What Is And What Should Never Be

Okay so I have to tell you about the time that Wayne and Becky came to Scotland because we kind of didn't know if they would. They had to apply for passports and get their step count up and mostly mentally prepare for a Jill Meek Itinerary-- and they did it and they made it here! It was really really fun to show Craig's parents New College and St. Giles even under the cloud of jetleg. The next day we took a breather before embarking on our Highland adventure. Leg one: Glasgow  We got a quick peek at another Scottish city as we made our way west. We had intended to spend the day feerrying over to Dunoon where Craig's dad had been stationed in the Navy many moons ago, but this is as far as we made it and honestly I think it was for the best. pace-wise. Also this may have been everyone's favorite meal of the trip and it makes me so happy when people love things I choose! Leg two: Oban This is one of Craig's favorite places in Scotland. It is small so...

This is like Christmas in July but the opposite because I forgot to write about our summer trip to the isles of Skye, Lewis, and Harris until now. We had been to Skye when we visited Scotland before moving here. Tourism on Skye is taking over to the point of becoming a problem, but it is hard to resist visiting the island. It's perfect. The first leg of the journey meant renting a car and driving for the first time in a year! (For Craig. I barely drive in the US and I don't drive here.) We made it to Portree, a central town on Skye. The highlight for me was hiking the Old Man of Storr. We also walked to a lighthouse at the tiptop point of the island, after the most aggravating and terrifying parking situation at the top of the cliff. And we went fishing. After that first evening and two full days on Skye, we drove onto a ferry (our first ferry with a car experience) and made it over to Harris, in the Outer Hebrides. It's much quieter h...

They kept saying it was going to snow and I didn't believe them. They've said it before and it hasn't really. But this time it did snow. And snowed and snowed. Basically the country (transportation, schools, shops) shut down for like 3 days. It was the weirdest snow. You'd see a blue sky one minute and then a flurry of flakes and high winds for a while. On and off like that for days. (They say more is coming tonight/tomorrow? We'll see. May just be very cold rain.) The break was much needed--I actually ended up getting so much done that I couldn't have done otherwise as I was supposed to be at a conference for three days. Plus there's not much I like more than sipping a warm drink and watching the snow fall. Except for maybe walking around out in it. 

At the start of February, we went to Inverness to celebrate Craig completing his second major paper, and to explore a place we'd only traveled through before. Inverness is a bit of a hub into the highlands--there are lots of cool places you can visit nearby or by traveling through. We'd been through before on our way to Skye. This time we took a bus from Inverness to Culloden Battlefield, the site of last battle of the Jacobite Rising, where the Jacobites were ultimately defeated. We also strolled down the streets and canals of Inverness browsed their museums and the world's best used bookstore, and consumed lots of pizza and craft beer (that's really all it takes to make me happy.) The train ride there rolling through snow covered hills was actually one of my favorite parts of the trip. Who knew we'd get to see so much snow in Edinburgh a month later?