Gayle: I was posting at the same time you were adding this last instalment. Were any of the "Calender Girls" at church???

Sounds like your folks managed fine over the whole trip. It is so nice your parents can still travel w/ you.

Gayle, I am really enjoying your report. The falconry place sounds wonderful. (Whenever, I run into school groups having a field trip, I just think, "There but for the grace of retirement, go I.")

Thanks for such wonderful tales and a peak into a wonderful reltionship/friendship with your parents.

I am reliving so many of the places I took my nephews in Scotland (they were 11 and 14, the perfectage for being engaged and curious.) We had a great time and they still remember and talk about so many of the incidents and places.

I am looking forward to hearing the next days of travel.

Ya know, Janis, we were going to ask whether any of "the girls" were at church and then we forgot! I guess we'll never know...

Thanks, all, for your kind words.

Gayle

teacher33, you have piqued my curiosity. Are you a teacher?

Gayle,

What a lovely holiday and marvelous memories.

Is this the website for where you stayed in Dundee www.ashleamanor.co.uk? Looks wonderful.

Dan did well getting a low rate on the Castle B&B. Perhaps one of the perks of finding a room as you go and late in the day. You certainly stayed in a variety of places.

You have made me want to go back to visit Scotland. Thanks so much for sharing.

Sandy

I apologize if this posts twice, but I couldn't get my earlier reply to appear on the thread.

So, yes, the Ashlea Manor Guest House in Monifieth/Dundee is the place we stayed. It is more elegant than the pictures show, and the rooms were really big. The hosts provided every amenity (not just a couple of towels!) - a selection of shampoos, conditioners, soaps, and lotions; bathrobes; loofahs; I can't even remember everything.

All of the rooms have those lovely high ceilings and multiple moldings that Victorians are famous for, and the rooms were huge!

Thanks for your kind comments about the trip report!

Gayle

Gayle,

Well done on a marvellous report!

Jim

Thanks, Jim. Nice to all that typing is appreciated (I can't believe how long it took to write it all out - and I'm actually a pretty fast typist!).

The kind words from you and the others have been very encouraging!

Gayle

Gayle-it's great the way you do things so far off the beaten track,.

Can you bottle what you have and sell it to your compatriots?

And it's a great report. Really

Thanks, Sheila - that means a lot!

We're always telling people about the things we do on our trips, and we get the funniest looks from many of them.

Just today, during a "working lunch," a group of us were chatting before the meeting started and someone wanted to know about my trip. I laughed and said, "well, with a couple of big exceptions (like Balmoral), you've probably never heard of any of the places we went this time." The group laughed and another person said, "No, really, where did you go?" So, I told them (briefly) about the Tealing Dovecot and Earth House, the Falconry, and my "haunted" room in Culcreach. Everyone asked tons of questions, and then the first person asked how we find these places. When I explained our basic "oh, just go to Scotland - or a country of your choice - and follow your instincts," they all agreed that they would never be "brave enough" to try that.

It's really too bad, isn't it? Tours can work for some things, but the most interesting times on any trip are the result of serendipity. That's my general problem with tours - there's no time for the unexpected and for moments of pure chance.

Gayle

(Sorry for the delayed reply. I was in soggy Washington DC for the past week, at a conference.)