Sunday, July 7, 2013
Perhaps it was because we visited 4 holy sites today or it’s
just a miracle period, but it’s 9:28 and the baby is asleep, 10 minutes after I
laid him down!
I’m not going to get too excited because I don’t want to get
knocked back down a few pegs but, I will have to take this small victory.
Jess and I got up this morning about ten to nine. We let him sleep for a bit longer. I was excited because today we were going to
the Scottish Borders to see the four abbeys of Jedburg (which the burg is
pronounced boro), Kelso, Dryburgh and Melrose.
That’s not in order or in the order we saw them. Just the order I remember them. The abbeys were founded by David I between 1128 and 115something I think. We had switched this day for yesterday
because there was a lot we wanted to see.
We had some minor navigation glitches but managed to get out
and there with little if any problems.
We left by 11 which was my secret goal – two hours earlier than the day
before.
We started off at Melrose Abbey – it is rumored that Robert
the Bruce’s heart is buried there. I
think you may find this blog boring as it will be more pictures than anything
else.
For some reason the mayor got stuck on going up and down
this ramp in and out of the abbey. Of
course, he decided that this would be the spot that he greeted everyone from,
which he did, for quite some time.
We headed up a tower that was there and could look down on the abbey below. The place was pretty large but would not be the largest we would see today.
It was getting a little hot and the baby was starting to get a little cranky, so we headed on to the next abbey, feeding him his sandwich on the way. He has not been eating a ton and he doesn't seem to like the coconut milk here - so, we're going to need to figure something out to get him back eating the way he was.
It was at this point in the trip that it hit me that things are not going to be the way they used to be when we travel. Having to stop to get him, if Jess hasn't already puts a little cramp in your style when you're trying to take 8,000 pictures. We certainly can't just move at our own pace anymore either. I think it is more of a mindset kind of thing. Jess said we're doing everything the way we always did and I guess that's how I expected it to be - but it's not. It's not the same. It's not bad, it's just a different pace and it will take a little bit of getting used to.
Next up was Jedburg - the best preserved of all the abbeys. Being the one closest to the English border it was often one of the first things attacked by the piece of crap English. Because it took a long time to finish it has a mix of Romanesque and gothic arches in three levels. It was pretty large and impressive. We were able to see it fairly quickly though...and so can you...
Shit, it's 10:16 and he's up.
We hoped back in the car and I had some lunch and we headed to Kelso Abbey, the oldest of the four. It was right smack in the town and was quite small - not to mention, no one monitored it so you didn't need a Historic Scotland or Scottish Heritage pass. Not much to say here - his highness fell asleep on the way here and Jess stayed in the car with him while I grabbed a few shots.
It's 10:40 and he's still up. I don't want to go in because I don't want to get him used to this but I feel like we screwed him up to go on this trip so...I think we will give him a few more minutes, he seems to be winding down.
Did I say winding down? More like winding up!
The last abbey of the day was Dryburg. I think it was the biggest. Unlike Kelso, it was in the middle of nowhere. We weren't sure we were even going in the right direction but apparently, we were. It was the richest and most powerful of the abbeys and the abbot was like the boss abbot of all the others.
At the gift shop the man asked us if we wanted to purchase a souvenir guide book - Jess almost shit her pants because she had no idea what he had said - I had to translate for her. She looked like a deer in headlights.
We hung out for a little bit in the cloisters and got some decent shots - but the day was getting longer and I think we had all had enough sun for the day. We decided to let him walk around barefoot in this place - I wish I had.
It's 10:50, I'm going in.
It's now 11:30 - I am firmly convinced that miracles do not happen. Not only that, he's getting smarter. It's f'n hot in this place, so I went in there with no shirt on. I walked in there and his voice was getting horse. I picked him up - with his snotty face and he starts to burrow in. I manage to wipe off some of the boogies with the toilet paper I had on the bed last night for the same purpose and decided this was going to take a bit so I laid down.
As I get up to get him over to the crib, the chess match has already started. I'm positioning my hands based on how he is slowly climbing up me as if I am tall enough to keep him far away from the crib. Once we get over there I stop to sway a bit to get him to out of it and he jerks all crazy - he knows where he's going and he doesn't want to. Now, I am cradling him, my hand near his crazily sweaty head and I feel a hand on my chest. Crap, I think he's grabbed my chain - check. I quickly sway some more in the hopes of being able to get at least one or two moves and start to bend down towards the crib - which by the way sucks ass because it is all the way on the floor. My back starts to hurt and his sweaty head is starting to slide, I get him down, he starts to cry and whine and latch on to my arm with both hands...
But I am free.
Checkmate!
Now - back to your regularly scheduled program - we got home and played some football in the people's yard as well as tossed the rugby ball around a bit. Jess finished up his dinner - mine was in the crockpot, I grabbed a Belhaven Black Scottish Stout and we ate. We decided to hit a few geocaches that were near and thankfully we were able to grab both.
On the walk there, his highness decided that he would pick up lots of dirt and rocks and get them all over himself and me. They were black and kind of chalky and he was pretty well covered. There were some horses on the side and he found his first Scottish caches.
I threw him in the backpack with about .2 of a mile left before the second cache and we made our way there and back to the car in good time. The flies sucked but it was a nice after dinner walk, which should have made him tired, but apparently not.
Luckily, there's still one little boy and the special lady who brought him to me that help me believe.
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