We said "Goodbye" to Kath and John in Inverness and took the A9 south again to head to our next room near Glasgow. I resumed my role as DJ as Carrie reprised her role as Driver.
I sat in a neat chair I joked would be great at a rural computer desk. I checked the price tag and popped up! I wasn't about to keep in a £2750 seat!
There were a wide assortment of items ranging from fairly priced to "Who'd pay that for that!?" We grabbed some ice cream cones and Carrie found a deal for a gift tucked in the "Sale shop" hidden behind the main area.
It's nice to have somewhere to go, but to not be in a particular hurry to get there. We decided to stop by Stirling castle.
We wound up a crammed road filled with parked cars and found a "Lot full" sign when we reached the castle. Parking seems to be in short supply all over Scotland. We continued on into town and found some street parking Carrie expertly paralleled us into.
From there it was a short jaunt up the hill to an information center and a 15th century church, the Holy Rude.
The church has been around for nearly a millennia and is where King James VI of Scotland was crowned as an infant.
There was no fee for entry. Instead, a bin asked for donations at the entryway. We were greeted by a volunteer who directed us to a wall of information brochures in numerous languages. We took some time walking around, reading, and enjoying the stained glass artwork.
We continued up the hill to Stirling Castle after.
In more recent history, the castle acted as a transit and recruitment ground during the Great War (WW1).
The grounds were beautiful and well maintained...., but also deadly defenses. The ditch we crossed over had areas for enfilade fire to make life short and unpleasant for attackers attempting to cross through.
We made it into the castle and heard it would be £16 a piece to enter. While that was not overly expensive, our pounds were dwindling and Carrie was eager to see the William Wallace monument and continue to our room for the night.
And wouldn't you know it, there was another long phone call?
We made our way back down into the city. Elevation changes in cities always amuse me.
Carrie was interested in some of the same thing, as me. "Are you taking another picture of my phone!" she asked.
"I'm taking a picture of the wall through your phone!"
I'm pretty good at dodging elbows.
We stopped at a coffee house and cafe for a small lunch. We have not had trouble finding reasonably priced food throughout our trip. There's no real way to expand your floor space when your business is in an ancient, stone building!
We stopped by a local game store (surprised?), but didn't stay long. We were on the road through more hills, pastures, and small towns by the late afternoon.
I learned that I had to be careful with how I used the zoom on my phone lest the camera switch to selfie mode.
We were scheduled to stay at the Oak Tree Inn in Balmaha off Loch Lommond tonight. Carrie promised me there would be time and space to play a game or two and relax together.
We put Carrie's new shoes to the test on a short hike.
We took some pictures and made some memories. We should have brought a blanket.
There was a much longer hike that scaled Ben Lommond, but we kept it simple. It's amazing how the grade quickly changes the difficulty of the hike.
I'm sure Carrie got some fantastic shots of the loch and the islands within it...., but I prefer my shots to have people in them.
We split a pizza with black pudding as a topping for dinner when we finished our hike.
Then we returned to our room...
...and talked with Nana, Pop, and Shane before watching some TV and calling it a night!
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