Scotland--The Highlands

Today has been periodically rainy and generally overcast (although, as I type a little patch of blue is trying to break through). That hasn't stopped us from enjoying our drive around the lochs and castle ruins, however.

As we left Dumbarton and headed on our way, we passed Loch Lomond.

Continuing on, these were some of the views:

Our trusty Audi was a trooper.

Next we stopped off at Inverary, a little waterfront town with a castle. This was where I was desperate to find a bathroom. The gas station (or should I say petrol station?) attendant pointed us towards a small building near the water with public restrooms. The only paying restrooms I'd encountered in France and Italy always had a bathroom attendant to collect the money. This one had a machine with a turnstile. Sadly for my thigh, I didn't realize until only a second remained that my trip through the turnstile was on a timer. By the time I raced through the contraption, one of the bars smacked me mid-thigh. Talk about insta-bruise. I was surprised it didn't rip my khakis, considering the size of the indent. Ouch!

Scotland is simply dotted with castles. We walked through the ruins of Carnasserie Castle. The light drizzle helped set the mood.

Dunstaffnage Castle

We stopped at Oban where we ate lunch in a little cafe and stretched our legs a bit before continuing on our way.

Castle Stalker

When we reached Fort William, we stopped at McDonald's for a snack and free WiFi (where the first part of this blog post was written). Our final stop before arriving at our bed and breakfast was the viaduct at Glenfinnan, which some might recognize as the bridge to Hogwarts from the Harry Potter movies.

Glenfinnan Monument

Unfortunately, we came too early to see purple heather in all its glory. In August, the hills are covered to the point where they look purple. We decided that just means we'll have to revisit Scotland in August some time!

The highlight of the day came after we checked into the Lochailort Inn. Since the sun came out once we neared the shore, Steve and I headed out for a sunset drive. The views were spectacular, and we drove down a one-lane, two-way road and ended up at a castle on the water. Brilliant.

Castle Tioram

The Lake District

On our way up to Scotland, Steve took us on a route that Ged had given him that would take us through the Lake District. We were so excited because we didn't think we'd be able to see the lakes. Gorgeous doesn't begin to describe the views. Wow. First, we wanted to visit Lancaster. Since I couldn't be home for Drew's birthday and Independence Day, we figured spending some time in Williamson Park in Lancaster was the best we could do.

After walking around the park for a bit, we headed on our way until we stopped at Windemere because I saw signs for The World of Beatrix Potter exhibit. We decided to check it out, and I was so glad we did. It was definitely for a younger crowd, but there were definitely adults there without children. There is something so delightful about Potter's characters and illustrations, and the exhibit brought them to life a bit. It was very well done. Before we headed out of town, we walked a brief ways to check out the lake. Fabulous. We loved it!

Ged and Garth had suggested we stop in Keswick because they thought it was the best part of the district. It ended up taking us longer to get there because we kept stopping to take pictures of the breathtaking scenery. Everything was just awesome.

This was where we stopped for a picnic lunch--PB&J eaten out of the trunk of the car. Works for us!

 When we finally arrived in Keswick, we found the lake, and Steve took me out on a row boat for a bit. Great fun!

It took a couple hours more to get on to our hotel near Dumbarton, outside of Glasgow. After unloading, we headed out to look for a fish and chips shop. I was hoping to find a little hole in the wall shop, and I got my wish. Steve had the chicken and chips, but I wanted to give the fish and chips a go. They were very good, but very greasy. We ate them on a picnic bench down by the water. Despite the low price, the portions were so huge we couldn't finish everything. Upon heading back to the hotel, we found a McDonald's where we could stop for an ice cream and free WiFi. So, here I am, typing this from a booth in a McDonald's in Dumbarton. This has been such a fantastic vacation!

(By the way, at 10PM, it was still quite light out, and at 10:30, it was still dusk. Craziness.)