My return to Inverness offered a redemption to the city I felt slighted me. I stayed at a different hostel, which proved to be much better accomodations. The first place I stayed every shower/toilet area was waterlogged and smelled of mildew and the mattresses, if you could call them that, were nothing more than a plastic bag with pokey wires in them. The new place was the much cleaner and comfier. Unfortunately, 3 of the girls sharing the dorm room all had colds and were coughing and sneezing all over the place. I figured a cold was in my future and it has manifested itself in the past few days.

In my two additional days in Inverness I toured Loch Ness and another church and took part in a free "crime and punishment" tour around the city by a kilt wearing guide, Cameron. He was quite the character and was very informative of the various punishments given through the ages in Inverness. I sweet place I also found was the Floral Mall (small botanic garden). This gem of a garden was well worth the 30 minute walk to the edge of town. Had I known that the Loch Ness tour started only 2 minutes around the corner, I would not have walked all the way back to the city center to catch the provided bus.

On my way to Inverness from Stirling I passed through the cute victorian town of Pithlochry and decided that I would return there to explore what it had to offer. This small town (not more than 3,000 people) was delightful and I am glad I stopped for a few days. Not that there is an abundance of things to see in Pitlochry, but there it is a good base if you like to see nature. If one is travelling by car, there is easy access to many lookouts, waterfalls and other small cities with their own attraction. However, I am not travelling by car and there was still pleanty to do by foot. There are no less than 8 trails just from the town itself. I decided to combine 3 trails into one as they all overlapped in some manner. On my trek through through the woods, barley fields, and sheep pastures I saw: Black Spuot water fall, Scotland's smallest distillery (and another one to boot), Black Castle ruins, standing rocks, great view from Craigs Tower, dam with salmon ladder, and the best town theater project ever. The theater that is on the outskirts of town offers 6 productions during the summer, so If you wanted, you could see a different show each night of the week. It was just wonderful what a very small, though touristy, town can do.

From Pitlochry I made my way to St. Andrews. I know what you are thinking, "Lisa doesn't play golf." But that aside, I really enjoyed St. Andrews. Like Pitlochry, St. Andrews was like stepping back in time. The architecture, which I love, was facinating. The ruins of St. Andrews cathedral were amazing, to imagine the large structure and what it would have been like was mind boggling. I also toured 3 museums (all free) that gave an insight to the history of the town and college. And St. Andrews' college was beautiful, I think it would have been a place my youngest daughter would have enjoyed attending. Again, I found another botanical garden well worth the price of admission (2 pounds). This garden had the best ecological plan I have ever seen and would rate it in the top 3 of botanical gardens I have been to (I love botanical gardens so have been to a lot). The rock garden was superb and would recommend going just for that feature alone! Of course, one cannot go to St. Andrews and not see the old club house and golf course (see picture), which I did. Probably because I am not into golfing, it really did not impress me much and I opted not to go through the golf museum. Just note that it is there if you are considering going and enjoy golf.

At St. Andrews I met Anna and Cat (I am not sure how to spell her name so shortened it, I hope she does not mind) from Germany. We had a great time playing Yatzee at the hostel and enjoyed each others company. They had offered me a ride to my next location but we just didn't hook up and so I headed to Dundee, thinking I would never see them again.

Dundee, a place I really had never heard of, but it looked like an interesting spot on the map. Of all things in Dundee, but the ship Discovery! Remember back in Ireland and my Shakelford, Crean, Antartic experience.... Well the Discovery was the first ship of the 3 expiditions that I have been exposed to on my trip thusfar. The ship was built here in Dundee and though repurposed through the years, has had some restorations and is now available to wander through. I definitely had to check it out and was not disappointed. In Dundee I also explored the Verdant Mill Works and the McCann Museum. They were all very informative of the history of Dundee.

On one of my days in Dundee I actually took a trip to Dunfermline for the Bruce Festival. This festival celebrates the life of Robert the Bruce and had a great line up of events for such a small festival. I had been at the festival for about an hour or so when Anna came up to me and said "hi." I couldn't believe it, we apparently arrived about the same time to the festival. It was great to see them again and we spent the rest of our time there together, the last 30 or so minutes all three of us huddled under one umbrella. I felt very fortunate to meet them again and I gave them my card so they could follow this and keep in touch via e-mail. I stayed a bit longer to watch the jousting event (which btw Anna and Cat, was the real jousting) and greatly enjoyed my time. As I walked back to the train station there was nothing that could wipe the grin off my face. I just had a wonderful day!

