We went to the St Enoch Centre (shopping!) - lovely mall. (Once again, Wikipedia does a better job than the actual website.) Cliff drove, even though he still had trouble finding the steering wheel and the seatbelt.
After we got back to the B&B, Cliff, Penny and I walked to Sauchiehall Street, back on Bath Street (which actually may have been the really steep street (tongue twister, anyone?) - it's been so long I may be confused. Couldn't find any yarn shops ... (looking back, that isn't surprising - we've mailed yarn to customers in Scotland over the years!)
I found out Cliff loves to shop - Penny and I would find him flaked out on a bench on exiting stores - whatta guy!
The day was beautiful - sunny and warm - oh, overcast and cool and breezy - with heavy showers ... it was the 'Blink your eyes if you don't like the weather' kind of weather.
9pm - Finally bought postcards - will address them now!
9:30pm - in bed (already??) Took a long drive and found a Burger King where we ate supper. Cliff's got a bad cold, as does mom. We are heading out by 9 in the morning as parking will be illegal on this street after that. I packed, mom's almost packed - I don't think the other two have started.
Aunt Minnie has been speaking to the Social Worker in Keith on the search for missing sister Elizabeth. (They say there are no such things as coincidences - my middle name is Elizabeth.) It's a real possibility she will be found, and we will be able to meet her if she wishes. Social Services would approach her and we would see what happens. She may not want to 'be found', but hopefully she will want to meet her wonderful family - me, anyway.
I can't go to sleep now - if I do I'll be up at 5am. Guess I'll read for a while.
March 25 - Heading home to the Highlands. Some of the most fun on this trip was watching Cliff pack the little trunk of the car, as every stop we made increased the size of our luggage.
I found out Cliff loves to shop - Penny and I would find him flaked out on a bench on exiting stores - whatta guy!
The day was beautiful - sunny and warm - oh, overcast and cool and breezy - with heavy showers ... it was the 'Blink your eyes if you don't like the weather' kind of weather.
9pm - Finally bought postcards - will address them now!
9:30pm - in bed (already??) Took a long drive and found a Burger King where we ate supper. Cliff's got a bad cold, as does mom. We are heading out by 9 in the morning as parking will be illegal on this street after that. I packed, mom's almost packed - I don't think the other two have started.
Aunt Minnie has been speaking to the Social Worker in Keith on the search for missing sister Elizabeth. (They say there are no such things as coincidences - my middle name is Elizabeth.) It's a real possibility she will be found, and we will be able to meet her if she wishes. Social Services would approach her and we would see what happens. She may not want to 'be found', but hopefully she will want to meet her wonderful family - me, anyway.
I can't go to sleep now - if I do I'll be up at 5am. Guess I'll read for a while.
March 25 - Heading home to the Highlands. Some of the most fun on this trip was watching Cliff pack the little trunk of the car, as every stop we made increased the size of our luggage.
The first stop was for coffee/tea and scones at Inverary - try saying that five times quickly. It was a rainy, grey morning -
- the perfect setting for this Heritage Site boat -
Continuing our journey north, we stopped at Rannoch Moor, where we were gifted with a beautiful rainbow. (Believe me, in real life it was beautiful - even the picture itself is more beautiful than this scanned one.)
Penny freezing half to death at Rannoch Moor (maybe she should have bargained her way to two jackets.)
We stopped at The Orchy River - gorgeous, even with pouring-down rain. This is where I found out my hand-knitted 100% wool sweater really stinks when it gets wet. Phew.
We stopped at Spean Bridge, bought some souvenirs and lunch - what more could one want?
- besides a visit to the weaving room at Spean Bridge Woollen Mill for a wee bit of tom-foolery. See the tartan on the loom in the left? and the tom-fool on the right?
By 3:30, we were on our way to Inverness - driving along Loch Ness. We didn't spot the Loch Ness Monster ... or did we?
Below us, in the Loch, is the tour boat - most sightings of the monster are supposedly from the castle itself. It seems a bit safer, too.
Cliff and I walked waaaay down to the castle, and stood among the ruins. It was pretty awesome.
and obviously a bit windy.
However, that meant we had to walk waaaay back up too.
