Arrival in Scotland and Day 1

Unbelievably, the long flight from San Diego to London went very well! We haven't always had the best luck with Heathrow. It was smooth and seemed to pass quickly. Even though it was an evening flight, it was only completely dark for a few hours, owing to the time of year and the direction we were flying. Anyway, maybe that's why I didn't sleep that much. Josh, on the hand, slept like a champ. Oh, to be small and have the ability to lay out crosswise in the seats. Of course, his head on my leg for 7 hours gave me a charlie horse, but whatever...

We did arrive late, but it was no big deal since our connecting flight to Glasgow was also late. Of course, it ended up being *very* late (see earlier comment about lack of luck with Heathrow) AND one of our bags (Jeff's) didn't make it to Scotland! Lucky for us, someone was waiting for us at the airport in Glasgow with our rental car - a very nice M series BMW X5. Armed with GPS and maps we set off for dinner! By this time it was well after 7pm. Dinner was at a lovely little restaurant called Cucina Ballach in the small town of Ballach. Josh had a fantastic pizza and I had salmon wrapped in Prosciutto and baked (delicious!), and Jeff had a baked Bolognese. Although it was well after 9pm when we finally set off for the town of Spean Bridge - it was still light out! The road scenery was stunning, so beautiful and green with lots of lochs. There was light in the sky as late as 11pm although the clouds made it seem darker. At one point the car ahead of us slowed and we saw a deer run across the road. I then turned and saw a magnificent stag  by the side of the road. I must say that Jeff is driving like a champ! Other than some close calls with the margin on the edge of the road, it hasn't phased him at all. it rained off and on, but we were luck because apparently it had rained quite hard during the day.

Anyway, we finally made it to Spean Bridge (odd name that, I keep wanting to say "spleen bridge") and the Smiddy House Inn. We had called ahead to say that we would be late, so the proprietor was waiting for us. The room was really very pretty and comfortable too! On our bed was a tray with 2 small drams of whiskey, cookies, a delicious confection called "tablet" (condensed milk, sugar, butter - need I say more?) and sparkling cider for Josh - a wonderful welcome! Needles to say, no one had trouble falling asleep!