After some seriously skilled left-side-of-the-road navigation courtesy of Michele (and one very patient GPS) we made our way out of Edinburgh and headed north to Loch Ness. And hopefully, to Nessie.
Along the way, we couldn’t help but look at the ever changing landscape with wide eyes. We were so close, yet so far. And once again, so hungry.
We stopped in a place called Kinross for lunch, a small village about an hour north of Edinburgh.
There were throngs of twenty- something girls in short shorts and long rubber boots. Sure,
it was Scotland. But this was ridiculous. It wasn’t even raining. Suddenly, we felt very far away from prevailing local fashion trends.
Thankfully, the folks at the Salutations Inn fi lled us.
T in the Park, a massive music festival, was starting that day on an old airstrip nearby, hence all the weather-wise footwear. After a ‘double carb’ lunch of mac and cheese AND chips, we started off again, leaving the brigade of rubber boots behind.
Of course, the best part of any road trip are the stops. And the malt whisky distillery in Dalwhinnie was a sweet
one. (Word to the wise: in this country, it’s called whisky, not scotch.)
Dale and Terri had a sampler of four single malts, ranging in age from 12 to 16 years. And the reactions varied from ‘screwed up face’ to ‘damn that was delicious.’ We’d later learn that the pitcher of water they gave us was to dilute the whisky and bring out the different fl avours. It was not to be used as a chaser.