It was 7:30 am on Thursday morning and Ryan and I were off with Donald to discover Scotland. Ewen, Donald's older son lives on the army base in Lossiemouth which is our northern destination. Lossiemouth is about 180 miles (you can do the conversion to km) which meant an 8 day hour driving day for us. We did not do a straight drive as we stopped at several scenic lookout spots which had incredible views of hills, farmlands and reservoirs. We were even lucky enough to see some highland cattle...the ones with giant horns and long red hair. We crossed a bridge which took us to the Isle of Sky, off the coast of which is McFarlane Rock. Then we continued on to Loch Ness and stopped to search for Nessie. It was at this point that I needed a pee break and found myself some nettles. Nettles are a prickly plant that if you touch, will sting you and leave tiny white bumps. Thankfully the sting does not last like poison ivy or oak otherwise I would have had very uncomfortable travels for the rest of our journey.

We arrived in Lossiemouth around 5:00 at which point we checked into our accommodations for the weekend. We have a nice two bedroom flat to stay in which is available to the family of those who work on the base here in Lossie. Ewen actually just returned for a four month deployment to Oman...he works on fighter plane engines or something of the like. After unpacking, Ewen met us and we all went out for dinner and drinks. The boys made it out to one more bar but I called it a night.

This morning (Friday), we had yet ANOTHER sunny day in Scotland (weird, I know). We went to a unique little town called Findhorn which reminded me a lot of Oberbierbronnen. The homes are all uniquely built and the community work together for sustainable living. We went to a cafe there for some organic coffee and Donald's favourite croissant. During the afternoon, I took some well needed rest while the boys went to the Glenfiddich distillery. They had a tour and then whisky tasting afterwards (12 yr, 15 yr, 18 yr whiskeys). When they returned we cooked up our new favourite meal...Haggis, Neeps & Tatties (English translation = Haggis, Turnips, and Potatoes). It was absolutely perfect...I am loving Scotland more and more every day I spend here.