Day 3

Hello!  This blogging while driving thing is awesome.  I'm writing you via the back seat of our Volkswagen van!  I can write down everything I remember while driving to our next destination.  It's brilliant.  We left the Old Course Hotel in St. Andrews and we are on our way to Inverness for 2 nights at the Dunain Park Hotel.  Yay!

We just left Glaims Castle which was amazing.  They say it was one of the most haunted castles in Scotland.  There was a man who was after the wealth of the one of the ladies and he falsely accused her of witchcraft so she would be put to death.  The local officials knew about here and her charity work and didn't buy it so he found other peple to try her and she was burnt at the stake- what they did to witches.  She is said to frequent the castle chapel to pray.  We were all asked to sit down in there and our guide told us that she always sits down in the back right corner.  She says the tours will be packed but no one ever its in that seat.  The castle was a proper castle.  It was where the Queen spent several months of the year when she was a child.  We saw enormous fireplaces, a billiard room, a gorgeous dining room, and many other beautiful rooms.  It was the first proper castle we have visited in the sense that it was fully furnished and enclosed.  If it wasn't so cold and haunted I'd probably move in.  

The Meigle Museum is one of the most random places on earth.  There was a lady that spoke very softly an was near impossible to understand.  She told us about the gravestones called pictish stones.  They had pictures on them representing a story or how a person died.  Vince showed us the church graveyard next to it and they had a mound that marked the place where Gwenivere, wife of King Arthur was buried.  

We stopped for lunch in a small place called the House of Bruar.  They had good stick to your bones food which is good for the UK.  Most people here have light lunches and breakfasts so finding a good hot meal in the middle of a cold day was lovely.

Continuing on our way to Inverness, we took a random country road to a place where they have a monument dedicated to the Macpherson clan.  (picture of the stone in the foreground is a rock that is in the center of Scotland.  Cool eh?)  However, on the gate entrance to the monument there was the Macgillvary family motto: "Touch not the cat without a glove"  (Which basically means, don't try to touch the cat without a glove cause you'll get scratched!  Yeah!  We'll cut you!)  We were confused as to why OUR family motto was on the Macpherson monument.  We stopped at the Macpherson clan museum and asked some questions.  Here's how it is:

There were four sons of the Gillichattan family.  For some reason, each son changed their last name.  Then, there are about 4 or 5 different last names associated with each son.  Basically, the Macgillavry name comes from the 1st son of the Gillichattan family and the Macpherson line comes from the 3rd son.   Crazy eh?  The guy that worked there was super helpful and hooked us up with a website for more information about our family.  Click on the link for more info: www.clan-macpherson.org 

One of the coolest things that are specific to Scotland are the highland cows.  They are big, have crazy fur in their eyes, and are adorable!  I snapped this picture of the cow for all of you to see.  In case you are wondering, I would like a highland cow for Christmas... and maybe a couple sheep... they seem to get along.

The hotel that we are staying at is different than the Old Course Hotel.  It seems like it was a big old house that was converted into a hotel.  The down stairs rooms are all open and connected into lobbies and eating areas.  It's pretty cozy because there are fireplaces and cute sitting areas.  My room was beautiful.  I really felt like i was visiting someone's house.  I had my own sitting area and again, a giant bed!  

That night we ate at the hotel and had a good chat about the family and our adventures.  For those of you that know me really well, you know that if I'm eating a meal that I like and I'm happy, I do this wobble in my seat thing.  I slightly rock my head and body from side to side.  I don't know why but I just do.  My grandpa looked at me kinda funny when my grandma pointed it out and I wondered why.  He said that his dad did the same thing when he was alive.  I had no idea that we both did that but I think that's pretty cool.  This whole trip has been been wonderful for learning about my family history.  I enjoyed talking to my grandparents.  Something that I really like about them is the way that they care about everyone.  They are constantly talking about our family and individual needs.  I appreciate their care for my happiness and their support in everything I've ever done, even when I was a little girl.  I can't explain how fortunate I feel to have grandparents that share their wisdom and love.   =)