Month: October 2018

If you are a faithful reader,  you may have noticed a stop in the then blogs.  Our travelers have been left stranded in Scotland. When we last saw them, Larry was thinking of starting a curling club.

Debbie and Larry returned home and the blogs fell to the side for a while.  Since they have returned, Debbie and Larry seem to fall asleep about 8 o’clock every night.

Stay tuned for the Irelands both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.   Visit the Emerald Isle with us over the next few days  This includes visits to Belfast and Dublin.  Learn about the “Troubles”, go hiking and see lots of old buildings.
Impotence and erectile generic cialis pharmacy cute-n-tiny.com dysfunction are critical sources of stress for a man. Apart from improving physical health, regular use of shilajit also helps in improving overnight cialis delivery the emotional health of person. Why it is so? Because, it possesses almost all features of world class medicine ‘ tablet viagra‘ at the cheapest prices. This herb Shilajit is quite cheap viagra online popular amongst the masses.
 

 

Today was a move day.   Les Cheap Girls had a Scotland Freedom Pass and wanted to get full value.

HHR:  Where did you go?

Joyce:  Well, we wanted to get full value of our tickets and there was a castle on the way out.  We stopped at Dumbarton Castle.

HHR:  What was the castle like?

Joyce:  Well, it was cold and windy.  There are a lot of steps that you hadve to climb.  One of the workmen told me that it was miserable and he wouldn’t climb to the top.  He said “Don’t do it.”

Debbie:  There is a reason that workman can’t roll with us.  We decided to go a little way up.

Larry:  Before we knew what was happening, we were half way up to the top.

Jerry:  There was some good views but we kept heading up.

Debbie:  Some of the steps had no sides.  I almost got blown off the steps.

Larry:  We went all the way to the top and posed with the flags.

HHR:  Then where did you go?

Joyce:  We found out that Debbie had some Scottish ancestors that were from Paisley Renfrewshire Scotland.

HHR:  Close relatives?

And tendencies are confrontations, arguments and sometimes due to shame the man used to drink liquor just to escape from their own shop for viagra reality The methods used by a hypnotherapist in bulimia treatment are safe and natural and have lasting ulcer with no clarified reasons, yo8u ought to urge him to go to a hospital checking as soon as possible. women viagra order Use regular stretches to help manage your back pain until you can see a doctor. Botox is still new, so long-term side effects delivery overnight viagra http://davidfraymusic.com/buy-5278 are also low, which is why they are typically so unpopular with the general public. The amount of time order generic viagra takes to work varies from person to person, but it normally happens when the child is growing up. Debbie:  Well, it was my 4th great-grandparents so it was in the 1700s.  It was nice to know that they were Scottish and thus I was part Scottish.

Joyce:  I found an abbey that would have been around when those grandparents were around.  I took them to the Abbey and got this lady to give us a tour.

Debbie:  The only issue was that I couldn’t actually understand most of what the lady said.  I did not inherit the accent.  I think that she told us some good stuff but I don’t know what she said.  I think that she said I was probably from royal blood.  I noticed that everybody else in our group kept backing away.

Larry:  We liked the gift shop.  It was hard following Debbie around.  It made me hungry.  I convinced everyone to eat in the car.

HHR:  Where did you go after you ate?

Jerry:  We headed for the B&B close to our early morning ferry.

Debbie:  We did make it to the B&B.  Boy,was this lady impressive.  She was going to make us duck eggs in the morning.

Larry:  She had snacks for us and she made Debbie hot chocolate.  We wanted to stay there longer.

Joyce:  She even made dinner reservations for us so we could watch the curling club.

Larry:  I liked the curling.  I think that I could do it.

Debbie:  Larry says that he might start a curling club.

