For the Love of Scotland

I’m home from a 10-day island-hopping extravaganza in Scotland. It was wonderful. Scotland is always wonderful. In my most humble way I’ll say that this is my 5^th trip, and I am busily planning for trip 6. If I could afford to buy a place there and spend months at a time, I would, that’s how much I love being there.

So, the latest trip. This trip and the last 2 were with a group of friends, who are part a of a scotch-drinking group at the Dundee Dell here in Omaha. The Dell has over 800 open stock bottles of scotch and hosts a scotch tasting on the 1^st Sunday of every month. Yes, I like scotch. Do I like it as much as these other guys? Wellllllll, maybe not at that level, but I do really enjoy a good dram, and I enjoy tasting different ones.

Every 3 years this group goes on a distillery tour of Scotland, and I jump on those coat tails for a trip to Scotland. Sure, it’s not the trip I would plan out for myself—not a single woolen mill or yarn shop on the list. However, I’ve been all over Scotland, so it’s been worth every tour.

This latest trip was a bit of a diversion. Normally, they’d be going next year on their regular distillery extravaganza, but we all wanted to go to the Islay Whisky and Music Festival, Feis Ile. We also wanted to go to some of the islands in the Inner Hebrides, specifically Mull and Skye. Everything about this trip was different from the others, and that’s a good thing. Sure, we went to distilleries, but we also had more time for shopping and just walking around, doing touristy things. It was awesome!

Let me give you the down and dirty outline of what we did. Later I will do posts dedicated to different aspects of the trip.

We landed in Edinburgh and immediately headed to south to Kennacraig to catch the ferry to Islay. The first rule of traveling the islands: Don’t Miss the Ferry! We docked in Port Askaig, Islay, and said “Hello old friend!”

We dropped the bags at the Bowmore Hotel, then walked down to the Bowmore Distillery for their open day. Each distillery has an “open day” which is their celebration and each distillery produces a special festival bottling, available on that day. We were way too late to get a bottle, but we did get in a tour, a few drams, and listened to some great music. Dinner at the hotel, then we all crashed.

Next day was the Kilchoman (keel-ho-man) Distillery’s open day, and we went early for a tour. Then, we joined the line to buy the festival bottle. Well, my husband and one of the other ladies from the group stood in line. I walked around and did other shopping in their gift shop and got the hubby a cup of coffee and a slice of sponge cake. He stood in line for an hour, the least I could do was feed him some refreshments. After that, we ate a delicious lunch at the Bridgend Hotel (where I’d like to stay next time), then headed over to Bruichladdie (brook lahdee) Distillery for a tour with the manager, Duncan. Bruichladdie is one of my favorite distilleries and I always recommend it as a place to tour. Then we had dinner at the Harbour Inn. We continually go there and it is continually way too expensive. Tasted good, though.

Next we went on the Ardbeg boat ride, as in a boat ride sponsored by Ardbeg Distillery. We left from Ardbeg on a powerboat that took us out onto the MacTaggart estate to a bothy cottage where we had lobster for lunch and a whole lot of Ardbeg, including the festival bottling. 

After that we made a whirlwind tour to other distilleries to buy whisky. We went to Laphroig, Caol Ila, and Bunnahabain, which was winding down its open day. That night we had dinner at the Indian restaurant in Bowmore, which we will never do again.

Next day was Ardbeg’s Open Day, so we, of course, went and got the bottle, while some of the guys played golf. Ardbeg’s activities had an Olympic theme, so there were games and a parade of nations, which we participated in. We marched to the Proclaimers’ “100 miles” with a guy from Colorado who held the flag. We finally ate at the café (always wanted to and never had before) and had delicious soup and a sandwich. Afterwards we went to see the Kildalton Cross and the cemetery. The wonderful people at the Bowmore Hotel squeezed us in for dinner, even though they were swamped with a birthday party. And it was delicious.

Early morning to catch the ferry the following day. We drove up to Oban, getting there early enough to explore. We went to the Oban Distillery, did a tasting, and bought a bottle. I kind of like this pattern of no tours, just drinking and buying. Anyway, Oban is a tourist trap—it’s population triples in the summer. There are 2 great knitting shops, but it was Sunday, and they were closed. Later we took the ferry to the Isle of Mull. We got to the Western Isles Hotel just in time for dinner—the most amazing dinner with the best view.

