Ailas Craig

So where to next? There are a few more places in Ayrshire that are worth mentioning. Largs  is a nice town, set right on the coast. If you are lucky enough to be on the west coast between 1st and 9th of September then Largs is the place to be. That's when Largs holds its annual Viking Festival. This is a fun festival which culminates with the burning of the Viking Longship on the Saturday evening. Who wouldn't want to be a part of that? 
While you are visiting Largs why not stop in at Kelburn Castle. It's a fun place for the family, there are lots of kid friendly activities and large grounds to explore. When my kids were small we spent many fun days there, and they were always keen to visit.
If you love to visit stately homes then this should be on your list. HRH Prince Charles has recently become involved in the preservation of this old home. Dumfries House was designed in the 1750's and has an extensive collection of traditional furniture. Well worth a visit. 
Girvan is another coastal town that is worth visiting. There are many places to eat but fish and chips are a must here, you will find some great chippies. While in girvan you can take a boat trip to the Ailsa Craig. this is a large uninhabited island just off the coast which is excellent for bird watching. 
These are just a few of the places that are worth a mention around Ayrshire. Although it's not exactly a tourist Mecca, there are some fun and beautiful places to see. I grew up in Ayrshire, spent the biggest part of my life there and it wasn't till I started writing this that I began to realize just how many cool places there are. This link will take the Trip Advisor website where more places of interest are listed. 
If you manage to make your way to Britain, or if someone you know is heading there, I hope this will have been of some use to you. If you have visited Britain, or any of the of the places listed in this blog and have a comment please feel free I would love to hear from you. Or just keep popping in. Till next time.... Cheerio 

A fun exhibit of paintings inspired by the poets Robert Burns love live has opened to the public. The Man Who Loved Women is a collection of 12 new oil paintings, all produced in the last year, by Scottish artist Adrian Wiszniewski. The art will be on display at the Robert Burns Birthplace Museum in Alloway, Ayrshire.
The museum includes the famous cottage where Burns was born, historic landmarks found in his work, and is surrounded by beautiful gardens.
If you are in the area the Burns Museum is well worth a visit.
Have a nice trip.

© Copyright Steve Partridge and licensed for
 reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.

The small island off the coast of Ayrshire is Arran, you can see it in the map below. This island is serviced by a ferry which crosses from Ardrossan to Arran. The ferry departs approximately every two to two and a half hours. For further information on Arran you can visit here; Visit Arran. 
Arran is a quiet island which you can easily cycle round in a few hours. There are hotels, guest houses, and Bed and Breakfasts, if you prefer to spend a few days there.
If you like to hike there are some beautiful walking routes. There are also many nice beaches, if the weather is nice. I like Arran it is quiet and relaxing and after a hectic schedule it's fun to relax there. 
But it's not all laid back living on Arran if you like excitement and adventure then this might also be the place for you. There are many places where you can indulge your adventurous side. Visit here;Arran Adventure to find out more. Arran has many fun places to investigate. Hope you have fun there.
Please feel free to make a comment. Or if you have a question about any part of the UK you just need to ask.

Home Turf

I have spent the last few days trying to decide where to start my journey. There are many places in the UK that I love so deciding my first stopping off point was hard. But like all good journeys I will be setting off from home. My home turf is Ayrshire in Scotland. To be exact I am from Irvine a town on the west coast.

