greenroads: June 11 To Dalmally to stay with Freda, Robin and Misty

At last! Freda's place. I have been looking forward to seeing my cousin again...the only relative aside from my immediate family that I have ever met! We met in 2000 but only briefly and have been in touch online via blogs etc. ever since. Freda's Mum and mine were sisters. Last time I met Freda I was startled by the family resemblance. It is quite special meeting Freda again and Robin and Misty as well!

This time we are staying over night. It was a bit of a challenge finding their house since there are no numbers, just confusing Gaelic names and the GPS doesn't recognize those! Freda's house is called Allt Mhaduir. (still trying to find the meaning of this) But a little sleuthing got us there with only a little bit of sidetracking. We stopped to ask a couple of brave souls walking their dog in the rain and they directed us to Freda's housing complex called Glenview just outside the Dalmally town center. Then we drove around looking for the one with a camper van and voila! Freda and Robin are RV-ers too! In Scotland they are called camper vans.

Freda and Robin have a very comfy home with a wonderful view from their living room! It was so nice to meet Robin and of course Misty in person since I have only seen them via the computer! Robin made us a wonderful meal and we enjoyed telling stories and chatting until we were all tired and ready to turn in. In the morning Robin and Misty took us on their walk along the Orchy River path to their church and back. It is a beautiful countryside with lots of lush greenery.

The postman put his bike away in favour of a car I assume but this is a quaint way to remind us of the old ways.

Wild Iris is in bloom all over the place. I have noticed that colour intensifies in grey skies. Every thing is so lush because of the rain. Many plants are much bigger in Scotland...the rhododendrons and hydrangeas are huge compared to ours.

Misty was allowed off the leash once we got away from the road but she didn't stray far from Robin. I whistled and she got that cute little look on her face. She is an adorable cairn and looks like she could be in the movies. (Wizard of Oz?) Freda had a cairn as a little girl so is thrilled to have this one now. And, she's not very spoiled...Right!

Their local church is quite beautiful and has a lovely old cemetery on the grounds.

I have never seen one of these before...a rusted iron grave marker in this shape.

Glen means valley and Orchy is the name of the nearby river.

The house, Allt Mhaduir, from the front.

Hey cuz!!

John and me, Freda and Ann and Ken in the back yard.

Robin, me, Freda and John (where's Wally?)

We took a half hour drive to the town of Inverarry to have lunch at the old George Hotel. The food was delicious and those langoustines reared their ugly heads again. Look at Robin's plateful!

Most of the buildings in Inverarry are white with black trim. It's a lovely town. Here we are approaching the George Hotel.

Look closely in the mirror.

Robin, me and Freda. I look in her face and see my Mum. It's wonderful.

To each his own.

I can see why this is one of Freda's favourite places with lovely shops and walks among the houses and along the harbour. After lunch we strolled around slowly...I did not want to leave my dear cousin and it was very hard to do so.