Have you seen Glamis Castle? Because I haven't.

So here's the thing about adventures.

Sometimes, when you head out on a Saturday morning with a vague understanding of public transportation systems and a tour-guide-quality map, you end up at Edinburgh Castle.

Sometimes, though, you discover that the 22A bus to Glamis Castle no longer runs, although the bus company continues to display the schedule on the website. So, because you're already in Dundee and now have a day-long bus pass for two people that cost about $35, you consider a trip to Forfar and then Glamis which would put you there at around 2:30 but because the last bus leaves from there at 4:00 and there's a 15-minute walk from the bus station to the castle, you ultimately realize that Glamis Castle is clearly off the table for the day.

Instead, you decide to go and see Edzell Castle, which you've never heard of but are still willing to believe that it's better than any house you've ever lived in. It's in Montrose. You board a double-decker bus and take a beautiful hour-and-a-half long bus trip up the eastern coast of Scotland to Montrose, a medieval city where the townspeople have clearly and deliberately decided to confuse tourists by setting up signs to "tourist information" first at the train station, then at the museum, then, because as it turns out the museum is closed, at the library which has vanished like Brigadoon. You finally locate a map in front of the WH Smith's, thank god.

However, because it's absolutely freezing, you decide have lunch first at a lovely pub and then try to catch a bus to Edzell Castle. Doesn't look hard -- bus 30 clearly goes to Edzell. And how big can Edzell be, anyway? So you try one bus station. Then you try another. You find bus 30 and when it arrives, the driver tells you that it does NOT go to Edzell because it's Saturday afternoon. The bus only goes to Edzell on Saturday mornings. Naturally. Why bother to put that critical information in writing?

It's getting dark. The snow has hardened into frozen spit, which is literally taking flesh off your cheeks. Montrose has myriad second-hand stores and one decent pub, but not much else, so you get back on the bus to Dundee, then to St Andrews. At this point, you have been literally freezing for eight hours and have not seen a single castle.

But here's the thing I want to say about about adventures. You go back to your flat, cook up some curry lentil soup, crawl under the blankets and realize that you had a beautiful, awesome day. You saw stunning coastline. You had a great lunch. You wandered all over an ancient city, and finished with your mother-in-law's fantastic recipe. It's important to recognize that adventures are not about where you end up (although I really wanted to see Glamis Castle). They're about getting there, and getting home, and learning something new in the process. They're about finding something strange and fantastic about the world -- like the fact that Montrose has an RAF base and museum that I would like to visit -- and spending time talking and laughing with someone you love. And they're about appreciating the warmth and joy at home . . . whether home is a castle, a modest house in Salem, or a studio flat in St Andrews.

So, because I feel obligated to make this blog reflective, if not actually educational, here's what we learned from yesterday's adventure:

• Don't trust the online bus schedule. Call first.
• On the other hand, when the museum website says it's closed, it's closed.
• People who own earmuffs are geniuses. Plus they'll still have ears in the morning.
• Scottish weatherpeople are often right about the weather. They are often wrong about the time weather will begin.
• When you see a pub that looks good, stop. Do not wander around looking in the windows of disreputable-looking Chinese restaurants.
• Consider rephrasing the question, "Are there any castles around here?" when speaking to a Scottish person. As there are many castles around here (no matter where you are), the question is as tedious as, "You're from the US? I know someone in New York! Is that near where you live?"

The long and the short of it is this. Come visit -- we'll go to Glamis Castle. We now know how to get there.