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Today was a day of mysteries galore:
Mystery #1 How do you manage to pack all your belongings, empty kitchen cupboards and the fridge, empty fireplaces, strip beds, sweep and do a cursory clean, pack cars and sort out lunch supplies - and still get away half an hour earlier than the day before when you just grabbed bags and food for a day trip??
Mystery #2 How did Paul manage to get a ticket for the ferry to Oban without Nicky's assistance? Then, how did he manage to be the last and final car allowed on that sailing, when there seemed to be sooo many vehicles in front of him. We had said our (temporary) goodbyes and waved and driven away - believing he would have to wait a good 20 minutes for the next one…
Mystery #3 Our own quick ferry trips x 2, both in the drizzling rain and one with hail, was then followed mysteriously by the sun breaking through the clouds and shining brightly by the time we reached Fort William. Followed later in the day by drifting snow! How do you get all these different weather conditions in the space of a day when you aren't in Melbourne?
Mystery #4 Arriving in Fort William for lunch, the question was "Which William?" …… William (Billy) Connolly seemed to be the popular choice.
Mystery #5 Following the signs to Neptunes Staircase - or trying to! It's a mystery why the council would start with clear signage and then, at like, the third roundabout you come to, omit to give any kind of indication which direction to now take! But we finally found it, despite all their best attempts. So there!
Mystery #6 Arriving at the Loch of the Monster, and Urquhart Castle - closed 15 minutes earlier, but only Nicky seemed concerned - we Aussies still happy to view from the outside, as how many crumbling bits of architecture do you really need to pay to see from the inside? Snowing now, when it was sun and shirt sleeves at Fort William. The gusting, blustery clouds made the castle appear and disappear most mysteriously.
Mystery #7 No Nessie to be seen at the Loch itself, then driving further down the road, we found her!! With signs to Nessie World, there she was, high on the hill and bigger than we expected. Plus her 2 children! We have the photos to prove it and all. Yay - this mystery solved then. Or maybe not, as a few miles further on, and there she was again. So, was it the real one this time and the other a stand-in like the Santas at Christmas??? Still a mystery really.
Mystery # 8 The mystery of any fish and chip shop location in Inverness actually WAS solved, eventually, after driving around full of hope, and then phone calls to Calum, and even asking the checkout girl in Sainsbury's - Nicky spotted a Mailman on his way home and knew instantly that this was the right person to ask. Though we eventually settled on pizza after all that - ok another mystery! But really a success (and tea) at last!
Mystery #9 How do you lose one of the major motorways in the UK, the M9, when you are happily driving along it?? By taking the second turnoff at the roundabout and not the third, that's how. And not noticing until you can SEE a big, well-lit bridge way off to your right when you thought you were about to be driving ACROSS it any second without turning………
Mystery # 10 What exactly does a "really long pier" look like, when in Invergordon you have about 6 to choose from, it is dark and drizzly and you have nothing to measure this description against? Calum said "go along the foreshore and look down the really long pier and the big digger machine working at the end would be being operated by him, loading a barge". We think we found it, eventually, but it was quite dark and there was no barge and the big digger machine wasn't doing anything….. at least we tried. We waved and blew kisses at it in hopes we were correct.
Mystery #11 How were we not all attacked and eaten by the big black dog who greeted us with snarls and low growls, hackles raised, when we entered Calum and Hayleys house in Hill of Fearn? Big labrador puppy Ben was super protective of very pregnant Hayley, and was not in the least impressed to have his house invaded late at night by 4 loud and large humans he didn't (or barely) knew. Luckily he decided by morning that he loved us and turned into a big goofy lolloping child again.
Mystery #12 How come Hayley, with an Aussie stepmum, had never before twigged as to the obvious nickname for her unborn child? Calum kept calling it "the little mite" so to us Aussies it was obvious its real bubby-name is "Vegemite". Hayley said she thought it was cute and was also calling it that by the time we left. We hope it is a happy little thing, as bright as bright can be……..
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