Inverness Photos Here
Pitlochry Photos Here
St Andrews Photos Here
Dundee Photos Here
Bruce Festival Photos Here

Time is passing too qucikly. It seems as though I just posted a blog and here I am back again. :)

While exploring the McCann Museum in Dundee, one of the exhibits was about 2 women journalists that took an around the world journey in the late 1800's. I find it strange that the same comments were made about these two ladies that have been made to me. You would think that after 100+ years and with all the strides that women have made in that time, that it would not seem so uncommon for a woman to travel solo on such a journey. I really cannot come close to compare myself to these women or to those that pioneered the jungles, oceans, mountains and sky. In all actuality, I must thank these women for taking the first steps to open the door for me to be able to take the journey I am. They are the true brave women, full of courage and wonderlust. I am but a meager traveler taking the easy road because they have already forged it for me.

I close this weeks blog with a quote from Amelia Earhart: "The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity. The fears are paper tigers. You can do anything you decide to do. You can act to change and control your life; and the procedure , the process is its own reward."

As stated in the comments from last week's blog, I have arrived in Scotland. The Sunday before I left I was in a frazzle because I could not book my ferry ticket online and my credit card/bank card were marked for questionable activity. In a round about way I contacted my credit card company and my bank to get things worked out.

THE GOOD
Since I could not make definite plans I decided to just show up and try my luck. I left Dave and Anabel's house to check if I could get cash from the ATM and to post a box of stuff I no longer wanted to carry before heading to the train to Larne Harbor. First stop ATM, all worked well! Yay! That was a big relief, apparently it was just the ferry website that was wonky, not my bank card. Next stop the Post Office, which opened at 9:00 and there was a line of about 6 people, luckily I got my business completed to make the 9:17 train, and I hoped my luck would continue. Arrival to Larne Harbor and a check in at the ticket counter, next ferry to Troon 17:30. So what is there to see or do in Larne? Nothing! After a quick foot tour I waited at the ferry terminal the remainder of the day watching the Firefly series and doing puzzle books.

The two hour ferry trip to Scotland was very uneventful, though a bit rocky leaving Northern Ireland. Now to figure out how to get to Stirling, my intended destination for the night. As I exited the ferry terminal in Troon I asked how far the train station was - about a 10 minute walk, during the direction giving I overheard a girl talking ont he phone talking to someone about wether to walk to the bus station or take a taxi. I volunteered that we could share a taxi if she would like and she agreed. We asked a driver there if he could request one for us and he said he would have on on its way. As we waited another guy wanted to get to the train as well and we invited him along. We arrived safely at the train station and the guy picked up the entire fare! Yay random guy who had been partying too hard in Ireland the entire weekend! I purchased my ticket through the kiosk and waited for my train bound for Glascow and from there I would grab the train to Stirling.

On the train to Glascow a girl and I started talking and she explained that I would need to change stations to get the train to Stirling and said that she was going there and would show me. Yay random girl going home who safely got me through the dodgy streets of downtown Glascow. After making that 10 minute walk, I was glad I did not decide to stay in Glascow and really have not felt a desire to return for any touring. As soon as we arrived at the station I found my train, which was ready for immediate departure. Great! No waiting around! The evening had quickly faded into night as the train to Stirling made its way. I hoped that I could find my hostel easily in the night (around 22:00), It really was my lucky day, Rachel, a lawyer, was heading to a bus stop right in front of my hostel and would show me exactly where it was! Yay Rachel, my Scottish lawyer if needed (yes, I did get her card). At the hostel, they thought I was not coming since I was so much later than my anticpated (wished for) arrival time but luckily they had not booked my bed!

With the hostel staff not willing to fix the wifi service (I think they were in cahoots with the pay for wifi service), I found a little cafe that offered it and had a nice apple pancake (more like crepes) breakfast the next morning. I then toured the old jail, the cathedral, the castle (huge) and the William Wallace Monument. It started to rain while I was at the castle and it was a steep, hot climb in the rain up to the monument, at which there was an additional 264 steps to climb to the top of the tower. The monument was well done and I learned a lot about William Wallace and Robert de Bruce, the first King of Scotland. Later I found out that he was my 18th grandfather (my mom will correct me if I am off) and wished I would have read the information a bit closer, but I did get a picture of his bust and a stained glass window with his depiction. I really enjoyed Stirling; though small, it had a lot to offer.

