Finishing with Inverness

We spent a couple of days in Inverness where Pete's Great Grandparents got married, Margaret Mackenzie and William Johnston. Inverness is a small city, we enjoyed our stay here. We went to the movies, celebrated Lars turning 10, visited the Culloden battle site and Cawdor Castle. We tried to mix our time here up a bit so that Lars and Roxcy would not find it all too boring.

We went to see Spider-Man Far From Home. Roxcy LOVES Tom Holland. She has such a crush on him and wants to see any film that he is in. Lars is a big Marvel fan and has seen all the Marvel films. We really enjoyed Spider-Man. It is light watching but fun and it was so much fun watching Lars and Roxcy fill themselves up with popcorn and ice cream. Lars has 4 Marvel movies on his device to watch when he gets bored or we are doing a lot of driving, I think he has watched them 4 times since we have been on the road. Roxcy has Spider-Man Home Coming on her device. I think when we get back to the States we will have to watch all the Marvel movies on Mikes big surround sound system. That will be  quite a lot of hours viewing.

Lars turned 10 while we were in Inverness. This was our attempt at a birthday breakfast. Pete walked to the bakery up the road from where we were camping and bought a pie, sausage rolls and shortbread type biscuits. We thought it would be nice for Lars to have a hot pie for breakfast ... Pete came back with cold sausage rolls and a cold pie, apparently they did not sell them hot. He then thought that frying the sausage rolls might heat them up enough to eat. It was all a bit of a disaster really. Roxcy did not like the jam in the biscuits so I scraped it out. Not much was eaten. The food was certainly nothing like what he would have had at home with his Mum & Dad, but he did not complain.

As part of Lars' birthday celebration Pete and he went go karting ... it was a great success! Our breakfast disaster faded very quickly when Lars put on his go karting gear and prepared for the track.

Here they are lining up at the starting line with two other go karters. It was fun watching Pete and Lars race each other round the track ... they had about 30 minutes all up. 

I love this photo of Lars and Pete ... Lars looks like a young professional Formula 1 racing car driver. 

 While we were in Inverness we visited Cawdor Castle which dates back to the 1330's and  has been the seat of the Thanes of Cawdor ever since. The castle is known for its rare tapestries. This embroidered seat reminded me of Marg. She taught me how to embroider and smock. I did a lot of embroidery for a while. I think I did one for Viv, Cathy and Marg. I really developed a love and appreciation of needle work from Marg.

During our time in Inverness we also visited the Culloden battlefield. This battle was fought in 1746. Lars is fascinated in all of this history and of course the swords and guns. The battle was a disaster for the highlanders who were supporting Bonnie Prince Charlie and the end of the Jacobite rebellion. 1200 highlanders were slaughter in a 68 minute battle and many more were killed in the weeks that followed. This defeat was the death knell for the clan system and the beginning of the end of the lifestyle of the highlanders who were heavily persecuted by the military. It set the scene for the highland clearances when many families were driven out of the fertile glens and either emigrated or lived in poverty in coastal crofts. These people were Pete's ancestors and I felt like there were moments when the bloody history of these people spoke from the earth.

From Inverness we drove up to Dornoch on the start of the North Coast 500. By the time we got here it was raining and looked and was miserable. Pete and Lars had a conversation about upper, middle and lower class. Upper class is a RV, middle class is us in a camper and lower class is a tent ... there are some advantages to being middle class and this is one of them. Not having to camp in the rain. We drove past the church where Madonna and Guy Ritchie married. It is also the place where the last witch trial took place in 1722, they boiled an old woman alive in hot tar. What can I say. We are now officially on the NC500 and Outlander Country.

Ben Nevis and Inverness

This is hard ... so many photos, so many stories, so many things to remember. What to add and what to leave out? I thought that I would try to combine days and places as best I could. Some days run into the other but I kept a daily diary of what we did and I am hoping it will help me to remember what we did and where we were.

