Many of these trips are not in exact order, but I felt they are in the right decade. From this decade on, we had many trips to London and I will just lump them all together in another section. A friend of mine who was a professor in Dublin asked me over to lecture. Sally and I went and spent a few days in London before we went over to Dublin. We stayed at Peter's house and had a marvelous time.
One of the sites we saw was the Royal College of Surgeons on St. Stephen’s Green in Dublin. We were taken back by the beauty of the huge boardroom on the second floor that went almost the entire length of the building. There was a light blue fresco on the ceiling that matched the design and color of the rug on the floor. We were told that it was made in Galway.
Sally fell in love with it and, later in the trip, we went looking for the factory. I did my lectures at the Royal Hospital and it went well.
My host Peter was in the process of trying to promote the paintings of a friend of his for a hospital project. After a few more of the Irish, I ended buying one from the gallery downtown. The painter was Markey Robinson, who I understand was well known. He had one painting in the Met in New York. He could not paint faces, so all his paintings had people walking away.
After Mass on Sunday, our host took us for a drive to see the country. We ended up at a relative’s house, where we had scones and some more of the Irish. You don’t want to get a chill.
Peter took us by his office, which was an old brownstone house on Fitzwilliam Street. That was the Harley Street of Dublin. His address was 30 Fitzwilliam Street and is seen on the poster we see of the Doors of Ireland.
The next day, I rented a car and we took off for a tour of Ireland. We were early risers, but if you went at that early pace, you could circle all of Ireland in two days. We bid our hosts goodbye, and I managed to take out part of their front hedge. I had no further problems with driving on the other side of the road.
We had only a small drive for our first day and it was for a manor house in the Wicklow Mountains. When we were lost at a crossroad, we found a native and asked for the nearest route to our destination. His directions were clear, but I am sure it was not the straightest route. We made it to our destination and the trip was very scenic.
The manor house had been done over perfectly inside and out. The dining room was at the back of the house. In front of the window was a greenhouse looking out to very pretty gardens.
The next morning, we headed for the Waterford factory. We saw how they made and etched the crystal. We also saw its museum, where they had duplicates of some one-of-a-kind glass items that were made for the Queen, or some golf tournament, or the eagle for the President of the USA for the Bicentennial. We knew the price of Waterford was the same all over Ireland, no matter who sold it. So, we bought a gorgeous chandelier and sconces. They were shipped home in perfect condition.
We then went to Cork and stayed at the old Lord Mayor’s house. It was nice with a great view of the city, but not as scenic as the Wicklow House. The next day, it was off to Bantry Bay and the Ring of Kerry. They were great to see, but the roads barely accommodated one car and passing another car was exciting.
We had lunch at the Smugglers Inn looking over the Irish Sea. We then visited a local golf club whose name I forgot, but it was owned by someone at Winged Foot. We then drove to Killarney. It was there that you saw the 40 shades of green. We stayed at a large hotel owned by the railroad. The next day was St. Patrick’s Day, and there was a parade. We watched it and it was led by the ambulance group that carried the symbol of the Knights of Malta.
That night, we wandered around looking for an Irish bar with old-time Irish singing. We found a place where there was a lot of singing, but it was rock 'n' roll for the kids.
The next day, we shopped for Irish sweaters for all before setting out for Ennis. We drove through an area called the Berm. It was terrible. Oliver Cromwell wrote about it to the Queen when he said, “There was not enough water to drown the Irish and not enough trees to hang them.”
We stayed at the Ennis Inn, which was quite famous. Unfortunately, it was right next to the cathedral. All night long, the bells rang every 15 minutes.
Ace at Ballybunion
The next day, we went to the golf course called Ballybunion, where Tommy had his hole-in-one. Then it was on to Lahinch, where we bought souvenir sweaters. We ended at another large hotel in Galway. The next day, we went further up into Galway to find the weekend house of our friends in Dublin. The road was even more mysterious, and it started to snow. We gave it up.
Then we went out to find the rug place that we heard about at the College of Surgeons. We finally found it, way out in a meadow. The rugs were beautiful, but the owner was delusional. He had just finished doing the rugs in the White House and his prices were off the wall, so we did not buy any. Then back for the night to Galway.
The next day we went down to Blarney Castle. We climbed the stairs ready to kiss the Blarney Stone. However, the stone was about four feet over the edge and some very frail old man had to hold you. I elected to take a picture.
