On the first day of August, we found ourselves still in Edinburgh, and we spent the day finishing the Mystery Guide. This was the hardest one we’ve done yet, not because the puzzles were difficult, but because some of the clues were hard to find! The directions could have been better, but it was still a fun way to explore and learn about the city. The Fringe Festival was on so there were crowds everywhere…
But we got to see people playing the bagpipes…
And doing circus acts…
So it was all good fun! The Mystery Guide ended at The World’s End Pub - so named because despite its current central location, it used to be the very edge of the city’s boundaries. According to a sign in the pub: “The gates to the city and its walls were situated just outside the pub and to Edinburgh’s residents this would have been the boundary of what they considered their world (the city) and the outside world which many of them had little knowledge of.”
We were a bit hungry so Joel ordered the Haggis fritters with whiskey sauce. I enjoyed the sauce much more than the haggis!
That evening we went and hung out with the Woerth’s at their hotel and then the next day was another adventure! We started by picking up a collection of magic cards from a friend of a friend. This turned into a whole thing that has sort of taken over lives as we ended up purchasing the collection and now Joel is working on selling the valuable cards. It’s been fun to see some really old cards that are now worth a lot!
Then we randomly stumbled across a Mexican restaurant, and despite my previous disappointments in the UK we decided to give it a go. I am so glad we did because Bonnie Burrito was legit! Joel had the haggis burrito and I had the Irn Bru pulled pork and it was the perfect blend of Scottish and Mexican. Hands down the best burritos we’ve had in the UK!
From there we were off to Zach play some soccer! I’m not the biggest sports fan but it was a beautiful day and it was fun to watch friends doing something they love. I even managed to catch some cool shots with just my phone camera.
Then it was time for a long drive home! We went straight home Saturday night and slept in Sunday morning. On Sunday we play Commander in Newport and then went to see the new Naked Gun movie. It’s not my sense of humor but it was decent enough. The next day the Woerth’s rented a car and drove down to visit us for the rest of the week. We greeted them with fish and chips for dinner and an early night.
On Tuesday the 5th we did a walking tour of Caldicot, including a trip to get Welsh cakes, mead at Hive Mind, and sandwiches from the Baguette shop. For dinner we did a charcuterie board with a variety of British cheeses which was a huge hit! That evening we played some Magic, which was a big part of the week.
On Wednesday the 5th we did a big road trip down to Tintagel Castle. The weather was gorgeous (if a bit hot) and it was a great day for wandering around the castle ruins and the gorgeous cliffs and seaside. This is the supposed home of King Arthur! The views were stunning…
And there was a cool Merlin statue…
Although we were a bit disappointed that this was the castle…
We didn’t realize it was just ruins when we decided to go! But still, there was a very cool bridge that we both crossed and then saw from below…
And then we got to be down on a little beach and play in the water a bit. Joel taught Zach how to skip rocks and we took a group selfie!
We also go to explore the cave known as Merlin’s Cave!
From there it was a looong hike back up to the car and then a long drive home, but all in all a great day out.
On Thursday the 7th we took a day trip to Bath and did another Mystery Guide! It was fun to have Brian and Zach helping us with the clues, and Danielle and Aiden preferred to wander around taking photos of everything. We had a delicious lunch at Sally Lunn’s and got to see some of the ways the city was decorated to celebrate 250 years of Jane Austen!
Our mystery was solved when we found the golden cockerel at the final pub!
Our last day with the Woerth’s was that Friday, and after an exhausting two days big trips, we stayed closer to home. Joel took them to tour Caerwent and then we played some magic before they headed out in the evening. Then Joel and I watched Freaky Friday in preparation for seeing Freakier Friday on the Saturday!
By Sunday the 10th I was back into the full swing of things at work and spent much of the next week catching up. I did start a new 7 week class based on reading the book The Girl Who Baptized Herself by Megan Watterson. It looks at the book The Acts of Paul and Thecla - one of the extra-canonical books that didn’t make the final cut in the Bible. It has been fascinating to learn about.
On Wednesday the 13th we went up to Amy & Ben’s to help with some house organizing and we got to meet their new puppy! Rollo is a ball of energy and so freaking adorable!
The rest of that week was super hot so I spent time bouncing between reading outside in my pool and geting work done! I’ve started a new thing where once we have the preaching plan done for the coming quarter, I’m trying to get all of my worship planning done in advance. So my Saturday night looked like this.
The rest of the month was pretty chill! I did a lot of work to prep for the start of the new Methodist year in September, and we spent several more sessions at Amy & Ben’s helping them declutter and organize. For like 3 weeks I got really into selling my old clothes on Vinted and then had a bad experience and went back to taking things to the charity shop. Oh, and I got a pool-only membership for the local leisure centre and then they promptly closed the pool for a week! But I’ve started going to Aqua Running and Aqua Aerobics classes and I absolutely love them.
We closed the month with an early welcome service for our new minister on the circuit. It was a good way to round out one Methodist Year and dive head first into the next!
August was a great month of friends and fun and relaxation, I just hope I’m ready for everything September will bring!
XOXO, Bethany