North Berwick
Today we went to North Berwick to see the Scottish Seabird Centre. The girls were excited that they were going to go on a train again. It was a short, 35 minute, ride to North Berwick. When we got to the city, we instantly fell in love with it. It's a beautiful and quaint city right next to the sea. But, boy were those sidewalks narrow! And, with our double-wide stroller, it was a bit of a challenge getting around people. The main point of this trip was to visit the Scottish Seabird Centre, so we headed there.In front of the Seabird Centre, we saw the ruins of an old church as well as a large red granite Celtic cross. I was actually wondering why the cross was there and found that it was erected in memory of Catherine Watson of Glasgow. On July 27, 1889, she died while rescuing a boy who was drowning. The boy did survive. The memorial was crafted by her fellow students at Glasgow School of Art. Looking out at the water, you can see Bass Rock, which is about 2 miles away. This is a large trachyte, or volcanic rock, that rises out of the Firth of Forth. From the shore, the top of the rock looks white. After going into the Seabird Centre and getting a close-up, telescopic view of the rock, we discovered that all of that white was actually a huge bird population (mostly Gannets)!
The Seabird Centre really was a neat place. They had a play area with cameras showing the children playing so that the parents could easily keep an eye on them. They had paper and crayons set up so that the kids could draw or making rubbings of birds (there were metal plaques with raised pictures of the birds). There were lots telescopes set up so that we could look at the bird populations (and possibly seals, whales, and dolphins - although we didn't see any!) on Bass Rock and other locations. The images were projected onto large screens so that everyone could look at the animals. 
They also had some short informative movies about the wildlife. Katie was entranced by these movies. Dani thought they were interesting. Claire HATED being told to sit still for any amount of time! Katie, Dani, and Cole watched a movie on puffins. Katie was very sad to learn that most puffins don't live past their first year! And, after seeing baby puffins, or pufflings, I think they all want one for a pet. Katie and Cole also watched a short show on seals. Where Katie learned that seagulls eat seal pups because the pups are so defenseless. I didn't believe her when she told me, "Did you know sea gulls eat seals?" Then, Cole explained the movie. Everyone's gotta eat, right? This is our motto whenever we watch nature films!
We decided that we didn't really *need* to see the castle. So, we headed back to the train station. On the way, we saw a beautiful graveyard with the ruins of a church. We stopped there to enjoy the scenery and pass the time before the train would arrive. I'm not sure what this church was called. It was on Kirk Street. And, after looking up information on North Berwick churches and cemeteries, I found that the city has a history rich in witches, grave robbery, and baptizing a cat. I definitely want to find out more about this city! 
The girls enjoyed going through the graveyard and asking lots of questions. And, sadly, Claire thought that the fallen gravestones were there for her to get on and practice jumping off of them. This brought on a conversation with Katie about respecting the dead.
Finally, we went to the train station and headed back to Edinburgh. Waverly Station is right on Princes Street. So, we walked through the museum and then got some Candy Floss (also known as Cotton Candy). I believe we finally got back to our flat sometime after 4:00 (with a broken stroller). We didn't do much the rest of the evening!
The Seabird Centre really was a neat place. They had a play area with cameras showing the children playing so that the parents could easily keep an eye on them. They had paper and crayons set up so that the kids could draw or making rubbings of birds (there were metal plaques with raised pictures of the birds). There were lots telescopes set up so that we could look at the bird populations (and possibly seals, whales, and dolphins - although we didn't see any!) on Bass Rock and other locations. The images were projected onto large screens so that everyone could look at the animals. 
They also had some short informative movies about the wildlife. Katie was entranced by these movies. Dani thought they were interesting. Claire HATED being told to sit still for any amount of time! Katie, Dani, and Cole watched a movie on puffins. Katie was very sad to learn that most puffins don't live past their first year! And, after seeing baby puffins, or pufflings, I think they all want one for a pet. Katie and Cole also watched a short show on seals. Where Katie learned that seagulls eat seal pups because the pups are so defenseless. I didn't believe her when she told me, "Did you know sea gulls eat seals?" Then, Cole explained the movie. Everyone's gotta eat, right? This is our motto whenever we watch nature films!
We decided that we didn't really *need* to see the castle. So, we headed back to the train station. On the way, we saw a beautiful graveyard with the ruins of a church. We stopped there to enjoy the scenery and pass the time before the train would arrive. I'm not sure what this church was called. It was on Kirk Street. And, after looking up information on North Berwick churches and cemeteries, I found that the city has a history rich in witches, grave robbery, and baptizing a cat. I definitely want to find out more about this city! 
The girls enjoyed going through the graveyard and asking lots of questions. And, sadly, Claire thought that the fallen gravestones were there for her to get on and practice jumping off of them. This brought on a conversation with Katie about respecting the dead. 
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