Oh Oban.

We decided to take a day off of white knuckling around winding roads and to cool our heels in Oban instead. Even though a small part of me feels we missed out on seeing something new and different, our decision was the right one.

The prior afternoon, while drinking coffee in the cafeteria at Culloden Battlefield (free wifi there), we booked a distillery tour for 10 AM.  Good thing we did too because I think we may have grabbed the last slot.

We woke up early. I'm not sure if Scotland ever gets fully dark this time of year. It was still a bit light after 11PM and bright enough that it woke me up at 3:30 AM. My sleeping rhythm is all confused.  The poor birds around here never get any sleep either.

11PM at night.

Before heading to the distillery for a tour and a dram, we walked down the sea wall and had a nice cup of coffee and a marginal scone for breakfast. I think The Milkman in Edinburgh has set the bar for a scone too high, it'll be hard to be satisfied again. And their BUTTER.  Did I mention their butter in my Edinburgh post? If not, for shame on me. I could have eaten their butter with a spoon. Actually, when I ran out of scone I did use my finger a bit. Actually, now that I think about it, it was Eric's scone that I was helping myself to.  It was phenomenal.  OK, I digress, back to Oban.
After our marginal scone, we moved the car into a four-hour parking zone, which printed a six-hour pass... strange, but good. We then wandered around to find a coin-operated laundry. We need to do laundry. No joy on that front, I'm afraid.  Finally, 10:00 came around and it was time for the tour.

It's amazing to me that the tiny Oban Distillery with only 2 copper stills produces enough whiskey to have all over the world. The tour was very good and I'd highly recommend it. We were able to see the entire process from start to finish. Then we had a 13-year-old barrel taste (strong!! since it was higher alcohol content) and then their standard 14 year at the end. We were even gifted the small Oban engraved whiskey glass. The tour was only £8, so quite a good bargain. Note, they rest their stills over the weekend, so If you want to see them in production, take the tour during the week.

After the tour we decided to have some ice cream that is made fresh daily.  You remember my love for the butter, right? Well, I figured the ice cream had to be pretty spectacular too. I was right. I had toffee swirl and Eric had salted caramel. Yum!!! 

Afterward, we knew we needed some exercise.

So we hiked our way up "Jacobs Ladder", 144, steep, uneven steps to the neighborhoods on the hill and eventually to McCaigs  Tower.  McCaig was a good chap who noticed that many stone masons were out of work during the winter months, so he employed them over many years to build this huge memorial for his family. This has stunning views of the town and sea around it. The  Islands in the distance remind me a bit of Kauai.

After another yummy snack (Scottish cheese and bread) we hiked it again to hear the high school piping and drum band again. They were having a concert at the tower to benefit the Lions club.

Back down to town we went for a dinner of steak and Guinness pie at The Lorne and a whiskey or two before we went for bed to ready ourselves for a drive the next day.  We entered our new guest house with hopes of a good shower with water pressure. No luck. Not only was there no pressure, but the shower head was completely broken off of the hose. So we showered with a weak hose... not very satisfying.  Oh well, we're in Scotland on vacation! Who can complain? Certainly not us. And no, we wouldn't bother the landlady over this. It was much too late and we were too tired to go traipsing around to find the correct emergency contact person at the local pub. That is not me being funny. That was the written instructions. Well... maybe not the word "traipsing".
Another day enjoyed,
Goodnight.