From Deb's Desk: I plant my feet in the Atlantic Ocean

June 20, 2017 - This morning we must get moving early because we are leaving this beautiful B&B on the Isle of Sky and heading to the Isle of Lewis. To do this we must take a ferry. I am excited because I have never been on a car ferry. So a delicious homemade breakfast of bacon (which really is not bacon as we know it in the states but more like ham or Canadian bacon) eggs and toast we are off to our next adventure.

We must be on board by 8:45 and make it there in plenty of time. Dana has pre-purchased tickets online so we are ready to go. The authorities check and then recheck us in and we drive onto the boat. As soon as we are parked we get out and head up to the upper deck to get a better look. It only takes a minute or two and we are on our way as we were nearly the last van to load. They had arranged us in lanes according to where they want us to be in the ferry. As we pull away from the dock I take pictures of the land and the sea and feel the wind in my hair and life is feeling really good right now!

It is fun to roam around the ship and they have several levels. I sat outside for a bit but it is too cold to do so for too long and there is exploring to do. They have an observation deck with reclining chairs that some are dozing in already. There is a small gift shop here and even a full cafeteria for breakfast but I have already eaten and I move to the windows to get a better look. As we move across the water I am smiling...this is really pretty fun and a new experience! I keep finding myself outside watching the small islands pass by and taking photos. All too soon and hour and a half has passed and we are docking and off-loading to find our next adventure.

Our first stop is the Harris Tweed store. There are two buildings the first is small and full of big bolts of beautiful fabric in many colors. The second building is across the street and is their storefront where I purchased a beautiful wallet for myself, a phone bag for a gift, and a purple wool shirt for Hadley. She is going to be styling this fall! A candle shop was the next stop and soon we were on the road again.

Along the way I keep seeing chunks of earth that have been dug up and ask the girls if they think it is peat and they all think so. It is an area where the peat is cut and then stacked next to the hole to dry. Very interesting to see and I snap pictures as we pass by. This is a picture taking bunch! Sometimes we even open the van doors, drive slowly, and snap away! Melissa especially enjoys being creative with her photos and sets up special shots to get the perfect view. I just snap away and they are beautiful too! With this scenery for subject matter, you can't go wrong.

Dana says we are headed to a beach and I have no concept of what to expect. I hear the waves crashing before I see anything but soon I start to see white sand. Lots and lots of white sand. We park the van and start walking down a path through some scrubby weeds and then I see it! A huge white beach! In Scotland! I had no idea this even existed! It looks like we are in the Caribbean but it doesn't feel that way even though it is a warm day and sunny.

There are some people here, some lying on beach chairs soaking up the rays, and some are all covered up! Odd to cover up head to toe on the beach but I hurry along...I want to get to the water! The sand is soft and white and I take off my shoes and socks to get a feel. It's nice and I head to the water peering at tiny starfish, and other small creatures along the way. When I arrive at the water and walk in up to my ankles, it is COLD! I mean really cold! It numbs the feet immediately and we walk through the waves taking pictures and enjoying the day. Some of the waves coming in are pretty big and I stay clear of getting anything but my feet wet. It is so beautiful here we could have stayed all day playing and exploring but off we went to another section of Scotland. I sure would like to come back here!

We are now driving to see the Callanish standing stones. This set of stones is in roughly a circle with a central stone circle. It is surrounded by fields of sheep and rock walls keeping the sheep away from the stones. This the summer solstice eve and people are already camping out to see the sunrise here in this mystical place. Some have their campers parked by the side of the road and some have set up tents in the adjoining fields with the sheep. One man I had seen two nights before where we stayed was here. He is traveling around on his motorcycle and had a tent set up. Quite an interesting set of people.

We walk all around these stones unlike at Stonehenge and I even touch the stones. We plan to come back in the morning for the sunrise with hundreds of other people and I am wondering how these narrow and winding roads are going to accommodate the traffic. All too soon it is time to move on to our lodging as we have reservations for supper and we don't want to be late.

After many miles of twisting, curving, up and down, one lane roads covered with sheep and sporting beautiful views we arrive at Uig Lodge - built in 1876 and our home for the night - on the west coast of the Isle of Lewis. It is set high on a hill overlooking the turquoise sea, shimmering lochs, and white sand all with a mountainous backdrop! Wow! This place is gorgeous!

We are shown to our rooms, tonight I bunk with Joan, and meet in the living room for a few minutes of conversation with other guests who are all delightful to make small talk with. But at 7:30 sharp we are escorted into a beautifully appointed dining room and are seated family style for dinner. There are big salmon mounts on the wall because this is a fish camp. The fanciest fish camp I have ever seen, and you can tell that the elite salmon fishermen in the world spend some time here - or want to spend time here.

Dinner is served in three courses and my first course is of course, salmon. It's not my favorite as room temperature salmon is just not for me but I pick at it and eat the greens and radish that comes with it and with some bread I manage half of it. The second course is much more to my liking - beef! I had a lovely cold beef salad and it was plentiful and good. The dessert course was mixed fruit covered in cream. It was wonderful!

We need to get up very early to watch the summer solstice sunrise and then race to the airport to drop me off and then the rest of the girls will race to the ferry to make their journey off the island. It is going to be a tight timetable and I inquire of our host - a lovely young man named Chris - if there is taxi service or bus service this far out. He says there is but the bus will come to late for me to make my flight and the taxi is still an option. Then he asks me the time of my flight and his face brightened up and he said, "I know, I will drive you. It is my day off and I can take you in the morning." After some more conversation to be sure he wants to do this, I agree and we plan to meet at 7:30 am for my trip to the airport. I will be certain to tip him well and I am glad that I have plenty of pounds in my pocketbook.

We girls all adjourn to our separate rooms for the night and get some sleep because the other will leave at 3:30 and it is not that far away! Good night for now and sweet dreams to you all! What an eventful day!