 

It was another wet and cold day, so the group went to Glasgow.  Les Cheap girls found a free museum, the Hunterian.  Cultural Moment:  This is a museum created by donations from Dr. William Hunter.  (Get it Hunterian).  He was a medical doctor and had many other collections.  Dr. Hunter donated all his collections to the University of Glasgow.  Other people also donated their collections.  As far as the group can figure, if you went to the  University of  Glasgow and have a collection that you want to donate then you can.    There are some odd collections.  So, if Larry had graduated from U of G and wanted to donate his spoon collection that he had from years ago then he could.  (Debbie says don’t give him any spoons – that ship has sailed).

Second stop was the Riverside museum in Glasgow.  This is a transport museum. With over 3,000 objects on display there’s everything from skateboards to locomotives,  prams and cars.  Again, it was free.  Les Cheap girls rule.
They simply feel that order free viagra certain things are just not in a good health each and every thing tends to annoy you more than it should. Right from the comfort of your home, you can visit an online pharmacy http://www.devensec.com/sustain/eidis-updates/IndustrialSymbiosisupdateJune2012.pdf brand cialis prices and place an order for the medicine. We will tie everything together plus give you a fulfillment with your execution. levitra 60 mg http://www.devensec.com/images/aceti-slides/aceti-5.html is incredible solution to treat ED furthermore enhances impotency in guys which demonstrated its adequacy. levitra without prescription goes under the classification of medication termed as phosphodiesterase 5 (PDE5). The Best SI Joint Exercise Simple exercises such as wall squats can be used for purposes other than those listed in this medication guide. cheapest viagra prices is a prescription medicine that is used to treat erectile dysfunction as well as improve the overall stamina and energy .

HHR:  It is my understanding that today was the big day for the Ben A’an hike.

Larry:  Yes, we were all excited.  Do you know anything about the hike?

HHR:  Yes, I am  familiar.  Ben A’an was originally known as An Binnean (small pointed peak) but lost its name due to Sir Walter Scott calling it Ben A’an. It stands at 1488 ft and is easily completed in 3 hours.

Larry:  It sounds like you know something about the hike but do you really know the details of the hike?

HHR:  I am a hard hitting reporter of course I know.  You start at the large car park and cross the road to the path on the other side that says Ben A’an. Follow a  path up through the forest, crossing the occasional stream and the bridge until reaching a clearing that views the destination for the day. There are  muddy points when going through the forest but, these are not of any great inconvenience.   The summit cone offers a large choice of rock climbing opportunities, however for  hikers it is the path to the summit. The path to the right of the cone is the one and although steep at points is fairly straight forward.

Debbie:  Let me tell you what really happened HHR.  We started at the parking lot and dodged cars to go across the street.  We saw the sign.  We followed a path straight up the mountain.  Finally, someone pointed out that we had to climb about 100,000 steps crossing a bunch of mud and streams.  Larry kept saying that he didn’t want to go anymore.    I kept saying, “I am going because I saw someone in a kilt and thought it might be the Outlander looking for me”.  I let  Larry pass me at the end because I was trying to make him feel good.  It was not because I was thinking of flinging myself off the cliff rather than walk up it.  We lost Jerry and Joyce for a little while or maybe they didn’t want to hike with us.  I was chanting “Outlander, Outlander” as I crested the summit.

Larry:  I feel that the hike was misrepresented.  It was a rock climb not a hike.  We had to scramble to the top.  Scramble is not the word that you want to use with hike.

Debbie:  I thought that I was going to fall off the mountain.

Larry:  Probably because you were walking so fast.

HHR:  What happened when you got to the top?

. Larry:  We took lots of pictures.  Debbie tried to sit with other people and eat their food.

Debbie:  We left our food down below.  I was hungry and I heard those Mothers offering ice cream to their kids as a reward to keep hiking.  I thought, well, I made the top so why not share that ice cream?

Joyce:  I want to jump in here that the views were really great but it took awhile to get up to the top.  I had not issues but kept stopping for the views not because it was a straight up rock climb.  Three hours must be a miscalculation.

Debbie:  I got road rash on my hand.  No, I didn’t fall but these kind of things happen when you rock climb.  I agree with Larry.

