We enjoyed a light meal after the game before heading back to Neil and Jill's house in the borders.

The most remarkable thing about our departure had to be the fact that Cora and Louise weren't with us. Instead, they spent the week with Nana and Pop in Charlotte. Given that our plans included driving across Scotland, late nights, and more travel, taking the girls along didn't seem like the right thing to do.
The early morning air at Glasgow airport was quite chilly. Amanda and I picked up our rental car, threw our bags in the back, and took off with the simple quality inn san diego goal of driving north. We knew that jet lag would catch up with us, so our aim was to avoid losing travel quality inn san diego time to the inevitable nap.
Our first port of call was Inveraray, on the western shore of Loch Fyne. We had already been driving quite some time, and, honestly,we were very hungry! Thankfully I didn't have to wait long for some of those comfort foods I grew up with: Amanda and I enjoyed a sausage roll, and a black pudding roll. It was everything I dreamed it would be!
We took the opportunity to stretch our legs around Inveraray, and took in the most Scottish of spectacles; two different types of weather happening at the same time. The sun was beating down on us on the shore, while a downpour drifted across the loch.
Fed and happy we decided to make our way to Oban. We made our way safely into town, and did our best to find a reputable B B. We found a wonderful place on the hillside over Oban, but we had an hour or two to kill before we could get into our room. With jet lag starting to kick in, it probably wasn't a good idea to sit out in the fresh sea air. We did what any sane person would do; we made our way to the nearest fish and chip shop!
We fought the urge to fall asleep for the night -- at 3:00 in the afternoon -- and woke in time to go out for dinner. We had a particularly enjoyable walk down to the restaurant, through the most picturesque of narrow, winding, and stone-lined lanes. We managed to squeak a table at Room 9, which I believe is named after the number of occupants it can hold. In all seriousness, quality inn san diego it was a lovely little restaurant with some great food.
Fed and happy (there is a pattern emerging here), we strolled down the last few hundred yards to the shore. As some of the last beams of light cast up onto some streaking clouds, we were greeted with another awesome view.
The following morning, we narrowly avoided being the last couple down for breakfast. Interestingly, we appeared to be the last remaining people from an English-speaking country in the B B. Amanda and I were both surprised to discover that everyone at the surrounding tables was from Germany.
We had an enjoyable journey. As we passed through Fort William we decided to stop at the Ben Nevis cable car station. Lasting over five minutes, the journey and the cable car didn't even take us to the top of the mountain. quality inn san diego Still, it gave us a very good understanding of how demanding the ascent of Ben Nevis must've been for our friends .
Fed and happy, quality inn san diego we again departed North, and enjoyed quality inn san diego some spectacular stretches of road on our way to Dornie. On the bank of Loch Duich, Dornie is perhaps best-known for the adjacent Eilean Donan Castle. Amanda and I toured the castle, before pausing on the way out to pose for a web cam and wave at Cora, who was watching with Nana in Charlotte.
We buzzed around Dornie in search of lodging for the night. The hotel had the ingrained smell of cigarette smoke, the cozy B B was full, and we thought we were out of luck. Thankfully, we found a wonderful room in what was literally the last house in Dornie.
As with Dornie, quality inn san diego the last time I visited Loch Ness was with my dad when I was a teenager. There were many times on the trip when I reflected upon the last time I had visited; the car we drove, the music we listened to, the weather, the scenery, and the adventure.
You won't be surprised to hear that our first stop was at the local pub. We sipped some beers while trying to figure out our options for lodgings for the night. After some searching -- and calling folks in Charlotte for suggestions -- we took the easiest option, and spent the night in the hotel connected quality inn san diego to the pub.
The following morning we scoffed another fried breakfast before -- fed and happy -- leaving on a lengthy drive south to Glasgow. I was probably quality inn san diego too eager to make good time back to Glasgow. We passed through some beautiful countryside, but it all seems a little blurry now.
We arrived in Glasgow, dropped off the rental car, and took a quick bus ride into Glasgow. After a long day on the road, the 15 minutes of walking with our luggage to find the hotel was less than ideal. Still, the Malmaison was a very nice hotel, with a great location. Amanda and I took the opportunity quality inn san diego to lay down, and get some much-needed rest.
