Our last blog entry was delayed because it had been typed up and then when we went to post it disappeared into the wifi ethos. This caused much gnashing of teeth.
We've been in Edinburgh two days. We've followed the literary trail of Sir Walter Scott, Robert Burns and Robert Louis Stevenson. Now we're heading west towards Ayr and then onwards to Northern Ireland (where there seemed to be some marching riots yesterday).
From Grantown on Spey we biked north to Inverness. We spent a day biking around Loch Ness and jumping in the strikingly cold water (all of the lakes in England and Scotland would not fill Loch Ness). We saw no monsters, but enjoyed a rare blue sky on the rocky beach... After a nice dinner and saying goodbye to our B&B hosts were took the train to Edinburgh. Yes, we took the train and cheated a bit.
Anthony once again found us a Holiday Inn Express, except this time it was right downtown and actually cheaper than a 12 bed hostel so we weren't mad at him. We went on a free 3-hour walking tour of the city and found out about some interesting people and stories of Edinburgh. Maggie Dickson was a woman that was hanged for concealing a pregnancy (not the adultery or baby's death). When they were taking her body to the graveyard she woke up and could not be re-hung for her crime. She also got out of her former marriage because she had been pronounced dead at the scene. She then opened a bar in the hanging square and everytime someone was being hanged she would yell out, "Don't worry, you'll be fine. I've been there." This was Clara's favorite story.
Other interesting facts:
You can bring whatever you want to a chippy (fish and chips restuarant) and they will deep fry it for you. One of the most popular fried treats are cadbury eggs. This explains the high incidence of heart disease in Scotland.
On a literary note, we found the inspiration for Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde. Look up Deacon Brodie.
Visited writer's museum and found out more about Sir Walter Scott, Robert Burns and Robert Louis Stevenson.
After visiting the Edinburgh castle we jumped on our bikes and headed to our friend David's family's place in Penicuik, Scotland. Upon our arrival, David's Mom and Sister had hot tea, coffee and THREE desserts. We ate our weight in sugar and butter. Thanks Smiths! So good to visit with them, wish it could have been longer.
Then we made our way to Biggar where Anthony almost puked in the back of some nice man's van who was chauffeuring us a little distance. We found a public park and Anthony walked off the nausea while we had a nice picnic prepared by David's Mom and set up camp for the night.
Some of our favorite road signs we've crossed are:
4.Hidden Dips!
3. !Red Squirrels
2. Caution Weak bridge Ahead.
1. Danger Troops crossing
After Biggar we rode 60 miles to Dunfoot which is near the birthplace of Robert Burns. While biking we noticed a long line of cars not moving on the road. Anthony commented that maybe it was the US open, because we had seen so many signs that just said Open with an arrow. We pulled over and Anthony asked a friendly policeman if the long line of cars was due to road construction,. The policeman poked him in the chest and started laughing and said it was the British Open and unless you have thousands of pounds you will not find a place to stay for the week. He said we had come at the busiest time in the last 15 years. He stopped laughing when we said we had camping gear and told us to sleep in someone's yard or the beach. We chose to sleep on the beach guarded by a ruined castle. All in all it worked out pleasantly including a ride to the beach with a Scottish road racing cycle team. Everyone helps here and we need a lot of it. Quoted by the policeman while pointing at Anthony, "I hope you don't have this one leading you around Scotland!"
After waking up and visiting Robert Burn's cottage and meeting a professional curler who had spent some time in St. Paul, Grand Forks and the Iron Range, we decided our clothes needed a cleaning and since the British open had turned this quiet area into madness that we would take the ferry tonight to Northern Ireland. A much needed shower awaits us on the other side. It's been three days since any of us has been clean.
GOODBYE Scotland:( Hello Ireland:) (Debbie Downer, JIM Oliver, says Hopefully)
PS
Some of you may notice a certain Clara bent to this journal, there are a few details that will have to come out later.
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