September 19 - First item of business is to wish my dear sister Marilyn a Happy 75th birthday. We hope you have a nice day, and a great cruise to celebrate within a few days. We are thinking of you today, and hope you have a great time.

Today was Storm Ali/William Wallace/find your place of rest day. To begin, there has been an orange alert on all day, with huge winds blowing in from across Ireland to Scotland and northern England. The rain had begun already when we went down the road to a so-called Scottish Knitting mill. Turned out to be a tourist trap, with most products definitely not made in Scotland. Even the plaids were not marked 'made in Britain', and after asking a clerk, she told me there is no requirement here to indicate the country of origin for products they sell. There were a few things that were Scottish made, but not much, so we left.

On the road, playing chicken with the mad Scottish drivers. We weren't too clear about where we'd go, other than to St. Andrew's, where I'd booked an inn for the night. As it turned out, we came to a sign pointing to Bridge of Allan, a small town near Stirling, where the William Wallace Monument is to be found. So that's where we went.

Upon arrival, we learned that the path up to the monument, a rather steep incline, was not deemed safe because of the high winds, so it was go at your own risk. We risked!! The wind was howling, especially when you reached the base of the monument, where it nearly blew you off your feet. The topmost section of the monument was closed off, as it's too exposed to the elements. But we made our way up to the other sections, after listening to one of Wallace's soldiers, who gave an animated account of the battle that made Wallace famous. He did his character to perfection, so well that I only got about 2/3 of what he had to say, his brogue was so heavy. But we understood enough to get the drift of his story.

Up the spiral staircase we climbed, with the wind and rain howling. (We just learned on the news that 2 people died in Ireland in Storm Ali.) Wheb we  hit the west side, the wind whipped through the slot openings, rain spraying through in abandon. But we slogged up, and found the Arms Room, then up another level to the Heros of Scotland level, and finally the the level that explained the creation of the monument. It was truly enlightening, and gave us a good impression of the early days of Scotland's struggle to remain independent. Wallace, who rose from obscurity to become the Guardian of Scotlad, was a remarkable character, not overly well regarded during his lifetime, but later immortalized through story and song (and movie). He met a rough end, when the British king insisted on his arrest, and saw that he was first dragged through the public streets by horse, then hung, then cut down, disemboweled, then drawn and quartered. Not a good end for an heroic figure.

We had tea and a scone in the tea shop, learning that they were shutting the monument down at 3:30 to allow staff to get home safely. Then we hit the road toward St. Andrew's. Not much trouble getting to our destination, although we had to dodge fallen tree limbs and large branches, but there followed a big problem finding our spot reserved for the night. Turns out it is out in the country, in an obscure location, known to hardly anyone. We rambled around back roads, lanes, golf course entries, and around again, before finding a kind man in the local r.v. park who actually guided us to our destination. It took well over an hour from the time we left St. Andrew's until we found the place. Frustration big time.

However, after tidying up, and a drink of the favorite mood raiser, we were ready to head back into the city to find a place for dinner, as our remote inn has no  restaurant for evening fare. We managed beautifully, finding an Inn called 'The Saint', where we had a lovely light dinner and  pint. Best of all, we found our way back to our inn without a problem, and are now settled down for the evening.

Tomorrow we'll do a bit of St. Andrew's, maybe take in the Scottish Golf World Museum, maybe do a hike along the shore, and then head down the coast towards Edinburgh. Hopefully the wind and rain will have abated somewhat so we can do some outdoor activities. There you have it, the joys of travel. Stay tuned. More later.