Arthur's Seat

We had a wonderful Saturday. At about 1:30pm, all of the students, the faculty and their families made our way on the busses to Edinburgh to walk up Arthur’s Seat. We disembarked at Hunter Square, near the Tron, and headed down High Street like a mother duck and her ducklings—44 us in all. Once we reached the base, near the Holyrood Palace, we began the 60 minute walk to the peak. It was a warm but blustery day. The steepness surprised a few, but everyone made it to the crags, which is a little under the half way point. Some decided to make there way down, at this point, seeing how much further the peak was. About 30 of us, however, braved the winds and climbed and hiked our way to the top. The view of course was magnificent. However, it was the fierce wind that made the accomplishment so exhilarating. We could hardly stand at the peak of the inactive volcano! It was a mighty struggle—one that laid the foundations of great memories. Our trek back down, on the north side, provided a gentler time than the ascent. We passed the abbey ruins and said hello to some swans sunning themselves before we made it back to our staring point.

Tim and I headed back to Dalkeith only to clean up, change and head back into Edinburgh to meet Henry and Ann at the Opal Lounge on George Street. They invited us out to join them for dinner. We ran into Richard and some of the faculty, Carmen, Bart and Dan. We shared some inappropriate humour (mostly because that is Richard, and Dan is Native American) and a drink, and then we parted, as we were off to dinner. The Mexican food was great—just the right amount of spice; it was enough to make up for the poor service anyway. Before Henry drove us back to Dalkeith, we stopped at the Dome, an old bank and a marvellously decorated old building, for a drink. It was a little posh, which is why you go there. We ended our night at Sams, where, all but a few of the students were doing there best at singing karaoke and getting to know the locals. And program begins.