Last Night

Last night was magical.

I had spent the majority of the morning and afternoon making a parsley pesto (omg so good) and an encore presentation of Sweet Potato Pie, and then spent the evening down in Da Bod (The Booth) which was once an old pub for hundreds of years, and is now a vegetarian cafe on the weekends. .





It's hard not to get swept away in the magic of the room. Stone walls and floors constantly remind you just how old the place s. And the low lighting and warmth of the peat fire just make you feel cozy and at home.





We ate dinner around the peat fire, drank wine, and listened to Miles Davis, a reggae band from New Zealand, and a wealth of other world music bands.




Around midnight or so the phone rang, it was Jan's son telling her that he had just seen two fire trucks, a police car, and the coast guard headed towards Lerwick. Immediately we got our coats and cameras and walked out door. The fire was at St. Magnus Bay hotel, a very old house here in Hillswick. Luckily it wasn't anything serious, just a small fire that had started by someone's cigarette on the porch. But the town was a-buzz. People were driving by in their cars slowly to see what was happening, and everyone that lived nearby was out on the street watching it all happen.





After the excitement of the fire, we all came back inside, enjoyed a few more glasses of wine and talked until 3 a.m. It was amazing sitting in that old, old room. Hundreds of years of history and good times have been had in that room and you can sense it. I feel so blessed that I am staying at a place with such energy and happiness lining the stone walls.

Earlier in the evening, Pete noticed my embroidered camera strap and asked me where I had gotten it in town here. I told him that I had had that strap since my first camera about 12 years ago. He looked at me, kind of surprised and said:

"You do realize that is a Shetland Fair Isle pattern, right? The Ox-O. It is the one they are most known for."

I had absoloutely no idea.

But I do know that I definitely chose the right place for my trip.

And as my trip winds down to an end, I can't help but think, given all that has happened and the wonderful people I have met, that this island chose me.

Then again, perhaps that's just the LOST nerd in my talking. :-)

Location:Da Bod, Hillswick, Shetland, United Kingdom