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On The Road (Day One)
My holiday has started! Seven days of lying on a sun-lounger reading, occasionally rolling off into the sea for a swim when I feel my skin start to burn! Oh no, wait, that's not it...
No, yesterday I was up at six and out and driving at seven, on my way to Alness for the annual family get-together and golf do. Since I was already on the West Coast, that meant taking the slower A82 north instead of the speedy A9. My route took in Oban and Fort William, and the almost impossibly beautiful stretch from Invermorrison to Inverness. It's a dangerous road - if you take your eyes off it for a moment, you can lose yourself in the beauty, and end up at the bottom of a loch.... Coastline, mountains, sea lochs and Loch Ness, it's a drive that has it all. I had a lively roe deer spring across the road in front of me, and a surprised goose only just making it into the air when I turned round a corner and found it standing in the middle of the carriage way, just south of Oban. It's a 170 mile drive you should really spend a couple of days on, but I made it in 4 hours 15, and went straight on to the first tee when I arrived in Alness.
My cousin Charles and I were the last off in our family group of about a dozen. Charles is the 4th oldest of my generation of Mooneys, after me, my sister, and his sister. We only see each other about once a year, so we had a lot of catching up to do. Alness golf course is perched on top of a hill. You get fantastic views of the Cromarty Firth, and every scrap of weather that's floating (or driving full pelt) past. Yesterday that meant sun, wind, the odd shower and a ferocious hail storm that lasted for about 10 minutes. We were on the verge of quitting when it blew away, and the sun came back out. Neither of us took the game too seriously. He won the front nine by one hole, and I won the back nine by two, meaning I took the £1 stake money at the last hole. Neither of us troubled the overall leader board...
The evening dance went well, though I left around 11, when the day started to catch up on me. By the time I left we'd raised £300 for the cancer charity which is the point of the day. and I'd caught up with cousins, aunts, uncles, and one guy who was out of jail for the weekend.
Today I drive another 150 miles down the A9 to Edinburgh, and catch a plane to Prague - so I guess I should get up, get showered, and get packed. The sky is a startling blue, and the A9 takes me right through the Highlands. I hope I have time to stop and smell the heather.
No, yesterday I was up at six and out and driving at seven, on my way to Alness for the annual family get-together and golf do. Since I was already on the West Coast, that meant taking the slower A82 north instead of the speedy A9. My route took in Oban and Fort William, and the almost impossibly beautiful stretch from Invermorrison to Inverness. It's a dangerous road - if you take your eyes off it for a moment, you can lose yourself in the beauty, and end up at the bottom of a loch.... Coastline, mountains, sea lochs and Loch Ness, it's a drive that has it all. I had a lively roe deer spring across the road in front of me, and a surprised goose only just making it into the air when I turned round a corner and found it standing in the middle of the carriage way, just south of Oban. It's a 170 mile drive you should really spend a couple of days on, but I made it in 4 hours 15, and went straight on to the first tee when I arrived in Alness.
My cousin Charles and I were the last off in our family group of about a dozen. Charles is the 4th oldest of my generation of Mooneys, after me, my sister, and his sister. We only see each other about once a year, so we had a lot of catching up to do. Alness golf course is perched on top of a hill. You get fantastic views of the Cromarty Firth, and every scrap of weather that's floating (or driving full pelt) past. Yesterday that meant sun, wind, the odd shower and a ferocious hail storm that lasted for about 10 minutes. We were on the verge of quitting when it blew away, and the sun came back out. Neither of us took the game too seriously. He won the front nine by one hole, and I won the back nine by two, meaning I took the £1 stake money at the last hole. Neither of us troubled the overall leader board...
The evening dance went well, though I left around 11, when the day started to catch up on me. By the time I left we'd raised £300 for the cancer charity which is the point of the day. and I'd caught up with cousins, aunts, uncles, and one guy who was out of jail for the weekend.
Today I drive another 150 miles down the A9 to Edinburgh, and catch a plane to Prague - so I guess I should get up, get showered, and get packed. The sky is a startling blue, and the A9 takes me right through the Highlands. I hope I have time to stop and smell the heather.