From Stirling we headed to Fort William and camped at Glen Nevis Camp Ground, where we did some climbing ... the camp ground was great for Lars and Roxcy and it had a great shower. Camping is very big here ... much like NZ. The camp grounds here are mixed ranging from average to above average. No kitchen facilities but wash up areas, showers and laundry. We missed the use of a kitchen when it was raining. We had an awning for the side of our camper but it was pretty light, not a very good protection from the rain. 

From Ben Nevis we went to Inverness.

This happened to Roxcy in the first couple of days. It was a challenge for the Tooth Fairy to find Roxcy but she did ... thank goodness.

We took a walk up Ben Nevis, which is the highest mountain in the United Kingdom. It is a very popular area here for tramping, mountain biking, cycling and kayaking, in fact Scotland really is the 'Great Outdoors' with lots of out door activities. This photo is one of those moments when I regret not having a 'real' camera!

I really wanted to get a photo of the valley behind Lars and Pete but I thought the photo would be more interesting with them in it. Pete is wearing Roxcy's hat to protect his bald head from the sun.

Catching the last of the sun on Ben Nevis.

I have spent many hours sitting with washing machines like this. I have enjoyed it as time out. I know I have said this in previous posts but washing is the most expensive thing!

The weather forecast for our trip was not favourable ... lots of rain predicted. When we were camping in Inverness Pete decided to buy umbrellas for us, a great idea. Yes it has rained a lot while we have been here, but it stops and starts. It has not been cold, mildly humid and it has made sleeping at night in our van more comfortable than if it was really hot.

We went out for breakfast in Inverness. I had porridge, Lars had bacon, Roxcy had French Toast and Pete had a Full English Breakfast which included this Haggis. I did try it ... I don't think I could ever acquire a taste for it. Pete did not try it at all.

Roxcy was very excited about this store. It was fun watching her choose her pick and mix and required a lot of patience. I remember going to the dairy as a child and buying a 10cent mixture of lollies. It was such a fun thing to do, pinch some money from my Mothers wallet and go down to the corner dairy and buy a pick and mix. So many lollies to choose from and so much to eat when I had made my choices. Some of my favourites ... eskimos or bananas, snifters, jaffas, minties, wine gums, pineapple lumps to name a few.

These are the boiled sweets, which Roxcy does not like ... she picked all soft sweets.

We went for a walk along the canal in the evening when the rain had stopped. A discussion ensued with Roxcy and she got a little heated. The next thing Roxcy storms of yelling ...'my head is going to explode!' I got the giggles which really did not help.

From an exploding head to a sleeping angel with her most cherished possession, her blankie that is being worn out with love.

Roxcy tried scones and liked them. I grew up with hot scones. My Grandma Worsfold made the best scones and I remember having them hot with jam when I was a girl about Lars and Roxcy's age. Fresh hot scones with jam are the best. My Grandmother Crombie took me out for Devonshire Tea from time to time and that is when I discovered the joy of whipped cream on fresh scones ... yummy! Grandma Gibson used to make good scones ... she would put egg and sugar in hers. I used to make scones for our children when they were young and we would have them for a meal or with soup. There has been quite a range of taste with the scones that we have tried. Some have been definitely better than others.

Stirling

At last we have internet ... what a relief on so many levels. It means that I can catch up with our photos and our travel story. We can read our emails without using data and 'phone home'. We have had such a fun adventure together. Lars and Roxcy are amazing travel buddies. They are easily pleased in many ways ... except when it comes to food. Travelling with children is really energising. They see the world through different eyes and we have done things that we would not have done.

Scotland is beautiful. We have loved it here. The landscape is amazing and the light is beautiful ... so many shades of green and grey. There is soooo much green here. I find it hard to put into words how beautiful the landscape is. Some times I feel like I am in a Bronte novel ... like Jane Eyre. I can almost see her walking across the moors. There is something haunting here that is hard to describe and I am really confident that my photos have not captured the atmosphere and beauty at all.

