Penny Whistle Timing

Traveling often means perfect timing. The gift of sychronization, being in the right place at the right time. Serendipity and spontaneity run like notes in a score.

After a three mile hike to Glenashdale Waterfall, we entered Eden Bar in Whiting Bay/Arran/Scotland. The penny whistle flute cascaded through Scottish dance in accompaniment with two violins, two guitars, and a woman with brilliant pink hair and a voice with Scottish ballad purity. Coffee with a shot of Arran Gold...

We  met five good humored Oxford Gents. "So we are highly intelligent as you can plainly see. Feel free to ask us anything you would like to know!"

Sandra, our German friend who is on a chemistry internship in Glasgow, piped up.

What is the difference between Scotch, Whiskey, and Bourbon??? The answer was there is no difference but Scotch whiskey is made in Scotland. At the distillery later today, we will verify the Oxford Gent answer.

At the north end of the Isle of Arran, it is where mist blows horizontal. Sandra and I hiked 10 miles in rain, bog, and muck - along the coastline over boulders and hillocks from Lochranza to Sannox. It was head first into the wind. Jeans were dripping wet and tennis shoes squished squeaky. Because the wind was just warm enough, the hike was doable, offering the ecstasy of weather, wind, and surf...

The next morning I did purchase rubber boots. Plaid boots for twenty pounds! Now I walk in puddles purposely. I am free!

Like Hansel and Gretyl, I have walked through a dark forest filled with the air of foreboding. Brilliant red mushrooms with white polka dots are more than storybook fantasy; they are real. A brown mushroom stood taller and capped wider than my water bottle.

An Iron Age Circle with old stones part way round. The air was different. Heavier, laden with memory... Tall dark trees enveloped the open grassy area. Step around but not in...

White cottages, white surf, white gulls, white clouds, white sheep...
Green ferns, purple heather, pink and purple fuchsia hedgerows...


Fuchsias grow abundantly wild - as well as trimmed into hedgerows. The proliferation of fuchsias is one of my biggest surprises.

I thought hostel travellers would be college age kids. Mostly they are young adults working on advanced degrees. Mid-twenties or more - perhaps because college students have returned to school. A brilliant young man from Seattle with translucent skin, a quiet and intriguing physics geek who is touring Scottish whiskey distilleries for 28 days. A goal and plan...

In Eden Pub, we met a 76 year old man who traced his ancestors back 500 years. His people betrayed Mary Queen of Scots, causing her beheading. His clan is the oldest Tartan in the country. As is the norm, he wanted to tell us of his family that lives in the United States, South Dakota; he knew the Badlands. He went through Virginia as well, boarding a ship for Japan. As he left, this delightful man handed Sandra a 20-pound note. This is 30 in US Dollars.

Gifts...