Aberdeen

Yesterday we went bowling with the people we are visiting who live here and their children. Outside of the bowling Alley I was surprised to find a ropes course as an amusement park attraction. There was a channel of metal that contained a bolt or roller mechanism. A rope was tied to this vertically above the child, so even if the child was 3 or 4 stories high, even if they fell off the rope or minimalist walkway they were walking on they would not fall to the ground or injure themselves because of the thick rope and harness they were in tied permanently into the channels of metal that ran one story at a time through various courses 1 to 4 stories above the ground. In this way a child could do amazing things far above the ground without fear of serious injury. Because of the liability issues in the U.S. this ride likely could not exist. However, here in Scotland it not only exists but thrives. Something like this is very good for children to experience how capable they really are, sort of like an outward bound achievement course set into an amusement park.

Finally, the adults older than about 26 (there were 4 of us from about 45 to my 63) we decided to walk along the ocean of the North sea. It was pointed out to my wife and I that the ships anchored out to sea were oil rig tenders that bring people and supplies back and forth from the oil rigs in the North sea that drill for the oil that is there and pump it up into oil container ships.

Aberdeen is an interesting place because it is on the dry side of Scotland on the Eastern Coast on the North Sea so when other places are raining heavily it is doing that much less here on not at all. So, yesterday even though it was raining most other places in Scotland it was dry and nice here in Aberdeen.