Travel to Scotland Part 4

We couldn't leave the beautiful area where we had stayed for two days without one last look at Eilean Donan Castle. It is truly magnificent, and we chose wisely in staying within walking distance of it and the cute little town nearby.

Eilean Donan Castle

Our May 7th travels took us towards Glencoe National Reserve. Along the way we visited the Glenfinnan Viaduct, made famous as a Hogwarts Express route in the Harry Potter movies.  Built in the late 1890s, it is the longest concrete bridge in Scotland. It contains 21 arches and is 100' above the River Finnan. It was a crowded tourist destination, but worth visiting.

Glenfinnan Viaduct

We drove through the central highlands on our way to the village of Killin, where we would spend the night. The drive to this area of the central highlands was beautiful. 

the central highlands

Killin is located near the western head of Loch Tay and is quite charming. The River Dochart runs through Killin in a series of falls, which are stunning. It was quite by accident that we found lodging there, and it was a nice spot to explore and spend the night.

The next day we had breakfast in town and checked out the historic bridge, mill and waterfalls. There was also an old cemetery behind our cottage that was interesting to walk through.

village of Killin

We then started making our way back to Edinburgh as we had a 9:55 p.m. flight back to Dublin. We wanted to see the Drummond Castle Gardens, located near Crieff, but they did not open until 1:00. That gave us time to have lunch and then visit the Glenturret Distillery, which worked out well.

sights along the road

The Drummond Castle Gardens were definitely worth the wait! The keep itself was built in 1491 by John, 1st Lord Drummond. The Annexe was built in 1630, and this became the living quarters of the family. This portion is still occupied by Drummonds to this day.

You do not get to see much of the keep, but the gardens are open to tour. The formal gardens were first laid out in the 1630s by the second Earl, combining elements of French and Italian styles. The gardens cover about 12 acres, and it was a treat to see (and hear) the peacocks. This stop was a wonderful way to end our tour of Scotland, and was a highlight of the entire trip.

Drummond Castle Gardens

From Drummond we only had about an hour drive to Edinburgh, where we retuned our rental car and headed to the airport. We arrived in plenty of time to check into our flight, and had an uneventful, short trip back to Dublin. We spent the night at an airport hotel as we were flying home the next morning.

leaving Dublin

One nice thing about flying out of Dublin (besides the direct flight) is the fact that you clear US Customs there, which saves time on the other end. Once we arrived in Charlotte we only had to go and meet the party who was picking us up since we did carryon luggage only. It was the icing on the cake of another great adventure with long-time friends.

Peru & Ecuador - Part 8

The next day we talked to our guide about changing lodging since we had no hot water. After looking at the options, we decided to stay in our unit since it was the only one that had two bedrooms and two bathrooms. The guide was able to show us a temporary solution to the problem. We had to open a spout on the cabin and drain out a bunch of water before the shower would heat up. That sort of defeats the "eco-lodge" impact, but at least it made the water tepid instead of frigid.

After breakfast that morning, which was December 4th, we had a busy touring day. We first drove to the Laguna Kawana Reserve in Puerto Misahuallí. This was a canoe-based experience, where we traveled through brackish water, spotting many birds above and piranhas in the water. We also got off the canoe and hiked a trail, enabling us to see various monkeys and even a sloth up in the tree!

Laguna Kawana Reserve

After leaving the reserve we went to the Centro de turismo Comunitario Shiripuno, a women-run Amazonian Kichwa cultural center which hopes to preserve their traditions. We had our faces painted, watched and participated in dances, and learned about their eco-tourism initiatives.

cultural center

A short drive then took us to the Misahualli River, which is a tributary of the Amazon River. There we boarded another canoe, which took us to Monkey Island, home of playful Machin monkeys. We first visited a reserve that is home to one of the largest ceibo trees in Ecuador. Then we had lunch in the town of Misahualli before exploring a bit. Of course we sought out the monkeys which give the island its name. They were very comfortable with people around, and were fun to watch. After that we took a canoe back to the car for the drive back to our lodge, which was about an hour away.

Monkey Island

We had another delicious dinner, again with only the three of us at the lodge, before turning in for the night. We had hot water on our side of the cabin, but our daughter's bathroom did not. Sigh...

dinner

Celebrating Three

Buc-ee's

We were home from Belize a total of two days before we packed up the car and headed north to our son and daughter-in-law's house. Our granddaughter was turning three, and we wanted to be there as we have for all of her birthdays so far. The fall color on the drive was still pretty nice, so that always makes the drive more enjoyable. 

