Best.Day.Ever

Thanks, SpongeBob!  We started the day with a bit of a time crunch, as we have to make the ferry to Stornaway, on the island of Harris, in the Outer Hebrides.  We had a really nice breakfast with a fellow from near Paris, France (as opposed to Paris, Texas).  He’s been to Scotland every year since 2011.  He said it was where his heart was.  After spending some time in this part of Scotland, I can understand why.  It really reminds us of the parts of Ireland we love the most, except for more mountains.We checked in to the ferry early, and it was a good thing.  We had to park in our lane, then walk over to the terminal to turn our reservation code into tickets.  Once we started loading, it was clear this was a new one for us.  There were two levels for cars.  We happened to be on the top levelWe gathered our things and headed inside.  We found a great spot right next to some huge windows on the port side of the front of the boat.  Carrie was a little bummed that the seats were not the comfortable ones she could sleep in, as the trip was 2.5 hours.  As it turned out, we had plenty of things to occupy us.  The only question was would she take Dramamine.  Yesterday, it seemed to really knock her out, and she couldn’t enjoy the day as much as normal.  She went commando on this trip, and avoided medication.  It turned out to be a good choice.There was a nice Scottish family on holiday with two children.  The girl, Grace, was 5 and precocious.  Of course, Carrie connected with her, and we all had some fun finishing our trip.  We even went out to the observation deck and got some great pictures coming into the harbor.While this island is remote, like Orkney, it seemed to be more populated, and a bit more modern - which is not always a good thing.First off the boat, we went to St. Columba’s church.  It was a nice walk, and the weather was great - a little overcast, but no rain, and a nice breeze.  There were rabbit holes all over the attached cemetery.  I played tour guide reading the descriptions of the important stone markers inside the church - and I even got a few of them right!We topped off our petrol, as we were heading to a more remote part of the island.  As we drove to our next spot, we could see the countryside basking in the sun ahead.  Sure enough, we reached that part, and were back in the bright light.  I love all the weather we’ve had, but sunlight sure makes the colors pop!We stopped at a blackhouse which had been occupied until 1966.  This is a type of home that had been used in this area for hundreds of years.  The family shared their home with livestock, which provided heat, and did not require construction of yet another structure.  The inside was filled with the smoke from the peat fire.  This is when we first met the friendly English couple.  At first, I thought they were guides, as she started rattling off facts about the house.  It turned out, she was just trying to be helpful and relaying the information given to her in the visitor’s center.  Our paths kept crossing, and she kept talking - speaking authoritatively about everything from the blackhouse to President Trump.  No matter your political persuasion, having a foreigner call our President a Twit rankles a bit.  It is kind of like I can say mean things about my sister, but when the jerk down the street calls her names, I want to beat them up.We finally finished exploring, and headed off to our next stop.  We didn’t know quite what to expect from a feature called The Whalebone Arch.  It is pretty much on the nose - an arch made of whale bones.  A brief picture was all that was needed to capture that moment, and we were back off again. We found a blackhouse village that was referenced in the travel guide, Gearrannan.  It was much more commercialized, and even had turned some of the blackhouses into hostels.  While it might be interesting to stay there, the first blackhouse was much more historically interesting, even with the political conversation.We headed to another broch (which does not mean ‘beach’).  It turned out to be one of the best examples in all of Scotland.  The sun was shining, and the hillsides were exploding in green.  You could see the ocean, and it was spectacular.  It was also a nice hike up the hill.Back in the car, we headed toward the highlight of our day’s plans - the Calanais Standing Stones, which are the inspiration for the standing stones in Outlander.  We had a brief hike up the hill to see them.  They were impressive.  There was a streak of dark clouds in the sky, and it made for some atmospheric pictures.  Carrie did test out one of the stones to see if time travel is real.  Luckily, the test failed.  I don't know how I would have explained her sudden disappearance. There were some people in there ahead of us, but since they were doing some weird “I’m going to lean back against the stone and let it speak to me” kind of deal, they actually stayed out of our pictures.  I do think they were a bit annoyed after their meditations were complete, as they started to try and get some pictures and they tended to include us.  I made sure to add some appropriate (to me) facial gestures to complete their pictures.  Though this was a very important site to Carrie (Outlander), she had seen a craft store with alpacas on the way to the site.  So, she turned out to be in a hurry to see them.  She was convinced they were pygmy alpacas.  Every time she asked me if that was a thing, I just deferred to her.Once we arrived at the shop, the proprietor came out to greet us.  She told us we were fortunate, because the alpacas had been sheared for the first time just minutes ago.  Hence, their diminutive appearance.  All that was left of their bushy wool was the curly hair on their heads.  With their goofy expressions and shorn appearance, they were hilarious.  Carrie did find some cool Harris Tweed items in the shop, and then it was time to finish our drive toward our B&B - Ardhasaig House.On the way, we got some great pics of the fabulous scenery in this part of the island.  Carrie got to sing to some sheep as well.  Once we finally made it to the B&B, we were in beauty overload.  The B&B overlooks a small inlet where there are a lot of fishing boats at anchor.  There are mountains falling into the sea.  It is gorgeous.  One option the B&B offered was an evening meal.  We had no idea it would be a 4 table gourmet chef’s choice restaurant.  Of the four tables, two were not staying here - they just wanted a four star dinner.  This place is even listed in the Michelin guide.  The chef and proprietor asked if we had any special dining needs or likes/dislikes.  Carrie told her of my deathly bean allergy (not really).When it was time for dinner, we went down to the lounge to wait.  Our server gave us the menu for tonight, and it looked spectacular.  The execution of dinner was even better.  If you set out to make Carrie’s ideal meal, you could not have done any better than tonight.  Afterward, we retired back to the lounge for some amazing coffee.  The only downside, and it is not unique to here, is we have no good internet again.  My blogs are starting to back up, and we have tons of pictures to upload.  When you are on the edge of the world, I guess that is an expected problem to have.  It has been an awesome day!