constant
feeling of always being on-the-go, many of the groups chose to remain in the hotel and play games.
Others fell asleep or took warm showers to clean up after the wet day. (Personally, I think the
most fun was had in the Herringshaw/Current room.) Pizza was ordered in and sold by the slice.
In addition, there was an impromptu dance in the dining room, complete with a limbo contest. (Be
sure to watch the video clip.)
During dinner two awards were given….the first was for the most helpful traveler who ended up
cleaning some of the boys rooms….and the award went to Mary Sundermeier. The second award was
for the person who had the most graceful “loss of footing”. This award had a couple of nominees,
but before anyone could vote, the cooks nominated one of their wait staff who had spilled a whole
tray of desserts out of one hand while saving the tray of desserts in the other. With that
nomination on the table, the students erupted into applause and the waiter graciously received
the award.
It’s 11:50 and presumably the kids are all in bed and sleeping. The mental and physical health
of the students seems to be holding up quite well, and they are all anxious to spend their remaining
money tomorrow.
Question of the day…What does "drookit" mean?
Yesterday’s quote came from none other than our esteemed Mr. Headley. (Do to the popularity of
quotes, we will be providing a quote page from the trip. Do not be surprised if you don’t
understand the quotes, but you can ask your kids if the quotes mean anything to them.)
- Peg McClanahan
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