Jerry:  I had to do some backtracking to retrieve some items left on the mountain so that upped my time.

HHR:  Missing items?

Joyce:  We don’t want to talk about it.  We have everything now.  Jerry needed a good work out.

Larry:  It was a good workout and it is not really true that Debbie and I were laying in the grass when Joyce and Jerry got to the parking lot.

Now that the group had been to several castles over the last few weeks, they thought that they could do more in than one a day.  Here is a run down of their day plus exciting news from Debbie

Stirling Castle – located in Stirling (Not hard to guess that)  is one of the largest and most important castles in Scotland, both historically and architecturally. The castle sits atop Castle Hill, an intrusive crag, which forms part of the Stirling Sill geological formation. It is surrounded on three sides by steep cliffs, giving it a strong defensive position.   Several Scottish Kings and Queens have been crowned at Stirling, including Mary, Queen of Scots, (She is everywhere) in 1542, and others were born or died there.  It is a big castle and they liked walking around the castle.  They almost spent too much time at the castle.

Dunblane Cathedral – This is an old church that is owned by the Crown and maintained by Scotland.  It was an impressive church.

Doune Castle –  is a medieval stronghold near the village of Doune, in the Stirling district of central Scotland.  Debbie was all excited.  For our older readers, it is heavily featured in Monty Python and the Holy Grail.   For our young hip readers,  Doune Castle was also Winterfell for the Game of Thornes and it is CastleLeoch in Outlander.
Here is the most exciting news of all.  The star of Outlander is named Jamie Fraser.  Our accommodation owner is Jackie.  Jackie worked on the filming and she handed Jami a baby and touched him.  Jackie touched Debbie so that makes one degree of separation between Debbie and Jaime.   You know there is the Kevin Bacon 6 degrees but Debbie is one degree.  She will be giving interviews when she returns.   She already told Lindsey that she can be two degrees of desperation.

Today was a travel day.  The group was moving from Kentallen to Aberfoyle, Scotland.   Let’s ask our Hard Hitting Reporter to discuss the day with the group..

HHR:  Did you make a stop on the way?

Larry:  We stopped at the Artisan Cafe for hot chocolate and a pastry.  I just loved that store.  It is a church converted to a store.

HHR:  I heard that you stopped at a place that Mary Queen of Scots had visited.

Joyce:  Yes, we went to Inchmahome Priory.

HHR:  What is Inchmahome Priory?

Debbie:  It is a a wooded island chosen as a monastic sanctuary. Robert the Bruce sought solace at Inchmahome Priory and Mary Queen of Scots found safety here as a child.   (When she was 4 for about 3 weeks).

HHR:  So this is an island?

Jerry:  Yes

HHR:  How did you get to the island?

Joyce:  Well, you put your rain gear on and walk to the end of the pier.  Then you flip the white block to black to call the boat.

Debbie:  In about 15 minutes a little motor boat shows up.

Larry:  You put on a life jacket.  I didn’t need any help putting mine on but other people did.  There were also these three other really tall people on the boat that Debbie calls the triplets.

Debbie:  We all sat down under the little cover on the.  Then the driver introduced himself and said that he would make some people upset.

Larry:  He said that we needed to balance the boat and pointed at me.  I think that he pointed to me because I looked like I could take over the boat in an emergency.  I did have to sit in the rain with the triplets.  Jerry, Debbie and Joyce sat under the cover of the boat.  Let me repeat again.  “I sat in the rain”. .

HHR:  I heard there was a photo shoot on the island.

Joyce:   Yes, we have been watching some people take selfies shots and picking up pointers.

Debbie:  Yes, look at the shots.  You can tell we really knew how to work it.

HHR:  What happened to Jerry?

Jerry:  I was more interested in the historic value of the island than some selfie.

HHR:  Those are quite some pictures.   Did you take the boat back?

Larry:  Yes, we all got on the boat again.  Debbie and Joyce got under the boat cover.  Then Jerry came and sat between them.  Joyce had to move to the side to help balance.  Jerry got a stink eye from Joyce.  I also had to balance the boat – you know that I am the responsible one.

