Today is our son in law’s birthday, Happy Birthday Zach,
Brenna says he received our package and hope he enjoys the day! Heard from Seth, our killer tomatoes are finding homes with Seth’s
friends. Sun is shining and it’s a
little cool. There was a full moon last
night outlining the hills around us. Was
a bit quieter except for the young hotel staff who sounded like they were
partying after work. And then there is
the train…. There are a lot of eastern Europeans working in the hotels and
restaurants all along the way. Breakfast
is buffet with the usual eggs, bacon, sausages, black pudding (which we didn’t
try), beans, bakery and fruit. We stop
in the town (Pitlochry) to tour Bell’s whisky aka Scotch. Scotch and whisky spelled without an e is
only made in Scotland. We have done
tours on the whisky trail in previous trips but still learned a bit more
especially about the business and distribution connections of today. Pat not liking Scotch took a small sample
sip, it was definitely smokey which comes from peat. We tasted a single malt and the waters used
in the area are brownish from the peat.
We leave town after that. We are
definitely leaving the crop farming terrain and climbing onward up into the
highlands. At times it reminds us of the Independence Mine area north of
Anchorage. Braided, rocky streams and
terrain that shows the movement of past glaciers. Sheep are everywhere. The heather covers the ground in purple, the
fireweed is blooming bright pink and the gorse also called broom is bright
yellow. We come to a farm where the
champion sheep herder lives. It’s
obvious he is breeding sheep dogs. We
travel down a rocky ‘drive’ and are greeted by a bunch of black and white dogs,
all ages, including puppies. There are very
friendly but they continually look for their master. He finally comes out with his staff and
greets the tourists. We decide not to
stay for the show but go on into the town of Aviemore. This town sits in the Cairngorm hills, the
elevations run some thousand feet (nothing over 5K) This is a town for sports, hill walkers,
skiers and all manner of snow sports.
It’s very touristy with little shops and restaurants. We ate lunch at a local hotel, very fun
authentic and old with antler lamps and tartan carpet. Walked to a few of the shops. This is a long Bank holiday weekend for
Scotland and there is a motorcycle festival in town. Lots of Harley’s and riders in full leathers
coming in for it. There will be a rally
ride as part of the three days. Pat films
a Harley with a single sprig of heather sticking up out of the back. They seem like very nice bikers but they look
tough. There is a central stage set up
and a piper is playing. As we leave
there is a guitarist singing Free Bird.
Interesting weekend. We drive to
Culloden, the historic battle field of the Jacobite uprising, a civil war. There was a lot of cruelty to the average
people who were starved, killed and tortured. This is a National Trust property and the
visitor’s center is very nice. Best
thing for Pat was the National Trust Gift Shop.
The story is always too sad for her.
We drive on to Inverness for the night.
We come down a steep hill and all the bay and city is open before
us. We are in bright sunshine which is a
miracle. There is a KFC right across the
street from the hotel Thistle Inverness.
But we are going on a pub meal tonight in Cawdor. Yes, the setting for Shakespeare’s MacBeth is
Cawdor Castle which is located in the small town.. The hotel is modern downstairs but very old
upstairs. We barely get our bags before
we have to leave for dinner. We have
opted for the pub meal in Cawdor and have a half hour drive out of town. It is sunny and the views into the Firth of
Moray are beautiful. The village is
tiny, the road is so narrow and lined with trees that we are barely making it
through. The Cawdor Pub is very quaint
and old with interesting antiques. The
meal is a blue cheese, apple and walnut salad and smoked mackerel mousse,
Scottish salmon, veg and new potatoes, Scottish cheese plate and fruit and
meringue Pavlova. Delicious dinner and
sitting with new travelers we hadn’t met before. Ride back in the bus and driver playing Rod
Stewart music, another Scottish singer.
The moon is full and it’s a warm evening. Writing a note before bed to say Happy Birthday to Zach and wish he and Brenna good
luck on a bid they have put on a house.
Tired after another great day. To
Lock Ness tomorrow and Thurso at the top of Scotland’s mainland. Nighty Night.
Note: the grass is
very green, Scottish grass is fine, dense and short, it’s like a sponge so not
only does it get a lot of rain, it is like a sponge. Most houses are detached, semi-detached or
row houses or flats. The outsides are
either cut stone or plaster/adobe with a stippled finish. The roofs are either clay tile, usually dark
orange or cut slate. The slate roofs are
amazing, there are so rare in the USA.
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