It seems that turning 51 requires an earlier bedtime regardless of where one is, I fell asleep at my birthday dinner table. No joke. Barly making the one block walk back to the hotel, I showered and hit the bed. At 7:30pm. I woke up this morning at 7:30am refreshed and ready to trek on.
We had a decent hotel breakfast. I tried Marmite and I liked it. All others in the Koog family gagged as I ate it again and again. To each there own and more Marmite for me! After checking out and packing up the car, we headed out of Liverpool toward Scotland, with a few stops along the drive. (Our stay in Liverpool was way too short. We are returning later on in ths trip.)
Mrs. Koog really owns driving on the left! So much so, her speed at roundabouts make the rest of us feel like we are in a centrifuge. B-Koog audibly screamed today because he thought the car was going to flip. She also takes this confidence and speed to the single track roads with blind curves. Come to think of it, she accelerates around all things curvy. We've changed the "stay to the left" mantra to "stay at the speed limit"!
Hadrian's Wall
After a few literal spins and swerves, we arrived at Hadrian's Wall in Birdoswald. This was another one requested by the boys, B-Koog to be specific. Apparently, they did some report in school and Hadrian was his topic. So, Hadrian's Wall and the Roman Fort in Birdoswald, England. The site itself is huge and parking was easy. On our way to the visitor center, we encountered a family trying to take a selfie on the wall. I offered to take the picture for them and they were grateful. Suddenly, the guy started talking to me in Welsh! I did't get to use my Welsh language skills much in Wales, but in Birdoswald, they came in handy. He noticed my Cymru sweatshirt and that's how it started. They were from Cardiff in South Wales and were headed to Glasgow to take the ferry to Belfast then down to Dublin and then ferrying back to North Wales. Super nice people.
Anyway, we paid our way (it was 1/2 price since we are Cadw members, see Day 1) and went outside and walked around the site. The scenery was stunning, hills, valleys, streams...it had it all. Oh, it also had sheep. A lot of sheep. As we meandered the site from information board to information board, it was clear the sheep graze in the fort after hours. One of the funniest lines I've heard on this trip happened today. Everyone there was trying to dodge the huge piles of sheep poo. I mean, so much poo. As I was reading one of the information boards a Mom yells with the heaviest British accent, "Mable, don't step in the poo!" Mable looked at her Mom wondering what she had said and the Mom clarified very slowly, "Mable, it's sheeeeep poooopaaaayyy, mind your steps." It made my day. Oh, and I think Mable's Mom was a few seconds too late as I saw them later trying to scrape little Mable's shoes on a rock.
One area of the fort was a high mound with a platform type thing. Apparently, Roman soldiers used the post as a lookout over the river. About 10 yards from said post was a sign that was, in my opinion, a bit small for the message it carried. The message? Sheer Drop. It was the tiniest of signs but it was a sheer drop! E-Koog and B-Koog were very excited to see how close they could get to the Sheer Drop before Me and Mrs. Koog lost our mind. The answer was not very close. We all agreed that if this were the US, the sign would have been a billboard and there would have been an electified fence! Glad we are in the UK because the view from an appropriately safe distance from the Sheer Drop was amazing. Rolling green hills and mountains as far as the eye could see. A train in the distance and the river was so clear, we could see rocks from our perch up high.
The other thing that was in abundance, in addition to beauty and sheep poo was wind. Holy moly, the wind was whipping. After walking around the site and getting some color not from sun but from wind, we headed into the visitor center exhibit. The exhibit had a quiz with a number of questions to see what role you would have had in Hadrian's army. Based on my answers, it said I was the Commanding Officer. Mrs. Koog was hysterical laughing at the accuracy of this quiz. While I agreed with the accuracy, I didn't understand her laugh! We did a mead and wine tasting and bought a small bottle of mead. Me likey the mead! We were all hungry, but didn't find anything that was not sausage at the cafe, so we headed into town for lunch.
