The birds have flown the U.K. nest....

Early this morning on April 14, my parents left for the U.S. and Zach and Amy had already left Easter Sunday, so it left me with some alone time with mom and pops which was fun.

in our last few days, we chilled in Eastbourne, then the last full day we visited a small town near Eastbourne called Hastings (NOT the one in MI!) and visited the castle ruins there and played adventure golf near the channel! i came in second, freddy first, and mom last ;) Freddy got 2 hole in ones!! what a pro.

Everyone said they had a great trip, and i cant believe that it is all over now! so much planning, prepping, and anticipation, and it just sweeps by so quickly! the weather, thankfully, was in our favor for most of the trip. the first couple of days in Eastbourne were foggy but the we were able to see the views from Beachy Head and whatnot. The weather in London was really great too! we didnt need our coats for most of our time there, and it was always busy with sight seeing and of course EATING!!!! i know we all have to go on diets when our lives get back to normal. i would say its a safe bet to guess we each gained at least 3 pounds? :p

Although london was really cool to see and our hotel (thank you my dear associate ;) was really nice, after the first night in a crappy apartment that had lied to me on the internet with such luxe looking pictures, then the real deal was quite far from what i had seen. so Zach found a great place for us and we enjoyed our stay there!

However, i believe that St. Andrews, Scotland was everyone's favorite place!! I had visited Scotland for a few days back in Feb, and just couldnt bear the thought of the fam coming here and not taking them to see its beauty, and listen to the wonderful accents!!

The town we stayed in is the birth place of the game of golf! so of course, zach and dad were mesmerized with its history and trying to get a chance to play on the 'old course'. though they werent able to get a tee time, we enjoyed the views and got pictures of the course. we also went to the castle ruinds down the road from our B&B and that was amazing!! so much of it was still standing and you could walk around and go inside of it. there was a long tunnel underground too that was once used by enemies trying to burrow their way into the castle! mom and zach and amy went down there, but freddy and i chickened out cuz it looked pretty tight, and i was wearing my new running shoes........so vain, i know ;P

We spent a day in Edinburgh too, and of course it was another fav of the fam! we went inside Edinburgh castle, and walked and shopped on the Royal Mile and loved the food! and zach had a good time impersonating the Scottish accent, which he is quite talented at. :D

We also had the world's best sticky toffee pudding while in St.Andrews too! Just ask freddy where to go for the best pudding in the U.K. He tried nearly every play that sold it! :)

It was busy, and fun having the family here, and now i feel quite motivated to get my ace crackin and get work done so i might be able to go home and finish up my disseration in the U.S. and keep searching for jobs!!

It was a great time, and i loved planning everything and showing the fam the history of England and Scotland!