We spent the last two nights of our road tour in the valley that surrounds the River Spey. Like half the distilleries in Scotland are based here - we only had time to visit one (Cragganmore - because they have a cool-shaped still that Patrick wanted to check out). Speyside was nice, and it was a great place to poke around. We got a lovely walk in - filled with lambs and flowers.
We also got to tour Speyside Cooperage - where they repair and make wine/whiskey casks. It's one of those arts that can't be done by machines... and it was just really neat to learn about and watch the artisans who keep the coopering craft alive.
We also had dinner at a pub called the Wash Tun where we met a really neat couple, Graeme and Lyn, from Queensland, Australia and had fun swapping traveling stories for the hour or so before the kitchen opened. We hope to visit them when we get to Australia - or have them visit us in Colorado!
Telling us all about the battle - in this case - that the Victorians romanticized things a bit when they made memorials for the site!
We got so much fun advice from friends as they learned about our upcoming trip to Scotland. Not least was when our friend Beth suggested catching the museum and site of the Battle of Culloden.
This place really was neat - it not only included walking tours of the battlefield, but also had displays inside that included a timeline walk showing perspectives from both sides that fought in the battle, and a scaled map table that showed lights depicting the action during the battle as lines advanced and retreated... just really neat. More photos here.
Yep, that's our rental car...
'Member when I mentioned our museum geekiness in my last post?
So - we got to the museum, did a tour of the actual battlefield, left to go check out a cheese shop (a.k.a. lunch!), and then returned to pretty much shut the place down.
Yup, some people close down the bars... we close down the museums...
Ok, where was I? The last we left our characters, they were bashing about the very north-est north part of Scotland. Let's catch up...
As we began wandering south again, I started looking for B&Bs near Brora... and I hit the jackpot! Victoria and her hubby Jason run Clynelish Farmhouse B&B a working farm right next to the Clynelish Distillery.
We both agreed later that this was our favorite part of the entire trip. We stayed there two nights and both evenings ended up, tucked in next to the fireplace downstairs, snacking on wine and cheese, and talking with Victoria about farming, Scotland, and pretty much everything!
We liked Brora (the nearby town) too; we took a lovely walk along the ocean to see seals... and actually saw them! We visited Dunrobin Castle - we honestly meant to just stop by quick on our way to a long hike... and-we-just-couldn't-leave!
Now is as good a time as any to confess: I MARRIED A MUSEUM GEEK. AND SO DID MY HUSBAND. We don't seem to be able to stop by any historical place without both of us wanting to make sure we check out ALL the rooms and read ALL the informational displays. I guess it's a really good thing that we're both that way - but it does mean that there's no such thing as a quick run-through... anywhere!
One of the highlights of our time at the castle was a falconry show; they have a professional falconer on site and he shared amazing facts about falconry as a sport and about the individual birds in his care.
So it was time to get north. Really north. Like nearly as northwest and northnorth and northeast as you can get on mainland Scotland. We also needed to touch the North Sea - just to say we'd done it.
Click on the collage for more photos and mini-blurbs of our loop - this part of Scotland was just incredible.
We left Portree and headed up the western coast. Essie, the proprietor at the Portree B&B, had told us about the highest highway in Britain - a single track that went over the mountains to Applecross and some of the best pub food in the country.
It was soooo good - though after the drive there, I wonder some of the taste had to do with just being glad to be alive.
See this church? As we walked passed it we ran into an English couple who were birdwatching for corncrakes. We stopped to chat and learned a bunch about flowers and birds from them, and then they pointed back at the ruins we had passed.
"Do you know the story of that church?"
"No, we liked the look of the ruins, though"
"It was burned down by the MacDonalds. They barred the doors while a bunch of MacCleods wee inside and burned them alive."
"Seriously?"
"Yes. And then the MacCleods came after the MacDonalds and killed every one of them."
So, Ballachulish (pronounced "balla-hu-lish) is actually far less famous than up-the-road Glencoe, but isn't it more fun to say?
