Edinburgh to Laggan

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Geo: 57.0333, -4.26667

July 4, 2010

Edinburgh, England

6:00-8:00 a.m.

Had a good night's sleep after walking my legs off. Cherry had just gotten into bed. The room was warm because she had the fan on low and had not opened the window. She and I actually chatted quite well about our day. Maybe someone told her that I was getting a room of my own, because she was just as cheerful this morning. She wished me a happy Independence Day. I joked about buying rounds for everyone as long as it was water. Even joked about having a double shot of water. Then later at breakfast I sat with a small group of people from the tour. They asked how Cherry was as a roommate. They felt the same way when conversing with her. So far 5 people besides me have difficulty in dealing with her. At least starting today, I only have to deal with her on the bus. Dylan let me know that so far tonight and tomorrow the hotels that we will be staying at will accommodate me. That means the other three who paid to share will rotate the single room that I created. So, Cherry won't get it all to herself. On the bus Dylan wished me a happy Independence Day over the speaker. When one of the other passengers joked that it was my turn to buy drinks, Cherry said my joke! I couldn't believe that she did that! I can rarely tell a good joke, and here she was telling MY joke like it was hers. She even added the double shot of water joke too! What nerve!!!! Needless to say, I am done speaking to her the rest of the trip unless absolutely necessary.

Edinburgh to Laggan, Scotland

We made our way to the western edge of Edinburgh and past over the Firth of Forth into the kingdom of Fife. It has been raining with a heavy to light shower. The temperature was a cool 54° F. We made it St. Andrews by 9:30 a.m. so we had a good 45 minute visit of the place. Besides the famous golf course (It was being prepared for the upcoming Open, so we couldn't get a clear view of the course due to scaffolding for the grand stands. So instead of playing golf on the green, I played a game of gold solitaire on my phone while standing on the green.), we saw a castle ruin from afar, and a cathedral ruin. Being that it was cold and rainy and very windy, many of us stayed in a pub called 1 Golf Place. I had a hot chocolate. Around the corner was a hotel/pub that was displaying the American and Scottish flags. A lady sweeping the porch, who just happened to be co-owner, told me that her husband was American and she was Scottish. I told her to wish her husband a happy Independence Day from me and then showed her my American flag t-shirt that I am wearing, but was covered by the jacket I needed to wear. After leaving St. Andrews, we went through the town of Leuchars and saw its former gin brewery and Royal Air Force Base. Prince William used the air force base to fly back and forth from London to St. Andrews when he attended college in St. Andrews. We crossed the very wide River Tay and stopped for a photo op of the ship, Discover. This ship was built for Captain Scott in 1901 for his 1st voyage to the Antarctic. We then skirted the town of Perth and crossed over the River Tay again. About 12:15 we stopped in the town of Dunkeld to shop and have bite to eat. We have now entered the Scottish Highlands. I found a wonderful little place called Howie's Grill. I had a hamburger and fries with a salad. I sat in the corner and watched the rain and the few people out and about. The sun came out about 1:30 so I headed back to the bus. We made our way to Pitlochry where we had a guided tour of 700 year old Blair Castle. While we were inside looking at the various Georgian styled rooms and 300 years of family portraits, it began to rain again. When we got back on the bus about 3:30 p.m. I let Cherry know about the change of room arrangements. I don't know if she was pleased or not since she didn't make any comment. On the way to Newtonmore, we passed through the Grampian Mountains and saw many large groups of heather. Currently brown, I bet it is beautiful when it blooms. The sides of the hills also had many miniature waterfalls as water twisted and turned from the top of the mountains in small run-offs. We arrived at the hotel near Newtonmore. It is a rustic hotel that is ran by a husband/wife team. It has a large morning room that overlooks the valley. In another room a large fireplace is near seats for those who want to warm up a bit. The dining room is very large. However, it's the bedrooms that are interesting mixture of old and new. You have to use a skeleton key to open the wooden door. Once inside you enter into the bed area that has quaint furniture and bedding. I love the furniture since it reminds me of the kind my mother's mother had in her home. The window open so you can enjoy the strong breezes coming across the highlands. I face the back of the hotel and have two giant pine trees with a forest of them up the hill. This will be nice and cool tonight for me. There are space heaters in the room if I get cold, but I doubt that I will use them. There is no phone and no AC. Our wake-up call will be someone knocking on our door at 6:15 a.m. There is a TV, but I may not use it. Too bad the weather is wet and rainy or I would have walked down to the town of Laggan. It has 2 stores; the post office and a general store. Ordering pizza tonight is definitely out of the question. We were suppose to meet at 5:15 to go to a barracks ruin to have a toast of Drambuie in honor of Bonnie Prince Charlie, but due to weather conditions we will not be able to do so until tomorrow on the way to Inverness. Dinner was at 7. I had a vegetable soup for the appetizer, Chicken and potatoes for the main course, then they brought out Haggis (nice, but not as good as the first time) and Drambuie, and then cake for desert. After dinner about 9 I went up to my room to work on the pictures of today and then went to bed with the windows open. The wind is really blowing outside, but I should sleep well.

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