Mull is gorgeous and has a cute village with some nice little shops. It also is the home of Tobermory Distillary, where we had a great tour. We had time to do some shopping before getting on the ferry back to the mainland for a very twisty, curvy road up the western coastline to catch the next ferry to the Isle of Skye. We got to the Advasar Hotel and hung out in their pub and had dinner.

I wish we had had more time on Skye. It’s a gorgeous place. We toured the Talisker Distillery, which is a fabulous whisky but a horrible tour. We drove around some, did some shopping in Portree before going to Uig to catch the ferry to Isle of Harris, where we, again, got there in time for dinner at the hotel.

The Isles of Lewis and Harris are the same landmass, but they are vastly different. Lewis is more rocky. We went to St. Clement’s Church then headed over to Harris and toured the Abhainn Dearg distillery. This was a real treat because they are just getting started. It’s very compact and laid back. I felt lucky to have seen it and bought a bottle of their 3 year old. We drove around a little more, then headed to our hotel, the Thorlee Guest House for the night.

The next morning we took the ferry to Ulapool on the mainland and started our gorgeous, scenic route across the northern coastline to Thurso, waaaaay on the other side of the Highlands. It’s at Thurso that the hubby and I met knitter/podcaster Louise and went to her house for dinner with her husband and kids. It was one of the best times we had on the trip.

The next day we headed south, stopping at Old Pultney Distillery and The Dalmore Distillery to do some shopping, before stopping in Inverness. We stayed at The Glen Mhor Hotel, a lovely place on the river, and had a great dinner after a day of shopping and just walking around the city. After being on the remote islands, we felt a little claustrophobic until we got used to it.

After a good night’s sleep, we headed to Edinburgh. Even though we got stuck in traffic for some bridge repair, we got into Edinburgh early enough to walk around the Royal Mile, do some shopping, do some sightseeing, and have dinner at one of our favorite Italian restaurants, before going to the Scotch Malt Whisky Society in Leith, called “The Vaults.”

All too soon it was time for one more sleep then back to the airport to fly home.

That is more than enough for one post! Did I lose anyone? The posts after this will be more focused. Hope you come back!

South Dakota Part III

Our last day in South Dakota was more relaxed, just driving around seeing what we hadn’t yet and going to some shops.

Rapid City has a Dinosaur Park.



It was part of a WPA project in the 1930s, and it’s pretty entertaining. We drove up a curvy road that put a double S in “S curve” and the switchbacks would put a crick in your neck. I think that was part of the fun, at least while I was against the mountain side; it wasn’t so much fun going back down.

Anyway, the dinos are pretty weathered, but that ads to the fun. Al said it made them look scaly.





They aren't exactly terrifying







Next we headed onto to Lead to see the mine. Since the mine closed, Lead is holding on by a thread, surviving because it’s just down the street from Deadwood.





Then it was off to the scenery and more curves of Spearfish Canyon. It was a beautiful drive and we’re glad someone told us not to miss it.









On the way back to Rapid City, we stopped at their national cemetery.





We stopped at the Prairie Berry Winery (who could pass up a name like that?). They use local fruits and berries, so most of the wines were pear, chokeberry, and things like that. They were pretty good if you like sweet wines, but if you're a fan of a dry cabernet, this wouldn't be your place. But the tasting was free, and it's family-owned and very friendly.



Hungry for an early dinner, we headed to a BBQ place I had read about. It was under new management and was our only disappointment on this trip. We did however see this sign at the tattoo shop, which cracked us up.



I really wanted to go in and see the new colors.

It seemed fitting that our last night in South Dakota would have the most glorious sunset.








The ride home was, again, uneventful. We did make a few stops at the famous Wall Drug (You try ignoring a billboard every mile). It takes up one side of Main Street in this tiny, tiny town.





We also stopped to see the Corn Palace in Mitchell, SD. They were still working on it; they change it every year. It’s basically paint by numbers, but it’s with corn.





We also saw some unusual sights



But mostly, it was just miles and miles or miles and miles.



And worth driving every one of them.

