[Itinerary Page]The Daily Diary of a Wandering Restaurateur
Back To The Beginning
You know
the story ... we left four days open on the itinerary with the idea that we would just make it
up as we went. The original thought was that we would find an area that we liked, base out of
there for four days, then head to the Edinburgh Airport on Saturday night to be in position to
catch our flight home on Sunday.
Flawless logic ... but we totally missed that Easter weekend in Britain is like Labor Day weekend in the US -- a major getaway time. Not only were we having trouble finding anyone who could take us for the four nights. Three was the best we could do in Fort William ... and then it was impossible to find a room just for Friday night because everyone had a 2-3 day minimimum booking because of the long weekend. The easy way out was just to stay at the airport for two days. It would shorten our time in the Highlands a bit, but lengthen the time we had to see what we missed on our first pass through Edinburgh. Another right answer.
I have learned that things always work out for the best, they just seldom work out the way I thought they would. Today was one of those days.
We were cruising down through some spectacular scenery along Glen Coe on our way south. The road was rather narrow and quite busy with early holiday traffic headed north. I guess they had also been doing some road work as the paved surface sat about 4" above the ground level. Of course the Jaguar I rented is a little wider than the average car around here so when an oncoming truck was being generous about where he took his half of the road, my options were either give him more room or end up draped across his front bumper! I made the obvious choice and my left wheels slipped off the road surface.
No big deal, right? Things like that can happen even when you are driving in a more familiar car on the more familiar side of a more familiar road. But a few minutes later ... thump, thump, thump ... flat front tire ... and no place in sight to pull off the road to change it. (The Scots are not real big on road shoulders). Eventually I found a spot where I could change the tire. The sidewall was torn, probably from the transition off and back onto the paved surface. The alloy wheel showed the scars of the adventure and my hands were covered in grease.
Quite unexpectedly, we passed The Drover's Inn, an ancient stone edifice by the side of the road in Inverarnan just north of Loch Lomond. When you see the photos, you will understand why I had to turn around and check it out. (I also needed to get the grease off my hands!)
After an excellent ration of pub grub, we followed the western shore of Loch Lomond down to Glasgow and then turned east to the Edinburgh Airport. I won't know the full extent of the financial hit on the rental car until someone checks it out on Monday but I am certainly in for a new tire. If the wheel is too damaged to function it could get much more expensive ... but stuff happens. Deal with it and move on.
Insight of the Day: The Drover's Inn is a "messy" and chaotic operation -- but it has a real soul. The [international chain] hotel at the Edinburgh Airport is neat and organized as you would expect -- but it has no soul. If there is a lesson in here anywhere, it is to not be overly concerned about being slick. A little chaos is good for the spirit.
© 2009 Restaurant Doctor