Outnumbered & Abroad; Eilean Donan Castle & Lord of the Rings (Part 23)
It was Day 8 on our trip and was my imagination running a tbit too wild? Yes, yes it was! I could picture a young Katie in ancient times running through the kitchen of Eilean Donan Castle as well as being nabbed by the ghosts of the Claremont Hotel (of all places) in our hostel that night.
Outnumbered & Abroad; Getting to Edinburgh (Part 22)
The worst food we've had to date at a Moroccan restaurant that "hates Californians" - we aren't from California. We finally made it to Edinburgh!
Outnumbered & Abroad; Red Deer, the Harry Potter Train, & the Bonnie Prince Charlie (part 21)
It's Day 8 and we might have been getting delirious as we fought over the last playing card that was currently in play for our ultimate card-game challenge: The Red Stag. A stop at the Hogwarts Express' route and a visual of the Bonnie Prince Charlie, before we continued on our way through the Scottish highlands.
Outnumbered & Abroad: Glasgow (Part 20)
Avoiding a parkting ticket, falling in love with Scotland, and adventuring through my new favorite little corner of this earth!
Outnumbered & Abroad: Gretna Green (Part 19)
Randi played the first “I Spy” card of the trip to make a pit stop at a place called Gretna Green - a place she likened to Las Vegas. At first, I didn’t get it, but as we read the amazing stories about the Anvil Priests and the crazy elopement stories including pirates, lords and more, we were hooked!
Outnumbered & Abroad: Ghyll Scrambling (Part 18)
Have you ever heard of Ghyll Scrambling? It’s like baby canyoneering or the equivalent of going down a hillside via a small creek wearing nothing but a wet suit, life jacket and helmet while you climb, jump and boulder your wa through cliffs, tree branches/roots and the terrain. A favorite of the regency era, we really enjoyed the opportunity to experience this with our guide John.
Outnumbered & Abroad: Liverpool & The Beatles (Part 17)
The first CD I ever got was the best Number 1 hits of The Beatles so getting the opportunity to stop in Liverpool to celebrate this iconic british invasion band was a must-do for me! Unfortunately, mostly everything was closed that early in the morning but we got to see some of the good stuff before heading to the next clue card!
Outnumbered & Abroad: Stratford-Upon-Avon (Part 16)
We made it to a adorable bunkbed filled youth hostel and headed to the birthplace (and burial place) of William Shakespeare - just for Randi, our Shakeapearn nerd! But first, we had the best Italian food and hit some poor British Bad Boys who worked for Aston Martin with some American Rizz.
Outnumbered & Abroad; Falconry (Part 15)
We almost didn’t take a chance on our Falconing in Wales challenge card because our travel planner, Nicole, hadn’t been able to make contact with them. Upon arriving, we were ecstatic to hear a reference to the Oregon Trail, get hit on by the parrot designated as the aviaries greeter, and then held log boat races while we waited for the chance to fly some owls!
Outnumbered & Abroad: Cardiff Castle (Part 14)
After a great British Pub meat pie, I was surprised that i didn’t get much sleep before we headed off to the next country in our adventure in Wales! Stopping for breakfast at a teahouse, we accidentally (or intentionally??) invaded a castle before heading out for our next clue!
Outnumbered & Abroad: Bath Abbey, Tea, & Meat Pies (Part 13)
Headaches can make a long travel day more the worse and frustrations between siblings seem to be rising … but that all changed when we finally had our first good British meal of the trip: British Pub Pies! A shoutout to a random stranger who taught us pub dining etiquette - would we have starved without you? Probably.
Outnumbered & Abroad: Bath & Austen (Part 12)
A rowdy set of caroling pub goers the night before (Part 11) might have left us a tad tire, thereby creating the road to be more terrifying and tempers to be short but that all changed upon getting to the Jane Austen centre in Bath. I quickly realized that despite P&P being my favorite book, I was the worst Jane Austen fan ever!
Outnumbered & Abroad; Stonehenge (Part 11)
After our rousing game of polo (part 10), we headed to Stonehenge where we explored like the tourists we were and then laughed about the tourists who were gawking over the local farm animal residents. Then it was off to a classic British pub where the longest running joke from our trip happened - “It’s half.”
Outnumbered & Abroad; Polo Lessons (Part 10)
When four rodeo and ranching kids get to play polo at Druid’s Lodge in the UK outside of Stonehenge, you can rest assured knowing that there was A LOT of competition.
Outnumbered & Abroad; No More Public Transportation (Part 9)
Because, as a car loving American, I thought spending 1,500 words describing how crazy I think European drivers are was important, you can read my authentic and genuine, in-the-moment thoughts.
Outnumbered & Abroad; South Bank Book Market (Part 8)
Just a set of booklovers at the forty plus year old South Hampton second-hand book market for our photo challenge portion of our Amazing Race style UK adventure. Plus a deep dive into how bad Jet Lag effected me!
Outnumbered & Abroad; The Abbey (Part 7)
After leaving Buckingham Palace, we went to find Westminster Abbey - something that I realized I had no idea what it looked like, what it was, nor what a monk or nun does for a living. It was a cultural experience for sure!
Outnumbered & Abroad: Buckingham Palace (Part 6)
Part 6: We headed to Buckingham Palace where my journal entries show that, surprisingly, I can rival even Mr. Collins in bragging about the extreme luxury of a single place and describe, with infinite detail, each of the drawing rooms.
Outnumbered & Abroad: King’s Cross Station & The Globe Theater (Part 5)
As if our days couldn’t become more crowded we hit two clues in one that included the nerdy sides of each part of the siblings: Harry Potter for the Schrock’s and Shakespeare for the Johnson’s - well, mainly Randi! Platform Nine & Three-Quarters and The Globe Theater.
Outnumbered & Abroad; Camden Market (Part 4)
A quick peruse through the Camden Locks - I was excited to learn the history and get my first taste of London’s culinary scene. Some was more than I expected and other expectations fell hopelessly short.