Dad has always been a bit of a dreamer. And I guess the longer you live the more dreams you need to have, so as the age of 82 gets close, it’s time to make another one come true! Playing his bagpipes on the shores of Loch Lomond has been on the dream list for years now, and we were all happy to make our way from Seattle, Holland, and DC to see the performance.

Scotland makes a nice backdrop for photos, especially when they include a man in a kilt.

Surrounded by highlands and green pastures full of daffodils, we spent a pastoral week at the Balvraid Lodge in the town of Tomatin, learning history and tasting Scotch, and taking pictures of sheep. After surviving a harrowing drive to get here (!), we were blessed to find sunshine and this beautiful Scottish castle, with fireplaces and a giant table for putting together legos and playing games in the evenings.

This is my dream kitchen, with my dream people ❤️.

Outside, the Scottish Highlands were at our doorstep and the yard around the house was full of flowers, bunnies, birds, and all kinds of little animals. This was the view from the driveway.

Every day we drove over an old, rickety bridge, and every day we were followed by hundreds of sheep faces, chewing while they turned their heads to watch us go by. Sheep were everywhere and since it was springtime, there were also hundreds of baby lambs. And so many sets of twins! In every direction we saw little twin babies, toddling about and jumping with their friends, or just resting next to their Moms. So peaceful and attentive, just relaxing being sheep, I could sit and watch them forever. There were a lot of black sheep mixed in with the white ones, and I knew Mom loved them both the same ❤️.

One day we took a trip to Culloden, to see the site of the historic battle between the Scottish and the British, where Bonnie Prince Charley got his name.

It turns out I really know nothing about history, but Nate has a lot of hidden history skills! And gun-slinging skills and warrior skills, to name a few.

Reading all those words made us hungry; unfortunately Scotland is not really known for its fine cuisine. The scampi probably wasn’t the right choice, but what to do when faced with “haggis bon bons” or “haggis neeps and tatties?” The restaurant was fun though, our waiter had a wonderful smile and brought extra drinks, and I remember Sahara, Hunter and I all singing along to the playlist 😊. We also drove out to a little village to see this old stone bridge. Too bad Dad didn’t bring his bagpipes to play here!

A trip to the Scottish highlands wouldn’t be complete without dipping into the whisky, and as luck would have it, the town of Tomatin has its very own distillery less than a mile from our castle. It’s difficult to say exactly how long they’ve been making whisky, but distilling is a family business, and some of these families have been here for centuries. The tour was an excellent lesson in how whisky production has evolved with technology, and how supervisors have always struggled to keep their employees from getting drunk at work. And of course, a tasting at the end! Those of us that were driving were given four wee little bottles, with a wee tiny funnel to pour our tastings so we could take them home to taste later. Very thoughtful, and very cute!

On my way home, I spent a night in Inverness at a charming bed and breakfast with red plaid carpets, and a Loch Ness Monster carved from the bushes in the front yard. I walked along the River Ness and shopped for souvenirs, and listened to the church bells under this lovely canopy of cherry blossoms. The picnic table where I sat to eat lunch had this quote nailed to the top. Even at 50 years old, I love finding things like this.

As always, the time went by too fast, but what a crazy fun trip this was! A few nights with Leila, a fews days in Oban, a few trips to Aldi, a few games of cards, some lego flowers, and one more dream now turned a solid memory. Woven into the threads of each other’s memories, we defeat both time and distance, and they will keep going a a long time yet.