but given the nature of highspeed travel, my body is in san francisco and parts of my mind and spirit are still in Scotland. therefore, the journey continues.
i'm a little confused about why nobody commented on the baby osprey's toilet habits.uncareful reading or taboo subject? (see post: North by Northwest).
i am still amazed by its aim!
the trip from Dunkeld to Inverness, up through the Cairngorms, a massive set of rolling mountains was, frankly, way too long. we took the Road Less Traveled to avoid the highway thinking it would be, in every way, more desirable. and mostly that was true. except the part about the longness which was partially due to being on REALLY twisty roads that were often ONE LANE with a fair number of blind curves and some wooly obstacles. and this all created a LOT of stress - not just for the driver (who was NOT me) but also for the passenger (who was me. i actually was not keen on the long road and sulked a little - when i wasn't biting my nails).
oh, and it RAINED, for a change, which was another curvy road stressor.
cute in field - a wooly obstacle in road
on the plus side, we went out to the scottish CRANNOG centre on Loch Tay and saw a replica of an iron age loch dwelling, a stilted structure of the type people were building and living in 5000 years ago in scotland, ireland and also scandinavia. very cool looking! but the centre wanted too much money and too much time from us to take the tour and wouldn't let us just have a look around. so we ate crackers and smoked salmon and cheese and celery on the rocks near the fence and thought about what it might be like to live on the water.
faux crannog
there was a beautiful old hotel in Braemar that had some fine tile work in the entryway. and there was a david lynch-esque lupine garden in the town sporting massive muscular stalks in hot pastel colors.
Braemar hotel on main steet
more fancy tile work 
surreal giant lupines, the size of a small children
sadly, we did NOT book ahead for
accomodation in Inverness and had to WING IT, exhausted from a long
drive and some short tempers.
after a
bunch of strike-outs, i finally talked to someone who had a room (it was
SATURDAY NIGHT). i was on the phone with him getting directions as we
were heading into Inverness and Andrew said: LOOK AT THIS BEAUTIFUL
BRIDGE!
i said to the guy: WE'RE ON THE BRIDGE.
and the guy said: BRIDGE? WHAT BRIDGE? YOU SHOULDN'T BE ON A BRIDGE!
we
got across, pulled over and i collapsed into paroxysms of laughter.
Andrew told me later this broke the ice and saved the day.
we
made it to the B&B which was tacky, in an
Everything's-Purple-with-Sachets-Everywhere sort of way, but fine really. we forced
ourselves to go out to The Hootenany to hear some traditional music but
the place was SO loud (why on earth they have to amp the hell out of a
fiddle and a guitar is beyond me) we could only stay for a couple of
songs. even WITH earplugs.
sunset over the River Ness was glorious.
swan loch 
wet friend from a parking lot
purple type of tacky 
10:30 pm sunset over River Ness, Inverness
People at the windows in the Braemar Hotel - now that'something you don't see much this side of the pond.
ReplyDeleteThe osprey was indeed remarkable but as one who has dealt with more than enough s..t my interest as waned...
...now as for the iron age dwelling, that brought on chills!
i am very curious about your comment regarding the people in the hotel - please elucidate?
Deleteand,
yes, i know the baby osprey projectile-pooping would have been MUCH more impressive, and comic, if i had captured it on video. language doesn't do it justice. and perhaps i've dealt with less s..t than others never having been a mother of infants?
was the Crannog chilling because of the lack of central heating or were you moved by the ancientness?
your comments raised many questions!
happy to have you along whether the mysteries remain or get solved...
I, too, was struck by the people in the windows of the hotel. They are literally *framed* in the window. Perhaps because so many hotel windows have glass curtains (or sheers), perhaps because people may not wish to be visible to passersby while standing in their hotel room, I don't often seem people standing in windows like that, looking out at the street in front of them.
ReplyDeleteAnd, of course, I *love* the sheep.
Yes Caprice - my thoughts too.
ReplyDeleteInfants human not such an issue. Canine, my own and others, puppies and adults...!
The idea of having my floor over icy waters is chilling. Also the rising waters of spring would be problematical, no?