When we came down to the ticket booth, the lady had our certificates ready saying we had kissed the Blarney Stone. She was amazed we had made it so quickly. I told her the luck of the stone was working very well.
I thought we were going home, but Sally wanted to see the new Andrew Lloyd Webber play in London. We went back and went to the theater. I think it was called "Starlight Express.'' The show was three hours of a roller derby, and I slept through it. The next day we flew home.
Taiwan in the 1980s
Before I tell you about the Taiwan trip, I need to tell another story that precipitated it. In 1970, we were starting to make extensive plans to redo the playroom. Sally wanted to make shelves for my collection of toy soldiers, so I agreed.
One wall was thin and was against the dining room, so we could not put cabinets there conveniently. We decided that we would like a big Chinese battle scene. It turned out they are rare, and I must have spent 10 years looking for one.
The best one is the premier painting in the Boston Fine Arts Museum. It is called the Revolt of the Hagi. There was no picture-taking allowed. One of my friends was on the museum board and managed to get me one so I could use it to show people what I wanted or get copied.
I contacted Gumps department store in San Francisco, the National Gallery in Washington and the Metropolitan in New York with no success. I finally found two people who sold Japanese military triptychs. I bought four and they covered our wall for many years.
One day, I received a call to go to Mongolia and I turned it down. Then a few weeks after that, I was asked to go to Taiwan. At first, I thought no. I then realized they had the finest Chinese art museum in the world. I accepted the invitation.
I wrote the curator for a meeting on my Yale stationery and sold him a story. I arrived a day early and headed for the museum. The museum is about four stories high and three-sided. I am told that its space is about the size of the Metropolitan in New York.
Chang Kai Shek must have dumped China on its side before he left the mainland in 1949 and all the good stuff fell out and he brought it with him. The items on display were first class. There was no chipped paint or partially broken porcelain that you are supposed to wonder about like at the Met.
I would have liked to be near the dump of the things Chang rejected. In order to appreciate how big the collection is, the entire museum changes over every 75 days, and it will take 10 years to go through their basement.
The day I arrived, I went up to the office of the curator. Before I could give him my story, he started asking me to do something for a relative in the States. Fortunately, I had my list of phone numbers and addresses and we got on his phone and had it taken care of. I felt that I had been outmaneuvered. He agreed to help me and our meeting ended. I thought I blew it. I will tell you the result later.
This was the Fourth of July and the humidity was unbearable. I took a tour of the town and the only thing to see was Chang’s mausoleum. The big display was not his tomb, but his armored car.
At a big dinner one night, there was a lady who worked for Orbis and was up from the Hong Kong office. I was going home via Hong Kong since the company had fouled up my plane reservation. I had planned to shop for a set of pearls since Meg had lost hers.
I asked the lady where I might get a good buy. She gave me the name of a lady at the Hilton in the Wan Chai district. I told her she must have been mistaken since that was only a slum. I was judging that by my last visit there. I was stupid arguing with her since she grew up there and was just there a few days ago. I smiled and forgot about it.
The next day, I flew into Hong Kong and stayed at my favorite hotel. The company had arranged a waterfront room. I took the ferry over to the Wan Chai district, and it was no longer mud but steel and glass. By the time I got there, the shop was closed.
Time to Bargain
The next morning, I got up early and went over to the Miracle Mile. I am not a good bargainer, but I took a shot at a store that seemed to have lots of pearls. They tried to sell me one set, but the price was ridiculous.
I then gave them a true story. I showed them my plane ticket for later that morning. I told them I had very little time to bargain, so they had to give me their best deal now or no more time for bargaining. They did and I bought the pearls. I am sure they still did very well, but I knew what a pair of pearls would cost at home.
I flew home and my next problem was going through customs at San Francisco, which was the first place I touched down in the U.S. While I was on the passport line, a guard and his dog would not leave me alone. I finally got rid of them and got my luggage and barely made my connection for New York.
I got on the plane and the door closed behind me. I then tried over the next four months to talk with the people at the museum, with not much luck. I then got a large mailing tube in my Yale office. I opened it up and it was the painting I wanted. It covered the wall and was about eight feet long and three feet high. I did not pay a penny. I assume he was having a basement sale. The people that framed it were very impressed with the painting.
Ireland in the late '80s
This time, I was to speak at a meeting in Dublin. Sally and Sara came with me. It was an occasion for us to see our friends Gunnar and Kirsten.
The meeting committee arranged a trip down to the Irish stud farm. The stables were better than most homes in the States. They also had a magnificent Banzai garden that we all enjoyed.
