Tag: #tripofalifetime

Last Days in Scotland

This was the day that we walked the most. Leaving Kilbryde Castle where we were staying, we headed to Doune Castle in Doune, Scotland. We left around 9 am to give ourselves enough time to get to the castle by our 11:00 ticket time. We made the four miles with 30 minutes to spare.

As we entered the castle they gave us devices that recited the information at each stage of the castle. It was fun learning about the history, seeing where the food was prepared, where they slept, and entertained.

The hole in the corner of this area was for smoke. It was a spit for cooking large animals and hanging large pots to cook.

This was a doorway out of the kitchen area in to the prep area.

This was the hole for a toilet. The grate is over it to keep people from tossing trash. They did say that when a prisoner of war was held in the castle, he escaped by going out toilet hole.

This was the basket that held the wood to keep the guests warm during a banquet. It sits in the middle of the banquet hall.

The banquet hall. I can’t remember how many people they said it could accommodate. but it was large.

Looking out one of the windows toward the courtyard. It was pretty and a large area.

This was the fireplace in the family’s main room above the banquet hall.

This was where the Lord would hear grievances and proclaim laws.

gingerbread cake

It was a fun tour. Afterwards, we found the business district of the town and a quaint cafe called Buttercup. We had a wonderful lunch. I had creamed mushroom, sweet potato, tarragonsoup with loaded fries (which we all ate). Even though I was full, I couldn’t pass up the gingerbread cake. It was delicious!

With overflowing stomachs, we headed back to where we were staying. On the way, we passed by a playground and Angie decided to take a ride on a small zip line.

We walked slowly back to Kilbryde Castle, enjoying the sunshine and pretty scenes. When we arrived, I looked at my Fitbit and we had walked 9 miles.

The next day, we stayed at the castle being lazy. Midday, Angie and I took a stroll around the paths in the gardens and down by the river. I took a lot of photos of flowers still in bloom and the changing leaves. In the afternoon, we played cards and I packed for the next leg of our vacation.

Old rock steps down to the river.

view from the Ferry

We woke at 5 am, and the taxi arrived at 6 to take us to the bus station in Sterling. We had less than an hour bus ride to Glasgow and then a two-hour bus ride to Cairnryan to walk onto the Ferry. The Ferry ride took about two hours. We purchased a chicken wrap, ate the rest of the chips we brought with us, and then found a room with bench seats and the movie Super Mario Bros playing.

When we landed in Belfast, Ireland, we discovered the hotel we’d reserved was 30 minutes away. The taxi driver was full of good information. We spent the evening changing up some of our sightseeing due to the places the taxi driver told us. Then we watched some TV and went to bed.

The next post will be about Ireland.

New Year, New Adventures

While I have trimmed back the amount of traveling I’m doing this year to fewer trips, they are going to be bigger adventures. 😉 Of course, with less long distance trips, I hope to ride my horse more, and take small trips with hubby in our camper to see the sites close to home.

Grandson and his wife.

To start with Hubby and I are going to visit a grandson and his wife in Clovis, NM, then hubby’s sister and her husband in Killeen, TX, then on the way back to Oregon we’re swinging through Arizona to visit with a writer friend and her hubby. She’s been wanting us to come to Arizona in the winter for several years so she could take me to some of the historical Indigenous dwellings and petroglyphs. That will be a fun winter trip.

Then I’ll be attending the Left Coast Crime conference in Seattle in April. I have always enjoyed this conference when I’ve attended. I like the fun things we do with readers, and I learn more about other authors.

With only a short respite at home, I’m staying at the Oregon Coast with two of my besties for a week. There will be writing, chaos, and lots of laughs!

Rockaway Beach last year.

New people have taken over the Sumpter Flea Market that I attend with Mary Vine every Memorial and Labor Day weekend. They are changing things up. We are discussing if this event we have attended for nearly ten years may have priced us out. We’ll see.

Mary in the book trailer at Sumpter.

I need to sign up for the NIWA booth at La Pine in June. I’ll do that as soon as I finish writing this post. It’s a three-day event in La Pine, OR where I and another member, Andretta Schellinger, sell books from NIWA authors at the Rhubarb Festival. 

Then there is a possibility that I’ll be attending Author Jacquie Roger’s annual event in Idaho. She had it usually in July. The event has gone from a three-day event in Silver City to a one-day event in Homedale, ID.

Then! The trip I’ve been dreaming of for a while. My oldest daughter, a granddaughter, and I are heading to The Netherlands, Spain, England, Scotland, and Ireland. We’ll visit family in The Netherlands and Spain, then off for an adventure in the UK. We have our lodging taken care of, but I’ve been watching airline flights. Does anyone have any suggestions on which airlines are the most reliable, cheapest, and comfiest? Or any tips on getting a reasonably priced ticket? The prices are all over the place. The thing I do know is that we need to book directly with an airline and not one of the third party markets.

After that trip, I’ll do a few local bazaars and the Holiday Market in Portland with NIWA. I’m looking forward to the year so I can get to the fun trip in the fall.

Holiday Market 2023.

I have several books planned to write and hope to keep the momentum going with my audiobook sales. Which I’ll talk about in my next blog post.

I hope you have wonderful plans for the year to give you something to look forward to.