More Incredible Self-Portraits...

While David was at work, Veronica couldn’t pass up the chance to take some self-portraits at these castle ruins.

This image became even more impressive...

...when she shared what she had to climb up to get to that window.

Luckily she wasn’t really a damsel in distress.

Off to Aberdeen...

The next morning, Jimmy, Ashlynn and I flew home, while Veronica caught a train to Aberdeen to visit David for a few days.

We saw similar statues around Edinburgh and Glasgow. Oor Wullie (Wullie being a Scottish nickname for Willian) is a comic book character dating back to 1936. Starting in 2016 for his 80th anniversary, sculptures were painted with different themes—this is for recycling—and placed every summer in the major cities as a fundraiser for children’s hospitals.

David arranged to have two days off of work so he and Veronica could go exploring.

 

It’s so cool that Veronica and David, who met on a train when they were eight and nine years old back in January 2006, have stayed friends regardless of where they’re living or who they’re dating. 

Hashing with Glasgow H3...

I was surprised but pleased when Veronica said she wanted to spend that evening hashing with Glasgow H3. On the way to the train station, we stopped at Greggs to try their infamous vegan sausage rolls. Although Veronica and Ashlynn loved them, I’ll opt for something else to eat in the future.

We took a train about 30 minutes north of Glasgow to the town of Milngavie. Not only was it the start of the hash, but it’s also the start of the West Highland Way, a long-distance hiking trail that Jimmy and I hope to do someday. 

The girls took the longer trail, while Jimmy stuck with me on the shorter trail.

Both trails passed this pretty lake. 

Veronica was very excited about getting to fly her drone...

 

...over Mugdock Castle, with sections dating back to 1372.

Ironically, our trail was supposed to be shorter, but a large group of us got messed up and ended up going backwards on the longer trail. We eventually ran into the girls just before we reached the castle.

They encouraged us to continue on so we could at least see it before turning around and eventually finding our way back to the pub at the start. Despite the mess up, we had a lot of fun and it was a great way to end our Scottish hashing adventure.

Wandering Across Glasgow...

Here’s some of the random things we encountered on our long walks across Glasgow: a big fountain in a park...

...Ashlynn’s next wetsuit...

...cool old luggage in an antique shop...

...a futuristic round building...

...a pointy building...

...BBC Scotland...

...clouds reflected on the BBC...

...some street art...

...and Tigger in jail.

Glasgow Science Centre...

Next Veronica requested that we go to the Glasgow Science Centre, housed in this funky building.

Clearly our children fit right in at this kiddie museum.

A family that’s silly together...

...stays together. 

Veronica’s 22nd Birthday...

The following day was Veronica’s 22nd birthday, so we spent an extra night in Glasgow to celebrate together doing whatever she wished. We started with a long walk past this skinny old building...

...and this crazy Escheresque staircase in a high-rise under construction...

...on our way to Serenity Now, a vegan café.

Our brunch was so great that we reviewed it right away on Happy Cow (a fantastic restaurant app for vegetarians and vegans). I loved the Southwest Scramble, while Veronica enjoyed the Chicken & Waffle (fake chicken, of course).

Eurohash Closing Party....

After dinner we went to the closing party in the Old Fruitmarket. Built in the 1800s, it was a functioning market until the 1970s. After a major renovation, it reopened in 2006 as an incredible concert hall surrounded by beautiful old ironworks.

We were a bit nervous when we saw that the band was called Celtica, which we thought might be a Celtic heavy metal band. Turned out that they were a Celtic rock band featuring two fantastic bagpipers. While I’d never been a big fan of bagpipes, this band was awesome!

In addition to the incredible band, there was a fan dancer that performed a few suggestive dances.

There were also some presentations, including handing over the official duties of Eurohash from Cockatool to Sloppy Stool who will be hosting in Prague in August 2021 (although we have no idea where everyone will be by then, I registered the four of us).

Afterwards, Jimmy and I went to a nearby pub with a few hashers while the girls went out for dessert with a hasher from Canada, Veronica’s first hash romance.