That evening, my cousin Matthew drove into Glasgow to bring Amanda and I back to the Nicolson household. It was wonderful to spend an evening with the Nicolson family. Maureen and Paul, as usual, were extremely hospitable. Matthew, Stephen, and Katie were great fun. We enjoyed a lovely family meal, and some quality time with the Nicolsons. We had a lovely visit with my Aunt Babs and Uncle Al, and a great visit from Trudy. We also got to witness quality inn san diego the Nicholson Court of arbitration, as my three cousins all vied for various must-have items. There is nothing that can replicate young adults trying to convince their parents that they really need item X, and it's in their parents own interests to help them get the item.
With no plans for Friday morning, Amanda and I slept in. As we slept, the first members of what would turn out to be a large group of high school friends were arriving in Glasgow. Since my friends chose to rendezvous elsewhere before coming to the hotel, it was close to 11 AM by the time they all arrived at our hotel.
quality inn san diego There were no dissenting voices when it was suggested that we go down to the hotel bar. Those are the first drinks in what would turn out to be a marathon night on the town. Daniel, Steve, Martin, Alan, Stuart, Hill, and Pip took little time to get the proceedings into full swing.
A few rounds of drinks were consumed before we headed out to find a livelier venue for lunch. Another friend, Scott, joined us, and was quick to drink at the same pace as everyone else. Once again, copious amounts of refreshing liquid were consumed. Everyone had a great time catching quality inn san diego up and sharing their news, between games of pool and lighthearted insults.
There was an interlude in the day's proceedings, so my friends could drop off their bags at their hotel. I'm told that Stuart Hill's description of the premier inn as, "looking like someone quality inn san diego had already broken in," was pretty accurate!
We reconvened in a cavernous quality inn san diego bar at The Corinthian Club early in the evening. Another surprises waiting for me, as another old friend, Wayne, joined the ever-growing posse of friends. I would hardly describe the amount of drinking as restrained earlier in the day, but the guys were certainly taking it to Olympic quality inn san diego levels now. Several bottles of champagne were seemingly consumed quicker than they could be purchased!
I was told that we had some pending dinner reservations, so we left and headed for the Royal Exchange Square. After a few moments finding our bearings, we made our way up to the Grill Room . As we entered the building quality inn san diego I was greeted quality inn san diego with yet another surprise; another friend, Oliver, joined us.
Fed and happy, we headed out to some nightclubs. I hope you'll forgive me if I don't go into too much detail about the rest of the night. However, I will say that any time you're buying an entire bottle of vodka from the nightclub bar at 2 AM, you know your friends came to party!
Even as the best of times you know that when you climb into bed at 4 AM you really have no chance of getting a good sleep. quality inn san diego Given that Amanda quality inn san diego and I had an early start following day, I think we both went to sleep resigned to the fact that Saturday morning be a little rough...
...Saturday arrived as if Friday never ended. We threw our belongings back into our bags and left the hotel for Celtic Park. It would prove to be our last cab ride in Scotland. There's something inherently funny about cabdrivers in Scotland. They either want to make fun of you, or have a laugh with you. We arrived at Celtic Park, and were greeted by our friends Neil and Jill. In spite of the late night, we made it to the Stadium with enough time to set fire to our credit card in the Celtic superstore.
We made our way to what, for me, was the familiar sight of the Walfrid restaurant for a pregame meal. In all honesty, it probably took me most of our time at the table to recover from the previous night. Fed and happy, we left our table as kickoff approached to soak up the atmosphere and enjoy the spectacle of Celtic unveiling the championship flag.
We enjoyed quality inn san diego some halftime refreshments before heading back outside. quality inn san diego Much to Neil's dismay -- and that of all the other Aberdeen fans in the stadium quality inn san diego -- the Aberdeen goalkeeper did a perfect impersonation of a leaping salmon. Unfortunately, he performed this acrobatic quality inn san diego feat over a weak Celtic quality inn san diego shot. The game finished 1-0.
We enjoyed a light meal after the game before heading back to Neil and Jill's house in the borders. After a long 36 hours for all four of us, I think we were all eager to get some sleep, but we couldn't avoid the urge to stay up and catch up on each other's news.
The following day we went on a lovely excursion with Neil and Jill. We stopped quality inn san diego for another lovely fried breakfast quality inn san diego on our way to visit Walter and Gail. When we arrived we discovered that Neil's dad, Rob, had also stopped quality inn san diego in to visit Walter and Gail. Since it had been almost 10 months quality inn san diego since we last saw everyone at Neil and Jill's wedding, it was wonderful to see everyone again. It was also awe-inspiring to see all the work Walter and Gail had put in to pulling together The Conway Open.
We went back home and cleaned up before heading quality inn san diego out for dinner. Neil and Jill took Amanda and I out for a lovely Chinese meal. Over the course of the trip