I'M HOME!

I’ve had an incredible journey! I feel like I’ve taken the red pill, and now I can never go back to life, as it existed before! I’ve seen things that I can never un-see! I notice now that my mind perks up when hearing or seeing something familiar, and that bank of familiarity has a much larger balance than ever before! I’m not sure when I’ll go again, or what avenue I’ll use to get me there, but I’m certain this is just the beginning of seeing the rest of this incredible world that is right outside my door!

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading my blog, and that maybe this will inspire you to begin or resume your own journeys!

Bon Voyage!

INCHCOLM ABBEY...

YAY! Another ruined abbey...I really enjoy visiting these! :)

Here is an aerial map from the visitor center. It's fun looking back at it now. I think I really did manage to crawl my way through every nook and cranny! =)

Including all the way up to the top of the tower, which as you'll find out shortly, was much harder than it may look from here!

There were so many vents and drainage holes, which, without a flash, looked very CREEPY!


Especially this old bread oven! It's gigantic in there! You could probably cram 20 people into this space through that little opening!

I really loved all the stairs and iron gates!

There was a strange nook the size of a person up on the top left! I have nooooo idea what that was for!

Can you see the ancient writing on the wall?

The views from all the windows were so pretty! :)

I think all the features here make this one of my favorite combinations! The rock, weathered and blow-up included, the arched window, the moss, and the black, streaky stains! I love it all!

I'm sooooo happy to be here wandering around! =)

The spiral stairwells were so beautiful! Especially the ones with little windows!

This one was sooooo creepy! I wondered if I was going to have to leave my backpack with my friends in order to squeeze into it! I gave it a go anyway, and barely made it. I could feel my backpack brushing against the wall the whole way. I figured if I fell, maybe it would help cushion the fall! LOL

Don't let the stream of light fool you...it was still VERY dark in here!

After feeling like I had just been reborn through the stairwell, I had to make my way up some VERY steep steps to the top of the tower! I believe this stairway was double the usual incline ratio! I chose to walk backwards when I made my way back down it, just in case!

This was one of my favorite windows on the way up! I loved how little it was, and the view from it was incredible!

(Again...can you see me beaming! I really was having such a blast here! It was like McDonald's play land for grown-ups!!!)

My friends got bored, I think! That's them way down on the ground, sitting on the picnic bench! Mallory got a pic of me while I was at the top, so I'm excited to get that from her! :)

I loved peeking at the island through this window!

I'm almost to the very top! That's the last set of stairs behind me, but it felt like they were made of flimsy metal, so that was a little creepy!

I stuck my camera over the edge to get a view of the courtyard just below!

The guard rail kept climbers too far from the edge, so I wasn't able to get any pictures that were any more impressive than the ones I had already taken, so I headed back down!

The tip of my shoe is in this pic for a little perspective! Each step would barely fit one of my shoes...I can only imagine how difficult this must have been for the typical male!

There were so many spaces that seemed like residual voids from various remodels. This was one of my favorites!

I think this was my favorite room! The light, color, wear, windows, archways and columns all added up to a very pleasant atmosphere!

Sorry for the blurriness...I realized my camera was on the wrong setting half-way into photographing this space. :(

This is my favorite room from the outside. They called it the Chapter House on the map.

Time to go! We had about an hour and 45 minutes to explore the island. I probably could have spent the day there, taking a million photographs!

(Good thing for you I only had 105 minutes huh?)

The mist in the air lessened, but there was still quite a bit of a haze.

The experiences at arrival and departure are often so different! I remember seeing this view from a tour bus, at the beginning of my journey, thinking to myself how little the buildings below the bridge looked; being right next to the bridge, I think it was so massive I didn't even realize it was there!