Riding the Hogwarts Express

Well, yesterday we were in Houston at the International Quilt Festival….today we are in Scotland riding on the Jacobite Steam Train, affectionately known as the Hogwart’s Express!!

Our day started with a 2-hour drive from our lodge in Dundoon to Fort William. Of course, the first thing we did was to take a selfie in front of the engine….

…having to maneuver between all of the Hogwart’s robe wearing passengers!!

Our host had purchased First Class tickets for us….

..which meant we were at a table with an unknown couple. Jen and Al arrived a few minutes after us, and as Jen jumped out of the train to clear the water off of the window…..

….we knew that we were going to have a great trip with them!!

As it ended up, they were on their honeymoon, having just married on the Balmoral Castle property in the Highlands. Champagne and chocolates were waiting for them, and they happily shared as we toasted to the happy couple.

The scenery from the train was spectacular…..

…..with the Lochs and Highlands always visible….

I was completely blown away with this image of the clouds reflected in the water….

Then we came to the Glenfinnan Viaduct….

This was what we had all been waiting for, remembering this scene from “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets”….

But, the surprising part was seeing HUNDREDS of onlookers waiting on the hillside to photograph and wave at the train!

We all waved back like royalty!!

Two hours after leaving Fort William, we arrived in the town of Mallaig, and enjoyed an appetizing lunch at the “Tea Garden Cafe”…..

And, of course, I found a quilt design in the cafe hall…..

After strolling around the town (and purchasing a few souvenirs), we boarded the train for the return journey.

And, once again, here were the people to greet us as we steamed over the viaduct…..

It is fun to enlarge the photo and see the smiles on their faces as they enjoy the moment!!

The train slowed in one village so we could all wave to this gentleman who meets the train EVERY day……

It was a truly enjoyable day, spending time with our new friends, seeing the excitement on the faces of everyone on board, both children and adults, and taking in the stunning Scottish countryside!

If you are ever in Scotland, THIS should be on your “DON’T MISS” list!!

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Michael and I love to travel and see new parts of the world and then I love to take those memories and turn them into quilts!!! I hope that you enjoy traveling along with us!!

Be sure to subscribe to the blog so you don’t miss a single trip!!

A day of Castles & Churches

We woke up on Sunday morning to rain, rain and more rain!!

Since neither Michael nor myself wanted to hike in the rain, we moved indoors instead!!

Our first stop was Inveraray Castle, home of the 13th Duke of Argyll and his family….

The foundation stone for the Castle was laid in 1746!! It took 43 years to complete and the 5th Duke was the first to live in it.

As expected, it was ornate, ostentatious, and had lots of gilt!!

I did enjoy this portrait of one of the past Dukes…..

This entryway was interesting with the weaponry being used for decorations!

We didn’t tarry long in the castle, but did enjoy morning tea before we left.

The next stop was to a slightly different type of castle…..

This one in need of some long overdue repairs!!

This castle stands on a rocky peninsula on Loch Awe. It was built in the mid-15th century but fell out of use and was in ruins by 1770.

It was interesting to see the architecture….

…and especially the rock masonry!

The final stop of the day was to Saint Conan’s Kirk (Kirk being the Scottish word for church)…..

The Kirk was hidden in the trees, making it hard to get a photo of the entire building, but we certainly enjoyed ogling all of the architectural details….

I love these stairs, but sure wouldn’t want to be forced to use them….

This window was interesting because it didn’t have any color in the glass…..

The more I look at it, the more I want to pull out fabrics and start re-creating it!!

I was impressed by the pipe organ…..

…until I realized that the “pipes” were strictly ornamental. They weren’t connected to the organ in any way!

It was fun to look up and see the wooden ceiling…..

…so different from the ornate ceilings of many UK Churches.

And of course, we were enamored with this “bunny gargoyle”…..

It looks as if the head is part of the gutter system.

And, I guess that these are owls…..

…but crudely carved.

On the way back to the lodge, we did a quick turn in the town of Inverary….

….until the rain sent us scurrying back to the car!!

All in all, it was a fun (non-physically taxing) day!!

Michael and I love to travel and see new parts of the world and then I love to take those memories and turn them into quilts!!! I hope that you enjoy traveling along with us!!

Be sure to subscribe to the blog so you don’t miss a single trip!!

Lessons learned!!

Last weekend I posted about our hiking times in the Scottish Highlands, but I didn’t tell you the whole story!!

IT WAS TOUGH WORK!!!

Some of the slopes were very steep, and the grassy tussocks were super easy to stumble over. There were many boggy areas, and often I would step into a hole filled with freezing water, feeling it rush into my boot.

Our first day out was particularly difficult. Part of that had to do with only 6 hours of sleep in the last 48 hours, but that wasn’t the only problem.

I found myself flailing around as I hiked. I was stepping HARD, almost stomping the ground and using my trekking pole to pull myself upward.

At the end of the day, I was exhausted and discouraged, especially since I had been promised that the next day would be even harder.

