The Jacobite train through the Highlands, September 22, 2026

 Today's excursion took us for a trip on the Jacobite train, an 84-mile round trip between Fort William and Mallaig in Scotland, famous as the real-life Hogwarts Express from the Harry Potter films. As we left Port William, we were concerned that we'd miss a lot of the Highlands scenery because it was foggy and raining. In fact much of the journey to Mallaig was shrouded in rain and fog. But by the time we arrived there, the rain had stopped and the skies had brightened.  We spent 2 hours in Mallaig browsing the shops

Glenfinnan aqueduct

until the train started on its return trip to Fort William. That was much more rewarding. The moors and mountains of the Highlands now revealed themselves. We were able to get a better view of the Glenfinnan aqueduct over which we had traveled as well. And I learned what the copper colored plants were that covered the landscape: bracken. Bracken are ferns that

See the hiker on the knoll?

spread aggressively. As fall advances, the ferns die back and take on that copper color. It's truly everywhere. 

One fantastic detail to the train trip: As we approached the western end of the train trip in Mallaig, the train rolled by some houses. An older gentleman stood on his doorstep, not far from the train, holding up a sign with large letters that said: HAVE A NICE DAY! He was there on the return trip, waving to passengers with a big smile.

Back at Fort William,  we retired to our (not crazy) hotel and then went to dinner at a local restaurant.  It seems that every Scottish restaurant serves the same stuff: fish and chips, burgers and pizza. There are a few other choices, (I had sea bass for dinner) but those 3 are ubiquitous. 

Another thing of note: pay toilets are popular here. God help you if you REALLY need to use a rest room and don't have change. (That happened to me. )

Photos here

Three Isles tour, September 21, 2026

 We arrived at our hotel in Oban yesterday 45 minutes before check in time, and the desk clerk made us wait those 45 minutes rather than give us the key to access it. It wasn't that the room wasn't ready. But, rules are rules... That should have given us a clue as to what was in store. Constructed about 1895,  the building has a classic Victorian frontage overlooking Argyll Square. It has been renovated over the years,  but apparently not recently.  Maintenance has been spare. The rooms are small, like the beds, US double size. There is no heat control, so all rooms are kept in the mid to upper 70 degree range. There is a window in the room that partially opens, but the drapes prevent ventilation. The floor slopes significantly from one side of the room to another. The elevator (at least it has one), is the slowest I've seen. The hotel overall has a shabby, but clean affect. Thankfully,  breakfast was good, but it starts late, 7:30 am, not great if you need to get an early start on the day. 

At any rate, today we did a lot of traveling. We started at the Oban pier, a short walk from our hotel. There, we took a ferry to the island of Mull and landed at Craignure, where we took a bus tour across the island to Fionnphort, where we boarded a small boat (about 20 people) that took us to the island of Staffa. It's name comes from the Old Norse word for a stave or pillar.  The Vikings gave it the name because its columnar basalt reminded them of their houses, which were constructed using vertical logs. The basalt formations are certainly impressive and are part of the same geologic feature we saw in Northern Ireland at Giant's Causeway. We were supposed to disembark at Staffa, but a storm had

damaged the tour dock, so we idled for a bit around the edge of the island to take pictures, as the seas got progressively more turbulent. It was hard to get good photos standing outside on the deck as the boat was being tossed by the rough sea that was so bad that one of the passengers got seasick. We turned then toward Iona, the third of the Inner Hebrides islands to visit. The seas continued to toss our boat around, lifting us out of our seats more than a few times. That ride was as good as any Disney park ride for thrills!

Around 1200, the sons of Somerled – ‘King of the Isles’ – founded a Benedictine abbey here. Monastic life on Iona ended with the Protestant Reformation of 1560. Augustinian nuns set up a community here in the 1200s as well, and we walked through the ruins of the nunnery. Iona is beautiful and quaint, reminiscent to us of Iceland. We stopped into the currently used parish church and the ancient cemetery that's the reputed final resting place of dozens of early Scottish, Irish, and Norse kings, clan chiefs, and prominent figuresincluding (Macbeth and Duncan). The inscriptions on the graves are now all worn away.

After the Iona visit, we were picked up by a ferry going back to Mull, Fionnphort. At Fionnphort, we boarded the bus to go back to Craignure, a 35 mile ride that takes about an hour and 20 minutes on a single track road. The buses seem to fly down the road, even though there's traffic in the other direction. They pull off (!!) to the side, and the vehicles pass within inches of each other. We were impressed with the driver's skill. 

From Craignure, we took another ferry back to Oban, where we walked to a cool restaurant for dinner, and then back to our crazy hotel.

Photos here

To Oban, September 20, 2026

 

Trossachs National Park 

We packed up after breakfast and set out north out of Glasgow, headed for Oban, on Scotland's west coast. Our route out of the city gave us the opportunity to see more of the non-touristy areas. There were many different ethnic shops along the way. It struck me that there were not many trees in the city, just rows of moldy apartment buildings. I guess that was startling to me who lives in the Rochester area. The buildings were mostly pretty dirty in the residential area we drove through, sooty and grimy. Unlike Ireland (with the exception of Dublin), litter was apparent.

Once we got out of the city, the scenery turned green, reminding us of the northeast US. Our first stop was the quaint town of Luss, along the western shore of Loch Lomond. The flower-lined streets filled with picturesque grey-stone and slate-roofed cottages are charming. One cool hotel, Loch Lomond Arms, caught our attention, as it is covered in deer antlers. 