Irvine is a medium sized town and although it has quite a nice sea side there is not a great deal to do there. Even though it is my home town I would not recommend a vacation there. But if you are in the area a nice place to visit is Eglington Castle. It has a lovely park around the castle ruins and a very pleasant day can be spent there. The ranger service organizes events and the brochure can be downloaded here Eglington Country Park.
As you can see from the map Ayrshire is situated on the west coast of Scotland and is made up of three areas. North, South, and East Ayrshire. The famous links golf course at Troon as well as Turnberry are both situated in Ayrshire. There are many other golf courses in Ayrshire and for further information about golfing in Ayrshire you can visit Golf Ayrshire. There are many golf courses situated very close to the sea
One of the biggest towns in the area is Ayr. I always enjoyed a visit to Ayr, it is a pretty town with a long pedestrian friendly high street. You can get there both by public and private transportation. Ayr is well served by buses and trains. The main street has many great shops and there is also some covered shopping. There are also many pubs, clubs, restaurants and cafes. Ayr is also home to a Racecourse, a race schedule and information about Ayr Racecourse can be found here Ayr Racecourse.When we lived in Irvine and would visit Ayr we would occasionally enjoy a meal at The Chestnuts Hotel and Restaurant, Racecourse Road, Ayr. In my younger days I would regularly head to Ayr for a night out, but now I'm not sure where the trendy places are, but if the past is anything to go by you should have no trouble finding exciting nightlife in Ayr.

When I started this blog it was because I had to. I am a 48 year old woman going back for some further education. I have a great desire to work "from home" because I would very much like to travel with my husband. So I need a job that I can do online!
We have been married for 21 years and for 19 of those years he has had a job where he travels. And now I have two grown children, ages 20 and 18, and it is our time. I would like to be with him more, and see more of the world with him.
I am currently enrolled in a web design class. I don't know how this will go, and after doing an assignment which involved looking at developments in web design I don't know if I have the artistic ability to pull it off, but I am gong to try.
I have just completed a midterm which required me to, guess what, design a web page. It could be about whatever interests me, so I decided Scotland, that's what I know, and to my surprise lots of ideas came a flowing.
I was born and lived in Scotland till I was 36 years old, my husband is also Scottish and both my children were born there so you could say that it's all I've known.
So I think I might write some stuff about travelling and about Scotland and about the UK.

So here goes !!

Rumors abound about the new ipad 3 and the March 7 launch date. This video gives us an idea of what it will look like. Could it be true? I guess we'll find out Wednesday. Keep your eyes and ears peeled.

How to interview a politician.

How not to interview a politician.

What do you think, are interviewers in the USA too soft on politicians? Or should politicians be held accountable, and made to answer the questions. 

And some people don't like the look of haggis. Well you wont find any insects in that tasty fare . Unlike some you might find in Mexico. Don't think I could go for insect caviar or Grasshoppers. But to each his own. Me, I'll stick to haggis any day of the week.
Might just have to re-think my visit to Taco Bell !!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-radio-and-tv-17119836

For all my American friends who always ask about haggis. This should answer all your questions. And yes I do really enjoy haggis it is VERY tasty, most delicious, and my family always tries to have it on Burns night, January 25. Enjoy!
I have never made my own haggis, I don't think I would be able to get the majority of the ingredients here in the USA so I have to rely on American versions, I've found an American version of haggis in AJ's but I've never seen it anywhere else. 
When I visit Scotland I always have to indulge in haggis a few times my family loves it. My son and husband love to get a haggis supper. This is one of the many delicacies served up at the local chippy (fish and chip shop) in Scotland. A haggis supper consists of one piece of haggis, think jumbo sausage, dipped in batter and, of course, deep fried and served with chips (fries). Yummy my mouth is watering at the thought. By the way at the local chippy EVERYTHING is deep fried, so if you visit Scotland only visit the chippy a few times, that's my advice.

As a child this was always one of my favorite days, Shrove Tuesday (pancake day), in the US it's known it as Fat Tuesday. On that day my mother would always make pancake,  and I would always get a chance to toss them to, not always with great success. There were pancake races in town that we would go and see, just a great fun day.  Happy Pancake Day.. Enjoy!

