April 19th Highlands

This morning was a little tighter than yesterday's which is to be expected. We can lounge around for all of our mornings otherwise time wasted! Plus today was beautiful; sunshine and warmth were everywhere. I might love winter but rain becomes rather dull after awhile. Sun you were welcome.

Here are two videos of us enjoying a little bit of sunshine. Well it's mostly me just doing a few pan shots but you'll have the idea.

 

Front Yard

 

 Backyard time!

Kate's father then drove Kate and me to a dam in the Scotland Highlands. A funny part was that the roads were blocked by cows on several occasions. The first time I saw the cows I instantly flash backed to the farms of Skyrim. I now see where the creators found their woolly cow models. They all were adorable mop tops.

The joys of cattle

The dam was lovely. That reminded me of a real location (sorry Bethesda) in the Rocky Mountains in the States. Lakes that lie between hills/mountains are always just incredibly peaceful. I spent a good chunk of time staring at the sapphire water breathing in the crisp air.

I also did this several times. Signature look really.

Afterwards we grabbed some lunch. The location of lunch was important since it would also be the place where we spent the good rest of an hour. It was (drumroll) the Famous Grouse Distillery! Now we didn't eat whisky for lunch, we went to the cafe, but we (Kate and I) did take a tour afterwards.

Oh audience real quick. At lunch Mary did a very brave thing. She tried haggis for the first time of her life. Her verdict, "not as terrible as I had thought it would be but definitely not something I'd order for fun." There you have it, check mark the box for haggis under things to try.

The tour of the distillery then occurred and was flippin' hilarious and fascinating. We were able to see the entire process and even smell/see some of the barrels of mash (fermented barley solution) which was stellar. The scent of CO2 was so strong that it actually cleared Kate's sinuses. Personally I liked the scent and didn't find it sharp. Honest I don't sniff chemicals audience I'm just weird is all.

We continued through the process and were given two samples of whisky. Quick note the Scots spell whisky and the Irish spell whiskey. Just wanted to clear that up for my yanks out there. Kate and I had Naked Grouse and some ten year Glenturret. We also played an interactive game that required us to move our arms and guide a Grouse towards musical notes. For fun we flapped our wings. This was before our second shot of whisky of course.

The final cherries were taking pictures with the world's largest bottle of whisky and actually buying some whisky ourselves. I nabbed a sample box for my parents back home and a full bottle of Glenturret for myself. I will most likely be taking that home as well. One bottle in one month, not at that stage yet. I also bought a pack of "peculiar" cards designed by Simon Drew. The cards are dangerous to play with since they are so distractingly full of puns.

The three of us then returned to the home with all of our wicked Scottish spoils. Ah I how love spending my time out here with Kate. I don't want to leave. Screw finals and France I'm rooting here. I've done manual labor before so I'll find ways to earn my keep farming. Sorry France but you just aren't as kick ass. Plus there are dogs here.