We found ourselves in Brampton at a place called The Howard Arms for dinner. I had the traditional sunday roast beef with Yorkshire Pudding. So good. E-Koog had the same as me, B-Koog had the chicken roast and Mrs. Koog had sundried tomato, basil and goat cheese tartlet. We all agreed it was a great place. Once we were full and hit the loo, we headed out for our next stop, Lockerbie.
Lockerbie
Everyone knows I'm a Syracuse University grad. Mostly because I tell everybody and I bleed orange. Lockerbie is sacred ground to all SU students since December 21, 1988. That was the day of the PanAm 103 bombing, killing all 259 passengers on board and 11 Lockerbie residents on the ground. Of the 259 passengers, 35 were SU students on their way home from their semester abroad. I will never forget the night it happened, I was in high school getting ready for a band concert when the TV was interrupted for a special report. Then our local news outside of Albany, NY was at the airport talking with parents that had just gotten news that their child had been killed. It was gut wrenching. While I didn't know any of the students as I was still in HS at the time, their deaths still hold a special place in the hearts of SU students then and now. While the 35 students lost their lives, SU created a scholarship program that brings Lockerbie Academy students to SU for their education. It also started the Rememberance Scholar program that selects 35 students a year.
The memorial was somber but beautiful. I was choked up when I saw an SU pin and a letter from a current student at the memorial. The entire family had a tear in their eye. I'm glad I went and took the family. Like I said, it's sacred ground.
On the road to Ballach
We got ourselves together and left Lockerbie on our way to our accomodations for the night, Ballach on Loch Lomond. Our drive was uneventful and we even took a wrong exit that brought us through a small town called Bishopton. Never heard of it? Us either, but the roads were not too narrow and the speed limit was low, so all of us passengers were happy!
Our place in Ballach is nice and has adequate water pressure. Not as amazing as Conwy, but still better than home.
Tomorrow we trek on to see if we can find the Loch Ness Monster in Inverness.
Again: Please ignore spelling and typos. In addition to having dyslexia (not a joke), I'm super tired from trying to keep up with our travels! I try to proof after I publish but it takes me a while. Appreciate the grace!
We had a decent hotel breakfast. I tried Marmite and I liked it. All others in the Koog family gagged as I ate it again and again. To each there own and more Marmite for me! After checking out and packing up the car, we headed out of Liverpool toward Scotland, with a few stops along the drive. (Our stay in Liverpool was way too short. We are returning later on in ths trip.)
Mrs. Koog really owns driving on the left! So much so, her speed at roundabouts make the rest of us feel like we are in a centrifuge. B-Koog audibly screamed today because he thought the car was going to flip. She also takes this confidence and speed to the single track roads with blind curves. Come to think of it, she accelerates around all things curvy. We've changed the "stay to the left" mantra to "stay at the speed limit"!
Hadrian's Wall
After a few literal spins and swerves, we arrived at Hadrian's Wall in Birdoswald. This was another one requested by the boys, B-Koog to be specific. Apparently, they did some report in school and Hadrian was his topic. So, Hadrian's Wall and the Roman Fort in Birdoswald, England. The site itself is huge and parking was easy. On our way to the visitor center, we encountered a family trying to take a selfie on the wall. I offered to take the picture for them and they were grateful. Suddenly, the guy started talking to me in Welsh! I did't get to use my Welsh language skills much in Wales, but in Birdoswald, they came in handy. He noticed my Cymru sweatshirt and that's how it started. They were from Cardiff in South Wales and were headed to Glasgow to take the ferry to Belfast then down to Dublin and then ferrying back to North Wales. Super nice people.
