We saved the best for last! After a long flight, many car rides from one Air&B to the next, a boat ride, and then another car ride, we finally made it down to the most southern tip of Scotland, The Mull of Galloway.
I have to admit, it was a lot of time on the road, and when we go back we may pick out a couple places for our home base, and take day trips from there. I loved the little town of Portree and could have spent another day here in the Isle of Skye. Truly a delightful and gorgeous couple days!
None-the-less, we packed up again and drove down to the port to catch a ferry to our next place of destination, Oban. It was a cold and windy ride but I am really glad we did it. It cut down on our drive and it was a fun experience….and wet one!
Rob was even COLD!
It was about a 45 minute boat ride and then another hour or so car ride to our next destination of Oban. Unfortunately it was a very short stay here…one night and half of the next day. However, we made the best of it.
We had dinner down by the wharf but it was a rainy wet evening so we didn’t spend a lot of time exploring. We saved that till morning.
Once again we packed up and headed to the Mull of Galloway. I was blown away by not only our adorable farm house, but the countryside is gorgeous!
The views down in the Mull are incredibly beautiful. To be perfectly honest, when I got out of the car and saw the countryside for the first time, I felt tears well up in my eyes. As I mentioned in this post, the views were breathtaking?.
After getting settled in our farm house which was absolutely beautiful, we drove into a near by town for dinner. We were all very tired and hungry after a long drive and once again, our meals were delicious.
The different variations of goat cheese on salads have been incredibly delicious and unique, this one….MY FAVE so far!
I rarely order pasta but this house specialty sounded to good to resist…the fresh seafood was a real treat! The salmon “incredibly melt in your mouth goodness!”
It was a terrific way to end the evening.
The next morning Rob and I headed out for a walk early in the morning.
It was fun to find the church Rob’s grandfather attended as a child before he migrated to the United States at age 21. We looked for his great grandfather’s grave but had no idea where to look and many of the tombstones are so old we couldn’t read them.
Later in the day after a delicious breakfast down at the lighthouse, we headed out to explore the area.
We did lots of walking up and down stairs, up and down the hills, through the various fields, to see the different views down at the most southern tip of the Mull. It was hard to leave this place.
The views and lighthouse were gorgeous!
Next we met up with the local historian who took us all back to the church.
SCORE! He had a map of all the names who were buried there. He knew Rob’s great uncle well who was the local janitor at the church and school. It was such fun to hear him tell stories. With his help we located both Rob’s great grandfather’s and great great grandfather’s place of rest.
It was such a great day!
This was definitley the highlight of the trip. Yes the marathon was amazing even though it was definitley not my day due to weather problems and some cramping, I feel incredibly blessed I got to run in Scotland. BUT seeing Rob and Gail make all these connections with their ancestors was amazing. Saying goodbye here was probably the hardest becuase not only did it feel a bit like going home for Rob and Gail, it was also so beautiful. Plus it meant we were one step closer to going home……SIGH.
Stay tuned for one final post…..Glasgow then home!
Do you have ancestors who immigrated to the US from across the pond?
If so, have you tried to locate?
What has your experience been?
Do you like to travel internationally?
Have you run any international marathons?
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