Highlands: My Birthday!!!

As many of you know I was very lucky and celebrated my annual 29th birthday in the Highlands. It was amazing, awesome, and just plain perfect!!! I went to visit the battlefield of Culloden (in another blog), visited a lighthouse where there were seals, ate dinner at the coolest pub in Inverness, ate chocolate cake that was so good I still have dreams about it, and I went back to the coolest pub and saw a band. It was perfect!!!

Isn't that the most perfect sight you ever saw!!!
My dream comes to life!!!
This is Steven. He is also from the BooU campus. It was his birthday also.
This is the golf course on the way to the lighthouse.

This is Fort George across the Moray Firth.
It is so amazing! Pictures can't even begin to capture how breath taking it was!

This must be the only alcohol free zone in Scotland. =)
The lighthouse.





This is Gerry Mooney. He is one of the Scottish professors. He is from Glasgow.

Jenny is gathering rocks and Megan is looking out to the firth. Lots of rock collecting went on. We found some beauties!



Fort George

The grasses remind me of the movie Anne of Green Gables.






More of the golf course.

This is Inverness. It is very far north!
I didn't realize that I hadn't taken more pictures of Inverness (inver=mouth so mouth of the Ness...as in Loch Ness).

Highlands: Fort George

We stopped Sunday morning for a wee bit at Fort George. It is huge! As I was walking around I rolled my ankle when I stepped in a rain gutter and hurt it very bad. At least it happened on the last day of the trip.

It is the northern most fort in the UK and has never been attacked. It is now used as a barracks and training ground.

Here's the link: http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/nairn/fortgeorge/

That's me!
Everything is covered in grass because it helps to preserve it and it acts like a camouflage. See the thing jutting out on the left side...remember that for latter.
The path to the entrance.
The front gate.

Going past the front gate.
Coming up to the front bridge to enter the fort.

The front bridge.
The moat. The wall is about 25' tall.


Warning about the 25' drop!

My room mate Jenny standing under the bell.
In the chapel.The chapel.
They have stone grid works that they lay down to give traction on the hilly areas.
Jenny up on the battlements.
The fellow on the left is Gerry Mooney one of my Scottish tutors (tutor=professor) and the girl in white is my room mate Jessica and the other girl is Sarah. They are looking over the side down into the Moray Firth at dolphins. We saw a couple of them not too far out. Very cool!
Can you see any dolphins?


This is the lighthouse that we were at the day before.

The front of the chapel.
Looking in at the mess hall.

The parade grounds.
Corridor through the compound. If you look on the ground to either side you will see the rain gutters that run along the path. That is what I stepped into and rolled my ankle. They are only like6-8'' deep but that was enough to do it.


The cannons are on wheels so they can adjust them.


This is the part that was jutting out from the second picture.
Brandon is hiding away in the cubbyhole.


The stables.





This is the group of soldiers that are stationed here.