Edinburgh & Inverness Day 3 - 9/28/08

Got up around 10, showered, packed and checked out. Had breakfast in the Club Room then went for a walk.

We traipsed down the Royal Mile toward Holyrood Palace. On the way, Gary spied a black rugby shirt that would be a perfect souvineer for Mags - perfect because it's Mag's favorite color and it has just enough color in it to satisfy her Dad. The shopkeeper told us that Daniel Defoe had lived in the back half of the shop, which was built back in 1541. The front half of the shop was another house that was built 100 years later. Daniel Defoe was the author of “Robinson Crusoe”. He also said that Defoe was arrested for having debts of 17,000 British pounds back in 1692.

We continued on our trek to Holyrood Palace, and once there, we encountered a beautiful park and big hill to hike. Unfortunately, it was time to head back.

On the way back to the hotel, we ran into George and Debbie. They continued their shopping, and we headed down toward Princes Mall. We found the Sir Walter Scott Monument then headed back to the hotel.

From the hotel, we took two taxis to the airport since we had so much luggage (6 bags per couple).

Our flight from Edinburgh to Inverness was on LoganAir courtesy of British Airways. Right before we boarded the plane, we saw a rainbow. It was a good omen for the rest of the trip.

Mike McCrave, the professional hunter, and Mitch Cummings, our tour guide, met us at the airport in Inverness. We also met up with the other couple, Dave and Diane Webster (who are also from Texas) that joined us for the week.

The drive to Sherramore Lodge was scenic. We saw all kinds of critters (rabbits by the side of the road, sheep being driven down the hill and across the road, horses and deer). Mitch gave us a running commentary on the historical sites along the way.

Mike gave us a tour of Sherramore Lodge when we arrived and assigned us to our rooms. The lodge and its sister lodge were built by two brothers back in the 1850’s. The lodges reside on 36,000 acres. They were eventually purchased by Alcoa for the water rights for smelting aluminum.

Mike also gave us his spiel about dinner dress and expectations for hunting. Each day, breakfast would be served between 7:30 and 9, hunting/tours start at 9:30, cocktails at 7 and dinner at 7:30. Dinner dress is smart casual (no hunting clothes) with the ladies being served first and men last. Our first dinner was ham, boiled potatoes, baked cauliflower and tomatoes with chocolate souflait for dessert.