There are two world views in our photos ... Lars & Roxcy's view and experience of Scotland and ours. I hope you will be entertained. 

A hang over photo from our visit to Game Park. I thought it was funny.

This is our first morning in Stirling. I love the cobbled streets, I thought Stirling was gorgeous. These streets and buildings are so old. So much history. 

This is my first porridge of our trip. I love porridge! Pete makes me porridge every morning, before I head off to work. I think he makes a good one. I have been really looking forward to trying Scottish porridge. It was yummy ... we had breakfast in a small cafe, just up the road from Stirling Castle, that was run by a couple from Poland. Kind of funny, Scottish porridge made by someone from Poland ... it was good. There are a lot of people from Eastern Europe living and working here.

Lars distressed at the breakfast menu at our cafe ... 

We went for a walk round Stirling Castle. I love looking at the decor ... their fabrics, colours and design. This is curtain fabric in the master bedroom.

I love these soft colours ... I think of Lucy when I see these colours.

I could not resist this painting of a unicorn, given that they are so popular with young girls at the moment. They sure are in our family. Now we know where they originated ... Scotland.

Pete is always keen to look at the Royal Gardens, particularly their vegetable gardens. Pete loves his garden and has a vision of how he wants it to look. He and Suzie spend many hours working together and discussing how they can make the garden work and look better. We have enjoyed fresh vegies for the last couple of years and it has been so exciting to go and pick something that we/Pete has grown. It is instant gratification. We really liked the way they had planted their herb garden here. Something for Pete and Suzie to do when we get back to ChCh.

While we are looking at gardens and textiles Lars and Roxcy are getting into what life was like in a Castle, how people lived, what they did and what they wore. Our Prince & Princess ... we have had many conversations with Roxcy about if she was a Princess and what her room would be like, what she would wear and what would her Mum & Dad be if she was a Princess.

Stuck in the chimney.

Game of Thrones moment ... maybe.

One of Lars' tasks was to see or have his photo taken with a knight in shining armour and here he is. Pete has had a lot of fun writing down things that Lars and Roxcy have said on our travels, which are really funny. Ben Nevis and Inverness next.

We have landed ...

We have arrived in Scotland. Landed in Edinburgh picked up our rental camper and hit the road. We have had no internet access only wifi through our phones so it has been impossible for me to update our blog. I have taken lots of photos and now I have to make sense of them all and make some hard choices. Looking back on photos is a good way of sorting through what is important and what isn't. My one big disappointment is that we did not bring a 'real' camera and only using my iPhone X. The picture quality is good, but only for up close. I really wish that I had a camera with a 'real' zoom. But I am making do with what I have and this is what I have so far.

I love these taxis ... so British. There is a fibre glass window between the driver and passengers, the driver speaks to passengers through an intercom. I guess being a taxi driver is a dangerous occupation.

It has been a long flight ... 6 hours from Newark to Edinburgh. Lars and Roxcy slept most of the way, still pretty tired when we got here. I knitted this hat for Lars when he was little ... it still fits him. Not sure what that means ... maybe my knitting is too loose or Lars' head has not changed in size?? It suits him though.

Pretty money ... Every pound is $NZ2, the last time we were in the UK every pound was $NZ3. I do think the British pound goes a long way. Mike & Chris very generously gave us money to help out with Lars and Roxcy ... it has been very helpful.

Here is our Spaceship Camper van ... very compact! This has been such a good idea ... we pull into our camp ground, hook in our power and settle in for the night/s. So much easier than fussing around with a tent. It is 'very' wet here this summer ... I have many family memories of putting tents up in the rain ... finding them leaking and then packing them up the next day. Everything is damp when camping in the rain.

