July 28: Inverness and the Dufftown Highland Games

I kept waking up on the train - every metal wheel screech, shudder, stop and start I was sure the train was going off the tracks or about to be hit. I finally got up to walk around at 6:00 am and was amazed to see the train whizzing through dense, green forest, raindrops racing across the windows. It looked like the route of the Hogwarts Express and I found myself grinning with anticipation for the kids to wake up and see what a magical, mountainous land we had arrived in, 568 miles North of London.  

I woke the girls up at about 8:15, knowing the train was due to arrive in Inverness at 8:38. I figured Erik was up (he hadn't slept past 5:00 during the entire trip), but when I opened my door at 8:35 I saw him frantically racing, his face pillow-smashed and his hair like a startled hedgehog. "IT'S OUR STOP!!! WE HAVE TO GET OFF!!!!" I laughed and said, "Yep, I know! I thought you were up!" But no, he had slept like a log for 11 hours, finally making up for all that lost sleep and had woken up afraid that we would miss the stop and be trapped inside as the train went on. :) 

Erik hauled our heavy luggage out of the storage compartment and we made our way through the rain to the platform where we awaited our rental car. A few minutes later a stern-looking man with a face the color of a pomegranate showed up with our final giant van. We were delighted to hear his thick brogue but he spoke without a smile and didn't say much at all as we drove to the rental car station. Dropping him off, we headed toward our Air BnB address, not knowing what to expect. 

And what we found was this charming house!! It was one of many stone houses in a hundred-year-old neighborhood full of beautiful stone homes. We were completely enchanted and amazed at how much cheaper this roomy home was than our stuffy London apartment. We dropped our bags and Erik raced to CrossFit - he still hasn't missed a day of exercise since September somethingth of 2009 - and the rest of us did at-home exercise, showered, and settled cozily into our carpeted bedrooms as it rained outside. And the hosts had left us tea and shortbread!

When Erik returned we boarded the van - a stick shift this time!! - and lived the moment we had been waiting for all year - driving through the Scottish highlands to the Braveheart soundtrack. Lucy and I cried of course. It was so gorgeous - the misty mountains, the rolling, dark green landscape dotted with sheep and hairy long-banged cows and tiny farms and occasionally the ruins of castles. We arrived in Dufftown and followed the crowd of people toward a big field. At one point I didn't know where to go so I asked a friendly-looking man with a family, and he took us right under his wing, chatting and chatting and introducing us to the gentleman in the photo, who was a friend of his from elementary school. (He insisted we take the photo - my kids were mortified but I'm glad we have it!) 

The Dufftown Highland Games were basically a county fair, a local event full of music, sports, log-throwing, dancing, men in kilts, and bagpipes. It was everything we had hoped it would be. 

The sun even came out!

This was us watching the bagpipers. We couldn't stop grinning. Ask me and I'll send you a video.

I loved this old couple. He wasn't the chieftain, but they looked like the were presiding over the event. 

My lovely Lucy wearing a shirt not unlike the Affleck tartan

Stone took my camera on a photo adventure through the house

And made himself a friend with his rain jacket and pillow. What a goof!

After the highland games we returned to Inverness and went to a highly-rated pub for pizza, and it was soooooo good!!! We returned to the house absolutely in love with the Scottish highlands.