Red Lion Tavern Fochabers

... drove all over the Caringorm Mountains today and I found some beautiful poisonous mushrooms which I have added photo's of.

Tomorrow we move on to Isle of Sky, supposedly one of the most beautiful places in Scotland. It will be a long drive but we should see many great things. Our driver is spoiling us and has been wonderful and it just could not have been a better trip for us. The lodgings have been luxurious and the food great.

... Malt Whiskey is made. It was very interesting and I asked lots of questions. We had a taste testing and discovered we still do not like the whiskey that much! To much taste of peat. They were nice to let us in as they were flooded around them and did a great tour for us.

We ended by seeing ancient sites dating back to 4-5000 BC. It was quite something!

... vacation. We went to the gates and although the police were standing by they allowed us to photograph and did not run us off. We waved at them when we left and they probably thought those crazy Americans! I told Gordon our driver that I was sure the Queen didn't get the message that we were coming or I was certain she would have sent us an invitation to tea!

Rothes is the little Scottish village where the Glen Grant Whiskey Distillery is located. It is part of the Speyside Whisky Trail, where the largest concentration of Scotch whisky distilleries is located in Scotland. This large valley is popular among distillers because this is where most of the barley is grown for the distillation process.

The distillery has a nice garden and a gift shop.

... didn't need new pad so took them back for a refund.
With no luck getting our brakes fixed in Aberdeen, Matt unclamped the brake line & hoped it wouldn't seize again.

We drove around the esplanade through heaps of little fishing villages and through heaps of green rolling hills (the brakes were working fine - must have just been a bit rusty since the car had not moved for a while) . It was about 10pm and the ...

... t call it Scotch in Scotland, they look at you funny. Also, its whisky NOT whiskey. Everybody up to speed? Ok good. The tour at the distillery was pretty cool. I learned more about the whisky process than I probably ever needed to. But we did get some whisky at the end of the tour. They also make a whisky liquer that even Jodi liked. It is pretty delicious! It is begging to be paired with some gooey dessert. Now back to ...

... 3 miles short. Our second stop was at Hadrian's Wall which was surprisingly hard to find seeing as though it stretches across the whole of the north of England! We had enjoyed our time visiting Anna & Simon, meeting their family and seeing a part of Britain neither of us had been to before. Hopefully later in the summer we can catch up with them again and meet the next little addition to their family which is due in June!

Across highlands. Big hill with snow. Lunch with horses at Ruthven barracks, a romantic ruin built to repress the Jacobite rebellion in the Highlands Fort George - built 1748 as an artillery defensive position. Huge, beautiful and still garrisoned by the British army. Great site, walls 1 mile around (we walked all of them). Two coffee shops and Bernadette missed both of them.

... as a 7 year old are slowly being ticked off one by one) . It's important that I end up in something I want to do. It's a depressing (that word again) thought but it's almost 11 years since I graduated, 14 years since I left High School and almost 1 year since I left my job. It's a lot to think about and I'm sure those of you who have had to take big decisions know what I'm going through and can offer some sound advice. Now for the cod psychological part ...

... at least the mist cast a romantic air over the panoramic scene below. Along our hike we encountered a number of calm, laidback cows which starkly contrasted with the stampeding cows near Aviemore. These cows were probably chewing on wacky weed or partaking in cattle feed straight out of a nearby whiskey distillery. When we called out to one herd of cows we passed, they actually all trotted over to us - real friendly like. Sluts. There was also a pair of ...