Edinburgh, Scotland was like stepping back in time. The Royal Mile (which is a long mile from the top of a mountain to the base) was fabulous. A castle at the top, and a castle at the bottom. There were shops on either side of the tiny streets to please ANY shopper's taste, several churches, a cathedral with a lone Scotsman in his full dress playing his bagpipes, castles, as stated, and history galore. You could walk the entire city in a day and the friendliest people on the planet.

The evening food was so-so, but the rest of the fare was great. Especially breakfast and Tea-times. Everyone talks to you, and they are all very interested in the States. They seemed to be fascinated by Southern accents, or should I say, "redneck?" They asked me if I knew Lewis Grizzard. HA! They think if you are from the states, then you must know all the famous people.

My son said their WORST golf course was 10 times better than our best ones. He was in heaven.

Even their graveyards were worth spending time in viewing the gravestones and verage on them. I wish now I had written them all down. Oh, and this was where Sean Connery lived as well.

At the foot of the Royal Mile was a beautiful castle where the Queen stays when she visits. She was coming the day after we left...boo hoo!
JJ

Wait! I thought YOU were the Queen!?

I am honey....of humor...This was the Queen of one of those countries. You know? She has much bigger ahh...er...ahh...headaches.

teehee...JJ

My goodnes, you people are far more well travelled than I am.

I can think of a few places I particularly loved. One was Hawaii, which is by far the most beautiful place I've ever been. Then there was the week on Adros, in the Bahama Out Islands, the perfect place to get away from it all. And the rain forest on the Olympic Penninsula in WA. I've never seen anything else like it and couldn't believe we were still in North America!

Jackie...my daughter and her husband are stationed in Washington..NW of Seattle...is the Rain Forest you speak of near there? It sounds beautiful and I would love to see it when I visit them in the summer..this might sound stupid...but how do you tour a rain forest? Is it possible to drive through it?

Nancy, I just love Maui too--I just don't get there
often enough for one who lives two islands away, LOL!
We are always going to the other states or out of the
country. The last time I went to Maui was 2 years
ago and we stayed for 2 weeks. We stayed in the
Lahaina Kaanapali area : )

Cindy...we stayed at the Ritz Carlton in Kapalua(sp) but we did some shopping in Lahaina and I bought a watercolor of it and hung it in my bathroom..it makes me feel warm and sunny everytime I look at it...

I love your signature quote...it's so true..

You certainly could. The Olympic Pennisula is easily accessable, just a few hours from Seattle, but in a different world. We took our son there for 2 days after he finished graduate school at UW last June. It's like nothing I've ever seen in my life. Mountains on one side, wild ocean beaches on the other and rain forest in between. The rain forest is part of Olympic National Park. You'll want to park your car and go on one of the walking trails. I had tendonitis in my ankle when we were there and could still manage some of the shorter loop walks. There are boardwalks all over the place and park rangers who love to help. There are also some more challenging hiking trails. My husband and son took one of the longer nature walks and came back with pictures of an elk who wandered across the trail. I was so jealous that I couln't go with them. Someday I want to go back and meet that elk, too! Be sure you pack your foul weather gear. They call it the rainforest for a reason.

We used the Olympia National Park website to help plan our trip.

Oops! I meant Olympic National Park.

Jackie, sounds so good. I have yet to visit the Pacific Northwest. I want to explore that part of WA state and also BC/Vancouver Island.