I'll admit it: we're not the best about getting up and at 'em in a timely fashion. But hey, we're on vacation. Steve had to work today, and our plan was to drive up to Insch, stopping at a castle along the way. Laura was very sweet to pack us sandwiches and brownies for the road.We hoped to leave by noon, and we got out of the house around 11:45. Success!
Laura recommended a stop at Loch Leven castle. One of the interesting things about this castle is that it's on an island, and you have to take a ferry to get there. Since it's all included in the price of the Explorer pass, we thought a little boat ride would be a fun twist.
The ferry, and the lady who drove it
Cristina's turn with a latrine
Once we got to the visitor center, we had to make an appointment for the ferry, but the wait was only about 30 minutes. We bought a "cone of chips" (an order of fries served in a paper cone) from the little restaurant attached to the visitor center.
The ferry ride was about ten minutes, and the castle was gorgeous, as they all seem to be. I'm struck by how immaculately groomed these ancient structures are. Even if you don't care a lick about castles, just being among the gardens and landscapes of the castles is breathtaking.
Loch Leven is a ruined castle believed to have built around 1300. Mary, Queen of Scots was imprisoned here for almost a year and forced to abdicate as queen. We spent about 30 minutes roaming through the castle and then took the ferry back.
We ate our picnic lunch and then hit the road. Steve had told us to avoid Aberdeen because of traffic, but the GPS took us through Aberdeen, which was essentially a never-ending series of roundabouts clogged with heavy rush-hour traffic. Steve told us so.
As we neared Insch, we saw a high hill with some kind of ruins at the top. It was very striking and was undoubtedly an easy landmark for people in the area, kind of like the towers on South Mountain in Phoenix.
After dinner, the rain stopped and the sun beamed, resulting in this beauty.
We found our host's house and got settled. Lyn Ajanaku and her husband Ope, who was away for work, have two children, Tobi and Seyi, age 6 and 7.
Tobi and Seyi took to our kids immediately and played in the back yard while Lyn finished making dinner. Ope works in the oil industry. Lyn Skyped him on her iPad, so we got to see him on an oil rig in the North Sea near Denmark and say hello.
Lyn wanted to show us some of the local area, so that was the plan for the morning.
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