Road Trippin' - Day One

It's not often that we get to rent a car and experience the convenience of taking multiple items of clothing, accessories, and snacks for the road. Garrick's too young to rent a car (25 is the starting age), so beginning 28th April, we'll do it more often! Thankfully, our friends are old, and we get to tag along as passengers in their cars. ;)

In two days, we visited many sites which are difficult to reach by public transportation:

Day One:

Taste Coffee Shop. Vanilla lattes and croissants in hands, we made our way to Dundee, home of a Maggie's Cancer Caring Centre. For more information on this building designed by Frank Gehry, see The Brewer Clan.

On the road again, Arbroath Abbey greeted us with freezing temperatures. Famous for being the location where Scottish nobles swore their independence from England in the Declaration of Arbroath, it was built in 1178 for monks of the Tironensian order by King William the Lion. The red stone and famous 'Round O' structure stood out the most. Take a look:

 

To Dunnottar Castle! Driving up the East Coast toward Aberdeen, Garrick and I both commented that it looked like the Oregon Coast. Just colder.

 

The setting of Dunnottar Castle atop a large rock with the North Sea at its shores is the most beautiful place I've seen. Maybe I'm a cold weather girl. William Wallace, Mary Queen of Scots, the Marquis of Monrtose, and the future King Charles II have all visited this castle. It also housed the Crown Jewels and kept them safe from Cromwell's army for 8 months. In 1685, a group of Covennators who refused to recognise the King's spiritual leadership were kept in the "Whig's Vault" without proper sanitation and little food for weeks.  

 

Enough history, here are the photos:

 

Last stop of the day, Aberdeen. Chilled to the bone from the frigid wind and rain, coffee and treats at Starbucks warmed our hands and hearts. Walking through the Oil Capital of Europe, we found what we came for: the Brew Dog Pub. After ales, pork pies, live music, and checkers, Jesse drove us home in a blizzard.

 

Stay tuned for Day Two!