Saturday September 17th, for the first morning since we left Bath, we did not get up at the crack of dawn. We didn't exactly sleep in either though. We were driving to Edinburgh and hoped to be there by mid afternoon. But I had not yet managed to get a picture of any Scottish Highland cattle so we wanted to scout a little before we left the Highlands. There were rumors that a small herd hung out in the village of Plockton, just across the Skye bridge on the mainland. We rolled into Plockton and found no cows. What we did find was a delightful little seaside village with a lovely little coffee shop looking out on the harbor. Pictures were taken and coffee and cake were promptly ordered. _8503905-Pano-2 _8503937-Edit

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We were also able to procure some information about the cows. Precisely where they hang out when they are not in town. Armed with new information we found them easily.

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_8503958 It had been a drizzly morning since we left Skye and as we drove past Eilean Donan the mist was hugging the hillsides.

I couldn't resist stopping. A castle in the Scottish Highlands, the gloom hanging on the hilltops. I could almost see Macbeth pacing the battlements. Besides, the tide was right at its peak so the castle was fully surrounded by water. It only took a few minutes to get a couple of shots.

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Then we had to get headed to Edinburgh. We cut through the Highlands basically due east to pick up the A9 south. We had the hardest rain of the trip on this leg but the weather did clear as we drove south, and we arrived at Al and Pam's, just outside Edinburgh, about 3:30. Just in time for a great steak dinner. I had not seen the two of them since the eclipse cruise of 1999 and of course, Jeanne Marie had never met them. We were waaaaay overdue. Al was the toast of the ship on that cruise, as he waited for the "diamond ring" to appear on the eclipse, to pull a diamond ring out of his pocket and propose to Pam. Those Scots are soooo romantic as you know from reading Robert Burns. I'm kind of glad JM wasn't there. I couldn't have matched that!! And Pam accepted too!!

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We would see Al and Pam again on Monday. Then we drove into Edinburgh and found our hotel.