On my first Sunday in church in Scotland, a gal introduced herself to me and gave me her number. She said I could call her for coffee sometime.

But I didn’t call her.

For all kinds of reasons.

I was in a state of total overwhelm. I thought she was just being polite. I was still mourning our move. I missed my friends from home.

So I didn’t meet up with Sandra for coffee.

But she didn’t forget about me. She remembered that she had offered.

And sometime after Christmas, she made another attempt. She invited me to her house for tea with a couple of other moms of teenagers.

And this time I took her up on her offer.

And the women that were at tea on that very cold, wet day became some of my closest friends in Aberdeen.

They are the people I asked my questions about school and exams.

Over the next 2 1/2 years, we ate together and took our kids on outings together and prayed for each other.

Sometime this spring, I told Sandra about one of the places on my list that I still wanted to see on a day trip from Aberdeen.

It’s this place north of Aberdeen, but still on the coast, and there’s this crazy rock I’ve seen pictures of. It’s called Bow Fiddle Rock. Have you ever heard of it?

She had not heard of it, but when I described it a little more (A rock that looks like it has been slid into another rock.) and told her the name of the closest town, her eyes grew wide with recognition.

Cullen!! I went there for summer holidays as a child! I haven’t been there for ages.

And so a day trip was planned. We drove up one morning after our kids left for school to walk from Cullen to Bow Fiddle Rock.

I was super excited when I spotted it!

And it’s just beautiful from every angle.

We had such a fun day walking along the coast and seeing the places Sandra played with her sister when they were young girls.

We even got a little Scottish sunshine.

We walked back to Cullen and popped into this darling little spot for lunch.

The Rockpool Cafe.

Everything was scrumptious.

We ate crab bruschetta and had Cullen Skink, the creamy fish chowder you can order all over Scotland but is named for Cullen!

Then we walked up and down the high street and popped into a shop or two before driving back to Aberdeen.

It was one of those perfect days I’ll save forever in my memory. And it makes up a little bit for the fact that I missed out on four months of teas and coffee with Sandra by not taking her up on her original offer.

We moved to Germany last week. And on Wednesday, a mom at Simon’s new school asked me to come over for coffee.

I don’t really feel like making new friends yet.

I’m overwhelmed. I have a serious language barrier going on. I miss my friends I’ve left behind. Maybe this mom was just being polite.

But I immediately said yes, exchanged numbers and set up a date.

I have Sandra to thank for that.

PS. If you want to visit Bow Fiddle Rock, here’s a great map of the walk from Cullen.

The post A Sunny Spring Walk to Bow Fiddle Rock from Cullen, Scotland appeared first on Alison Chino.