We also had our first opportunity to stop at a Buc-ee's. We have heard a lot about them but never had the time to stop at one. They pride themselves on their bathrooms, and I have to say they have justification for their bragging rights! The ladies room was huge with individual stalls each boasting a red/green light overhead so that you could tell which ones were occupied. The restroom was spotless to boot. We went ahead and grabbed sandwiches to go, and they were large and delicious.

3rd birthday

We had a really fun time with the kids, with lots of visits to the neighborhood park. It is an easy walk from their house, with a nice lake, trails and playground. Our grandgirl loves to swing, so we got a bunch of pushes in. I cannot believe she is already three and well on her way to being potty trained. She is a delight, still a grandma's girl (which I love), and I am so grateful that we had the opportunity to spend this time with her. (And her parents too, of course.)

Falling into Color

fall color

On Monday we took a drive to the Blue Ridge Parkway (BRP) in search of fall colors. One of the things I miss about the St. Louis area is the large tree diversity that results in brilliant fall colors. Here there are so many evergreens that you just don't get that burst of color. Except when you go to the higher elevations in North Carolina. We are fortunate in that we can get to the mountains in about two hours.

We left the house around 5:40 a.m. as we hoped to see the sun rise over the Linn Cove Viaduct. That part of the BRP is not only an architectural marvel, its complexity resulted in it being the last section of the BRP to be completed. The seven mile segment was completed in 1987. 

As we drove up it began to mist. The forecast for the area had called for partly sunny skies - perfect for photography - so we were disappointed to see the gray skies. Though tempted to turn around and go home, we continued with the journey. We rounded a curve (the BRP has plenty of those!), and there were blue skies.

We had a perfect day in the mountains. Crowds were larger than expected for a Monday, but we had forgotten that it was Columbus Day. That explained the abundance of children in the area. Nevertheless, we found parking spots at all the stops we wanted to make, and a favorite restaurant in Blowing Rock had outdoor tables available when we arrived for lunch. By the time we left it was packed.

Blue Ridge Parkway

All in all, it was a great day. It did my heart good to see all the glorious fall colors and to get out in the beauty of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

A (not so) Total Eclipse of the Sun

83% eclipse of the sun

Yesterday a solar eclipse traveled across America. We were headed back from visiting our son and his family in Virginia, and did not think we would have an opportunity to see any of the eclipse. Charlotte was to get only a little over 83% totality at any rate. Surprisingly traffic was light on the interstates we traveled on. I guess everyone was clogging up the highways on their way to total eclipse sites, so the east coast was in the clear.

The moon eclipsed the sun around 3:11, and we were home in plenty of time to see what 83% gets you. Our next door neighbor was in her back yard with out of town guests, and they had extra glasses for us to borrow. Someone even had the protective cover for the phone lens, but I was quite unsuccessful in capturing any photos with my iPhone. It was fun to watch the moon in progress, but while the light dimmed a bit, it was still quite bright out.

In 2017 we had totality where we lived in Missouri, and that was an amazing experience and quite different from what occurred yesterday. Then it got completely dark out, the birds stopped chirping, the night insects began making noise, and the streetlights came on. I guess because we were able to take part in the one seven years ago, I was not in a rush to drive many hours to see the one this year.

High Country Getaway

Blue Ridge Parkway

The Charlotte area had some record-breaking heat last week, so we decided to escape to the North Carolina high country for a couple of days. Encompassing seven counties in the northern part of the state, the high country is typically much cooler than the counties down south.

We left Thursday morning, driving straight to our first destination. Craggy Gardens, located on the Blue Ridge Parkway and part of the National Park Service, is known for its abundance of rhododendrons. Peak season at this altitude of 5,860 feet is mid-June, so our timing was perfect. While it was a bit overcast when we arrived, the cloud cover did clear as we hiked the area. The low 70s temperature was a delight after the high heat and humidity we had left behind.

Nearby the Craggy Gardens is Mount Mitchell. That was the next stop on our itinerary. At 6,684 feet, it is the highest peak east of the Mississippi River. Established in 1915, the 4,789-acres became the first state park in North Carolina. Unfortunately the peak was shrouded in clouds the day of our visit, so visibility was nil. 

We spent the night in the Linville Falls community at an old lodge. While it was quaint, clean and beautifully maintained, it had no WiFi to speak of and we had zero cell service. It also had no air conditioning in the rooms. While that might not be a problem normally, the humidity was extremely high and the room was sticky. With its location between two highways, leaving the windows open at night was not an option. Suffice it to say, neither one of us slept well that night.

