seaside

First off, I wanted to thank Josh Bingham for the shout-out today on our Part Time Authors blog. You should read it. It was very kind, and super funny. Thanks, Josh. I'm always kind of writing with you in mind anyway. Thanks for hanging on since '06! FNL for the win!

We got up a little earlier today than usual (and I won't even tell you what time "usual" is except that you can no longer get a Egg McMuffin by then) so we could see The Trojan Women, performed by some friends at Dixie State. Joe and Suzy Fox were there, as Joe is technical directing the show. It was fun to see their work. The show was in a really neat, moody space three flights down in a basement. It smelled a little moist and dank and it was perfect for this kind of show. Joe filled the caverns and arches with beautiful lighting and haze. It was really striking, and so fun to see the show with some familiar faces in it.

After Martyr's Crossing Lisa and I had lunch with Joe and Suzy at the Red Squirrel Diner. Joe chastised us for having hamburgers in Scotland, but we couldn't resist. These are enormous hamburgers. And a giant plate of creamy mac and cheese (all this for you, Josh!) It was fun catching up with friends and eating good food. Meanwhile, there was a giant deluge of rain outside, though, oddly this was the first real rainstorm we've had all week. It's not like Edinburgh to be this dry. It only lasted a few moments before the clouds lifted, and we said goodbye to our friends and went on our way.

I wanted to take Lisa to North Berwick, a charming seaside town about 30 minutes away. The train leaves once per hour, and Lisa and I ran for it but got to the platform just as it was leaving. So we wandered through Topshop and H&M for a bit while we waited for the next one. At H&M all the mannequins were dressed like sexy librarians. Just my style!

We caught the next train just fine, and shared a car with a little family next to us. They had a daughter, about 6, named Margaret and a son, about 3, named Owen. Margaret was playing "snaps" with Owen, but she kept changing the rules so that Owen would lose. Her mom would call her out on it, and Margaret would just shrug and say "well that's just how you play snaps, isn't it?" She was a little Scottish tyrant but so, so cute. And since we have a Margaret and an Owen in our family, it was fun to hear those names.

North Berwick was so nice. It was so quiet out there. No sound but waves and seagulls. I collected some sea glass on the beach and we had fun people watching and talking about our kids and our lives. Such a nice conversation with someone I love. We wandered along the coast and then into town. We stopped at an old church built in 1100 AD and I took some pictures of the moss inside it. We found a beautiful park full of flowers and birds. There was an aviary, but there were also birds all over the trees in the park. They made hoots and coos from just about every limb and it was a fun sound to listen to. The quieter we were, the louder they were.

We finally decided it was time for dinner, so we found Bella Italia on the High Street. They asked if we had a reservation and I said no, and then they said to come in. So I'm guessing it wasn't that busy. It was sure delicious, though! I had a huge plate of lasagna (the kind YOU make, Josh!) and Lisa had a Caprese Salad. The room eventually filled with Scottish golfers, and I'm pretty sure we were the only tourists in the building. That's a nice feeling, sometimes.

We took the train back to Edinburgh at 7:20, feeling calm and rested. It was a beautiful afternoon. The fields outside the window were gold with patches of purple thistle and Russian sage. I love that stuff.

Josh and I capped the evening by seeing Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang back at the festival. I had no prior knowledge of the show, besides the fact that it's about two monks who come back to life and tell stories of the end of their monastery in the 1500's. It was actually really hysterical. The two actors played several roles, including a swishy lady named "Miss Alice" that Josh and I are still laughing about. I realized it was the last show, beyond the final performance of Martyr's Crossing, that I would see on this trip. I've seen so much and my batteries are recharged. Excited to go home now and do my own work again!