Glencoe is famous for a massacre that occurred in 1692 - but also for the beautiful hills that surround it. We took an incredibly beautiful hike there, and wandered around an old slate quarry for quite a while.
Our Bed & Breakfast was run by John, who is pretty much just toying with the idea of setting up a B&B, so it doesn't even have a name yet. He made awesome food, had neat stories of his time in Australia, and also had cool themed art throughout the house. Our room overlooked the water so we were sad we were only staying a night before moving onto...
the Isle of Skye!
Wow. We were told that if we could catch the weather right, we would have the best views in Scotland at Isle of Skye. It's hard to compare awesome against awesome, but it really was incredible. We stayed at a sweet B&B called Almond Bank and Essie, the proprietor has lived on the Isle of Skye her whole life. We had to make sure we were there before she left for her Scottish folk dance class. We ended up spending a lot of time on the Waternish peninsula, and later went left for a beautiful walk near Dunvegan. Waternish had views, a place called SkyeSkins (where they process sheep skins!), and a yarn shop that dyes all of their yarn, much of it with plants harvested right there.
There are a ton of beautiful photos from our time in these two places: check 'em out here.
After spending over an hour in "queue", we were finally in our home for the next 1 1/2 weeks: a Vauxhall Corsa 1.2, complete with steering wheel on the right side of the car and manual transmission. Woo hoo!
Rosslyn Chapel
We wanted to head west, but our friend Shane had told us about this amazing chapel just south of Edinburgh called Rosslyn Chapel - so we just had to check it out. This one was established in 1446 and is also still an active place of worship. We spent several hours, wandering in and around the chapel and grounds. The carving is amazing, and flowers all around it were beautiful!
But, it was time to head west. We barreled through Glasgow and up along the shores of Loch Lamond before landing in...
Inverary
Inverary was one of our favorite places. It's a small town at the top of the Kintyre peninsula. Turns out there's a beautiful, famous castle there (where Downton Abby was filmed - huh!), but down on the peninsula was a whisky distillery we really wanted to visit. One of the best parts was the bed & breakfast - The Claonairigh House (pronounced "cloon-er-ee"). We were met with tea, served grilled grapefruit and homemade rolls in the morning, and really had a great time talking with the proprieter Fiona.
The Springbank distillery tour was really fun and interesting - and a great place for a first tour. For one thing, they let us take photos! For another, it's the only distillery in Scotland that does the entire process, from malting the barley on, right on site. Our tour guide was... well, listen for yourself and you'll see how lovely:
Another highlight of our time here almost didn't happen - we debated about stopping by Inverary Castle, and ended up going for it as we were heading out. It was beautiful and interesting - a great place to wander about. Once again, they allowed photos, which not all castles do.
It's funny to actually be here after all of the anticipation and planning.
Friday: arrival & first explorations
Our bed and breakfast is simple and clean. Claudia met us at the door to let us in and willing answer all of our questions. A lot of folks in the service industry here seem to be from other countries - it's so fun to try to decipher accents.
Had dinner at Tempus - a lovely restaurant and our waiter was from Poland. She had fun suggestions for enjoying the city while we were there.
One of the very highlighty-highlights was wandering the streets and just getting used to the idea that we really ARE in Europe... and then we wandered into an Irish pub that was actually in the middle of a sing-along! We sheepishly hovered till someone moved over and offered us seating, and ordered a pint each. We sat and joined in when we could. The quality isn't good - but listen for a bit of what we heard... so, so fun!
Saturday: the castle! and random Edinburgh meanderings
The castle is really just a cool place - amazing history, amazing stories. We had a 1/2 hour tour and then wandered about for hours. Both ended up being a great way to get to know the country a bit - knowledge that we get to build on as we spend more time here. Click on the photo for a few more pics.
We also did a bit of shopping - LOTS of woolen shops here and it's fun to try to get a feel for what is good quality, and what is there just for tourists (e.g. polyester kilts made in China vs woolen ones made here. And no, we're not actually kilt shopping!). We got to tour one place where they actually weave tartan fabric - very cool.
