Friday, April 22, 2005

A Week in the Scottish Highlands

Tomorrow, we're off to the Scottish Highlands for a week of vacation, April 23-30!

I know, I know. You think I'm already on vacation here in Germany, which is indeed true. But Donica isn't and she needs it! Every year, as participants in two separate vacation clubs, we have two one-week vacations to somewhere in the world, like our trips to London, Rome, Paris, Oahu, Pocono Mtns, New Hampshire, etc. We usually prefer spring and fall weeks away from the high-tourist season. Cold/cool weather doesn't bother us. In fact, we prefer it. Low 50s will be nice, like here in Hannover right now.

Our landing airport (from Hannover to London to Scotland) is Inverness on the NE coast. It's not a one-stop place to get to! Just a hair south, 44 miles away, is Loch Ness, where our Great Glen Water Park Club is (click on the map to see it better). And that's about all we know. We were told it can be pretty out-of-the-way in the Highlands and that getting around almost certainly necessitates a car. So we've got a rental car reserved and, knowing us, will probably drive all around as much as possible, on the "other" side of the street. (Send us good wishes for turning the corners correctly--that's where Americans most get themselves in a pickle!)

When Donica found out there was clay-pigeon shooting at the water park, she just about lost it. Maybe I'll try it as well but I'll have just as much fun taking pictures of her. I think we both look forward to the relaxing stillness of the area and will try to take advantage of it. We are so used to going-going-going, it'll be hard to slow us down. But we'll try.

Supposedly this is the type of "apartment" we'll live in for the week on the shores of the loch. So charming. Maybe if we're still enough and have good intentions, we'll actually see the Loch Ness monster! HA. But don't expect me to have the camera in hand when we do.

Don't know if we'll have access to the internet while we're gone, so if this Blog is silent, you'll know why. In the meantime, ciao. (What country am I in anyway!)

3 comments:

  1. Clay-pigeon shooting?? I didn't realize this was one of Donica's "things"! Now THIS I gotta see! :-)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yeah, that will be a HOOT!

    Don and I drove through the Highlands when I was pregnant with Lesley back in 1980. The challenge of driving on the left was crazy -- we kept shifting the door knob! It's SO beautiful there. We took to calling the plentiful sheep "the brethren." Careful of those little two-track roads coming up over a hill! Look out!!

    :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Sad to say, there was only one time-slot for clay-pigeon shooting and it was raining. So I didn't get to experience the "thrill of the kill," so to speak. Donica had done this once before on some work-related, team-building trip. She loved it and was looking forward to another go at it. Oh well. Another time.

    Ruth, the driving thing was crazy for Donica. The first day, leaving the airport, her nerves were shot with all the round-abouts. I laughed hysterically about you shifting the doorknob. And by the way, those two-track roads are ONE-track roads with "passing places." MY nerves were shot on those! But we both made it without killing each other! Thank God for travelling mercies.

    ReplyDelete

Visiting Philine in Bad Rothenfelde, Germany

  A day after daughter Amy flew back to Atlanta from visiting us the week before Easter (which I'll get to later), Astrid and I drove to...