A Peregrinating Pair: An Unexpected Perfect Day

Perfect days are rare, even on vacation. But today was one.

It wasn't an auspicious beginning. We got up with no idea what we wanted to do. We hadn't decided whether to stay another night in Inverness or move on to someplace else in the Scottish Highlands. If we stayed we hadn't decided what to do. If we traveled on we hadn't decided where to go. When decisions become so complicated we've learned that it's best to take a break. So we stayed.

Inverness is a working class town, known as the Capital of the Highlands. The River Ness runs through the middle of town with a lovely river walk. The downtown has been "pedestrianized" so there are several cobbled streets with little traffic. Most of all, Inverness is the jumping off point for Loch Ness and other Highland destinations. We loved Edinburgh but Inverness feels even better.

After a hearty Scottish breakfast at the B&B we walked into town and dropped in to the Tourist Information Center. We had narrowed our choices for the day to taking the train up and back to Wick at the top of Scotland to see the scenery; a cruise on Loch Ness with a visit to Urquhart Castle; wandering around town to see the museum/art gallery, the castle, and a local nature reserve; a short tour of the Highlands; or go to some of the nearby historical sights like Culloden Battlefield. All very rich possibilities but nothing that felt compelling.

So we walked into the Tourist Information office just hoping to get some info to help decide so we wouldn't wander in circles all day. I explained to the young woman that we like nature and were looking for someplace to go. She immediately suggested we go see the red kites come to feed and began doing magical things with google to find us the bus schedule and walking route. It was over 2 miles from Maryburgh to the red kite observation site so she showed us the path on Google Earth. We were in.

Red kites.

We're getting better at this process. Find the bus stop, find out the cost, count our money, sit and wait, hope we've got it all right. Get on the bus. Hope we get off at the right place. I can't say it's anxiety-free but we're getting better and Dale and I are still married.

We got off (at the right place), went down a dead end, turned around and found the right path, walked and walked, and finally came to the red kite place. Success! We were pretty proud of ourselves. (Have I mentioned that it's cold here and rains intermittently all day?) The volunteer guy put out meat from road kills and sheep offal for the kites (Dale can get into the red kite story and also the controversy about feeding wild animals). Gulls danced in the wind around the meat but never took any. Crows flew around too, and ravens. Nobody ate the meat. Then one kite and then a second one came to swoop and glide. They are magnificent birds. Large with red plumage and a forked tail. We hung out in the observation blind for about an hour but all the birds just flew around and the meat was still on the table. But it was an exhilarating display.

Long walk back. Bus ride. Stopped at the Hootenany Restaurant for dinner--cider (I'm addicted), cullen skink soup, fish & chips, no dessert. Walked along the river and across the beautiful islands in the middle connected by footbridges, and back to the cozy B&B. Altogether we walked about 8 miles, saw three endangered red kites, traveled through small Scottish towns, and came back to a warm home. I guess you had to be there to understand the happiness of today's adventure. But this is what a vacation is all about.