- Before we really got going too far down south, we decided to stop at Tomatin Distillery since visiting a distillery was the one thing left on our "to-see" list. Tomatin is single malt Scotch whisky distiller, and this was definitely a stop for Kevin. I, who know nothing about whisky or its process, was just along for the ride. Still, it was pretty cool though to see how the process works. Tomatin produces about 2.5 million liters a year of whisky with a variety of different tastes depending on what casks is used and how long it's stored, including a lightly peated malt called Cu Bocan. Here's a quick overview of how the whisky distilling process works:
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| The inside of a mash turn |
However, before we even got to start our tour, I, being my usual graceful self, managed to fall down two concrete stair steps just as we were heading out to the malt barn. It was not my finest moment as I ended up with a scraped knee and leg and a huge bruise that was oddly in the shape of Scotland on my thigh (all while wearing jeans no less), and I'm sure everyone else was thinking that the stupid Americans were already tipsy even before the whisky tour had started! But I took it in stride, brushed myself off, and we headed out to check things out. Our first stop was the malt barn. Now, Tomatin outsources it's malting and bottling processes to other companies, but we got to see every other step along the way. So here we saw the huge bins where the malt was stored before becoming grist and making its way into the mash turns. They even had one of their retired mash turns opened so that you could walk in it and check it out. As we made our way through the distillery, we were constantly aware of a sweet smell coming from the process. This was especially true around the fermentation washbacks. One of the more hands on (or nose on) parts of our tour was checking out the different casks outside the cooperage. Our guide explained to us that they make use of different used casks to age their whisky in. That was something that came as a surprise to us as we just assumed they used new casks for everything - shows how much we know! At the end, we got to taste a few of the whiskys they produce. While not exactly my drink of choice, it was interesting to taste the subtle differences between them and know what it was about the process for each one that made it different.
- Next up for the day was a stop at Cairn Gorm Mountain in the Cairngorms National Park. Set just outside the resort town of Aviemore, it was actually pretty easy to find, but our poor SatNav got a little bamboozled. So, she got benched for the time being seeing that there were plenty of signs to get us to our destination. Now, we weren't planning to hike up the mountain or anything, but there is the CairnGorm Funicular Railway that will nicely take you up the mountain, which seemed right up our alley for the day. Cairn Gorm, is the UK's 6th highest mountain, and the site of one of Scotland's ski resorts, which is why the funicular railway exists. The ski chairlift to the top of the mountain was just too sensitive to the strong winds in the area, so this was opened in 2001 as an alternative. At the base station, we were 635 meters above sea level (2,083 ft), and the top Ptarmigan station, we were 1,097 meters above sea level (3,599 ft). Although the route is only 2 km, that's a lot incline to have to hike up. Along the way, we saw some great views and even some reindeer lounging on the side of the mountain. Once we made it to the top, we ventured outside to the viewing platform, where it was just a tad bit windy. Oh, and it was also 0.8°C outside with snow still on the ground. No biggie. After our brisk visit outside, we stopped in at the restaurant at the top and ate some yummy salmon cakes for lunch before we headed back down and on our way.
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| SatNav fail! |
- On our drive back down the mountain towards Aviemore, we decided to stop for a bit at the Cairngorm Reindeer Center. We had two choices to see the reindeer: the paddock or the hill visit. But since the hill visit required more time and some moderate hiking on the chilly mountain, we opted for the paddock this time around. The reindeer have a free range of over 7,000 acres in the Cairngorm mountain range, but they also have an enclosure of about 1,000 acres closer to the center from which they rotate in reindeer into the paddock every 2-3 weeks for those who cannot make the climb. Since it was technically in between spring and summer here in Scotland (but with the temps who could tell?), the reindeer were looking a little scruffy as they were molting their winter coats still. They were also growing their new antlers, which you can see are covered in velvet to protect the blood supply in them. The most surprising thing was to hear the clicking sound they make whenever they walk, which is caused by the tendons in the foot slipping over the bone. The clicking sound helps them hear the herd, especially in winter blizzard conditions.
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| Hello Texas! |
- Once we finally left the mountains, we continued our drive back down south towards Edinburgh to our hotel at the airport. While we were definitely sad about having to go back to "real life," two weeks of traveling was definitely our limit. When we checked into the hotel at the airport, they must have been reading our minds because they had both the double bed and the sofa bed turned down for the evening. There was no way the two of were going to sleep comfortably in a double bed the night before our flight, so this was definitely a sign in our favor. We grabbed dinner in the hotel restaurant that night and then tackled the onerous task of packing and repacking our luggage to make it under the weight limit. Luckily, we had plenty of room in our carry-on luggage this time around since we weren't packing a change of clothes!
Our flight back started with a plane from Edinburgh to London-Heathrow, then a 2.5 hour layover, and a 10 hour flight from London to Houston. All during the daytime hours this time! We learned our lesson on our flight from Houston to London though and had called British Airways earlier in the week to upgrade our seat class for the flights home. When your husband is over 6 foot and you have restless legs, paying a little extra for a good deal more space is worth it. Not only did we get tons more legroom in World Traveller Plus, we only had to sit two people across. Like on our flight over, we spent a good deal of our time watching new releases that we never got to the theaters to see, but this time I even managed to snag a comfy 3 hour nap thanks to my complimentary eye mask and ear plugs. I didn't even realize I had been asleep that long! By the time we arrived in Houston at 6:30 pm (12:30 am UK time), we were ready to call it a day. But not before stopping to get some Mexican food for dinner! Priorities, people. Since Emma and Lizzy were spending one more night at my parents' house, we took our time at dinner and even unpacked when we got home before crashing into our lovely bed for the next 12 hours. Emma was definitely glad to have us home the next day, and I think, Lizzy was even more excited to see us. Emma's been glued to Kevin's side ever since, and Mommy is an okay substitute while he's at work, but she had a really great time at all her grandparents' houses, so no crazy separation anxiety issues! We are truly blessed that our parents were able to watch her for us so we could travel abroad.
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| Reunited at last! |
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