The next morning we made the short drive down the highway to Linville Falls. While we have hiked in this park before, this time we practically had the place to ourselves. That was a refreshing change from our last hike where Covid brought everyone and their brother out into nature. It was a lovely way to spend the morning. We grabbed lunch in Morganton before heading home. It was a short but very nice change of pace for us.

Craggy Gardens, Blue Ridge Pkwy, Linville Falls

For the Birds

Early yesterday morning Jim and I drove to the Audubon Center at Riverlands to see the birds - specifically the trumpeter swans. This bird is the largest waterfowl in the Northern Hemisphere, and the largest swan in the world. It has an eight-foot wingspan! Each year a significant number of these swans migrate south from their summer resorts in the northern United States, Canada and even Alaska seeking open water. Around here that can be found at the audubon center. Last year over 900 swans made this area their winter home, and this year the number appears to be about the same. It was easy to see (or perhaps I should say hear) how they got their name. They are quite noisy!

trumpeter swans and ducks on the Mississippi

ducks with cold feet

birds in flight

After visiting the audubon center, we drove across the bridge into Illinois, and then followed the River Road north hoping to catch a glimpse of eagles. Some bald eagles migrate to our area this time of year as well. We found this handsome guy in a tree along the River Road.

bald eagle

We continued our drive up to Grafton, IL where we had a nice breakfast in the restaurant of the old Ruebel Hotel. The bar is from the 1904 World's Fair - beautiful! 

We had such a nice time on an unseasonably warm day in St. Louis. It was a perfect day for a drive - even if it was for the birds.

Slip, Sliding Away

Lorraine & Jerry

We decided to drive up to Iowa to visit my in-laws over President's weekend. We didn't see them over the holidays and this would give us a chance to not only spend Valentine's Day with them, but also celebrate their 62nd wedding anniversary. At the time we made the decision there was no bad weather in the forecast. When we left St. Louis Friday morning there was a little bit of freezing rain. The further north we traveled, the worse the weather got. The windshield wiper fluid would not come out of the designated holes, and between the slush from the road and the sleet, we could barely see out of the windshield. We stopped at a gas station in Bowling Green to clean off the window and fill up the tank - just in case. When I went in to use the restroom I asked the women in there if any of them had come from the north. Another woman said they were traveling from St. Louis to Des Moines, but she thought they were going to turn around. The women at the cash registers said that Hannibal was a mess and Palmyra got 4 inches of snow. I told Jim I thought we should head back home. He called his dad, who said it was sunny and dry in Charles City. Jim wanted to try going a little further.

I should admit here that I am not a good traveler under normal conditions. I prefer to drive rather than be the passenger. But I do not like to drive when the roads are icy. Jim took over the wheel, and I tried to keep my mouth shut. Everywhere I looked there were cars in the ditch. As we got close to Hannibal, it was as if they didn't own any snow plows in that area. It was horrible! To top it off, we stopped again to fill up and grab some food and when I walked the dog, I fell on the ice. Knee, hip, wrist and shoulder took the brunt of it. At least I didn't break anything! Once we got into Iowa, the road conditions improved. They were still snow packed, but at least the slow lane was halfway decent to travel on. A drive which normally takes us 6 hours was 7 and a half instead.

Charles City already had over a foot of snow on the ground, but they got several more inches on Saturday. Luckily we had nowhere we needed to go. Sunday was cold but sunny. Then we saw the forecast for Monday, which is when we planned to come home. More snow was predicted so we decided to see what the morning brought. I was reading reports of freezing rain from St. Louis up through southern Iowa, and Charles City was expected to get another 4 inches of snow. This time we decided to stay put since it looked like Tuesday would be clear with a warming trend. We took advantage of the extra time to visit with relatives and play card games.

Sure enough, the roads were excellent on Tuesday. We left 26 degree weather and pulled into a balmy 64 degrees St. Louis. Unbelievable. Now I remember why I say I won't travel this time of year.

Fall Colors and More

The fall colors in our area have not been as outstanding as in past years, but nevertheless this is my favorite season and I like going for a drive to photograph the changing landscape. We decided to combine a fall drive with a genealogy trip, something I am not able to talk my husband into very often. But he doesn't mind visiting cemeteries, so he was okay with coming along for the ride to an old cemetery. I have been tugging on a branch of my dad's tree recently, and found a link to some ancestors who are buried in the Denson Pioneer Cemetery located just north of Ursa, Illinois. The Hightower family can be traced back to early Virginia in the 1600s, and beyond that to the 1500s in England and Ireland. Of course, there is the small matter that I have to prove the lineage.

