On the bonny bonny banks of.....

The heather! Of course...

Yes, Loch Lomond! The "start" of the Highlands in Scotland - we have vowed to return and do a more thorough trip next time - which would also include Ireland and of course Northern Ireland - where my mom came from...in the meantime we both felt a special affinity for this land..which may have had something to do with the whisky...which is amazing and perhaps the vegan haggis...yes, you read that right...more on that later...

The view from our window..

I should also mention that in England we were treated to complimentary sherry in a few B and B's - another reason to love that country...plus they are very very understanding of vegans...hooray...could that have something to do with Mad Cow? I like to acknowledge what an incredible community and strong voice the vegetarians of Britain have employed....

The aptly named Oak Tree - several hundred years old..

This was our place...

We also had a lovely dinner - a vegan pizza and curry - I also sampled a local pear cider...yummy. There was a fire going in the fireplace to make things cozy.

The next morning it was off to try out a distillery - in this case Glengoyne..in a picturesque setting at the edge of the Highland territory and one of only 14 Scottish owned distilleries in the country.

Our guide was named Stuart and sported some stylish plaid pants.

The other couple on tour with us was on their honeymoon - from Argentina. We chose the one whisky sampling tour as it was 10 a.m. - that's how the comedic Scot at reception phrased it the "one, two or three whisky tours"...

We did purchase as the tour was fascinating and the whisky very smooth...

We next ventured on for some history at Stirling Castle - where Mary Queen of Scots was in residence and gave birth to James - future king of England and Scotland...forgive me if I didn't get my history correct - I may be confusing it with Edinburgh Castle...our guide there was Ian. We were starting to wonder if it was "de rigueur" to have an essentially Scottish name.

In Mary Queen of Scots throne..

Edinburgh is the next place we visited...