Scotland

Yesterday we took a day trip to Scotland. We wanted to go salmon fishing on the Tweed River so we looked into that and found that at this time of year it is only fly fishing, that most of the rivers are on beats which are on private land, and it would cost about 1000$ to fish for a day (not including the pole and gear). That's out! So we went to a little golf course in Eyemouth, St. Andrews, and played nine holes of golf. We had a great time. It was my first game and I didn't do too bad except I broke the shaft of the 5 iron of our rented clubs (I didn't even hit the ground...that time! I was not happy. Tom had a great game and even took a shot at "Scotland most extraordinary golf hole" hitting the ball over the cliffs and sea to reach the green on the other side. His first shot went...well that was practice, but his second landed with a bounce on the green. Scotland was beautiful,too bad we don't have more time.

England

Hello,
We flew to England on Friday, spent one night in a small caravan park after being stuck on the motorway for an hour in bumper to bumper traffic. We took our chances and pulled off at some little town and luckily they let us stay even though we didn't have a reservation (which the lady felt she needed to say, twice)! On Saturday we drove to Bridlington, our very nice friend Denice has a house here which she graciously said we could use. It is a beautiful three story home that she is redecorating, therefore it is completely empty. It does have running hot water, with a kitchen sink, and bathroom with tub. We feel like royalty compared to the two months of camping in the tent. It's nice to have electricity again and our own space. She has a brand new fireplace she just had installed and central heating so we are nice and toasty in the evening. Except for my great fear of spiders, and let me tell you we have seen some monster ones, we are quite happy. Yesterday we went to Scarborough to see the International Gold Cup Motorcycle Races, couldn't miss that! We are having a great time. Take care, Heather and Tom.

Ireland

Jamison Distillary







Carrack-a-reed Bridge





Cliffs of Moher






Dingle, Ireland





Blarney Castle








Giants Causeway


We have been in Ireland for 5 days now. Our first day we took a tour of the Old Jameson distillery and Tom was selected to taste test 5 different whiskey's for the "good of the whole group" as our tour guide put it. After which he received a double shot of Jameson whiskey and a fancy Diploma he can frame when we arrive home. We spent an afternoon out in Howth, just outside of Dublin. Driving in the countryside is quite beautiful here, green hills covered with flowers and spotted with cows, sheep, and of course castles. We spent two nights in Northern Ireland, camping in Balleycastle. Saw the Carrick-a-rede bridge, the Giant's Causeway, Bushmill's distillery, and went deep sea fishing. We didn't catch anything impressive but it was quite tasty off the grill. Last night we stayed in a tiny village in Western Ireland about 8 km from Sligo. Lots of surfing going on dispite the small waves. Tonight we are in Doolin near the Cliffs of Moher which we plan to see tomorrow on our way to Cork. Hope everything is well at home. Heather and Tom.

Bordeaux and Nantes France to Ireland

Sorry for the delay in posts, we thought we were on vacation and all :)   We spent three nights in Bordeaux, took a wine tasting course, visited many little statues and fountains, and of course did some shopping. Then we took a train to Nantes, where a jazz festival was going on, rented some bikes and took a tour of the French countryside. The rain followed us to both Bordeaux and Nantes. On Sept. 5th we took a flight from Nantes to Dublin. Ireland is a blast!! Our Eurail pass ran out so we rented a car. Tom says driving here is like throwing a ball with your left hand (if your right handed). Riding shotgun is also quite wierd. We still want to drive on the right side of the street and reaching for the gearshift to the right. We are in Ballycastle, near the Giants Causeway. We plan to see the sights tomorrow. Hope all is well at home. Heather and Tom.