We almost picked up some hitchhikers today.
Yes, you read that right.
I would have thought Carrie would have been vehemently against it, but it was her idea. We've seen a lot of hitchhikers around Scotland. It seems like hiking somewhere and hitching a ride back is a fairly common hobby.
There was a group of about 6 young adult hikers outside our room who were looking for rides when we went for breakfast. We discussed it at our meal and Carrie was ready to offer on our way back to the room.
This car offered them a ride as we were about to hop into our car instead. We ended up trailing them almost into they city before our paths diverged.
Glasgow was a newer city than Edinburgh and more spaced out. We drove through some suburbs before we detoured around the city center on the highway.
I was curious as to what the 'M' and the 'A' in the road names stood for. I know about US road name/number conventions, but it's a whole new world across the pond. Those minor knowledge gaps nagged at me a little (I like knowing how things work).
Carrie and I joked that the weather warning signs around Scotland worked by always saying "Heavy Rain Forecast."
We were lucky in that we never hit anything I'd consider heavy rain, but the warnings were ubiquitous.
Today was a dream come true for Carrie: We visited Moffat.
Grandma's maiden name is Moffat and the eponymous town is in the lowlands south of Glasgow.
Carrie has attended multiple highland games and hung about with the Moffat clan (and Frank!). Several years back there was a clan gathering and they all traveled to Moffat, Scotland together.
We had plenty of fun poking around the local streets and stores (Fidget spinners....they've spread this far and they're evolving!?).
There were campgrounds nearby and the town seemed to cater to motorhome/caravans/campers.
We wandered into an old wool mill turned sprawling store in search of a Moffat kilt pin and tartan cloth.
It was the one type they were sold out of! We talked to an Irish woman who worked at the store and remembered the clan gathering Carrie wanted to visit (She'd worked at the hotel where everyone stayed!).
Carrie didn't find what she was looking for, but I got a book as a souvenir.
Then we went by a local bakery and grabbed a pair of pies for cheap lunch (Mine was chicken tikka).
Wind turbines and clouds were everpresent on our way back.
We pulled off to grab Carrie some caffeine and I picked up an Irn-Bru. I've seen the soda all over. It's called "Scotland's Other National Drink" and supposedly outsells Coke and Pepsi.
I'm not a huge soda fan, but I wanted to try it. When Carrie got her coffee, I picked up a bottle and took a sip.
Then, I encouraged Carrie to try it. She was adamant she did not want to. Nevertheless, I persisted.
Then, I encouraged Carrie to try it. She was adamant she did not want to. Nevertheless, I persisted.
I got her to at least take a whiff.
Which didn't help persuade her.
All I wanted was one tiny sip! I had a water bottle ready and as she protested, it occurred to me, "Maybe I should film this..."
I think Carrie could be a viral hit! One tiny bleep over the curse and we could be raking in the advertising money! This could have been the greatest moment of our whole trip!
We scooted back into Glasgow where I got to visit a friendly local game store. We got to talk with the employee there for a while, play Orc-Olympics, and we picked up a souvenir card game to play at home (Get the MacGuffin).
If we had more time, we might have gone by the Ikea. I had suggested finding a parking garage and walking the city center, but Carrie wasn't up for the walk.
Side note: People in Scotland parallel park without regard for facing on the road. I got a parking ticket as a kid for doing something similar near my high school in the states.
When we got back to the hotel room, I answered some of my own burgeoning work emails. One of them had been to supply a short video for an introduction to my upcoming Freshman Seminar class (I still was not sure what Freshman seminar was!)
Carrie played director. I wanted to do a single take and be done with it, but she started to develop her own vision and a sense of professional pride! We settled on two takes with some haggling over the details in between!
Then we were back to our old ways.
The sky opened up and it started to pour on us as we walked back to our room. I gave Carrie the umbrella and got to see how water resistant my coat truly was.
It didn't measure up to a good Scottish storm.
We had a pizza with chicken, bbq sauce, and haggis for dinner. It was noticeably cheaper to buy it for takeaway rather than eat it in the restaurant (~£11 --> £8!).
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