Last Fun Before Lots of Fun

Though we still have at least five months left in our adventure, it seems to be on the downswing. Janna has finished all her class work, but still has a ton of papers to write...then the dissertation starts. I have a feeling that the rest of our time will be a whirlwind. We have a trip to Italy via Belgium (beer) planned and have lots of friends and family coming. The next few months will be a whole lot of fun which I am sure will breeze by.

Although the fun is coming, the next few weeks we will be somewhat home bound as Janna finishes up her semester papers. Last weekend was likely our last big outing for awhile. We drove out to the west coast and checked out the amazing scenery. The lochs and mountains were just beautiful. It was like being in a Mel Gibson movie;). The best part (at least for me) was finding a little brewery, which demanded to be sampled. Needless to say Janna got a forced driving lesson. Oh yeah, I also came home with a little souvenir.

Lots of Walks

The last few weeks have taken a pattern. We work/study during the week then hike on the weekends. Below are some pics. Also check out our updated MontanaDuo Album that is linked on the right hand side of this page.

Coast Walk With Friends

One of Janna's classmates organized a walk along the coast east of Edinburgh. It went through a forest at one point. Damn, it was nice to smell pine again.

*Note from Janna* Ryan forgot to mention the "Beware of falling trees in high winds" sign that was posted on the trail as we went into the woods. Oh - and there was a high wind advisory that day. I didn't know that trees could make so many scary sounds. We walked fast!



At the end of the walk we checked out Dirleton castle. The picture in the middle was a neat egg shaped building call a dovecote. It was just a cage where doves were raised for food.


It was very neat visiting with Janna's classmates and hearing about their lives. They are from Norway, Germany, and Canada so we felt rather international.


And as always the best part is the ingenuity of the old castle builders. This one was the best so far. I counted 5 different shitters. The only thing they hadn't figured out was how to warm the seat.

Roslin Glen Walk #2

Back in September we visited Roslin Chapel. There is a wooded area around the chapel we decide to revisit. It turned into a really nice walk along a river. Notice the color of the water...yummy. Gladly it isn't man-made pollution, it is because the water flows through the peat that covers much of the area.




Along much of the walk we kept smelling onions. I kept wondering if I had bad breath. It took us awhile to figure it out, but the nice green grass along the trail was actually wild chives...anybody got mustard?

Pentland Walk

Just outside of Edinburgh, there is a little range called the Pentland hills. They are mostly full of sheep, but they also give great views...that was if it wasn't for the fog.



In the hills there are also some old Roman ruins. The cavern that I am in is thought to be a grain bin.


We also found Nessie's little cousin.

I'll Toot Her Horn

She won’t do it, so I will toot her horn for her. Last spring we were slow to decide if we wanted to go on this adventure and move out of the country, so Janna’s school application was somewhat late. When she was accepted we kind of assumed that everyone who applied received a spot. But one of her professors recently mentioned that 160 people applied for the 40 positions. What a smart girl. Sorry to embarrass you honey.