After I flew home, Sally and Sara drove around Ireland for a week. They went to a golf club just beyond Cork called Old Head. It was more like an American course. There was lots of grass and lots of golf carts. It was at land's end, where you could have seen the Lusitania going down in 1915.
Another trip was to Scotland
I was invited to Scotland. We first went to London for a few days and then on a train to Edinburgh. I had an invite to visit the New Club through the Cosmos Club. We had coffee and dessert after dinner in the gallery at the front of the club and could watch the light come up over the castle. It was a magnificent site.
After I did my lecturing, we took a day trip to see Loch Lomond on a boat. We then went to Stirling Castle, which was the military gateway between England and Scotland. Eventually, I had to get home, but Sara came over to keep Sally company and to go to the British Open at St. Andrews. They lucked out. Our friend Jake Keever was doing the TV for ABC and they had a big party tent for friends. The girls took part of it and were given bleacher seats at the 18th hole. They also had parking right next to the 18th hole while everybody else was a mile away.
One of Sally’s friends met her and was going to impress the girls by taking them into the clubhouse. However, his parking was a mile away and there was better food at the ABC tent. They even went into the Royal and Ancient clubhouse. It is the only time women were allowed inside.
They also found a pub in town that was selling ice to Americans, so they filled up their coolers every day. Having the parking so close allowed them to change their clothes later in the day when it was not as chilly. They could also do some shopping and leave their stuff there rather than carrying it.
The real problem began after they came home. The local car rental agency tried to do a scam and accused them of doing $7,000 of damage to the car. American Express did not live up to its agreement about insurance. We got it taken care two years later. We learned a lot and when we went to Italy, we did not take AMEX at its word.
Other activities from the 1960s beyond
Early in my career, I was invited to the Wilmer Residents Association meeting at Johns Hopkins in the spring. The meeting was great. Sally and I got to see many old friends, not to mention eat some great crab.
Sometimes, Sally would not stay for the three days. Instead, she would go visit our friends in Virginia and see the Virginia flower tour and gardens. Saturday at the Wilmer was Neuro-Op day and she would pick me up just before lunch and we would go eat more crab. We usually had a cooler in the car and we would have the restaurant fill it with ice and crab.
Another annual excursion was to the American Academy of Ophthalmology meeting, which for many years was held in Chicago. After a while, it was held in San Francisco and Atlanta. We loved Frisco. Several times it was in Dallas, which was a must-miss, but at least we visited old friends. For many years, we enjoyed our trips to the meetings at the end of October and early November.
Twice the meeting was held in Las Vegas. I will tell you about my first trip and leave the other trip to the section on Sara.
We are not a family that used our credit cards very often. I had received my new American Express card in June. This was a time when everyone was getting credit cards through the mail, even when you did not want them. I then received another set in September. I did not look at the numbers and assumed these were just more of the same and threw them away.
I went to Vegas and was staying at the main convention hotel since I was on one of the committees. I came back late and was going to get some presents to bring home for everyone. I went into the gift shop and selected a few items. I gave them my credit card. The clerk was a very nice old lady who was just trying to earn some extra money. She said my card was no good. The problem was that she wanted to confiscate my card. I had no reason to believe the card was bad. and I was convinced this was a scam to use my card.
I raised hell. I had the house security, the manager and everybody on edge. I was very definite. Dummies usually are. I even saw the head of Hopkins go by and had him come inside the shop to vouch for me. I even knew a friend of mine who lived one street behind us and was a vice president at American Express. I called and got him out of bed also.
We finally decided to cut the card in half in front of me. Each of us would have it so it could not be used. I thought I was pretty bright. It seems when I got home, the problem was that they had changed my number and the June cards were on a dead list and they did not tell me. I never told them to change my number, but I never looked at the new numbers to check them.
International Neuro-Op Society in Switzerland in '80s
One year, I was the program chairman of the International Neuro-Op Society, but the president that year was a man from Zurich by the same of Freddie Huber. Our meeting was up in the Swiss mountains in a place called Lenzerheide.
The trip there by car was very harrowing. It bothered me all week since the downhill return was on the outside of the road with a 5,000-foot drop.
The meeting was to be conducted in English. The Japanese tried their best. Each one learned to read his paper in English. If there were any questions after his presentation, one of them spoke fluent English and would translate the question and the answer. The French I found out were going to give their papers in French even if they spoke English, which they did.