Did a bit more tourist shopping - Tshirts and stuff. Not a hugely busy day, but a fun one, with Cliff driving on the wrong side of the road a bit (and I don't mean the right side of the side, but the un-right side of the road.) Where's that damn seat belt????
8:30pm - Just finished a pasta dinner. Had a great trip from Glasgow through Glencoe, Inverary, Spean Bridge and Loch Ness to Inverness. Staying at Loch Ness House Hotel
8:30pm - Just finished a pasta dinner. Had a great trip from Glasgow through Glencoe, Inverary, Spean Bridge and Loch Ness to Inverness. Staying at Loch Ness House Hotel
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| pic stolen from internet (just so you don't think I would take such a crappy picture)
and this time Mom and I have the BIG room! We're all pretty tired - probably fall asleep early and sleep well - I hope.
March 26 - another GREAT day ... with lousy weather - it's raining and blowing a 'starm' .. On our way to Marybank ...
This is our auld school - on the outside. (I have many happy memories - of getting bee stung and being told not to be a baby (old time equivalent of suck it up, buttercup), of getting a tooth yanked out by a travelling dentist (or was he a dentist?) and going home bawling to the extent that mom (mam) gave me a banana, probably to shut me up), and getting strapped at a very tender age because I turned around when the headmaster was looking after us - he left the room, I turned around, and some evil Scottish child ratted me out.) I still remember watching my very nice primary teacher folding paper and tearing it against the straight edge of a ruler, and watching her draw numbers and letters on the chalkboard for us to copy, but these are nice, ordinary memories.
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We visited the school we attended - the same one mom went to when she was a little girl. Got copies of the register with our names in it. Saw Shirley in a class photo. Teacher is Mr Thomas Pike from Edinburgh. Had a good visit!
This is the library/post office/grocery store - I mailed my postcards from here.
Below is Fairburn Estate, which was home to Sir John and Lady Stirling. Our house was on the estate - Bridge Cottage, a stone bungalow with at least part of it roofed with corrugated ... tin? Not sure, but I loved to hear the rain falling on the roof - still do, actually. Our sister Shirley was baptized in this castle. I don't know where I was baptized, but I do know it wasn't in a castle.
March 27 - We had a full day of visiting today - first where Bridge Cottage -
the house where we used to live, was- although our house is gone now. We visited one of Cliff's high school chums, who rebuilt there, and visited The Lime Shed. No tea parties there today, but it was a great place to play when one was young.
11pm - Had a full day, for sure. Cliff drove us through Muir of Ord, Aultgowrie, up to Fairburn Estate, which is now a rest home, to Marybank, where we saw the school and post office, and visited a lot of mom's good friends.
Went back to Inverness, cold and exhausted, Rest before dinner at the Copper Kettle Pub, short walk by the canal, and treat stop at a petrol station (note the bilingualism.) More visiting. Later, at the hotel Cliff called Aunt Minnie and discovered Elizabeth was found and they were talking to her! She grew up in Keith, in northern Scotland, and now lives in England. Mom and Cliff both talked to her and we're hoping to meet her next week before we return to Canada.
Here mom is in the church we used to attend in Strathpeffer. The most I remember about going to church is seeing all the run-over hedgehogs on the road.
Went back to Inverness, cold and exhausted, Rest before dinner at the Copper Kettle Pub, short walk by the canal, and treat stop at a petrol station (note the bilingualism.) More visiting. Later, at the hotel Cliff called Aunt Minnie and discovered Elizabeth was found and they were talking to her! She grew up in Keith, in northern Scotland, and now lives in England. Mom and Cliff both talked to her and we're hoping to meet her next week before we return to Canada.
Here mom is in the church we used to attend in Strathpeffer. The most I remember about going to church is seeing all the run-over hedgehogs on the road.
Cliff at Dingwall Academy. David and Shirley also attended this school.
March 28
8:30pm - in Glasgow again, presently at the Crowwood Hotel.
Drove through the Grampions via Perth to Glasgow. Had lunch on the way. Stopped at Carbridge, where there is a stone bridge (Historic Site.) Pretty cool - but I wouldn't dare walk over that.
8:30pm - in Glasgow again, presently at the Crowwood Hotel.
(Karaoke was just like a Golden Oldie station.)
Tomorrow we'll probably drive around Glasgow, as that is Cliff's favourite thing.
wonder filled
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