I smoked 2 chickens in the backyard this past weekend. Very time consuming but very good.

My Texas vacation was good but way too short. I would love to come back to Austin and spend a few days, so much to see here. I managed to double park the car and have my picture taken out by the Longhorns Stadium.

Greeting from Texas. 4 days is not enough to see much. I enjoyed the Austin nightlife and the history of San Antonio. Plenty of BBQ, steaks and Mexican food, these folks really can eat.  The Continental Club is a must see here in Austin.

I spent my final three vacation days in Edinburgh. We stayed in the fabulous Dalmahoy Mariott just out of town. The hotel is part of an old castle and golf course. I visited the famous Edinburgh Castle. No surprise this place was very busy. So much history has taken place here. The views of the city are quite something from the castle. The Edinburgh portion of the trip was much more laid back and relaxed from the Inverness portion. We spent much more time strolling the city and sampling the many great pubs. A great way to end a very interesting and satisfying trip.

Tuesday we rented a car and headed for the Western Isles. We headed from Inverness to the Isle of Skye and the town of Portree. Driving on the left side of the road was only part of the driving challenge of Scotland, I also had to adapt to shifting left handed. Not to mention there are no straight roads in Scotland. Views of the Great Glen were amazing. The mountains and streams are truly something to see. Portree is a really neat little port town with lots of shops and good restaurants. We found a nice place to enjoy the local whisky and Skye mussels.

Wednesday we made a similar journey towards Fort William. We saw the highest point in the UK Ben Nevis, and the Ben Nevis distillery. We also went to visit a WWI memorial. The weather Wednesday was downright cold.

Thursday is a travel day. I will spend the rest of my time here in Edinburgh. Out of the countryside and into the big city. It takes more than 3 hours by train from Inverness to Edinburgh.

I made it to Inverness Friday evening after a very long journey. I made my connection at Heathrow and landed at Edinburgh. Unfortunately my rental car reservation was nonexistent. But now worries, we took the train up to Inverness and made it to our B&B.

Saturday morning we did the Highland Breakfast 5k. The weather was dreadful, but it was nice to get out in the elements. The breakfast with hot tea was great.

Sunday was Inverness 10k. I finished the race in 1 hour, 8 minutes. I am very happy with that. It was really something to watch the end of the marathon. Quite something to see.

Below the pics are me running Saturday morning in the wind & rain along River Ness. Me at The Macallan whisky distillery in Craigellachie, me in the Great Glen on approach to Isle of Skye.

We spent the second of back to back weekends at the beach on Chicoteague Island. Yeah, it’s that place with the wild ponies, animal refuge, and natural beaches. Great place to unwind and enjoy the sunshine and island pace. One memorable moment was stopping at Woody’s Fried Chicken. It’s this really neat roadside place that sells BBQ and fried chicken. It’s all outside under the trees and umbrellas. Great place to take a quick break from vacation.

I spent the weekend enjoying the beaches of Maryland. I had much success with local pubs and restaurants. I took the all-you-can-eat crab deal to the limit. I had a great day on Assateague Island. The surfers put on quite a show most of the afternoon. Many thanks to Will & Cybelle for the accommodations. So here I am at an Irish pub waiting for what seemed to be an eternity for a refill. My god, I bet an Irish bartender would have never had done that to me. Just plain wrong.

I recently returned from my four day visit to Lake Wylie, South Carolina. Sun, fun, drinks, and a whole lotta lake. It was a much needed break from the grind, enjoyed with friends in the heat and pace of South Carolina. Most activities revolved round the boat, the lake, and the pool. Good times in deed.