Coronaries and Cakewalks

Day 2

Our hero, having fully recovered from his dramatically reduced caffeine intake and overwhelming jetlag, launches out at the brave hour of 12:30pm into the day...nothing can stop him.

Okay, so I needed some rest, but that's what vacations are for, so I took it. I feel a little like Arlo Guthrie without the Thanksgiving Dinner.

So once, the day had begun, I decided to head over to the General Register Office (GRO) to try and confirm research before I headed anywhere. Now I don't know if they switched things on my or what, but I remember there being more information on the computer than there seemed to be. No matter, though. No matter how much I tried, I couldn't pull up records corresponding with family from the mid 1800s. It was getting pretty frustrating, so I decided to go into the round room, and pull some of the microfiched and filmed records. I took a chance that the same record number would correspond for previous years, and as luck would have it found both the 1841 and 1851 censuses (censui? Sensei?) which confirmed the birth order of my great great ather and the time period of the death of my great great great grandmother. As luck would also have it, I think that I found her parents...and it looks like her mother was a MacFarlane! I still need to confirm some things, but it's still very fascinating.

So after finishing the record search, I decided to take a quick drive and ended up in Holyrood Park. It seemed pretty nice and was still light (about 4:30pm) so I took a walk and a small climb (which actually turned out to be a big climb) up to St. Andrew's Chapel ruins at the top of the hill. It was quite exhilarating and tiring. But once I got to the top, the view was great and it was a fascinating piece of history. Interesting enough that I decided to go over to the second ridge which were the remains of one of the fort barricades. Again, not too bad, but a bit longer than I expected.

Once I got there, I realized that what I had mistakenly thought was Arthur's Seat, was actually the Parliament (no one had every really pointed it out or described it, just kind of gestured in that direction), and the big ass hill behind me was actually Arthur's Seat.

Well, I'm on Holiday.
And I'm in Scotland.
And I'm a guy.

So naturally I decided to climb it......crack smoker!

It wasn't bad enough that I decided to venture that way, but after walked the mile along the precious ridge to the base, I also decided that it would be "fun" (FUN?!?!?!?) to climb the face rather than walking the "path" (more on that lie in a moment). So here in Scotland for one day, recovering from ankle surgery, and about as in shape as Marlon Brando after Oktoberfest, I began to scale the peak.

Who made this thing?!?!? It's deceptively taller than it seems when you first get under way. My God! And those aren't footholds. They're pockmarks. Wet, slippery, muddy pockmarks that don't provide you any traction, but rather allow you to slip back two feet while you struggle to regain your balance while keeping the camera clean.

Luckily, right before the coronary kicked in, I made it to the top. Now, I will admit that the view is breathtaking. And on a clear day, you could probably see Glasgow. It was well worth it, and I enjoyed it once I was at the top, but man what a climb!

Then there was the journey back down, where the "path" actually isn't, and you keep slipping into nooks and crannies that are filled with more mud. I thought going down would be easier, but instead it seemed a lot harder. At one point I was tempted to just lie on my side and role down the hill.....but then I remembered that I had the cameras.

Oh well, after this I headed back to the hotel, showered and found a quick bite before resting for the evening. More tomorrow.