George Hightower, my fourth great-grandfather, and his family moved from Virginia to Kentucky sometime before the 1800 census was taken. George and his wife then moved to Ursa, Illinois prior to 1840, and two of their six adult children also moved there during this time period. I found the burial information on the on the website findagrave.com. I highly recommend this website if you haven't already checked it out. Volunteers are photographing headstones, transcribing them and putting them on this website. It is very helpful in corroborating death dates and/or locating exactly where your ancestors are buried. Often family associations are listed in the description of the deceased as well.

Kirby in the pumpkin patch

We took a leisurely drive to Ursa on Sunday, stopping whenever the mood struck to take photographs. I feel fortunate that my husband is just as enthusiastic about taking pictures as I am. Otherwise, one of us would not have been having a good time yesterday. We took the dog along, and he is definitely not as enamored with pausing for photo ops. He also did something at the cemetery that probably has resulted in him not going along for the ride in the future. More on that below.

The fall colors actually seemed a little prettier the further north we traveled. The area near Hannibal was the nicest I have seen anywhere this fall. Mark Twain would definitely have had something to write about had he been looking at the beautiful colors this weekend.

Denson Pioneer Cemetery sign

We arrived at the cemetery shortly after lunch. I am glad that the findagrave website included instructions on how to get to it, as I have no doubt I would have been unable to locate it on my own. You exit the county highway onto a tractor path to reach the small cemetery, which is completely surrounded by cornfields. The farmer had already mowed down the corn stalks, which made me wonder if you could even see the cemetery during the spring and summer months. I wasn't sure exactly where my family members were buried in the cemetery but I needn't have worried as it is quite small.  We found the headstones rather quickly. The state of the stones is quite sad, and not just the ones belonging to my ancestors. You can tell that a veterans group (most likely) is replacing the stones of the men who served in the Civil War, as they look pretty new. But many of the remaining stones are broken and/or toppled over. I don't think it is vandalism but instead is the result of years of the elements taking their toll on the limestone or sandstone markers. Here are the stones of George and his wife, Frances Ann (Hall) Hightower, along with their son Austin and his wife Mary (Caldwell) Hightower. Also we found George and Frances Ann's daughter Mary and her husband John Riddel. And while we were photographing the stones, the dog decided to take a roll in the hay, so to speak. Unfortunately it wasn't hay but horse manure he found. Why someone was riding a horse in this precious cemetery is anyone's guess. Let me just say that it was an extremely long ride home with a smelly dog.

Mary Hightower

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Austin Hightower

John Riddel

Mary Riddel

Frances Ann Hightower

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

George Hightower

 

An Afternoon in New Haven, Missouri

Necklace from Astral Glass Studio

 Jim and I did not see much of each other Saturday since I had an all-day conference and he had a company picnic that went into the evening hours. Sunday afternoon we decided to take his fun little car out for a drive, heading west on Interstate 44. We ended up in New Haven, which Jim was familiar with as he has ridden his motorcycle there before. The old town area has some interesting shops, some with antiques and another showcasing the work of local artists. The one that really caught my attention was Astral Glass Studio. Beyond having beautiful glass pieces on display throughout the store, there is a small seating area where you can sit and watch the glass blowers. How fun! I decided to pick up a necklace, and we had a nice young woman helping us. She patiently drug out all the necklaces I wanted to look at. I finally had it narrowed down to two, and chose the nature design because that is near and dear to my heart. It wasn't until I made my selection that the gal shyly told me that it was a necklace that she had designed and made. That made my choice all the more special, and we had her autograph the little card that was displayed by the necklace. I can't wait to wear it.

We decided to have an early dinner at Somebody's in town. We were the only ones in there, which was kind of weird. The service was so-so and I would describe our meals the same way. After I got home I looked at reviews of the place and they have a good reputation. I wish I would have researched it before we got there and made a different meal selection. Oh well...

After we ate we walked along the river trail a bit and checked out the two bed and breakfast houses. They both look cute, though the one is for sale. Room rates are shown at $150 per night, which seems pretty steep for the area. Maybe that is why the one is for sale.

