Scotland 4: Day 25

21 Apr 201112 May 2020 / Dav / 1 Comment

04.21.11 | Inverness, Scotland | 19:49

I woke up this morning and felt the need to go for a walk-a loooong walk. I I woke up this morning and felt the need to go for a long walk. I walked through town, bought some bread, bottled water, M&Ms, a subway sandwich, and hit the road- I walked to Loch Ness. I want you to be impressed because I did all this in new shoes.

At the loch, I found a big rock to sit on and had lunch there on the shore. It was so peaceful and relaxing to put my feet into the water. I walked (mostly limped) all the way back to the hostel. When I got back, I googled my route, and one-way was 6.6 miles. I think that comes to like 13.2 miles walked today! I’m pretty proud of that, especially with my limp!

For dinner, I walked to Iceland, a local grocery store, and found an enormous chicken asparagus pie. It was delicious, but I only ate half and ended up giving it to one of my hostel mates. Tonight I’ll be packing my bag, getting ready to go to my next destination in the morning.

Scotland 4: Day 24

20 Apr 201113 May 2020 / Dav / 1 Comment

04.20.11 | Inverness hostel | 11:58

I finally got a great night’s sleep and I woke up rested and ready to go. I finally got a great night’s sleep and woke up rested and ready to go. I’m so thankful because I plan on walking a long way today. I think my cough is getting better- only time will tell. I grabbed breakfast at Tesco (three crescents, chocolate milk, and banana milk) and ate it on a park bench that overlooks the River Ness. On my way over, however, I started a horrible limp. For some reason, my right leg was hurting bad! It was so sudden, I think my shoes are finally worn out. That would explain the giant holes in both of the soles. It’s high time I get some new shoes.

This is what happens to your shoes when you walk all around God’s creation.

I stopped at a department store, but they didn’t have very much of shoe selection. I could tell that the shoes they did have would last me three weeks at the most. I continued my limp around Inverness until I found a place called Rogerson Fine Footwear. This shoe store had more variety.

I found a very comfortable pair of shoes. They have this ergonomic inside, so they feel incredible to walk around in. After I’d tried them on, the salesperson asked me if I wanted them. I told her that I’d love them, but needed to stay within my budget. I asked her how much they were.

I’ve never spent this much on a pair of shoes in my entire lifetime! If I ever have kids or grandkids, none of them will be able to go to college now because of how much I just spend on one pair of shoes. These shoes are “vegan” if there’s such a thing in footwear. The fake leather has been oiled with “Natural Vegetable Oil,” and the sole is made from recycled rubber. I’m admittedly not a tree-hugger or a hippy, but after today’s purchase, I may be forced to become one.

15:36

I walked around town for a while and noticed that my leg was still hurting a bit. I decided to see if I could find a massage somewhere. I’ve walked so many miles while I’ve been here, that it wasn’t too tough to convince myself that I needed one. I found a place, but the receptionist told me that they didn’t have any availability. She asked me to wait around while she made a couple phone calls. She called a guy who’d recently moved to town- I set up a 14:00 appointment with him.

The massage was great! This therapist really knew what he was doing! I walked out of there a few minutes ago, and I feel like a million bucks! I felt as if I’d floated back to the hostel. It was good to have this “reset” of my muscles, knowing that I still have a lot of walking in front of me.

19 Apr 201128 May 2018 / Dav / 1 Comment

Scotland 4: Day 23

4.19.11 | Aberdeen > Inverness | 11:03

I don’t think that I need to point out that last night’s sleep was horrible. I didn’t splurge for a cabin this time- they gave me a seat, much like a seat on an airplane, but it was a litter wider- that is unless you fly first or business class. I spent the entire night tossing and turning and all that.

I arrived in Aberdeen on time and had a few hours to kill before my train left the station. I found a coffee shop and got some hot chocolate and read my book. Oh, by the way, the book I got yesterday is called “Scotland” and it’s part of the “Horrible Histories” collection. This guy has written these different history books (more than 50 in the set so far) and in the books, he shares some historical facts but he tells them in such a way that it’s a light-hearted, funny approach. I can tell they’re geared to school-age children but since that’s about my maturity level, it worked. An illustrator adds in comics about what’s going on. I may have to check out his other books. The website is www.horrible-histories.co.uk. It’s totally worth checking out.

Now it’s time for me to talk about fashion. If you know me or have seen me dress, you’ll note that I’m not really into fashion- in fact, I often don’t care what I’m wearing. The last time I was in the UK, a lot of the guys were all about the mullet hairstyle- as ugly as that is. This statement left most of the U.S. by 1980, but if you’re traveling around the southern states you may see one or two.

Right now, it seems like a lot of people over here (mostly guys) are into wearing white shoes. While not as bad as a mullet, they like to wear these white shoes with dark, dark jeans. This makes the white shoes stand out quite a bit. Around Glasgow and Edinburgh, I’d often see someone in all-black, except for their bright white shoes. This may not be a fashion movement per se, but it has stood out to me a bit while I’ve been over here.

Inverness Hostel | 12:41

Walking over here was just great. There’s a slight chill in the air, but it’s probably at least 10° warmer than it was on Orkney… maybe not, but it feels like it.

18:12

For dinner, I had fish and chips again. It was some wonderful salt/vinegar/grease. I’ve heard it’s good for you too! It’s so great to be back in Inverness. I can tell it missed me. Bad.

22:37

It’s been a nice easy evening. I watched Gulliver’s Travels– it was meh. I do love Jack Black, but I don’t think there was much special about this picture. I’m off to cough in bed. Yay!

Back to Scotland 4: Day 3 | Forward to Scotland 4: Day 24