BACKPACKING
Allison was 16 and I was 29. It was June 12, 1997 and we were boarding a plane in Regina, Saskatchewan; destination Manchester, England. When we landed in Manchester we immediately hopped on a bus and headed directly to Edinburgh, Scotland. Thirty six hours from the time we left Regina we landed on the door step of a hostel in Edinburgh. It was dark and we were soaking wet from the downpour of rain. I had not slept as of yet. On the other hand, Allison had slept on me, over me, around me...you get the point! Anyways we entered our hostel room with six bunk beds and were greeted by a nice girl from Australia. We dropped our bags and went to get something to eat. When we returned we were greeted by a redhead named Lucy with a vengence on for the person who apparently stole her money from the room. So, here I am, with a dazed look on my face,standing in front of this insane drunk woman who is accusing me of stealing her money. In my mind I was thinking why would you leave money in a room where anybody can come and go as they please and maybe you spent it in the pub because after all you are quite intoxicated. She stomped by us. Slammed the door and ranted as she stumbled down the hallway. Welcome to Scotland I thought to myself. I would really just like to go home now.
Scotland
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I think that one of the best parts of being in Scotland was The Haggis Bus Tour that we went on. Our tour guide Penny was a blast. Allison bought her first pint in a pub. Of course taking care of her later that night wasn't very fun, but what are you going to do? It was sooooooo much fun! I met so many people from all over the world. Some of which I still keep in contact with. Sometimes, I wish we could all do it over again. Maybe, someday we will... This photograph was taken from the front of the bus in the last few moments before we were to all part. We drank a shot or two and said our goodbyes. We only spent three days together. Yet, thinking about it now makes me kind of sad. |
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This photograph was taken on the Isle of Skye. We hiked up to some ruins just before the sun went down. It was incredible. A bunch of us went looking for seals. When we crossed this very long bridge and looked over the side to the water below you could see hundreds of jelly fish floating. I have never seen anything like it before. We found a spot further up to climb onto some rocks. I slipped and almost went right into the ocean. In fact I would have probably been killed by jelly fish! Damn close! The sun was going down and we were ready to hit the pub and so we did! |
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We got lost a lot. We were continuously in the rain. In fact out of 25 days of backpacking it rained 23. I got severely sick for about 2 days and Allison took care of me. There were so many times where the two of us were ready to kill each other, but all in all it was good to be with someone who you could depend on and trust. |
 | This picture was taken at the Edinburgh Castle. We were definately tourists when we first hit Scotland. We did the castle tour, the ghost walks, the bus tour.... but, after a while it was nice to just relax. This castle overlooked a park in which Allison and I spent some of our time relaxing. Edinburgh is a beautiful and friendly city! |
Ireland
 | We must have walked 2 miles to find the Ross Castle. When we got there we took a boat ride to a small island. This shot of Allison was taken while she stood on the high wall of some church ruins. Apparently at one time this was a place where they sent lepers... hmmmm.... |
 | Inis Mor is a small island 6 miles x 3 miles wide. Allison and I spent two nights at the Dun Angus Hostel. I loved spending time on this island and I would love to go back someday. |
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We hiked all over this island. The cliffs in the background of this photograph were amazing. It felt as though we were on the edge of the world! I remember Allison decided to sing the national anthem at this point of our trip. I was thinking that she may need therapy when we get back to Canada. She obviously thought we were alone. Well we weren't and over the stone wall not far from us there were some people camping out. I am sure they were amused by the crazy girl singing 'oh canada' at the top of her lungs.... |
There is definately more to come....so stop by later when i have fixed any typing errors and I have added to this page!
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