things we saw today

D-- oban backpackers hostel

it is after midnight and i am so tired. grandma said that she checks our blog like 5 times a day, and i would hate to disappoint. especially since the staff has gone to bed and we are using the internet for free. it seems a shame to go to bed when such an opportunity presents itself. casey is yawning over my shoulder, and the camera is upstairs, yet my fingers itch to tell you about our day.

we left skye today. rather than sightsee in the rain for our last couple hours, we browbeat will (the hostel guy) into letting us clean for a couple hours in order to get two of our beds for free tonight. the couple hours of cleaning saved us about $50, and we get a free breakfast. pretty much, i think i have to come back next summer and live in scotland. for 4hrs/day 6days/week you can get free accommadation, breakfast, internet and laundry -- plus £35/week food allowance. as long as the two words SCHOOL GRANTS enter my vocabulary next year, i may just live here.

ewan kenneth mccloud is our tour guide. crazy amounts of energy and he never stops talking... well, he took us to eileen donan castle. they call it the most romantic castle in scotland. it is beautiful and sits where three lochs meet. they do 80 weddings a year and 10 of them are scottish couples. last week was the marriage of a russian woman and an american guy. we toured the castle and learned the history of it. the family still visits the castle once a year.

there was a lot of driving today on a very full bus. unfortunately, we didn't stop as much as usual, but the stops we did make were AWESOME!!! we stopped briefly at ft. william (the locals call it the garrison) had a glass of water and a pee (not in that order TMI??) pretty near ft. w is glencoe. those of you from hillsboro, i need to point out that it was not the high school. well, ewan told us the terrible tragedy that took place at glencoe. i will write it in another blog when i am not so tired. it is a valley at the bottom of a HUGE mountain range. it was absolutley stunning. so sad to think of the massacre happening in such an idyllic place.

we stopped for the night in oban, a port town of 6,000 in the winter and 25,000 in the summer. we wish we could stay here longer, it is beautiful, and so close to more little islands. well, c and i made the most amazing dinner. maybe the food wasn't amazing, but then again maybe it was. we hadn't eaten since the dry frosted flakes in skye (the milk delivery came really late and there was no milk for our cereal. yes mom, we actually ate frosted flakes) c and i went for a walk along the coast and rested in the grass until the midges drove us away.

it was a good day, overall and i am looking forward to sleeping very soon. this hostel is amazing. a huge common area, gas stoves and roomy rooms. tonight i am homer, c is marge, and j would rather i didn't tell you the name of her bed. i think the best bit today was finding out where to get battered mars bars. TOMORROW!!!

LOVE Y'ALL