In the mid-afternoon I took the bus to Inverness as I was to meet a friend from Australia there on Thursday.With a little help from a local, I found my way to my hostel to be greated by the staff, "Lisa has finally arrived! Someone has been looking for you!" Apparently my friend thought I was arriving at 16:00 by train, not leaving at 16:00 by bus. As we sorted out my stay a pipe and drum band started marching in the street right below the window (picture attached). What a great way to arrive in Inverness!

The next day I met up with my friend for tea and we caught up a bit and then discussed traveling together for a few weeks as she was renting a car. She did want to stop by a town she lived in for a year to catch up with people there but other than that we could just wander. It sounded too good to be true and something I was really up for. We decided to meet the next day to start our journey.

THE BAD
After our meeting I heading out to explore Inverness. I had some high hopes for Inverness after Stirling, since I had heard of the former and not the later; however, it was a bit disappointing. The castle was not really something to tour through as it is currently being used for the sheriff's office and other official things. The museum next door offered some scientific and historical information and was free. A cathedral across the Ness River also offered some additional history information. I spent the remainder of the day walking along the Ness Islands Trail and preparing for the next 2 weeks journey. My friend and I had discussed doing some hikes and camping out so we purchased some tents that were on clearance; not that I wanted to carry an additional item, but we would be in a car so I could leave stuff not needed for the hiking portion of our trip.

The next day we met up, stopped at the grocery, and were on our way. We made a few detours to some castles, abbeys, and towns. This wandering around bit was great! I was having a blast. My friend said she wanted to wait to get to the town she used to live in, yet she drove almost straight there. I knew she needed to have some time to herself and made myself scarce for a while. We met back up and headed to a bar to hang out in until it was dark enough to pitch our tents. At the bar the barkeep was a wealth of information for my friend. She was working on her research, I was talking to the young men at the bar. She decided she wanted to go look up a friend and would be back soon, not a problem. She returned later and made our way to our campsite for the night. All seemed well as we said our goodnights and drifted off to sleep to the sound of the crashing waves on the beach below.

THE UGLY
The next morning we awoke to rain and broke camp in a light mist. I was going to do some day hikes along the Moray Coastal Trail while she did her homecoming tour. When I returned to the car after changing, she told me it just wasn't going to work. She did not want to have to make a commitment to be at a certain place at a certain time once a day to meet up for the next 3 or 4 days and where did I want her to take me? Wow! Really? Wasn't it your idea to do it this way? Hmm, nothing like making a decision at 07:00 before the fog has cleared the head. I really did want to do the walk, so opted to be dropped off at the trailhead in Findhorn; unfortunately, what I had planned to be day hiking now turned into hiking, which I was not prepared for at all.

Dissapointed and walking through the rain gave me pleanty of time to think about many things and to make the best of the situation. After the first 7 miles, I knew I had to get rid of some items (remember I had thought I was going to be leaving some stuff in the car each day, but now I had to carry it ALL with me) and so at the next town I found the Post Office and sent home a few things. One of the things I sent on was my travel buddy, Bronnie. Now Bronnie may only be a wee bear, but he has been my buddy for years and it was very hard to place him in that box and send him back to Florida not to be seen again for a year. My gear all now stowed in or attached to my pack I headed to the next town along the trail, which happened to be the one my friend was going down memory lane in. I wanted to make sure I was giving her the space she needed for her reconnection so pushed on to the next destination; had I known it was going to be a lot of large ups and downs on the cliffs, I might have thought twice before doing so. The further I went the heavier my pack felt and the worse my shoulders and feet felt. The rain had stopped and the sun was hot on the dunes. The views were wonderful but I was starting to be miserable from the long 16 miles I had put in and being covered by midges (they are harmless but make you feel gritty as they really cover your entire exposed skin - maybe unexposed too but I only noticed on the exposed).