South Dakota Part I

The drive to Rapid City was uneventful, thank Goodness. The vast nothingness that is southern South Dakota is an anxiety-ridden nightmare for someone whose biggest fear is breaking down on the side of the road.

In Nebraska there were some small towns and each one had a clean gas station. You were s***t out of luck (so to speak) if you had to pee while driving on Hwy 18 in SD. There aren’t even any trees. This is cattle/prairie country—wide open spaces and rolling hills with no people to be seen. If we had broken down, no one would have found us for days!



I knew we were in for a long drive when I saw a billboard in NE for McDonald’s that said “Last Big Mac for 112 miles.” I think my heart skipped a beat, and I don’t even like Big Macs.

But, obviously, we made it fine. We had gorgeous weather the whole trip. And it was worth taking those back roads because we went up through the Badlands, and it was beautiful.









That first night we went to the Firehouse Brewery, where Al and the guys used to go when he’d come here TDY (temporary duty). And now I know why they would because it was awesome. The beer was fantastic and the food was delicious.

The next day, the sight-seeing began. After driving through what became our favorite coffee shop (Gizzi’s), we headed to Mount Rushmore. It was a cool day with blue skies and hardly any traffic on smooth, winding roads. I love going on vacation in late September because the tourist areas aren’t as crowded, just some retirees. Actually, we were the youngest people every where we went. It was wonderful.

So, Mt. Rushmore. Just like other amazing sights, you’re never ready for seeing it from the road. We were toddling down the road when I looked up and there was George Washington!







I was very excited to see this, and I wasn’t disappointed, which brings me to an important point to make. Many times I hear from people that they were disappointed in Mt. Rushmore and that it wasn’t that big a deal. To those people I ask, “What the hell have you seen that you are not impressed by this?” It’s A-MAZ-ING. It’s beautiful and moving, and I actually felt that proudly patriotic part of my heart that has been beaten down by an oppressive Republican administration. OK, so I got a little off track there, but the point is, it really is amazing to see.



Those four faces, their eyes gazing out at the future of their country just gave me goose bumps.





And to think that they created this in the early 30s, before computers and lasers, with only jack hammers and chisels. I got the audio tour because I’m a geek and I wanted to hear the stories. I am, however, a lazy geek, so I love the audio tour so that I don’t have read the hundreds of plaques.

A tip for you: if you decide to walk the decked-trail that goes around the base of the mountain to see it from different views—and you should—start to your left (while looking at the presidents) at the sign that says “Presidential Way, Generator, and Artist’s Studio.” It’s easier in that direction because you’ll be going down a total of 220 steps instead of up. You’ll still have some steps to get back up, but it’s only 20 or 30.

Me on the boardwalk around the base of the mountain.


The sculptor's studio


BTW, there is no free parking at Mt. Rushmore any more. It cost $8 per car, but that pass is good for the year, so you can go back.

There is so much more to see, so we headed back to the car, had a quick snack, and headed on to Crazy Horse.

Crazy Horse is an incredible monument that I don’t expect to be completed in my lifetime, but I don’t think that’s the point any more. Conceived, designed and created by sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski, the project is continued by his wife and 7 of his 10 kids. They are using Ziolkowski’s three books of detailed plans and accept no government funding. As a matter of fact, Ziolkowski twice turned down $10 million in federal funding.



When finished, it will be 563 feet high, 641 feet long, carved three-dimensionally (in the round). To give you a better idea, all four heads of Mt. Rushmore will fit in Crazy Horse’s head.



Here are some pictures of the model with the actual work behind it.





The first blast was June 3, 1948 and the face was completed on June 3, 1998. Now they are working on the horse’s head.





We drove around a little more and enjoyed the scenery, then had the best dinner of the trip. We went to the Fireside Inn, a pretty and homey restaurant with large windows to look out at the deer grazing at dusk. Al and the guys used to come to this restaurant every Wednesday for the special on prime rib. I went with every intention of sharing a big ol' slab of medium rare prime rib with him, but then I saw salmon wellington on the menu and I couldn't resist.



So, Al had to order the smaller prime rib for himself.



The last thing we saw that night, was a beautiful fool moon.



I'll finish up the trip next time. Have a great weekend, everyone.