Nobody cared for the French, so I took care of that. I changed the program and put them in the program first in the morning as people were still coming in with their coffee, or as the last paper in the morning before lunch.
We met every morning till noon and then everybody went skiing. We met again from 4 till 6 and then we had cocktails. At that event, the French spoke English. Nobody bothered to talk to them since they had nothing to say, as usual. They haven’t done much in science since Louis Pasteur was fooling around with cows. Madame Curie was actually Polish.
We had a marvelous time. By the way, we had no problem with the ride down the mountain.
International Neuro-Op in Antwerp
This was another great meeting. We were still a small group, so we knew everybody. The Queen of the Netherlands came for the opening ceremonies and we each got to meet her and shake her hand.
They then had a special performance of the symphony that was held in a new philharmonic hall. We also had a day tour to Bruges, Belgium, which is called the Venice of the North.
International Neuro-Op in Winchester, England
My friend Mike Saunders was in charge of the meeting in Winchester, England, which was a short train ride from London. We had visited him many times since he invited me almost any time I wanted to come to Queen Square Hospital.
Its formal name is the Hospital for Neurological Diseases and is one of the two best places in Europe. The other is the Karolinska Hospital in Stockholm where I had lectured after the 1994 Olympics.
We had another great time. I took in another great military museum. We also had an evening with a symphony at the Cathedral. Mike and Thalia had a weekend house which was an authentic thatch house. Thalia had a tea for some of the women and Sally was invited.
Sally tried to arrange for some iced tea for me, but that was a failure since the British are not into ice in any great quantity. That was OK. We had a marvelous time and got to visit with many old friends.
Neuro-Op all around
The local Neuro-Op society after about 10 years was moved from Hopkins from one place to another. We met in Frisco one time. I roomed with Tom Hedges.
After the meeting on a Saturday, we got a car and went out to the Napa Valley to see one of his sons who was a wine grower. We tasted each one of his vintages that afternoon.
Our group also met in Cleveland, Philadelphia, New York, Boston and Detroit, to name a few.
It is time to get back to the trips that I was asked to go.
Florence in the late '80s
Sally and I decided one year to go to Italy for a vacation. We learned our lesson before about driving, so we took a Perillo Tour. We are not into tours, but the deal seemed reasonable.
Before we left, Sally suggested I call the Knights of Malta. The Pope says Mass every morning and allows about 12 people to attend. The KM said it would try and I should check at its office in Rome on arrival.
We then started out in Milan and saw the home of Giuseppe Verdi (Joe Green). We tried to go see Da Vinci's famous painting of the Last Supper, but the church was closed that day. God was on vacation.
Our bus took us to Pisa next and the Leaning Tower. They have a sign on it fixing the year it will fall over. Don’t they know it will no longer be an attraction?
We went along with the tour, but I did not work too hard to make friends. We usually left them for dinner and went to a good restaurant each night.
In Florence one morning, our group was taken to the Academia to see the statue of David by Michelangelo. One of the ladies in our group said she had seen the original in Los Vegas. Now you know why I did not get friendly.
We spent the next day and one a half seeing Florence. It was marvelous and was the best part of the trip. There was a little rain but not enough to stop our touring. The problem with the sidewalks was they were narrow and you had to be careful of people. The Italians use their umbrellas like lances and pay no attention.
Later, while Sally had to go back a few blocks for something she wanted and I stayed where I was. I had a pop-up umbrella and when one of these Italians was about three feet from me I would pop mine up. They were fair game. It scared them and they would apologize. After that person would leave, I would fold it up again and wait for my next victim.
We then went to Venice and enjoyed it all. The day we arrived, there was a regatta in the bay that was very colorful. Then we went on to Rome and called the office of the KM. I asked the tour director to do that since I could not figure out their phone system. We got nowhere.
We arrived in Rome and checked into our hotel. Sally and I then went to the House of the KM, which was about two blocks down from the Spanish Steps. The man there was very rude. It seems they like our money, but please don’t let anyone know you were a Knight.
Vatican visitors
I had enough, so I told Sally we would fake it. I knew the time and place to appear for attending the Mass. The next morning, we got dressed up and I put on my KM tie and we took our passports. We arrived at the Vatican and started to sell our story. When they said we were not on the list, I put on my best-surprised look and we started to sell the story.
After going through a few more, it turns out they were very apologetic and were about to buy my story, but then we learned the Pope had gone to Castel Gondolfo the night before. By then it was 7 a.m. That is when Saint Peter’s opens, so we were the first ones in. The cathedral was delightful without all the screamers.
