scotland, part 1

[kirkcudbright]

So, we just got back from Scotland. Rather than try to write and post a linear travelogue, I'm just going to post a few pictures at a time, according to my own whims. This will continue until I run out of interest, pictures, or things to say.




In all cases, you can click through the small picture to get the 1024x768 version. If you want more pixels, you can change the 'm' in that filename to 'l' (lowercase L) to get the 2272x1704 original.

This was taken in the Toronto airport, about midnight, on the way to Scotland. You may recall a couple weeks ago, when an Air France jet attempted a landing there in heavy rain. It skidded off the end of the runway, everyone evacuated safely (repeated saftey videos eventually sink in), and then the plane proceeded to burn to the ground and sink into the swamp. Anyway, we were connecting through Toronto about 24 hours later, and the whole place was still not operating normally. There was a 1-hour delay leaving Boston, so that we barely had time to clear customs and get to the satellite terminal before our scheduled boarding time, to be met with a 2-hour delay leaving Toronto. (On the way back, Air Canada was hit by a computer virus, so they couldn't book us all the way through from Glasgow; we had to collect our baggage and check in again in Toronto. And Boston was resurfacing runways or something, so there were further delays. I'm not whining, it was just that sort of trip that reminds me why I don't fly more.) Anyway, I was fooling around with the camera in the airport in Toronto, and shot a bunch of pictures of the feet of the family sitting across from us. I like this one best.

Near Staffin, Isle of Skye. Or perhaps this is the entire village of Staffin. Sometimes it's hard to be sure. Anyway, it was morning, and the fog had cleared over the bay, but was still skulking around the mountains like hoodlums on a street corner, with similar intent. We got to do some hill driving in similar fog the next morning.

Castlemilk Moorit sheep at the Oban Rare Breeds Farm Park. Cutest. Sheep. Ever. In fact, they were specifically bred to be cute (excuse me, "decorative"). They have a "short, tight kemp-free fleece that is much desired by hand spinners"; Karyn could tell you what that means. I just know that, if ever I have sheep, these are the sheep I would want to have.