Sunday: old church, cool museum, Wee Folk Club
We thought it might be fun going to a church in Edinburgh, and we picked a beautiful cathedral called St. Giles. Turns out it was founded in the 1120s. For real. The really-cool part was that this church (and one of it's most famous churchmen, John Knox, was a huge part of the Reformation - so much of the history we'd been learning (and would keep learning about) centered (or would that be centred?) on this place.
After more fun times bashing about the city (I learned how to SPIN YARN! And we spent way-too-much time in the National Museum of Scotland) we wound up at the Wee Folk Club in the tiny basement of the Royal Oak pub. Really just neat times.
Here are a few photos of our time in the city: click here.
Sooo, there comes a time for all good newlyweds to go to Scotland. I think it only applies to folks married in Oct of 2013, so most of you are off the hook, one way or the other. But you still should try to get to Scotland at SOME point. For real.
We had planned to go since late last year, so when I got a job right before we left, we hoped there wouldn't be too much problem with a 2 1/2 week vacation. They let it go - yayy! So, it was unpaid vacation, of course, but we were glad there weren't too many problems with that.
We took off on May 1 and landed there May 2... a day of travel we'll never get back... until we return of course.
This past weekend I made a trip to Raleigh! Tom was having a reunion of sorts with his dad's brother & family so I came down to catch a bit of the fun. And fun it was! In spite of some travel crazy-ness (including a mad-cap bus ride to Milwaukee in a blizzard, reaching the gate there just in time [they had to unlock it for me], and - unbeknownst to me at the time - leaving my driver's license on the plane) I made it in one piece, just in time to join a family picnic!
Having fun with Tom's sister Mary and her daughter
Elise. See sister Kalina "jumping" with her Aunt Nancy
& Grandpa in the background?!
We had a really nice time hanging out and catching up.
Thursday was wander around Raleigh day - we took in the UNC basketball stadium and the book store, then headed over to Matt & Mary's place for more visiting. The evening wound up at Tom Sr.'s where we feasted on Mary's homemade chili and Nancy's oatmeal chocolate chip bars. *sigh*. I got to help Kalina make corn bread muffins and I think we made a pretty good team - and apparently no one dared argue! Tom and I took off eventually to watch the Badgers lose to Butler... a very depressing game. Now I'm hoping Butler wins the whole shebang... it might justify the loss a teeny bit...
Friday was help Tom clean his condo day! After his 9-week stint in Wisconsin, the poor place was needing some attention and he'd had zero chance to deal with it. We actually had a lot of fun and - while I don't know that the place looks all that different - I thinkhe feels better about it! Friday night we were back at Mary & Matt's, hanging out and eating pizza and trying not to laugh at Tom Sr.'s outrageous puns. I'm afraid to report even Nancy might have let one slip in there. Matt Z, a friend of Tom's, joined us a bit later, and the three of us then took off for Asheville. We wanted to have as much of Saturday as possible to see Biltmore - the home of George and Edith Vanderbilt and their descendants.
Our friends Becky and Ray visited Biltmore with Tom a while back, and I'm thinking Matt and I were every bit as enamored with the place as they were! We weren't allowed to take pictures in the house, but the tour really was delightful. The grounds, too, were just starting to green out and blossoms were everywhere. I kept trying to figure out which blossoms were making everything smell so nice... hooray for spring!
Saturday night we were having a relaxed meal at the Laughing Bean - definitely a restaurant to check out the next time you're in Asheville - when I was notified of some crushing news. We opted for less outgoing plans that we'd had originally, and Sunday ended up doing a hike by some lovely waterfalls, rather than staying around Asheville any longer.
Sunday evening, Tom's friend Michael invited us over for pork tenderloin, green beans and salad - yum! We had a lovely evening, catching up (we'd been backpacking together in October), and listening to Michael's new super audio CD setup. That was a-MAZ-ing.
This morning, I was supposed to be at the airport at 4:00 AM so I'd have plenty of time to explain my ID-less state and still make my 6:00 AM flight... which, thankfully, I did. Now I'm back in Wisconsin and ready to catch up on sleep, work, and homework - here's hoping it happens!
