Partying with the fam because Chips the Am

We have had such an amazing last 4 days! We were able to see Adam's uncle Chip play in the Senior British Open in Southport!  We were feeling homesick from 3 months of travel so it couldn't have come at a better time. Adam's uncle Chip, aunt Bonnie, their friends John and Anne, Adam's cousins Curt and Jenna and Jordan and Nicole, Adams other uncle Putter and aunt Kim all flew out to see the tournament. We had such a blast! Putter caddied and the rest of us were the "wolf pack" cheer leaders. Chip had 4 great days of golf. He was covered on ESPN and was the low amateur, which automatically qualifies him for next year's Open. Chip and Bonnie are 2 of the most generous people I have ever met and we are so grateful we could be part of this adventure. We had a sweet party bus all weekend and our driver Steve took us on a fun Beatles tour and all over town. We had good stories, good drinks and good laughs :) The hotel was absolutely gorgeous! I wanted to spend the next 7 months of our year long trip just living there. We had such a great time and we are so blessed to have such loving fam!!!!

Scotland- Highlands, Edinburgh and Glasgow

I really thought that places like this only existed in movies and dreams. The hills and valleys are so green, with lakes and mountain all around, it is really overwhelming. Most of the drive we were completely speechless with an occasional "wow, look how beautiful that is".  What a masterpiece! The towns were great as well. Granted the weather was some of the best they have had in almost 10 years but everyone was out enjoying the town. The bagpipers are so adorable in their kilts. We did some shopping and enjoyed a few coffee houses. We had probably the best camping of our lives. It was only 10 pounds and we had this incredible place right along Louch Leven in the Highlands. If ever I need a peaceful place to build my mansion and retire, I'd say we have a winner. Our luck ran out late last night though. We were supposed to be camping by the England/Scotland border and as we were driving, the freeway signs said "heavy rain forecasted". As we generally ignored the signs and kept driving, it started poring rain so hard I thought our car was going to wash down the freeway! Cloe's windshield wipers couldn't go fast enough and we eventually had to pull into a trustee McDonalds to get dinner and look for a hotel. Soaking wet and tired we finally pulled into another 1star hotel for a luxurious bubble bath and some late night comedy tv!!!

"My next thirty years will be the best years of my life..."

Today, I officially say goodbye to my 20's! I have been dreading this day for a while and now it's finally here. Someone once said "Do not regret growing older. It is a privilege denied to many". So good. Anytime you have a landmark birthday you think about your life and what you would like to do more of (and less of). I've been thinking a lot about generosity and love. I've been shown so much during this trip. It's humbling to be on the receiving end and have nothing to give back. I think that is how life is meant to be lived; trusting and helping one another. God has blessed me so much in my life and I know He will continue to lead me and provide for me. Adam and I got to spend today in Glasgow, Scotland! Which is incredible, an absolutely beautiful day!!!! Adam planned a great day of botanical gardens, shopping and eating out. The day was so perfect that I almost couldn't contain the happiness. We are staying a couple of days in a hotel and we got a free upgrade because its my d-day, oh I mean b-day. The first thing I did was take a long shower. My last shower at the campgrounds, I got completely lathered up with shampoo and soap and the water turned off. I had to go all day with a thick layer of dried soap all over me and in my hair. Needless to say it was disgusting! So today I am living it up and enjoying the first day of my 30's. So in the words of Tim McGraw...

"Now it's time to focus in on where I go from here

Lord have mercy on my next thirty years"

London, England- an incredible place to visit!

London is absolutely incredible! With a population of 8.3 million, it is the most populous urban region in the uk. There is so much to do in this city. You could spend months here and not see it all. We stayed with our friend Evelyn in this great flat in Islington. She was such a sweet host and we loved her place. It is a very trendy area that reminds us a lot of certain LA neighborhoods. Everyone was out enjoying the parks and restaurants. That was also because we were there for the longest heat wave in nearly a decade! It might sound like a good thing until you are stuck on buses and museums with no a/c. Yuck! One of the best things about London, all the museums are free!!! We went to the British museum, which is known for the section on mummies, the science museum, the natural history museum, which has a dinosaur exhibit, and an exhibit on humans and great interactive things for kids, the National museum, which was my favorite museum I've been to. Every room is full of  REALLY famous masterpieces by Di Vinci, Rembrant, Monet, Michelangelo, Van Gogh, and so many more. And ok, it's definitely worth donating to those museums that they keep free to the public. We also saw the usual things: Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly Circuis, London eye, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, Hyde Park, London Bridge (quite Unimpressive), Tower Bridge (quite impressive), London Tower, and St Paul's. Then we went to Cambridge, which is a really beautiful little town. Seriously London was such an amazing city!!!

Paris, France- Lourve, Versailles

The rest of our Paris trip was wonderful! We were there on the French National Day, July 14, their 4th of July equivalent. The Lourve was free (our favorite word) that day! It was packed with tourists but we got there early so we had a chance to go through and see the Mona Lisa, The Wedding Feast, Aphrodite, Captive and so many other famous Master pieces. They had Napolean's apartments which are so ornate and incredible. Then we went to Versailles to check out the gardens and the canal. Every blade of grass in that place is perfectly in its place. Like if you sneeze you might throw the whole place off of its perfect axis. We had a cute little picnic lunch of fruit and baguettes in the gardens. Then at night we went to see the fireworks show with our sweet and generous couchsurfing family. Nothing compares to seeing an incredible fireworks show over the sparkling Effel Tower!!! 2 people for 3 days in Paris and we spent under 50 dollars. We sure know how to travel :)