Traveling with Michelle: More Scottish Miles to Go Before I Sleep!

Sunday, 6 July 2014

On Sunday, Scotland almost closes down. We almost ran out of gas finding a gas station that was open, Randy had to buy milk last night for breakfast because the store wouldn't be open today, there were limited choices for dinner tonight because most restaurants were closed.

The Arctic Ocean right next to our hostel

When we left our hostel, we drove the scenic roads across , then down and across Scotland to near Aberdeen. We drove first to a museum that looked really interesting--The Museum of the Clearances. It is about the lairds turning their tenants out when mechanization and other innovations made having tenants not profitable. However, it's Sunday. We drove all the way there, only to have it closed. :(

The closed museum

Between the rain showers, we saw some pretty scenery.

sunny side

cloudy side

When we reached Stonehaven (where our B&B is), it was time for dinner. Being Anneliese's 18th birthday, we let her choose (of the limited restaurants open). She chose the Tandoori Haven, and Indian restaurant. We had papadam, crispy little things like tortillas (but way better) with sauces to eat them with. Then we all had different main dishes. I just had a chicken curry; I didn't order rice but should have. The extra curry sauce would have tasted good on steamed rice. We sang Happy Birthday to Anneliese when we got our meals. The table next to us joined in partway through! That made it even more fun!

To get to our B&B, we had to turn right (remember we drive on the left hand side) on the freeway, onto a rutted, stone-filled truck road, down another pot-filled road, then through some gates. We got "The Dog House" which is a room with it's own kitchenette and table. It has a double bed and three twin beds and an ensuite bathroom. We can have our breakfast when we want to--they have stocked the cereal, bread, etc. in our kitchenette. After bringing our bags in, we drove back to Stonehaven to park and walk to the castle. It is a 2 1/2 mile path leading up onto the cliffs above the harbor and winding along the edges and through fields to the castle, then down steps to the strip of land connecting the island of the castle with the rest of the land, then back up the steps to the castle. When we got there, however, you guessed it--it was closed. Of course, that could be because it was 9:30 at night, or could be because it's Sunday. We passed by a World War I memorial. They put the names of the men and women that died in the war on the memorial. Then added more after World War II. The information plaque said that it was intentionally made to look unfinished to symbolize the unfinished lives of the men and women that died. We will try again tomorrow when we return from Aberdeen. The path was long, but pretty, and comfortable to walk (despite all of the climbing!).