A few months ago, my step-sister Augusta sent me a link to this article, saying that she was sure I wasn't in need of ideas, but that this one made her think of me. I liked it, and for the fun of it sent it back to her and a few other friends. One of them - Javier - wrote back and said, "you know my family has a home there, right?" I didn't, I swear, but the end result was, well, this trip! Our experience was somewhat similar to the folks' in the article as far as kayak rental went. The folks we rented from were friendly but astonishingly casual about sending us headlong into the wide ocean without wondering too much about who we were, how much experience we had, our level of preparedness, or pretty much anything beyond making sure we paid up front in cash. None of us had paddled in sit-on-top tandem kayaks before, but apparently that was the recommended way to navigate 3-5 miles of open ocean that separated us from our destination, Cayo Costa. The guy went so far as to inform us that you steer these boats from the front - a choice bit of misinformation that had one of our boats practically going in circles for 4/5 of the way out there, when we finally figured out the problem. For those of us used to paddling open water in sea kayaks, the sit-on-tops were miserably inefficient, unseaworthy, and DAMP! (There's a hole in the middle of all the seats that goes right through the boat, allowing for a continual flow of fresh seawater right, well, you get the idea! Not sure of the logic behind that design, but I've got to hope that there is some!). They're far wider and flatter than sea kayaks, and don't have skegs or rudders to help them track - essentially great boats for recreational river and lake exploration, but not designed for what we were hoping to do!
I am happy to report that in spite of the challenges presented by our un-seaworthy craft, four-foot waves due to strong wind, difficulty with actually aiming for the correct key island, and sea-sickness, we did finally make it to our destination. Jamie says it's the dolphins. We did run into a pod of 'em (woo hoo!) and while we had no luck at all in capturing them with the camera, we saw at least two mothers with their tiny babies surfacing right at their side. It really was neat.
Camping on Cayo Costa was pretty plush for being state park camping. They had clean bathrooms, showers, (ok, no electricity, and thus, no hot water, but hey, who needs it!) a gathering area with mendicant guitar-playing folk singers from the Catskills ("two things money can't buy / true love and home grown tomatoes"), picnic tables, fire rings, posts for hanging stuff (including hammocks!) and a shuttle to take you back and forth across the island.
Sunday we spent reading and hanging out, then paddled our way over a crazy surf-like wave shelf (supposedly shark-infested, but that can't be right, can it?) to neighboring Boca Grande for lunch. We did see heaps more dolphins with babies on the way back - and even saw some black dolphins! The birds were just amazing, with pelicans and osprey and terns of some sort wheeling up, and then diving straight down into the water. It never got tiring to watch - although it was funny...it seemed the osprey had the most success with pelicans and terns mostly coming up empty in spite of all the dramatic effort. We ended the day with a campfire and hot cocoa and take-out from the restaurant - let's hear it for good food in the wilderness regardless of the means by which it as acquired!
Monday was head back day, and we got off the island in plenty of time to really enjoy it. The water was far calmer, the weather far warmer, and the sun far, uh, sunnier than it had been on our way out. We paused on several sand bars and explored around, looking for shells and other sea treasures and oddities. Then we headed to the inland canal system that follows the coast and used it to navigate our way to our launch point. Mangrove swamps and all sorts of crane/heron/egret things rounded out our nature explorations for the trip.
Tuesday was spent in more traditional "vacation in Florida" pursuits: we slept in, yawned our way to the beach, and caught rays for much of afternoon. Not a bad way to wrap things up before heading to the airport and back home.
And now... can you say "Great Calusa Blueway" fast five times?!
I'm happy to report that we've arrived in the Twin Cities with the same number of folks we began with. Unfortunately, that can NOT be said of our tires. Just as we neared Weyauwega (half hour out of town), one of the tires on the trailer started spewing bits of itself across the world. So with that, a run to Fleet Farm once we reached Steven's Point for a new tire, and a bit of a late start to begin with, it was 1 AM before we were in the church with the trailer unloaded. So, *yawn* I believe we'll turn in!
