So I decided to take him to the Isle of Iona to cheer him up. Iona is the site of the famous Iona Abbey, built by St. Columba in the 6th century. It was the first Christian mission in Scotland and so is considered the 'cradle of Christianity' in Scotland. Stephen loved it! Below are a few pics of our little weekend adventure...
On the ferry to Iona. You can't take cars onto the island, so we stayed on the Isle of Mull (another ferry ride). It was Isla's first boat ride! Can't you tell how excited she is??
A pic of the Abbey from the water...
Another pic of the Abbey (this time from land)
Near the abbey was the tiny Chapel of St. Oran. Evidently he was a disciple of St. Columba. There was also a cross of St. Oran and a gift shop named after him! Who new Stephen's namesake was such an important part of Christianity in Scotland??
Here is a close up of Stephen with the plaque on the Chapel...
Before we left on Sunday, the owner of the B&B told us to leave early in case we hit traffic (it was a single track road for an hour back to the ferry). This is the traffic we ran into...
On the drive back, we stopped in the Queen Elizabeth Forest for short hike to a lovely waterfall
At the car park, there were some wooden toys for kids. As you can see, Isla wasn't a big fan of the duck...
She like the tractor much better :)
It was a great little trip! Happy 30th Birthday Stephen! I love you!!!
4 comments:
Thirty, flirty, and thriving! (sorry, just watched 13 going on 30 at a recent jr high lock-in ... but, you and your family fit the bill.)
Happy Birthday man!
-shaun o
Happy Birthday Stephen!
Did you notice that you went to the Isle of Iona to see the Iona Abbey and the Chapel of St. Oran? Hmmm...
Your grandma's name is Ione, your grandpa's name was Oran and you named your baby Isla!
Swap that "a" and "e"!
How cool is that!
Your grandma Ione is my namesake. So I know the feeling.
So, Haley, do you have any Mulls on your side? Maybe your next baby is Columba;-) Another good name: Abbey. Not rushing things! Just saying... how much I love coincidences. I think you do, too.
Thinking of all of you in Scotland a lot. Nice to see how well you are doing.
Lovingly,
Juliet
Stephen-
A very belated congratulations on the big 30! It looks like you celebrated in style. You have to turn that frown upside down..... you have the best years of your life ahead of you.
Thanks for posting all the great pics of Scotland. The Scottish Chamber of Commerce has to be loving you.
We look forward to seeing you and the family again soon.
Love-
The Champe Fishers
Stephen, if you actually read this, please email me at ryananeal at gmail.com -- we met in New Zealand.
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