This is the inside of our camper ... Pete and I sleep on mattresses on the floor and Lars and Roxcy sleep on mattresses that are set up on top of the back seats and small table. It is not 'quite' like our beds at home, but we are getting better at sleeping like this. I really hurt my back before we left VT and it was very, very painful for me for a few days. This reminds me of our trip around the States in '96 with our children. We had a VW Vanagon that we slept in ... all 6 of us. It was so much fun. We listened to the Lord of the Rings on tape, a CD of the Eagles and Joan Osborne, What if God were one of Us across the States. Lars & Roxcy have their electronic devices loaded up with movies and books. They also have books to read. We have a ritual every evening that goes like this ... 3 things that we enjoyed, prayer and a movie. Chris has created a treasure hunt for both of them and they have to tick things off their lists as they do them. Chris is great like that ... full of ideas to help keep Lars and Roxcy interested.

There was an animal safari park next to our first camp ground so we took the children to see it. There were giraffes, lions, tigers, rhinos etc. We had a funny conversation with Lars about the Rhino's horn it went something like this. 'That Rhino's horn could really cause some damage, even kill you.' Lars' response ... 'no, it would just crumble'. Pete's response ... 'oh really Lars. How would you like one of those horns rammed up your butt??' I thought it was so funny.

We had a feed of Fish & Chips on our first night. They come in cardboard boxes here, a little like pizzas. I asked Roxcy what she thought of them ... she said 'they are disgusting!' I guess we wont be having them again.

We tagged along behind this beautiful Ferrari for a few miles. The roads here are narrow and used as main thoroughfares for all traffic including big trucks. Feels a little suspenseful sometimes when these big trucks are driving towards us and there is not a lot of room on the road. There are a lot of BMWs, Peugeots, Volvos, Renaults and Land Rovers on the roads here. We have seen 2 Alfas, some Japanese cars, the odd Porshe and Jaguar. Pete feels very confident about our choice of BMW ... it seems that they are seen as very reliable here, a go to car for daily use.

You Take the High Road ... I'll Take the Low Road

We are packed ... we have three bags between us, the grey packs are Pete's and mine. The last 8 days have gone by quite fast. We have enjoyed some heat and rest. Mike and Chris have very generously put us up at The Inn ... it is very comfortable there. The closer we get to leaving the more nervous I get ... I do hope that Lars' and Roxcy will enjoy themselves. It is a big thing for them to be willing to leave their Mum & Dad for nearly 4 weeks and travel with us round Scotland. I admire their bravery and sense of adventure. 

Roxcy bought a mascot for our trip ... Nessie, The Loch Ness monster. We are meant to make sure that she is in every photo ... I hope I remember. 

Last minute instructions from Mum & Dad ... it really is happening now. Everything seems like a good idea in the planning. Roxcy will really miss her MuM.

It takes about 2 hours to drive to Boston ... there is so much tension around leaving to catch a flight. I am not sure what that is about?? Maybe it is trying to work with a finite time frame ... so many things to remember, money, passports, and e-tickets, did we download them?

I know this is a grainy shot taken in haste, but I could not resist putting it up. Anyone who has been a parent will totally get this ... the love, the pride, the excitement and the little sign of separation anxiety, 'I hope they will be all right'!. It is all there. We all get this because we have been in that exact place ourselves ... many times as a parent. This photo says it all. Does that separation anxiety ever go away?

The last goodbyes ... Roxcy looks so sad from behind. She was so brave!

We flew out of Newark New Jersey. Had about a 2 hour wait here ... and waited for our plane to Scotland.

I finished my book on the flight to Newark ... the joy of reading for pleasure and the guilt. I felt like I should be reading books on attachment and catching up on all my professional development reading. I would not really recommend this book ... an average read but it had me hooked and the ending was satisfying. A quick and easy read.

Here we are seated on the plane, with Nessie on Roxcy's shoulder, waiting for take off. It was a quick flight but comfortable, a small plane ... 6 hours. Just a bit longer than the distance from SF to Boston.

Scotland here we come!