As our pilgrimage draws to a close, the sun shone on us again! Having said that, as we headed off to church this morning it was still raining!
Church was at St. Martin of Tours in Edinburgh, the church that I pretty much grew up in and my Dad was the rector. The sermon was given by Michele and Iona who did a marvelous job of presenting who we were, where we are from, what we were doing, what we had to do to get here, and what we learned along the way. There sermon was much appreciated by the congregation and their fellow pilgrims.
After church we walked to my parents hours for lunch. Mum laid on a very fine spread and Dad provided entertainment. Again a great time was had by all – Thanks!!
We then walked some more up to the Union Canal were we boarded the Kelvin and the Kelvin II for a short trip into the centre of Edinburgh. It’s a great way to travel and a unique perspective on the city. The restoration work that has been done on the canal now allows for travel by boat all the way from Edinburgh to Glasgow. From there we jumped in a taxi all the way up to the castle.
There were many hugs exchanged on the castle esplanade, for two reasons: 1. there were folks wandering around giving out free hugs (Iona seemed to be on of their main customers) and 2. It was here that Sister BJ left us to head back to Delaware (she has a flight back from Glasgow tomorrow to Philly and we are flying from Edinburgh to Newark
The castle (as always) was tremendous, the sunshine only made it more so. We were particularly impressed with Terry making it all the way to the top to see the Scottish Crown Jewels and the Stone of Destiny as well as St Margaret’s Chapel.
We then (after Debbie and Nancy had scoured every last gift shop … twice) headed down the High Street and stopped to watch some street performers. At this point some folks headed back to the hostel while others of us wandered down to Princess Street Gardens to look at the floral clock, some rather large thistles (pretty cool photo huh?), and more spectacular views of the castle. It was then back to the hostel via the Broughton Street Chippy when we dined on some fine local faire (combined with chips smothered in brown sauce.
As this will be my final post with everyone here, I thought I would have all the pilgrims add a sentence. I will blog again once they are one the plane, and feel free to hang around as I blog about the rest of my week in Scotland and when I get back to work.
Thanks to everyone who made this amazing event possible (I will reflect more through the week), especially Therap Services where I occasionally work and this blog is hosted.
:: Justin ::
I hope everything hasn’t completely fallen apart at home. – Chris
I finally found the dragons. Expect pictures. (HI MOM). – Guess. Seriously. – Jason
My eyelashes are purple. Fear me, fear me. – The One Formerly Known as Iona
Hey everyone Scotland was very fun. See you when I get back. (Emily Kara Palinkos)
Thank you all for making this wonderful week possible! So far we got them all with us — haven’t lost any! – Nancy
Regarding Darryl…tried to ditch him, wound up hitching him! See you soon!. Debbie
Looking forward to seeing you all again – Terry
Darryl did write something, but it probably wouldn’t endear him to his newly re-betrothed wife, so I deleted it. Take it from me, it was really, really funny!
I don’t know what to say yet – Eric
After this week of pilgrimage, fun and companionship, it’s going to be hard going back to work! – Bryan
Dear Parents: I am officially moving here. Would you please send my stuff to the cathedral on the Island? Thanks. I will mail you the address tonight. I hope you come visit me. Much Love, Michele <33
(p.s. I am just kidding, but I think you knew that already.)
This trip has been so much fun and I can’t wait to see you all again! Rachelle<3
Hey! I hope everything is going well, even though I miss everyone I’m still dreading leaving. I’ll see you all tomorrow! =D -Amanda
Once again fabulous pictures and a feeling of actually experiencing what you have! Thanks so much Justin for making the distance seem so small! Safe trip home everyone .. :)
What an amazing adventure!! Many thanks to all at Therap for giving us the opportunity to experience this journey with our children!! Have a safe trip home and I look forward to many photographs and stories! To my traveling family I miss you guys lots. Have fun with family and friends and give everyone my love. Siraya and I can’t wait to see you all!!
purple?
A big thank you to Justin and all the escorts, without them, this group of teenagers would never have experienced this. Justin, it has been said many time and many ways thanks for the wonderful descriptions each day, with photos. We all felt like we were there even if we were in our sunroom, checking your blog out before dinner. Thanks to all the parents and our pilgrims (and their siblings) that put in time over the past 2 years with fundraising: auctions, Burns Night, car wash, pasta dinners, donations from the parish and the list goes on. Nancy and others for never losing sight of the big picture. These kids will have this to remember for the rest of their lives and stories to tell their friends and family for a long time. Not to put pressure on Bryan, but we know he is going to have at least one CD of photos (if not more) most likely ready for everyone before this Sunday. He is amazing with the turn around after Rite 13 nights or any other church event. Most of the group will be back in their homes in Southington in less then 24 hours, where they will start telling us those stories and showing us the pictures. Wish you all a safe and hassle free trip back.
Thanks again,
Ron & Lori
Thanks to all of you who have accompanied us virtually, we’re just about to head home.
:: Justin ::
PS It’s not too purple!
Iona: I took it off, I took it off…basically, Amanda attacked my face with her mascara. Which is purple. Irony? Maybe a little.
Ummm…soon I’ll have some things up on my blog (it’s better than this one =P) so if anybody wants to read it the link is over in my dad’s links. Come say hi. You don’t need to sign up to comment!
We’re all sitting on the couches in the lobby now, and are about to leave for the airport…I have Harry Potter so, y’know, it’s all good.
Love and miss you all,
Iona
With all the beautiful images that have been posted, I would gladly meet Michele at the Cathedral. We can’t wait to see you all soon.
Thanks so much Justin for this opportunity to share the week in Scotland with all of you. I really enjoyed reading about each day and the photos were fantastic! I’d love to travel there someday. By now the group has departed and are safe somewhere over the Atlantic. I hope you, Iona and Calum enjoy the rest of your visit with your family. We will still be checking the blog (and Iona’s)…it’s kind of addicting :) See you all in a few weeks and Thanks so much once again!