THE DIVINE
There was a cafe just off the trail next to a golf course, perhaps a nice long rest there would do me good. Approaching the cafe an older lady was on the porch on her laptop and started a conversation with me. I must have really looked pitiful as she offered to give me a ride where I wanted to go. I told her I would check inside about camping on the otherside of their gate but would let her know if I needed a ride. I got a salad and inquired about camping on the beach next to the course. They said that would be fine and I let the woman know that I would not need a ride and thanked her. I then washed off the midges and attmpted to eat my salad which I could barely eat;. I was emotionally and physically drained. As I nibbled, I thought about it and decided that I could not spend a night with the gritty feel of the midges all over me and I also wanted to cater to my emotional misery. I inquired about a B&B and the girl at the counter gave me a card to Nirvana.

Now, I can't recall if the card glowed like in the movies, but if it didn't, it should have. One call to the Links Lodge in Lossiemouth and I had a comfy home for the night. I went back outside and told the woman I changed my mind and wanted to know if the offer for the ride was still good, she said it was. The woman said she was glad that I was not spending the night on the beach, she felt it was too dangerous a thing to do. After I found out she lived and worked in South Africa through aparthide and the aftermath, I though her worry was a bit misplaced, just as my perception of South Africa was. We had a nice little chat in the 5 minutes it took us to find my home for the night and I again thanked her for the lift and asked if she needed anyting for petrol, ofcourse not.

As I walked into the gate, I was greeted by an open door from John and Angela, owners of the Links Lodge. Again, I can only imagine how pitiful I must have looked as they immediately showed me to my room without making payment arrangements. I asked if my room might by chance have a bath and it did not; however, Angela did draw me a hot bath downstairs. Angela, the angel to the end of my weary day. After a nice long, hot soak, I felt the water draw the emotions out of my pores and thanked the universe for the respite and knew that I needed to regroup and recollect my purpose of my journey. I would make it an early night and slept like a baby in the soft bed.

Instead of heading out the next day, I opted to spend another night (though a bit over my budget) in the B&B. Angela and John were very hepful and caring. You can tell that they love what they do and it fits them very well. I took a walk about the town and to the lighthouse. On the way back I walked along the beach in my barefeet, feeling the sand against my soles and between my toes and the cool water of the North Sea washing it away. I returned back to B&B in the mid afternoon and decided to forgo the remainder of the costal hike and made plans to head back to Inverness the next day. I relaxed the rest of the afternoon. I did help Angela with some folding, which was the least I could do for that yummy piece of cake she gave me. She also allowed me to wash my clothes, at no additional charge! I am very greatful for the care John and Angela gave me my 2 days/nights at their place, not to mention the goodbye ham sandwich and chips Angela gave me for my trip back to Inverness. Thank you so much for your kindness during my stay!

Stirling Photos Here
Moray Coast Photos Here
Misc Scotland Photos Here

For my foodie friends and family: I tried black pudding, it is a "meat" but I probably don't want to really know all the ingredients; that being said I liked it. It does have a sausage spice flavor to it. I recommend you try it if you come to the UK.

For my golfer friends and family (or those wanting a quite restful place to relax and stay): I would suggest staying at the Links Lodge in Lossiemouth, Moray, Scotland. There are pleanty of golf courses within a 15 minute drive, with one right outside the door of the B&B. Also John and Angela are the best people in the world! The view outside my window was #1 (I think) tee on a golf course, John Murray Pro Shop, beach and the North Sea.

For my hiker friends and family: What I did of the 50 miles of the Moray Costal Walk was beautiful and diverse. I did opt to not finish, only because I felt that I needed to emotionally remove myself from the situation. I might yet return to complete it.

This week I made my way via train to Northern Ireland. I stayed the week at a friend's home in the lovely town of Carrickfergus. Carrickfergus has a great castle in the center of town and I toured it with my hosts. Using Carrickfergus as a base I explored the Coastal Road and Belfast.

The Coasta Road is a beautiful drive (though I rode by bus). Along this route I crossed the Carrick-a-Rede Rop Bridge; I know it is hard to believe, but I really did cross it twice! The views were wonderful. After the bridge we then headed to the Giant's Causeway. According to legend, the causeway was made as a road by one giant to get to the other giant in Scotland (same rock formations across the channel in Scotland). The formations are very cool to see and again the views were marvelous.

I spent 3 days touring around Belfast. I could have crammed it into 2 but it was not necessary for my schedule. Again, like in Dublin, I first explored with the hop-on-hop-off bus on the first day. The second day I toured the Titanic Experience which is a great exhibit with many interactive features; it even includes a ride! Since it is August I was able to tour Stormont, the parlimental house. As I was a bit tight on time I did not opt for the tour; however, a friendly guard gave me a personal tour and I got to see more than the official tour people did. :) The next day I went to the botanical gardens and through the Ulster Museum.

