Surprise! Two posts in one day. This is because we have to leave our Oban hotel tomorrow morning by 6:45 to get on a ferry to three islands at 6:55. I will have a complete report on that tomorrow (or, more likely, on Friday morning). But today was fun.

Our day was built around picking up our rental car and driving it from Glasgow to Oban by way of Inveraray. But nothing goes perfect on a trip, and this morning was but a minor inconvenience. Of course it didn’t seem so at the time because I was already a little stressed out just because I was going to have to rent car with the steering wheel on the “other” side and then drive it on the “other” side of the road. Please note that I did not say the “wrong” side of the road.

We were supposed to have breakfast at 7:30 and then call the rental car company when they opened at 8:00 a.m. At exactly 8:01 a.m., I called and was told the shuttle was very busy and couldn’t be here until 9:00 a.m. It’s really strange how so many people called in at exactly 8:00 a.m. to beat me to schedule the shuttle.

The woman on the phone said that the shuttle couldn’t be there until 9:00 a.m. we should take our bags and wait outside at 9:00 a.m., and if he didn’t show up by 9:15, we should call back. So out, we go onto a not-too-great street at 9:00, and there is no shuttle. I called at 9:15. She said he was held up in traffic and would be there by 9:30. This is about when it started to rain. We can’t really wait in the hotel as it is on the sixth floor of an office building attached to Glasgow Central Train station. So we waited. He finally showed up at 9:45. It was only an hour and forty-five minutes after we had originally scheduled to be picked up, but hey, what’s more than an hour between friends?

The driver (a very nice Scotsman) drove us to the car hire office at the edge of Glasgow. The “in-training” person took almost an entire hour to get us set up and on the road. We were finally out of there by 10:30 or so.

We wound up with a very nice, blue Mercedes-A-Class sedan. Just the right size to be big enough to carry us and our bags but small enough to fit on the narrow country roads. And some of them are VERY NARROW! When the car rental trainee said he was giving me a Mercedes, I said NO! I remembered that our friend Mike had put a very large Mercedes in a ditch when he drove here on a trip. Kathleen keeps freaking out because she says I am too close to the right edge of the road. She should have driven behind Paul when we were in Leeds ?. Then she would have seen what getting close to that edge is really like.

We headed north out of Glasgow towards our first stop, Inveraray. On the way we drove along Loch Lomond for most of the balance of the morning. Absolutely beautiful. We stopped at a small campground at the top of the Loch (a place called Firkin Point) so I could take photos. The light was about as close to perfect as you can get at midday, and the sun kept going in and out behind big, puffy clouds. Behind the clouds was a VERY blue sky. One minute it would be bright and sunny and the next a torrential downpour. Here are some pics from our first stop, including a photo Kathleen took of me when I was first driving on the “other side” of the road.

After our Firkin stop, we headed off to Inveraray, a lovely little seaside town. Or should I say Lochside town? Either way, it was cute and quaint, and it had a castle that was closed (boo hoo ?), but I still was able to walk all the way around it and then saw a sign that said that even if it had been open, no photography was allowed inside. We are sorry we missed the inside but there was nothing I would have been able to show you. Here’s the pics. Don’t forget; if you click the first shot, you can then scroll through with your arrow keys or by swiping…and PLEASE…don’t look at my photography on a phone. Please…

From there we headed north and west to Oban. On the way, we stopped at The Pass of Brander, where a major battle took place in 1308. I took one pic up Loch Awe (which is the largest fresh-water lake in the UK), and then we went on to Oban.

When we arrived in Oban, the first place I had been told to see was McCaig’s Tower. It’s an old relic sitting above Oban. It is overgrown but stunning, and the views are amazing. Don’t forget; if you click the first shot, you can then scroll through with your arrow keys or by swiping…and PLEASE…don’t look at my photography on a phone. Please…

And the only thing left to show you before I head to bed (remember we have to get up REALLY early) is dinner and the hotel. We went to a very cool seafood place (incredibly fresh seafood) called Ee-Usk and then back to our hotel where I took a photo of her in front of the door. We are staying at The Manor House, which is an old (but updated) British Inn. The service and room are WONDERFUL so far.

There are two seasons in Scotland: June and Winter.  —Billy Connolly