Back from The Isles of Mull and Skye

Day 1 to Isle of Mull

From St. Andrews to Oban on Friday, August 27, the route goes through the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park, as well as Ben Nevis and The Glens. This area of Scotland is one of my favorites..the beauty abounds



Along the way we came upon a small eatery where we had a wonderful home made lunch. The place must have been famous for the baked goods, as check out the scones on the table.

There were three types of scones, two soups, and numerous other yummies. The scones were cut larger than a piece of pie and were at least 2" high in the center.

At the ferry terminal in Oban we learned that the ferry to Craignure was fully booked, so we bought a standby ticket. Coming back out from the terminal it began to sprinkle and as I took off my glasses to hide them from the rain (I had just washed them) and hide the camera from the rain, I missed my footing and took a header landing fully on my knees and palms. Knee was cut and hugely bruised as were the palms, but thank goodness no emergency room needed.
The wounded knee

The ferry
The que
kids playing soccer while in the que

The bar on the ferry
Dick having a wee dram of the Tobermory scotch which was on special at the bar for just 3.95; it is a nice light taste with hints of cherry
Lighthouse as we near Isle of Mull

The Duart Castle in the distance where movies "Entrapment" and "When The Bells Toll Eight" were filmed
We will visit this castle the next day.


Arriving in Craignure, we drove directly to Tobermory to find our hotel and settle in after a long day of travel.
The beautiful village of Tobermory

We found our hotel and a parking spot in front. Score 1

The wonderful view from our wee room. Score 2
Checking out the wee town at the end of the road where the Tobermory Ferry Terminal is located, we found a restaurant called Fish Cafe. Score 3
The view back to Tobermory from Fish Cafe. We inquired about a table and they regretted to inform us that it was fully booked until 9:30pm. Oops, someone had just cancelled. Score 4

This restaurant is INCREDIBLE!!! The food here is beyond heaven itself. Dick ordered Seafood Stroganoff and I ordered Mull Lobster with Crab Gratin.

Dessert was shared. A gooey apple cake with caramel sauce and ice cream. When we finished this fabulous dinner, we immediately made a booking for the next night.
After dinner we took a walk. This picture of the signage was for my friends that like to read Gaelic

Watched the end of a lovely day along the waterfront.

Short and Sweet

We awoke to pouring rain today. Very little sleep last night for Su (about 2 hours) and for Dick about 6 hours. Dick had tried for the members lottery for a tee-time for today on the Old Course. and received a tee-time of 12:40. We were a little iffy as to should we or should we not play. By the time I cleaned the kitchen, bathrooms, showered, and started a load of dishes and wash...I said "Let's just do it. No matter how we feel this is why we came to Scotland. Once the Members begin to arrive for the meetings, Old Course times become fully booked." So off we set to play, rain gear attired and ready for whatever the Old Course threw at us. There were still about 18 tourists who had arrived in the wee hours waiting to play. Dick, of course, said we would be happy to let them play with us. Two nice chaps, one from Washington DC (originally from South Africa) and another chap from Columbus, Ohio. Good golfers both.

The rain backed off and we only had a couple of holes with moderate sprinkles. Not a bad day. Best of all was I played a pretty good game. A 45 on the front and a 49 on the back with 3 BLOW UP HOLES. I drove the shed with a great drive on 17 and then put my second shot into the rough and never recovered for 4 shots. Alas. Opportunity to have shot in the 80s. Missed my par putt on 18 and settled for a bogie 5.

Tonight we are packing and head out for the Isle of Mull in the morn.

Til we again have WiFi...adios from the Old Course.

Wednesday, August 25 Posting. Off to Edinburgh for
the 60th 2010 Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo!

We parked the car at the Castle Terrace Parking area where it would be easiest to exit the Tattoo late at night. Because it is such a steep 1/4 mile climb up the hill to The Royal Mile, we decided to bring all of our bags of what we might need to wear with us to carry around all day. A little cumbersome, but Dick is having a hard time walking any hill. As we came to The Royal Mile, the streets were immediately full of all of the Edinburgh Festival celebrations.

The report on this day will be more of a pictorial review as we enjoyed the celebrations.

There were numerous street artists performing for coins.

Walking down the road the festivities just grew and grew with all sorts of entertainment. Some who were just doing street performances

and some in costume handing out cards inviting you to the shows.

It was fun to sit at a sidewalk cafe and watch the people.

This group was among several musical performances being done as teasers to a bigger production. They were great!! One was a cellist, one group was a group doing music of the 40s (The Harmonics); and this group which were doing songs of the 60s.

Walking further on, we stopped to photo Dick at John Knox's house, which is now a museum.
This is a base of a cistern built in the 1690s which brought water into the city from a reservoir. This one use to have a statue of John Knox on top of it. But it was hit by a bus and caused the statue to tip over threatening pedestrians, therefore it was never replaced.

More of the costumes to entice patrons to the theaters


In the background was some of the cast from "My Name is Richard" a play by Tom Kirkham and Nicolas Bloomfield.

"The Terrible Infants"

Taking a break from the crowds, we relaxed on a one-hour bus tour of the city...a nice break.




Then back to the Royal Mile to find a restaurant. Got a table at the upstairs restaurant of Deacon Bodie's. Five minutes later there was a que that ran down the winding staircase to the bar area waiting for tables.

Up to the Castle Walk just as the buses and buses and buses of pipers came into the driveway for the castle.

Inside the grandstands of the Castle Grounds early enough to watch the sunset over the Firth of Fourth in the background here.
Looking South towards the hills





Our view from the East Stand looking directly out to the Castle.





Seeing The Tattoo had been on our list of must-dos but we were usually in Scotland for the Autumn Annual Meeting of the R&A in September and would just have missed The Tattoo. The event met all of our expectations and more. As an aside, my little Kodak camera is not of the highest caliber for night photography. I did turn off the flash and then would try to hold the camera still to get a few shots of the Tattoo. (Hopefully the DVD that is said to be ready in October, will be mailed to us.)

The opening scene was an announcement for people to look towards the East Stands as a Tornado Fighter Jet flew above our heads with afterburners on full throttle. Exhillerating!!

Then it all began...

The crowds stood for the national anthem "God Save The Queen" and the massed pipes and drums.




The Imps Motorcycle Display Team

They were followed by The Citadel Regimental Band and Pipes from South Carolina. (no photo)
I loved it when the band and pipes broke out into a rousing rendition of "Will You Be My Girl"

Massed Highland Dancers



Army Physical Training Corps

New Zealand Army Band. This was one of our favorites

Notice how the castle wall would be projected with scenery, here showing the Maori tribal markings

Finally the New Zealanders broke into a Maori warchant

The massed bands





The cast of the 2010 Royal Military Tattoo

Ending with all of us holding hands and singing "Auld Lang Syne"



The Last Post with the bugler playing the Evening Hymn from the castle wall and finally

The Lone Piper on the highest point of the castle piping "Sleep Dearie Sleep"

The cast marched out with Scotland The Brave; We're no'Awa' Tae Bide Awa'; Highland Laddie; and The Black Bear.

Very special to us. I will never again sing "Auld Lang Syne" without remember this time. The tribute paid to the soldiers and brigades who were just home from hazardous duties in Afghanistan and honored photos to these brave men. A truly great tribute to the Royal Military.

God Bless Scotland. And God Bless America.