Later on Sunday, May 4 - Aberfeldy, Scotland

(See pictures on Flickr - the set is UK 08 / Aberfeldy)

We were warmly welcomed at church this morning, and we both really enjoyed the service. The pastor is on holiday, so an elder lead the beginnings of the service, and a guest pastor (one who seemed very familiar to the congregation - he may be retired from there) gave the sermon and finished the service. Both the elder and the pastor were very good, and both kept our attention throughout the service. The sermon topic was twofold: When times are bad, you can still live a Godly life; when times are bad, God is still working his purpose. We both enjoyed the sermon.
After church, we drove toward Kenmore to find the Croftmoraig Stone Circle, and I think I spotted it in a field running up a hillside - but there was no parking place to stop and the field belonged to some estate here. Ah, such as it it is!
We continued on to Kenmore, where the River Tay has its beginnings at Loch Tay, and we found a wonderful picnic area where we stopped to take some pictures.

On the drive back to Aberfeldy, we stopped at The Crannog Scottish Center where you can tour, for a price, a mockup of a Scottish thatched roof hut as it might have been during the iron age. We browsed the shop but we weren't willing to part with 5 pounds each to tour the hut and its contents. Maybe we're part Scottish. Truth be told, at least I am somewhat Scottish, descendant from Scotch-Irish folk who came to America in the 1700s.

On we went to Weem, just across the Tay from Aberfeldy - a nice little town that considers itself, it seems, as a continuation of Aberfeldy because it's so close.

We parked in town when we arrived back at Aberfeldy, and we walked and window shopped through the main street. Most stores are closed, but we spent a little time in each of the ones we found open. We found the library, and we think they might have free Internet access so we can pick up our e-mail. Monday is a bank holiday here, so the library is closed. We will try on Tuesday.

After a set of three cribbage games (I'm the winner of 2 out of 3 for this set, but we found a 10 stuck in the box when we finished - it might have turned the odds in my favor, but we can't be sure), I cast on 104 stitches for another hat and we watched the original Herbie movie; and then we went out to explore some paths we spotted today, to see how they connected to the one path we know about that leads from the resort into town.

Supper will be some yummy sausage - not spicy - with some onions, rice, and fresh lightly boiled carrots - our standard fare for this trip.

We've spent our first full day pretty well. Tomorrow, we'll check out the Birks, a 1-1/2-hour walk toward some falls about which Robert Burns wrote a poem. The entrance is within walking distance down the hill from us, so that will mean we don't need to drive. Later in the day, we may go into Pitlochy, about 15 miles from here. The roads are very, very slow because they're so narrow and twisty, so it will probably take us a little less than an hour to get there. Maybe we'll find a needlework store there so we can buy needle and thread to repair Lauren's umbrella. In all our travels, we find that a need for something specific like needles or groceries or something simple like a pencil helps make the days interesting, and we learn a lot about the towns as a result.