Saturday June 2nd, On the train between Inverness and Alnwick - and then I ate the Haggis...

Saturday June 2nd, On the train between Inverness and Alnwick - and then I ate the Haggis...

Yesterday was a travel day. We wrapped up things at the cottage and headed for the airport about 2pm. In spite of all the tension associated with making sure we had our luggage checked, liquids properly identified and isolated, correct gate and rental car returned we managed to make it onto the airplane and off we went to Inverness. Margaret had been certified as the most secure individual in Scotland but not before they pulled her aside and hand examined one of her checked bags, pulled her aside for a thorough frisking, xrayed her liquids not once but twice before finally giving her the boots back and allowing her to get on the airplane.

The flight was uneventful and scenic and we set down 45 minutes later in Inverness. Oh, well, I suppose that's relatively uneventful. The airplane had a few problems but all the important bits seemed to be working. The flight attendant seemed to have a number of challenges which were entertaining in their combined effect on her, though a little inconvenient for everyone else. The announcement system produced feedback, the ice was all melted, the coffee was cold, the cabin was hot. She was just having a tough day. So it was no surprise that when she came through the cabin with the cart she was pouring the gin a little more enthusiastically than we thought normal. Given our stress levels and uncertainty of what would happen at our next destination we passed on the booze. We managed to make it to our destination unscathed.

One comic note, I would swear that I saw a RAF jet (probably a trainer) sitting on the runway at Inverness with two beefeaters in it. I know that's not rational but I wouldn't put it past the Scots to play that sort of prank on the incoming travelers.

There was a confusing moment with the taxi cabs where we actually had to take two taxis, one for us and another for our luggage. Yes a trip to the post office is definitely on the schedule. We are not dragging all the stuff we bought on Lewis home in carry on or even checked baggage. Anyway, eventually we all ended up in the same place where we found that though we had confirmations for two rooms we only one of them had been recorded by the hotel staff. Meg indian leg wrestled them into submission and they gave in with the bonus of turning one of the rooms into a two room suite with a shared bath. (Meg is awesome Hannah and I like her a lot, we think Terry probably does too). Of course the tradeoff was that it was on the third floor with no elevators but it was a charming pair of rooms that felt a little like a garret.

We had dinner at the Waterside restaurant with a view of the river Ness, and yes I did eat the Haggis. It was wonderful. I enjoyed the blood pudding as well though If you'd asked me before I came here I was sure I'd never try it. It was preceeded by a duck salad served with mandarin oranges and black olives. The haggis was served in a lovely brown gravy with pork loin and baked apples that I wanted to roll in when I was done. Terry had a gateau of Haggis which he said tasted like potatoes, followed by a venison steak. Meg also had the Pork and Haggis, with a blood pudding salad starter. She and I were very happy. Hannah had a chicken cordon bleu that she seemed pleased was not weird and did not have any funky ecoutrements beyond the two pieces of uncooked spaghetti used in the presentation.

The dessert and coffee were forgettable. So forgettable in fact that we didn't think the waitress would ever bring it. We did finally finish with dinner and head off for the night.

Hannah and I walked to the corner and back. It was 10:30 or so and the sun was still a recent memory. The skyline along the river Ness outlined in contrast with all the spires and gingerbread of the Inverness skyline. I let Hannah into the hotel and went to sit by the river for a few quiet moments. It was one of those moments where you quiet yourself and realize how really big the world is and what a small part of it you are. There really is something more out there besides Kansas.

I have always thought that there weren't very many cities I would find interesting and I think that's still true but I could have spent another day and night in Inverness and been perfectly entranced.

I didn't sleep well last night. I don't know if maybe I was hallucinating or perhaps was tormented by a ghostie last night. (Basically the same thing isn't it)? I had a little too much wine with my haggis and woke up several times in the night. I had an odd sense that someone was watching me and once, I woke (mostly) to find a strange diffused (red) light moving across the hotel wall across from the bed (drapes were closed by the way). I remember thinking that it was wrong and that I had to prevent it from doing something (who knows what). This was quite urgent. So I kept moving my open hand across the wall until I finally got frustrated and hit the wall, hard yelling NO! After my heart stopped racing and my brain settled down, I finally rationalized it into a reflection from the red light on the TV though that wouldn't explain why it seemed to move across the wall. I managed to go back to sleep but woke several times and looked around, never really feeling quite settled after that. I have to admit in the morning when I turned on the light I checked behind the picture on the wall to make sure there wasn't some hole that could have been used to trick me. There wasn't. Needless to say I've been tired all day.

So today we travelled through the mountains from Inverness heading for Alnwick. The stations we passed along the way varied from ornate victorian gingerbread confections to austere stone places. I'll let you know how we find Alnwick. It's still about two hours away.

Update eleven or so hours later...

We reached Alnwick and after a trip to town for groceries we settled into the cottage. It's about a 20 minute walk with about 10 minutes to the nearest bus stop. Definitely do-able. Meg and I spent the afternoon hanging out while Terry walked into town and Hannah watched TV.

Once again we have managed to be blessed by the gods on this trip. We somehow managed to accidentally select the father of the woman who owns the cottage as the taxi driver to pick us up at the train station. He gave us a ration of grief for having so many bags and rolled his eyes at us for having spent a week on Lewis but was generally genial and extremely helpful. We had arrived early and the cottage wasn't quite ready for us yet. He let us drop off our luggage at the cottage then took us on a brief tour of the town, castle and vicinity then dropped us at a restaurant for lunch. Later he picked us up at the grocery store and took us back to the house for an extremely reasonable rate. The helpful advice he gave us about things to see and do was more than worth the fare.

The one thing that I continually find amusing is how they seem to consider distance a complete barrier to everything around here. We've talked about going to see Hadrian's wall for example, and he said, "Oh, well that's really too far away. It's over 40 miles". To which each of the licensed drivers in the group gave a silent but collective snort. Heck it's 40 miles between my house and Meg & Terry's. I drive that far all the time without thinking about it twice.

Of course now that we've driven around in the UK we have slightly more respect. Mainly because their roads here are in almost all cases two lanes and in many cases really lousy.

Anyway things have settled down in the cottage at Alndyke Farms for the night and I leave you these thoughts, but no photos. Tomorrow maybe...gj