Scottish Independence

Plans are afoot to have a vote in 2014 for Scottish Independence. Is this the right road for Scotland to follow? After the  successful 1991 devolution vote the call for independence has grown. The question still remains; is it the politicians that want independence or Scotland's citizens? While the support for the SNP (Scottish National Party) has indeed grown it is hard to say, with certainty, that the call for independence has grown. As an ex-pat I can not say that I would vote for independence, if I were still in Scotland, and I have yet to talk with friends or family who think this is a good idea. As a nation Scotland has very few large industries. Yes it's true we do have oil but for how long would this sustain a nation? And is it enough to maintain an economy? Scotland has its own education system, its own laws, it can raise or lower the basic UK income tax rate by 3%. Do we also need Independence? No!

Why is it that so many men think they have the right to tell me what to do or what to think? They don't have that right! Some states want to pass legislation that will protect its citizens from Sharia law, but what is this congressional hearing? surely Sharia Law disguised as, as..., I don't know what. Men telling women what they can do with their bodies, what we do with our minds, next they will want us tied to the kitchen sink, our only role seeing to their every want and desire. This is not me, and I don't think it is you. I will use contraception whenever I want. You will not tell me otherwise. Do US women want to vote for the man who wants to take away their right to contraception, or the man who signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act into law. as a woman I think I know who I would vote for.

Should I apply for American Citizenship? 

I think I should!

I'm lucky I don't need to give up my British citizenship to become an American, I believe I can have dual citizenship, the UK won't make me give up my UK passport. And I still go home to visit family so keeping me passport saves a lot of heartache at the airport. In both countries.

So how hard can it be and how much can it cost?

Well I just took the quiz at

http://www.immigrationdirect.com/us-citizenship/U-S-Citizenship-application-Form-N-400.jsp

Passed the quiz, registered, which was free, and now I need to hand over my credit card details and pay an $149 preparation fee. That's as far as I've gotten. 

Stay Tuned ....

I think this is one of the funniest movies. It really shows what British humor is about. And Chiwetel Ejiofor is great. The movie is based on a true story of a shoe factory in Northamptonshire that did actually start making boots for transvestites to save the factory.

Some friends and I visited the Arizona Culinary Institute in Scottsdale today. We had a great tour of the school, and watched as they prepared cookies, crepes, fish, fresh vegetables, chicken, pork..... What a great day!!  Then we sat down to a three course lunch, which was DELISH!!! Thank You Arizona Culinary Institute. You'll have my recommendation for lunch any day.

I got this beautiful photo from the BBC web site. I know Christmas is over but I think this gorgeous photo could be on a Christmas card. It looks so tranquil and serene. What a beautiful place to get in touch with nature. The photo is of The Hermitage, near Dunkeld, Perthshire.  For further information click the link below.

http://www.welcometoscotland.com/things-to-do/attractions/nature-reserves/perthshire-angus-dundee/hermitage-nts 

 

Just as beautiful, in a completely different way, the Grand Canyon, Arizona. This has to be one of my favorite places. It's always cooler than the valley, which is definitely good. I love to see the changing colors as the sun moves casting it light and shadow over the canyon walls. On my bucket list is, a hike to the bottom of the canyon.You can visit the grand canyon web site by clicking the link below.

http://www.nps.gov/grca/index.htm

If you would like to add any links, comments, or name places that you love, or places that are on your bucket list feel free to do so. Speak again soon.

I have was just writing the previous blog and stumbled upon a problem I wanted to write, and did write, the word accidently, but when I did I got the red underline, WRONG SPELLING, so I did what any reasonable person would do and googled it, and apparently there are two ways to spell accidently and accidentlly. But I'm beginning to wonder if this is a British English word or an American English word. I get so confused sometimes. Labor and labour, center and centre, why? We speak the same language why can't we spell the same language?

Search Engines

By far and away my favorite search engine is google. In fact I use it so often that I have to ask the question "is there any other?" 
I guess the reason I like it so much is because I am familiar with it. I do like the way you can easily preview a document and the way the search results are displayed. 
I occasionally will accidently use Bing but I just don't feel as comfortable with that.