8.11.11 – Largs and Girvan, Scotland

After a day in Glasgow, a day in London (oh, the blisters from walking), and a day in Edinburgh, it seemed a good idea to take a bit of a respite (at least for me; Kent, sweet guy that he is, drove). I was also beginning to feel the effects of the cold/sinus infection/virus/whatever I had caught, and that I'm still getting over. As the rain began that morning in Dailly (what a shock), we, after sleeping in a bit and then getting some goodies next door at the Brunston Golf Club, drove north on the Ayr coastal drive up to Largs. I had spotted this pencil-like Viking monument in a guidebook before we left and since there was also a good ice cream place nearby, why not check it out.

Foxglove was noticeable throughout our drive, and there were two rather cinematic ruins on the way. The guidebooks did mention that getting gas (petrol) in small towns could be difficult, but they never mentioned traffic jams waiting to get in. Luckily with the small size of our car, it didn't matter which side of the gas pump we parked on. With a full tank we continued our travels. Even with the rain and the overcast sky, it was quite beautiful. We very easily spotted the pencil, but figuring out how to get to it was a challenge. After a few false starts and turnarounds, we asked some older people out for a walk (the strong Scottish constitution).

I loved the vibrant colored benches along the path to the pencil, which brightened up the day. It was an interesting place, and with better weather we might have stayed longer. I can't even begin to tell you how windy and chilly it was. While trying to photograph the top of the structure with my still camera, the wind literally knocked me on my back. It seemed time for lunch and ice cream by that time.

I stuck with my toffee and Kent with his raspberry. Apparently not all Brits are finicky about tea, as the tea he ordered was "just tea" according to the waitress when he asked what kind of tea they had in stock. Once finished we braved the wind again and set back off on our now familiar path home. We tried to stop at the Abbey so I could take some photographs, but the parking lot was closed and the rain was started to come down harder by that time, but we did make one final stop to the Girvan Gift Shop/The Sweetie Shop so I could get more sweeties and Kent found a driving atlas. Now we have to go back!