Carrickfergus Photos Here
Belfast Photos Here

I was surprised how different but yet the same I find Northern Ireland to Ireland. Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom and therefore I expected differences in mainly the monetary system. I was a bit surprised that the accent was different. I was not sure what I would find regarding the history and though both Ireland and Northern Ireland share a similar history, one can vastly see the different perspectives on how it is presented in each country. I found people friendly and helpful in both and would recommend anyone planning to come to the Emerald Isle to explore both countries.

For my food followers (you know who you are), as I stayed at a friend's home, I think I had some traditional meals. Each evening supper consisted of a meat, veggies and potatoes, and usually some type of gravey (sauce). The only meals that have really contained bread have been sandwiches (not sure if my hosts just didn't eat bread but I didn't miss it). As a side note, if you get a "chicken salad" sandwich (tuna, etc) just know that means that you are getting lettuce, tomato, etc. on the sandwich, not like the "salad" sandwiches we are used to in the US.

P.S. I have pictures a plenty on Snapfish but still getting them a bit more organized. I will add links to the albums as I can for you. You will need to set up a Snapfish account (free) to view the pictures. Be ready, I have already amassed over 1000 pictures.

It's hard to believe that another week has passed. After hitting the "big" tourist towns, and having been to Ireland 28 years ago and seeing most of the "must see" sights already, I decided to make my way to smaller towns. From Kilarney I headed to Dingle. Dingle is a small seaside village that has wonderful little shops and a great atmosphere. One can catch boat tours and if in auto there are a few historical things to see but not really within walking distance. There is also a nice aquarium.

Since it was a rainy, blustery day while I was in Dingle, I opted for the aquarium. The aquarium itself is not large, but better than the National Aquarium in DC (for those who have been there); however, in the penguin area they have a documentary showing about the illfated Shakelford expidition to the Antartic in 1914. This film is about an hour or so long but well worth the watch. The film was actually taken during the expidition and it is silent with information boards setting the scenes. If you think about it, just having the footage itself is amazing, much less what these men and dogs went through for over a year. In the end the men had to survive on the dogs (though they really did not explain this in the documentary I did go through a museum in the next town that expanded my knowledge of the story) only a handful of men did not. The story is beyond inspirational about the fortitude of man. I think it is also telling about Shackelford himself that he mounted another expidition a few years later.

From Dingle I headed to Tralee, another smaller town (about the size of Manhattan, KS). Tralee is famous for the Rose of Tralee pageant. To participate in the pageant the women do not have to be Irish citizens, just direct decendents from Ireland (no more than 3 generations) and so women from all over the world come to particpate. The pageant is heald in August of each year and the town was busy making preparations. The main streets were decorated with lights and the storefronts were being decorated for the big event of the year.

It was in Tralee that I learned more about the Shackelford expiditions as well as a local lad who went on 3 expiditions with Shackelford but quit after the illfated voyage of the Endurance. I found this man's story just as interesting and read all the information available in the exhibit. This museum also had a wonderful Middle Ages Tralee exhibit in which they recreated a small portion of the town in a unique walk through diorama. It was a very fascinating exhibit as well.

Tralee also has a wonderful park with beautiful rose gardens (imagine that) as well as a Dutch Windmill. Other than a few churches there is not too much to explore in this quaint little town.

Next stop was Ennis. Ennis is steep in history and a charming town. By foot the town is easily toured in a day, including the Statue/River walk. There are many pubs that have traditional music at night as well. I would recommend to anyone going to also take a tour of Bunratty Castle, as I had done this in the past, I did not opt to retake the tour.

From Ennis I headed back to Dublin via Galway and wrapped up my Ireland tour and prepared to head to Northern Ireland.

Dingle Peninsula Photos Here
Ennis Pictures Here

I no longer have the uneasy feelings about where I am going, how I am going to get there and where I will be staying that I had the first week. I seem to becoming settled into this day by day existance I have choosen. I do find myself floundering a bit on a project I wanted to work on and I am finding that a bit frustrating. I feel I need to find a focal point to concentrate from and will work on my brainstorming to help clarify the direction I need to go.