From Luss, we headed away from Loch Lomond for a longer trip to Oban. This was. lovely country through Trossachs National Park.  Oban is directly on the western coast of Scotland and is a major tourist spot as a source of ferries to the Inner and Outer Hebrides. Our impression of Oban was the same as Glasgow. Most of the buildings need to be washed. Litter is seen on the streets. 

Pictures here

Glasgow, September 19, 2026

 

After a good night's sleep,  a bit of web surfing, and a delightful breakfast buffet at the hotel, we set off by Uber to the Glasgow Cathedral,  Built in the 13th century it is one  of the 2 medieval cathedrals in Scotland to have survived the Reformation virtually intact.  In 1560, the Cardinal fled to Paris and the church was stripped of all its Catholic images and statues. The church walls and columns are covered in soot and grime, but there is one room that has been restored to its former glory. Originally, the walls were limewashed, and brilliant white. Now, they're black. But the wonderful thing about this place were the many stories about the people and how the church developed over those 800 years. I've included some in the photo descriptions. We were struck by the numerous memorials to military men. Loved the story of the well, and the friendliness of the people we met there.

Behind the cathedral and up a hill, Glasgow's cemetery , the Necropolis is reached by a cobbled path, and a short climb. There are tombs of many celebrated Scot authors, scientists, that sit crowded together in rows . You get some great views overlooking the city and cathedral. 

We then took another Uber over to the Kelvingrove Museum, Glasgow's all-in-one Smithsonian. Museum collections include natural history, Egyptian antiquities, design, architecture, medieval arms and armoury, Scottish history and the history of Glasgow. It's owned by the city and is free of charge. One notable exhibit is Salvadore Dali's Christ of St. John of the Cross, that not only displays the painting but explains why Dali painted it (being  so different from his usual style), but also highlights salient points about it. The museum is fabulous, for its collections and it's architecture.  

When we finally departed the museum, it was close to closing time, and we decided to walk the short distance back to our hotel, where we relaxed and then dined in the hotel restaurant. We both enjoyed the beer of the day: Tennant's Lager, Glasgow's own.

Photos  here

To Scotland September 17-18, 2026

 

The day before we were to leave on this trip, I received a message from Delta saying that our flights to Scotland would preclude us traveling by premium select, a class just below business. Not happy, I called Delta, and they obliged by changing us from KLM partner flights to Air France partner flights. That resulted in much more favorable flight times for us. As it was, our flight left Toronto for Paris (way cheaper than Rochester) a half hour late. Since we had to drive the 2 1/2 hours to Toronto, we got there early, and enjoyed the airport lounge for a few hours. 

Our flight to Paris (connecting to Edinburgh), was fine, but most of the in flight entertainment were French movies  with English subtitles. The food was quite good, I thought. Boarding the plane with Air France was a free for all. They had signs for each boarding group by the gate, and rather than instruct people to wait until their group was ready to board,  they allowed everyone to mob the area. It was impossible to tell which line was which, and with 350 people (it was a 777) jockeying for position, it was pretty much a mess. 

The flight from Paris to Edinburgh was uneventful, but with a note for how jammed together the seats were. I've never seen seat rows so close together. 

We were able to get through customs easily, and after a few inquiries,  find the shuttle to the car rental place. There, we thankfully got a complementary upgrade to an SUV. The drive from Edinburgh to Glasgow made us think how much the scenery reminded us of the northeast.

Our hotel is lovely, and the room is huge. It's about the size of our first apartment on Putnam Ave in Cambridge!

March 23, 2026 Casey IL, World's Biggest

As we were passing through Illinois, I glimpsed a sign at the side of the road advertising that the next exit was for Casey, IL, home of the World's Biggest... That's about all I was able to capture as we whizzed by, and we made the quick decision to check it out. At the next exit, we turned in to Casey, IL,  home to many "World's Largest" (verified by Guiness) things: wind chime, car key, mailbox, rocking chair, barber pole, pitchfork and a lot more (WORLD'S LARGEST | BigThingsSmallTown). Each item has scripture engraved or placed on it. There are also a bunch of items that are not necessarily the largest of their kind, but they're very large: antlers, anvil, cactus, glider plane...(BIG THINGS | BigThingsSmallTown)  This was a really cool find! I particularly liked the Mailbox, and the fact that each item has a Bible inscription associated with it. The town itself is lovely.

Here's the interesting story of how it all began: https://youtu.be/nK4SRBpTXOU?si=cmMmKVbod7xmBLA0

Uranus (not the planet)

 In 2015, Louie Keen wanted to create a roadside destination that captured the spirit of old-school Americana: fun, family, and a good laugh. What began as a quirky pit stop for travelers has grown into a full-blown attraction in St. Robert, MO. He now has 3 locations, including 2 in Indiana. The first sits on Route 66. The billboard on I44 was enough to pique our interest: 

That was after a billboard that touted "The best fudge comes from Uranus."

We pulled off the interstate, and made the stop on Route 66. It did not disappoint. It's somewhat recalls South of the Border, but is funnier. It actually is a Fudge Factory and Louie Keen built his business around one joke and a good product. There's a large store, mini golf, ice cream shop and other buildings that mimic a town. In around the store, a song plays that touts Uranus (too funny). The photos (https://photos.app.goo.gl/jJkcMnQdUYPpCMdt8) will give you an idea of the humor. Make sure you read the signs, labels, and inscriptions. 

We had ice cream (handmade here) and checked out the Guiness record belt buckle. 

Fun stop. Tomorrow we'll end up in Columbus, OH.