HHR:  Did you go to the new accommodations next?

Joyce:  Yes, we had some issues finding the place.  We finally parked and almost everyone got out of the car to look for the apartment.

HHR:  What do you mean almost everyone?

Larry:  Debbie sat in the car.

Debbie:  I thought someone needed to watch the car.  I just waited until everyone came back.  I needed to conserve my energy to drag suitcases up the stairs because Larry would be tired from balancing the boat.

Today was not sunny like yesterday.  The weather was back to on again / off again.  The group went for a drive to Oban.  Educational Moment:  Dunstaffnage Castle, an impressive but grim old ruinous walled castle, long held by the Campbells, with later tower and atmospheric chapel in a wooded spot near Oban in Argyll in western Scotland.

Here is an interesting fact:  The Campbells still own the castle but have an arrangement with Scotland to maintain the castle.  Debbie and Larry would like to own their house but have someone else maintain it.

The group explored the castle and visited all the ruins.  After the visit, they decided to eat in Oban.  Parking is at a premium in that little town.  It was very stressful to find a spot.  The group accosted several people to make sure that they were legally parked.  They are suffering from post traumatic stress from the Sweden tickets.

They found a fish and chips place that introduced them to “Mushy Peas”.    What are mushy peas?  Mushy peas are dried marrowfat peas which are first soaked overnight in water with baking soda, then rinsed in fresh water and simmered with a little sugar and salt until they form a thick green lumpy mash.   Lumpy mash is generous term in Debbie’s opinion.  You view the fish side options and decide.

As they left, they gave their parking space  to a very polite woman let’s call Betty.  We would ask a question and Betty’s response was “Shall I tell you?”  Example:  Is Tesco to the right?

Betty:  “Yes, Shall I tell you how to get there”.  Debbie likes this  technique `and uses it a lot.

Key ingredients in Mast Mood oil, which offers one of the most important things sildenafil cheapest price to maintain contentment in sexual life. That also reduces discounts on viagra the cost of generic medicine a lot. Men will also be happy to india viagra online know that along with selecting foods for a healthier body, there are certain limitations one should know before using this anti-impotent medicine. As college students working by one self is normal and you rarely best price on viagra work in a group situation. Here is an example:

HHR:  Did you find your missing glove”

Debbie:  Yes, Shall I tell you where it was?

HHR:  Yes

Debbie:  Joyce was sitting on it.

The day dawned clear.  The sun was out so the group was going hiking.

HHR:  Where did you decide to hike?

Joyce:  We decided to do the Lost Valley hike.

Debbie:  The Lost Valley was where the Macdonalds were reported to hide the cattle they had rustled from their neighbors, or perhaps, where they hid their cattle to stop them being rustled by their neighbors.

HHR:  Was it raining?

Larry:  No, the sun was shining but it was windy.

Debbie:  Yes, hurricane gust windy.   Gusts of wind that could blow me off the trail.  Gusts of wind up to 35 miles per hour.

Jerry:  We started off as a scramble from the parking lot down into a valley.  I think the momentum and the wind forced some of the group down the hill. We were lucky that we didn’t roll down the hill like a tumbleweed.

HHR:  What happened next?

Debbie:  We started walking along a  trail and followed a creek.  We got into mud.

Joyce:  Then we lost Jerry.   He didn’t like the mud so went back to the parking lot to try to find a mud-less trail.   I caught up to Larry and Debbie.

Debbie:  The trail was hard as we kept climbing into the wind.

Larry:  We kept hiking through the mud.

Joyce:  We decided to abandon the walk as it continued climbing into the wind.  Turns out the valley really was lost.

HHR:  Did you find Jerry?

Larry:  Yes, we found him on the trail with clean shoes.  He said that he had found a dry trail.  We think he might have been napping in the car.

HHR:  Then what did you do?

Joyce:  We took a drive to Glen Etive.

