I took our rental car back on Tuesday. We are officially stranded in the Highlands except for public transportation. Imagine that, two Californians without a car, whatever shall we do? The other side of that coin is we are liberated from $9 a gallon oil prices, insurance and vehicle upkeep. I just did some shopping and got chicken from the butcher, a sweet from the baker and milk and veggies from the grocery and walked a couple of hundred yards.
On the bus back from Inverness an older Scottish gent sat with me. We got to chatting, he had been shopping for his garden. He was a retired welder, just like my father. He had worked for a company out of Tulsa, Oklahoma, my father's hometown. Small world... His stop came and he shook my hand and this little guy had a grip. He squeezed my hand like he was trying to make me say uncle. Funny thing, my Dad has a vise-like grip as well and he likes to squeeze your hand and grind your knuckles. Just like my Dad this Scot had a shit-eating grin on his face as he almost broke my hand. Must be a welder thing!
Went for a long walk on the beach with my sweetie. Walked for 2 miles along a sandy beach and did not see another soul. I got a bicycle route from the bartender at the golf club. It runs from town along Loch Fleet and then up a strath (valley) to another loch (lake). It then winds around through some farmland and back to Dornoch. It was 33 miles total, all on paved roads. Except for the 1 mile on the A-9 (the main north south road in Scotland), I saw 4 cars total. It seems to me that the less we see people, the more civil and polite we are when we do encounter folks.
Jan says ;) Sounds like heaven. I especially like the "stranded in the Highlands" part, nothing sounds better right now.
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