Might add a thought to that first thought....and ya gotta know when to fold 'em!
This tranquil, beautiful Loch starts each day here in a tranquil, beautiful way.
Rowan comes to tell us good morning. She never attempts to enter our room. She is very well trained....just checking in on us.
Looking back at all three patios as we take off for the day.
The mountains here are "netted" like many of the Great Smokies alone I-40.....an attempt to prevent rockslides. Note how close the mountain to the road and no shoulder.
Not much shoulder on either side....driver beware! The gorgeous scenery is a constant distraction.
Kathy's peripheral vision catches this structure.....turn around to get a picture
Turns out to be a Catholic Church....don't see many of those over here!
We had to do a bit of exploring
Unfortunately, we couldn't get in. It appeared to be an old house that the church either rents or has purchased....we later learned that there is Mass here only once a week on a Saturday evening.
Uh-oh!!!!
Biggest damned thing we have seen yet!!! Can barely pass. This was a huge piece of equipment and the driver was putting on his gloves as if to unload the tractor......for what, where????
We assume a wind farm is windmills. We have seen lots of them. We have also seen a lot of these signs.
There was not a stop light indicator on this one lane bridge....
The entrance to Beauly, our first destination, again on Catherine's recommendation.
Alas, built in stone again!
We stopped here for a coffee, very light lunch and the toilets. It really was the old school. They are careful to point out that this is the "new" door/entrance.
Beauly also had a memorial to the soldiers who died in WWI and WWII, but this is the first time we have seen this type of memorial.....thank you for thanking us.
Beauly has won several awards entitled "Blooms" from various Scottish agencies.
After viewing all these flowers and walking along the River Beauly for a while, we depart Beauly for another distillery, the Glen Ord Distillery.
It is an old distillery that has been expanded by Diageo (Remember them? The huge company that owns every distillery that we have seen thus far.) They produce about 5 million litres of single malt per year expanding to 11 million litres.
Glen Ord also malts barley for themselves and several other distilleries including Talisker which we visited on Skye.
We didn't do the tour here because we have become pretty expert in the making of whisky :-). However, can see some of the stills through the window.
We are among the Friends.
They displayed one of the old stills from the old days of illegal whisky production. Many of these were hidden from the revenuers in the hills of Tennessee and Kentucky.
The shape of the legal stills can effect the taste of the whisky.
The distillers have made this whisky flavour chart to better explain the art of whisky tasting. Glen Ord falls in the upper right of the chart -- its is smoky and rich.
Our tasting guide explained that Glen Ord does not export to North America at all. About 80% of their production is shipped to Taiwan. Most of the rest goes to other parts of southeast Asia -- the biggest whisky market and getting bigger.
They do sell Johnnie Walker Black which is also owned by Diageo. Diageo also owns Smirnoff and Baileys al well as lots of others as we have reported before.
As well as other JWs.
Back on the road in search of lunch. North Kessock is just across the River Ness from Inverness.
This Russian Foxhound has had it with lunch and is ready to go home.
Tom picks a tuna and cheese stuffed baked potato to go with a light ale. Kathy's is not remarkable.
A view of the tidal river.
The bridge to Inverness..
The traffic is heavy going into the roundabout in Inverness, reminding us why we avoid the cities.
Inverness skyline.
Inverness row houses.
Back on the open road along Loch Ness.
Back home at Tigh Na Bruach our hosts Catherine, Ian, and Rowan meet us. Tigh Na Bruach means "House on the Bank" in Scottish Gaelic. They have all been very gracious, welcoming, helpful, and friendly.
Catherine leaves these cute little reminders that she has been here to service our room....and an excellent job she does.
We immediately go outside on our patio to blog and enjoy the Loch.
We surprise each other!!! It is about 8:00 pm and the other guests are out for dinner. We did our linner/lunner thing so we are through eating for the day and evening. They are water their copious quantity of fleurs.
When we commented on the suspension chain they have for all their hanging baskets, Ian returned with this for us to take home.
Good night....even though it will be daylight for nearly 3 more hours!
