Final 3 Days

Our last few days in Scotland we did more relaxing, a little hiking, a little picnicking, the fanciest dinner I've ever had,  a lot of driving, and we visited Edinburgh. Unfortunately, I didn't take many pictures from this point on unless it was with my Iphone, and even of those I have very few. It was a very beautiful area (of course!), and mostly because of a fear of not being able to capture the beauty, and, if I am being honest, the fear of having to edit/organize all the photos!

June 17th

We went to visit Stirling Castle where William Wallace overtook a much larger English force. We walked around the old city, and toured some old churches, jails, and a very large graveyard. On our way back we saw a sign to pick strawberries, and bought some sandwiches from their bakery and headed back towards our hotel with the hopes of finding a place to picnic...so easy to do in Scotland. After we ate we explored around the Loch. Then we drove back to Balquhidder and stopped by Rob Roy's grave and walked around the church there and found a waterfall not too far off.

I didn't take this, I wish! But this is the castle with the city just below it and that is the William Wallace Monument. 

June 18th

We went on a few hikes on our final day around the area where we were staying. and then drove a little ways to Callander and walked to Bracklinn Falls.  It was a really pretty town that had a very hometown feel to it.

June 19th

We drove to Glasgow and found our hotel. We then walked to the train station to get a ride into Edinburgh. We were so tired by this point that I didn't have the energy to do much, plus we felt the time crunch to get back to Glasgow. We walked along the Royal Mile then up to the castle. It was pretty incredible to see this entire city built out of granite.  There was a man dressed up as William Wallace doing a bit that we watched that was very entertaining, and some rock band that included bag pipes.The thing I mainly remember about being there, was just all the different cultures and languages we heard. I love stuff like that, and I love people watching...I just hope no one is ever watching me! As we were trying to find our way back to the train station, we walked down a large stairway and each step was a different shade of granite, unpolished of course, but really beautiful. We finally found the station hoped on our train and then walked back to our hotel for the night. As we were walking back, we happened to walk right in front of one of our church buildings there! Made me wish we were staying through Sunday!

Loved, loved, LOVED our time there! Of course it would take a lifetime to explore all the beauty there is in Scotland. I was amazed by all the water. Every where you looked there was a loch, or a waterfall, or a stream. And If you didn't happen to see water, if you went around a bend in the road or over a hill you would. So incredibly stunning. This world is an incredibly beautiful place! Thanks to Patrick for the surprise and trip of a lifetime. He knows in order to get me there he'd need to surprise me. XOXOXO

But nothing beats coming home to a house full of boys!

Scotland -- Isle of Skye Day 1

While on the Isle of Skye we stayed at Lochshore House. Karen and Colin, our host, were so friendly and warm. Not to mention they offered deliciously fresh food. They gave us lots of advice about traveling around Skye, and great restaurants and bakeries to try. They were originally from somewhere in England, and had moved to Skye and opened their B&B about 2 years prior. They would come to Skye and holiday and fell in love. When they retired, they moved to Skye and walked for 2 months straight exploring. I think I want to be them when I grow up.

Our first walk of the day:

This walk was pretty easy, but it rained/drizzled on us for a good part of the first hour of it. We got to see our first highland cows! I loved it, but for some reason have always been terrified of being to close to cattle. Patrick convinced me to get closer, and closer, and closer for a picture until one of the cows let out a pretty big snort, and I thought I was about to get trampled and die! Luckily the cow was just clearing his throat and I survived...barely. Patrick had to hear the rest of the day  trip how I risked my life for that picture. I'm sooo happy he did though, because one of the pictures of the cows has got to be a top 5 fav of mine from the trip. I must have a little bit of my Grandma Hitchcock in me, she's always loved the way cows look.

This walk took us along some pretty narrow cliffs where you could see cattle hooves stuck in the mud. I can't believe how close they get to the edge without falling! There were times that I said, "Yep, I'm gonna die today." I'm such a scaredy cat, how did I end up here??! Oh yeah, there was this funny, cute guy....

 We didn't go over to the old church, we walked along that stone fence to the outside of it though. 

 The tide was low while we were there which was unfortunate for a few pictures but I like the look it gave to others.

Coral Beach and Dunvegan Castle

We went and had a picnic on Coral Beach. It isn't really coral just a type of seaweed that gets bleached by the sun and looks like coral. It is everywhere. No sand just "coral." We spotted seam seals playing off in the distance and watched some pelicans along the shore line. This was a pretty popular touristy spot so we enjoyed people watching too. We could have happily skipped out on this walk. Probably our least favorite. Beautiful, but when compared to the others it definitely doesn't measure up.

This walk took us through some forests, fields, and along some more rocky coastline. It was simply beautiful.

Total miles walked for the day: 10miles

On our drive back to Lochshore House, we hit what the locals call rush hour in Skye. Sheep all over the roads. They usually moved pretty quickly when they saw you coming, but there were some adventure seeking ones that liked for you to get reeaallly close with your car before they'd move. And a few older ones that just laid there on the side of the road, and barely looked our way as we passed by. We ate dinner at the most delicious restaurant I think I've ever eaten at. They offered a nice dining area or pub style. The food was so so good and fresh and not overpriced. I have wanted to go back just to eat there a few times since we've been home. 

Spring Break

We spent a few days at Rocky River during Will's spring break. The boys loved playing in the water and building a fire nearly every night.

 I love that they wanted to each wear a hat of their great grandfathers while we were visiting.