Overall, a very nice stress-free day with the hubby. We needed it for the weekend we have coming up!

glass and copper necklace

Wedding Bells

Rox & Dan

This past weekend we went up to Minneapolis to attend the wedding of the daughter of our good friends, Kathy and Paul. Kathy and I went to high school together, then on to Iowa State. Paul and Jim were fraternity brothers at Iowa State. Kathy and Paul sang at our wedding, and went with us on a cruise when we celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary. we have traveled together multiple times in the four years since then. They are the first of our friends to have a child get married, and considering our connection it was great fun to be there for their daughter's wedding. We did not know anyone else at the wedding, so that was a little strange but we met some interesting people at our table and had fun dancing at the reception.

the wedding cake

The wedding cake was amazing. Rox and Dan both enjoy outdoor activities, so the cake was designed to represent the things that they like to do. Absolutely everything you see in the picture (poor quality but I did not bring my good camera up to Minneapolis unfortunately) is edible, including the baseball. The cake decorator must have had a ball, pardon the pun, designing this cake.

The next morning Kathy and Paul had their family members and the out of town guests over to their house to watch the "kids" open their presents. We actually had a little more time to talk to the two of them at that point, so I am glad we went. We also met another couple who live in Iowa and graduated from Iowa State. Interestingly the husband graduated with a degree in horticulture, so he and Jim got to chatting about that and landscape architecture. The wife said that she started out in one major but changed her sophomore year. So did I. She graduated with a degree in Family Environment. So did I. 1978? Yep. Her area of concentration was Family Services. So was mine. We had to have taken a class or two together somewhere along the line. What a small world! I wish we had sat with them Saturday night so that we could have talked more.

All the driving for this particular wedding left a bit to be desired though. We left St. Louis on Friday and stopped in Charles City to spend the night with Jim's mom and dad. They had agreed to keep the dog for us. I think they were more excited about having Kirby stay with them than seeing us! Not really, but they do enjoy him. Saturday morning we headed back up the interstate for an additional three hour drive. We were able to check into our room early, which was nice so that we could freshen up before the wedding. On Sunday we headed back to Charles City and stayed the night again there. Then Monday morning it was back on the road to St. Louis.

Wickiup Hills wetlands area

On the way home we stopped at Wickiup Hill Outdoor Learning Center, which was a good spot to walk the dog. They have multiple trails you can walk on, but it was pretty hot so we took the path to the wetlands. It has a really cool wooden plank walkway out over what normally is the wetland area. It should be renamed Drylands as there was not a drop of water to be found. It made me wonder what happened to all the wildlife that normally lives in the area. So sad. Unfortunately we all picked up a few ticks in the park. Yuck!

This has been a pretty busy summer for us, and there is no end in sight. Three of the four weekends in July we have full schedules. So far only one weekend in August is taken, so that is kind of a relief.

A Fall Drive

Jim and I went out for a fall drive yesterday hoping to catch the last of the fall color. Since we were out of town the past two weekends we sort of missed the peak season. We took Jim's fun little sports car, put the top down and turned the heat up, and away we went. Jim knows a lot of great back roads due to his motorcycle riding, so we headed out west towards Labadie. We had lunch at the Hawthorne Inn, and I have to say I just wanted to bottle our waitress. She was the most bubbly little thing! I ordered a french dip sandwich, and it came with sweet potato fries. Oh my gosh! Probably the best french dip I have ever had, and the fries were yummy as well. And I felt less guilty about eating them since they were sweet potatoes. Ha!

We headed back down the road and ended up at Klondike Park. I had no idea this park even existed. The 250 acre park is on the site of an old silica sand quarry. The Katy Trail ties into it so they have biking and walking paths all throughout the park. There was a boy scout troop camping out, so they

were having a great time riding their bikes along the trails. A family was taking their own portrait along one of the trails we walked, while on another we came upon a guy down on one knee popping the question to his gal. Since a professional photographer was there, I'm not sure how spontaneous it was but it was sweet nonetheless.

It was a great day for a drive, and nice to spend the afternoon alone with my own groom. No kids, no dog, just the two of us. Fun!

Over the River and Through the Woods...

Tomorrow we pile everything in the car and head out to my in-laws to celebrate Christmas. There will be more room in the car this year, since Andy is now married and will be spending the holiday with his new family. The temperature in Charles City today is negative three degrees, but they are expecting a high of two degrees. Woohoo! As my daughter complained,"How come my grandparents didn't retire to a nice warm climate with all the other gray hairs?" Good question...especially as they are calling for freezing rain here tomorrow, and an inch of snow up in Iowa. I guess we'll have a white Christmas, but it will be too darned cold to be outside enjoying it! As we have traversed icy, treacherous roads many times during our marriage in order to celebrate Christmas with family, I have often shaken my fist at the "wise men" of the past who arbitrarily picked December 25 as the day to celebrate Christ's birth. Since the Bible never specifically states the day Jesus was born, couldn't they have made it June 25th? Then we wouldn't have to worry about so many people risking life and limb to make it home for the holidays. Just a thought...