Anyway, we paid our way (it was 1/2 price since we are Cadw members, see Day 1) and went outside and walked around the site. The scenery was stunning, hills, valleys, streams...it had it all. Oh, it also had sheep. A lot of sheep. As we meandered the site from information board to information board, it was clear the sheep graze in the fort after hours. One of the funniest lines I've heard on this trip happened today. Everyone there was trying to dodge the huge piles of sheep poo. I mean, so much poo. As I was reading one of the information boards a Mom yells with the heaviest British accent, "Mable, don't step in the poo!" Mable looked at her Mom wondering what she had said and the Mom clarified very slowly, "Mable, it's sheeeeep poooopaaaayyy, mind your steps." It made my day. Oh, and I think Mable's Mom was a few seconds too late as I saw them later trying to scrape little Mable's shoes on a rock.
One area of the fort was a high mound with a platform type thing. Apparently, Roman soldiers used the post as a lookout over the river. About 10 yards from said post was a sign that was, in my opinion, a bit small for the message it carried. The message? Sheer Drop. It was the tiniest of signs but it was a sheer drop! E-Koog and B-Koog were very excited to see how close they could get to the Sheer Drop before Me and Mrs. Koog lost our mind. The answer was not very close. We all agreed that if this were the US, the sign would have been a billboard and there would have been an electified fence! Glad we are in the UK because the view from an appropriately safe distance from the Sheer Drop was amazing. Rolling green hills and mountains as far as the eye could see. A train in the distance and the river was so clear, we could see rocks from our perch up high.
The other thing that was in abundance, in addition to beauty and sheep poo was wind. Holy moly, the wind was whipping. After walking around the site and getting some color not from sun but from wind, we headed into the visitor center exhibit. The exhibit had a quiz with a number of questions to see what role you would have had in Hadrian's army. Based on my answers, it said I was the Commanding Officer. Mrs. Koog was hysterical laughing at the accuracy of this quiz. While I agreed with the accuracy, I didn't understand her laugh! We did a mead and wine tasting and bought a small bottle of mead. Me likey the mead! We were all hungry, but didn't find anything that was not sausage at the cafe, so we headed into town for lunch.
We found ourselves in Brampton at a place called The Howard Arms for dinner. I had the traditional sunday roast beef with Yorkshire Pudding. So good. E-Koog had the same as me, B-Koog had the chicken roast and Mrs. Koog had sundried tomato, basil and goat cheese tartlet. We all agreed it was a great place. Once we were full and hit the loo, we headed out for our next stop, Lockerbie.
Lockerbie
Everyone knows I'm a Syracuse University grad. Mostly because I tell everybody and I bleed orange. Lockerbie is sacred ground to all SU students since December 21, 1988. That was the day of the PanAm 103 bombing, killing all 259 passengers on board and 11 Lockerbie residents on the ground. Of the 259 passengers, 35 were SU students on their way home from their semester abroad. I will never forget the night it happened, I was in high school getting ready for a band concert when the TV was interrupted for a special report. Then our local news outside of Albany, NY was at the airport talking with parents that had just gotten news that their child had been killed. It was gut wrenching. While I didn't know any of the students as I was still in HS at the time, their deaths still hold a special place in the hearts of SU students then and now. While the 35 students lost their lives, SU created a scholarship program that brings Lockerbie Academy students to SU for their education. It also started the Rememberance Scholar program that selects 35 students a year.
The memorial was somber but beautiful. I was choked up when I saw an SU pin and a letter from a current student at the memorial. The entire family had a tear in their eye. I'm glad I went and took the family. Like I said, it's sacred ground.
On the road to Ballach
We got ourselves together and left Lockerbie on our way to our accomodations for the night, Ballach on Loch Lomond. Our drive was uneventful and we even took a wrong exit that brought us through a small town called Bishopton. Never heard of it? Us either, but the roads were not too narrow and the speed limit was low, so all of us passengers were happy!
Our place in Ballach is nice and has adequate water pressure. Not as amazing as Conwy, but still better than home.
Tomorrow we trek on to see if we can find the Loch Ness Monster in Inverness.
Again: Please ignore spelling and typos. In addition to having dyslexia (not a joke), I'm super tired from trying to keep up with our travels! I try to proof after I publish but it takes me a while. Appreciate the grace!
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