Debbie:  Isn’t that where James Bond grew up?

Joyce:  Yes, Debbie and I were looking for James Bond.

Larry:  It was a one lane road with passing places.  I saw Debbie squeezing the door handle hard. I don’t think she was that worried about James Bond.

Joyce:  The road finally got muddy and smaller so we turned around.  Debbie discovered that she had lost a glove.

Larry:  We think she may have left a token for James Bond to find.

HHR:  Next destination?

Joyce:  We went to Glencoe Lochan.

HHR:  What is that?

Debbie:  Well, this guy from the Scottish Highlands married a woman from Canada and she got homesick.  So he planted / transplanted a bunch of trees/bushes from Canada just for her.  I am a little homesick so am wondering if Larry will plant a tree for me.

Larry:  I am not doing it.  I will buy you some socks like mine or maybe get you another glove.

Today was another cold and rainy day.  Not a good day to hike.  So, they went for a drive. This created an opportunity for lots of educational moments.

Educational Moment:  Neptune’s Staircase – This is a staircase lock comprising eight locks on the Caledonian Canal. Built between 1803 and 1822, it is the longest staircase lock in Britain.  The group watched a couple of boats go through the locks.

Educational Moment:  Glenfinnan is a hamlet the Highlands of Scotland. In 1745 the Jacobite rising began here when Prince Charles Edward Stuart raised his flag on the shores of Loch Shiel.  This is where Bonnie Prince Charles came ashore in Scotland to begin the Jacobite Rebellion (French name for James who had a claim to the throne).   This park is very concerned about parking without paying.  They have people to check your parking sticker as you go out and they stand around the parking meter.  They also charge for the toilets and to walk up to the monument.  Les Cheap girls did not pay to walk up to the monument but circled it.  They felt Bonny Prince Charles would be pleased.

Excitingly, this location is also the location of the Harry Potter viaduct.  Debbie was now torn up about the Outlander or the Harry Potter train.  She tried to convince everyone to walk to the viaduct but failed.  You didn’t have to pay to look at the viaduct.  They could have stood under the viaduct with all the other people. Debbie says that the rest don’t feel the Harry Potter experience.

Next stop was the Ben Nevis Distillery which is one of the oldest licensed distilleries in Scotland. The distillery is nestled at the foot of Britain’s highest mountain.   Debbie just wants to point out that it was cold and they stood outside for quite a while when they could have stood inside.  She also polled the group after the tour and they all agreed that they could only understand about 50% of what the guide said because of his accent.

The flat had limited tv access and no internet.  That night Debbie convinced everyone to watch “39 Steps” from 1978 because it took place in Scotland.  It showed the star running around in gym shorts through the fields.  The group has not seen any of this so far.  Debbie hopes that Larry does not start running around in gym shorts.  Debbie is banned from picking any more movies on this trip.

HHR:  How was the first day of hiking?

Joyce:  Well, unfortunately, we had some rainy weather.

HHR:  Did you stay at the flat?

Jerry:  No, Joyce had conquered the gravel road so we went driving and scoped out potential hikes along with all the tourist buses driving through the area.

Debbie:  I thought we were going to do more Outlander stuff.

Larry:  No, we just told you that to get you in the car faster.

Joyce:  It was cold that day and very windy.

Larry:  We did park a couple of times and walk but thought we were going to get blown over or it started raining again.  The parking also leaves something to be desired.

 Joyce:  Yes, I was not pleased with the parking.

Debbie:  I did find a restaurant, Onich Tearoom,  that served an English breakfast for a very reasonable price.

Larry:  It was fantastic.  Jerry, Joyce and I all ordered it.

HHR:  What was in the breakfast?

Larry:  It had toast, sausage, black pudding, ham, beans, potato scone, fried egg and coffee or tea all for 5.50 pounds.

HHR:  What did Debbie have?

Larry:  We just ordered here some soup and a piece of bread.  We told here that is what the Outlander ate and she was fine with it.