the city. When we left Edinburgh and headed into the Scottish Highlands we were awed by the rugged lushness of the place. Again, we did not encounter much music, but we did spend two days at some Highland games where we saw plenty of dancers, pipers and men in skirts, which was perfectly fine by me!

Ireland was next on our route. Since we had spent time in the Republic a few years ago, we decided to visit mostly the North on this trip. I was excited to meet a distant cousin and her family in Pomeroy, Co. Tyrone. What was to be a two day visit turned into four. Just like at Gerald's, we became the celebrity guests from Texas America. Cousin Cristina and her seven children, who all live nearby, took us in and made us part of the family. They drove us around to the graves and old homesites of my ancestors. They planned outings. And they fed us, and fed us, and fed us. They also did our laundry.

We haven't stumbled across any festivals in Ireland yet, but the music we have found has been local and/or spontaneous: a ceildih in a local community center near Pomeroy, and informal sessions in the wonderfully cozy pubs, for example. From the rousing, almost constant sound of pipes in Lorient to the lively tunes of the six member group that jammed in "The Schooner Inn" in Donegal Town last night, the musical stops along our "Celtic Route" have been rich and satisfying.

My fire is dying down, so maybe I'll face the wind and venture down the velvety green slopes toward the beach - or maybe I'll just put some more turf on the fire and split a Guinness with Victor.

Slainte,
Mary Lynn