My Dad's parents came to Canada from Scotland back in the 1950's. He's always wanted to visit his parents' homeland. So for his 40th Birthday, we surprised him by planning a family trip to Scotland. We would be spending 3 weeks there.

I had never flown before so I was excited and a little nervous at the same time. After a long flight, we touched down at The Roddy Piper Memorial Airport. My Dad wanted to experience every part of his Scottish heritage. The food, the music, the people, all of it!

When we got off the plane, we were greeted by a marching band with guys wearing kilts and playing bagpipes. Turns out it wasn't for us but it was still pretty cool to watch. We were actually waiting for my Dad's cousin Angus to pick us up.

Angus was a big guy with flaming red hair and a mustache. He had a very thick accent when he spoke. My Dad was able to understand every word but all I heard was "lads and lassies." We loaded our luggage into the car and headed off to his house where we would be staying for the next 3 weeks.

We were all tired when we finally arrived and decided to go directly to bed. The following night Angus took us out to see a group of Highland Dancers. They were really good and very pretty. One of the girls smiled at me and for the rest of the night my sister Moira kept saying "Hamish has a girlfriend!" I got so embarrassed that my cheeks turned red.

Later in the week we went to a local pub called "McCooney's".  I had a Scotch Pie while Angus and my Dad both ordered pints of beer that looked thick as molasses. The host was a little bizarre as he walked around with a flute and kept asking us to solve riddles all night. My Dad and Angus stayed late and sang Scottish folk songs with the others well into the evening.

Angus said that we had come to Scotland at a good time.  It was "Robbie Burns Day". "The old rich guy from The Simpsons" "Um, no son, he was a talented Scottish poet. As we made our way to the table, a group of bagpipers played in the background. Soon it was time for the soup. Mmmm, Scotch broth!

Then it was time for the haggis! It wasn't that bad actually. I asked my sister what was in it and then promptly spit it into my napkin. "Ewwww!!!!" My Dad ate all of his haggis and then finished the rest of mine. He ate so fast that he started to look a little queasy. "You okay Dad?" "I think I'm going to be hurl!" he shouted as he stumbled out the front door.

The next morning my Dad was very sick. Angus had planned a full day of sightseeing for us but it looked like it wasn't going to happen. My Mom said that she would stay with my Dad so that Angus could show us more of Scotland. He even promised us a big surprise. He was going to take us to Loch Ness, home of The Loch Ness Monster!