So I had a “come to Jesus” talk with myself!!

I KNOW how to hike. I KNOW how to stay balanced and not flail. So what was my problem?

I wasn’t concentrating on my walking, but rather on how bad I felt doing it!!

I told myself that the next day I would stay light on my feet rather than plodding, and I would concentrate on keeping my balance, without depending on the trekking pole to keep me upright.

And you know what…..

IT WORKED!!

With every step, I kept repeating…..”STAY LIGHT FOOTED” and STAY BALANCED”!!

Now, don’t get me wrong, at the end of the day I was exhausted, and my body told me that I had worked hard. However, my mind was in a much better place.

I was more able to enjoy the sun coming up…..

….and the gorgeous views…..

The difficulty hadn’t changed.

My MINDSET had!!

As I return to real life at home, I want to take this new mindset with me. No, I don’t have to worry about being light-of-foot or staying balanced, but I DO need to concentrate on what I am doing….whether in my office or my studio!!

And, even if I don’t want to be doing something, I still need to concentrate on what I am doing, and not on how I feel about it.

That was my LESSON LEARNED!!

Thanks for listening…..

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Scottish Highlands at their best

We have just returned from a 10-day trip to the Glasgow area of Scotland. The trip was split into several distinct parts….. exploring the Highlands, sightseeing in Glasgow and Dunoon, and one lovely day riding the “Jacobite Train”, also known as the “Hogwarts Express”!! I can’t wait to share it all with you!

Let’s start with the glorious Highlands. I have now seen them and…..

They met all of my expectations!!

The hiking was sometimes very hard, as I stumbled over tussocks of grass and stepped ankle deep into holes filled with freezing cold water…..

….but the scenery made up for all of the hard work!!

The thing that surprised me most was the diversity of the environment.

In most places, we were in view of one of the 30,000 Lochs (lakes) in the country….

Some were tiny. As a kid in Texas, we would have called them a “stock tank”. But others were enormous and the far bank seemed to disappear magically into the distance…..

Many areas were covered in forests….

…. others were rocky plinths with no vegetation to speak of…..

…..and some were simply rolling hills of scrubby grass…..

One of the most interesting things that we stumbled on was this rock hut, high up on one of the mountains…..

(Don’t you love the sheep in the background?)

The builder of this hut uses it as a spiritual retreat, and we could see evidence of his shrine inside the hut…..

Apparently, he is now well into his 80’s, but he still comes here often!!

He also erected this Gaelic Cross that is visible from many areas of the Highlands…..

I will leave you with one of my favorite phtos……

This is Bruno, next to a rock cairn that our guide, Martin, is building. He adds a new stone to it every time he is at the top of this particular mountain.

Many cairns are built as a marker of gratitude and I have to say that I am truly grateful for our days in this glorious area of the world!!

There’s lots more to see, so keep coming back!!

Michael and I love to travel and see new parts of the world and then I love to take those memories and turn them into quilts!!! I hope that you enjoy traveling along with us!!

Be sure to subscribe to the blog so you don’t miss a single trip!!

Sun-downer in the desert

I wanted to devote a little more time to our stay in the Kalahari Desert area of South Africa.

The photos don’t really do it justice…..’

Between the red dirt and the clear blue skies, it is truly a magical place!!

How can you not love this image of a group of Oryx…..

…or this video animals fleeing from the truck…..

We were interested in these “watermelon”-type of fruits…..

Nicolai, our guide, cut one opened and said that they were often sweet….

After he took a big bite, he did several spit takes and declared that this particular one was NOT sweet!!

We were also intrigued by the desert cucumbers…..

Apparently, all of the “deer” type animals love the fruit and the Rhinos love the vines!!

The weather this year has been unusual and there were large meadows of tall grass…..

It made a beautiful contrast to the red dirt.

And, look at these tracks in the dune….

….not only the large mammal tracks, but the tiny bird feet as well!!

On our last night, they drove us to one of the stable dunes for our “Sun-downer” farewell.

The night was gorgeous…..

One of our waiters, Belus, had gone before us and set up a campfire and all of the trimmings for a fun evening….

I loved the design that the lanterns made on the ground…..

Belus added a grate on top of the flames, and grilled Barbecued sheep’s Tail….

After I got over the thought of WHAT I was eating, I enjoyed the spicy flavor!!

Sadly, we had to leave early the next morning, and it was hard to leave our home at Kalahari-Oryx!!

We have visited twice and I truly hope that there is another one in our future!!

After leaving, there was a flight to Johannesburg, an overnight there, and then the 16-hour flight back to Atlanta.

This was one of the nicest trips that we have ever been on. Everywhere we went, we met wonderful people who took amazing care of us!!

I can’t wait for our next adventure….wherever it may be!!

Michael and I love to travel and see new parts of the world and then I love to take those memories and turn them into quilts!!! I hope that you enjoy traveling along with us!!

Be sure to subscribe to the blog so you don’t miss a single trip!!