Hidden Surprises

One of the best things about traveling with Carrie, is that even when a day is fully planned, there is an even chance it might turn out completely different.  Today was such a day.  While planning last night, I came across a handy feature in the Historic Scotland app, that points you to interesting items close to you.  We found some interesting choices, and totally reworked our day.It began normally enough, with a nice breakfast, and even though we were at the Holiday Inn Express, we had a nice, hot breakfast.  There was a tour group of elderly people, and I nearly took out a nice old lady when I slid my chair back to get some tea.  But, no harm, no foul, and we packed up to start the day.The item I found was some Pictish Symbol Stones near Dyce.  The app gave us GPS coordinates, and we set off on our search.  We found the ruins of an old church, and were trying to find the stones per the coordinates, and Carrie noticed some stones inside the ruin.  Bingo!  It was pretty impressive, and a bit odd, that historic examples of Pictish communications were sitting inside these ruins.   But, we found them, as well as some swans in a nearby river.Back on the road, we headed to our next stop.  Carrie was fighting with Google Maps, and there wasn't a convenient place to pull over to assist, but we eventually gained dominance over the technical tool.  Take that, Google!  The main reason we had switched over to Google, was the ability to create multi-stop directions, though, Google's implementation is less than ideal.Our next destination was Fraserburgh.  Our intent here was to get some pictures of the lighthouse, and maybe checkout the local heritage centre.  We were a little unsure about the centre, because we didn't just want to read through a museum.  This nice older lady was walking out, and Carrie asked if it was good.  She said it was wonderful, and that we would "be amazed."  If you know anything about Carrie's affinity for elderly people, you know we had to go in.  The best thing about the museum was that one of the exhibits was handcrafted by school students in the late 80s, with pictures to prove it.  There were some interesting parts of the museum, and Carrie could visualize how great it would be if they partnered with a local high school (or whatever they call that over here), and had volunteer guides, giving tours through the museum.  We just enjoyed finding some handmade crafts, and some Scottish shortbread for my dad.  I suspect if we are able to bring any home for him, it will not be the box that is in the car right now.  Shortbread is yummy!From here, we began our trek around the coastline from Fraserburgh to south of Inverness, where we are staying for the next few nights.  Carrie actually got some sheep pictures, with sufficient baaaah-ing, and declared that our vacation has actually begun as of today.  With the intent of getting a good angle for a photo of an old church, I drove down this nondescript road.  The farther I drove, the more interesting it looked, until I came around a tiny bend and saw this little town cut into the cliffs.  Pennan is the sort of hidden town that I could totally imagine hiding out in for several days.  There was a little surf there, a long rocky beach, and cliffs all around.  There were some people at tables, eating in the beautiful weather, and there were many holiday rental homes along the street.  I could see Carrie's gears working about a return trip, with the intention in spending several days here.We got back on the road, and headed to our next stop - a town with similar characteristics - Crovie.  We walked a long way down to the street level, and found nothing.  Well, there were holiday rentals, but nothing else, really.  Crovie was mentioned in the tour book, but we found Pennan way more attractive as a destination.The next town up the coast was Gardenstown.  It was larger, with some shops and churches, and you could actually drive down.  It was really pretty, but the craft shop there that Carrie was interested in, was more of a crap shop.  We drove from there to the Scottish Dolphin Centre to see if we could spot some (dolphins, not Scottish...we've seen lots of them already).  While the Dolphins were not around, we did score some actually low-priced gifts here.  The staff was super nice, and suggested some good choices for dolphin viewing elsewhere.We decided to begin the trek straight to our B&B, but it would be a few hours.  We drove through some towns we'd like to actually stop and see the next time we are here, like Banff and Nairn, but for now, I think we are both ready to unpack and relax.  I've been driving so much that my heel is hurting where I pivot my foot on the gas pedal.  I know, getting old is the Pitts (though, it beats the alternative).  We made it down through Inverness, though a few missed roundabout exits forced us to see the "scenic" route.  We drove down the side of Loch Ness, where we will be taking a cruise tomorrow, and reminisced about the last time we were here, when Emma was 6 and Cody was 11.  And, Nana, we went to another McDonalds again! (though it was only for the toilet and a couple of bottles of water).We got checked in, and the host suggested we walk over to the restaurant to be there at opening, as reservations fill up fast.  We were able to get a table right away.  We had a nice dinner with some Scottish cider - it was tart, a little sweeter than Magners, but very nice.  After we ate, we loaded the suitcases upstairs, and set to importing pictures and putting down thoughts.  It is nice to be able to open the window, as it is still very hot for Scotland.  We are excited to be here two nights, as that is less work, the room is great, and the bed is actually comfortable, unlike last night.  Outside, there are heavy clouds, but no rain.  It is extremely dry here, and the hills, normally bright green, there is a lot of brown.  In fact, we drove through a heavy cloud of smoke from a wildfire on our way here.  You could see people on the side of the road taking pictures, because this is so unusual for here.  At least it is cooler than Elk Grove.  I am hoping for some cooler, even rainy weather just as a change.  Whatever it is, it is beautiful here.  Since we don't have to pack up, we can sleep in a bit tomorrow.