We heard a group of priests saying Mass at one of the side altars and they spoke English. We went over and heard Mass. They were from Hartford.
Then Sally wanted to see St. Jude’s Altar. She sent me to talk to the guide, but he spoke no English. I finally found out what he was saying and we went over. It seems it was the Altar of St. Joseph. I told Sally this Italian didn’t know one J from another.
Later on, I found out we were at the correct one, though the altar had said St. Joseph. It has his statue and the bones of St. Jude in the altar. It was an error of Pope John XXIII.
After seeing the church, we went over to the museum and were first ones in there and had a marvelous visit. Fortunately, I had some good advice before we left the States. It seems that all over there are signs that say this way to the Sistine Chapel. Everybody wants to see that, so they follow the signs.
Don’t do that.
As soon as you get into the chapel, the door closes behind you and you are then outside. So if you go to the museum, always take the reverse sign. You will see the chapel since it is the only way out of the museum.
That night, I was looking for the tour guide to give him his tip since we would not be with the group and we were going home a day early. I had a meeting up at the Academy. I had on a West Point golf shirt and the guide noticed it. He asked me what it meant. I told him it was The United States Military Academy where I went to school. He then said that is why I have such a strong personality.
I told that to Sally and she said he was just telling me I was a pain in the neck.
Cardinal in Disguise
We toured around one more day and then flew home. We were in business class and struck up a conversation with a very friendly gentleman in a black knit shirt. He asked me why we were in Rome, and I told him partly business and pleasure. He said he was there for business also. We had drinks and a delightful conversation. Before we reached New York, he mentioned he was a Cardinal. I doubted it since I did not see the robes and the ring. He said he did not wear the entire outfit because he met people much more easily without it.
Then as we were leaving the plane, he came by and had the ring and the outfit on. He laughingly showed me his ring and laughed like a child and said, “See, I really am a Cardinal.”
He was correct.
As we got off the plane, a limousine pulled up and several priests got out and sped him away. It seems he was from South America and was in Rome for business also since there had been a meeting of the Cardinals with the Pope and this Cardinal was in charge of making saints. He also was the one who told us about the foul-up of the altars.
In the 1990s, I went to Peru for Orbis
I was asked to go on one of the trips that Orbis sends around the world, taking a DC-10 fitted out as an operating room to teach the local doctors. Sometimes I was sent to teach Neuro-Op. I arrived in Lima and checked into my hotel. The city sits on a 900-foot plateau, and my room overlooked the ocean. The scenery is spectacular even if the city is not.
I started out lecturing and seeing patients the next morning. They assigned a local professor as my mentor as well as my interpreter. We are supposed to just see the poor people, but all through the day he kept asking me to see a private patient, whom I refused to see.
The first evening after dinner, I went for a stroll. There are gambling halls all over. A very glitzy one called Atlantic City was just a few blocks away. I decided to go in, but the doorman told me I could not. After much discussion, I agreed to leave.
I decided to take the doorman's picture from across the street. While I am doing that, he gives me the fist in the air.
By the end of the next day, I agreed to see this private patient. We went to a compound protected by walls and men with Kevlar vests and 9-mm pistols. It seems that my patient ran all the gambling in Lima and other parts of Peru.
The house was beautiful. As we went in, all the walls from the hall to the dining room, living room and sunroom out to the garden were all glass, so you can see the garden from anywhere.
The patient is on a Stryker frame in the living room. He is so sick from his disease that he can only move his eyes left and right, and that is all. He can’t blink, so he has two nurses constantly dabbing each eye. Despite this, he and his headman worked out a system of communication that allowed him to still run his gambling empire.
I looked at his chart, which had some very famous names on it from when he was able to visit the States. I told him his diagnosis and that there was nothing that I could do.
His headman did not speak English and conversed with my friend who wanted to know what my fee was. I told him there was no fee and I was glad to be of service. He then told my friend that there is a car at my disposal while I was in Lima. I thanked him but told him I did not drive in a strange town. He then told me the car came with a driver. They then insisted that they give me a tour of Lima the next morning. I agreed.
I was taken to the town square, which was the only thing there worth seeing. On one side is the Cathedral, the other is the City Hall and the other is the Presidential palace. We went into the Cathedral and they showed me the bones of the conquistador Francisco Pizzaro. We then went into the sacristy, which was made of beautiful carved wood. They told me the next room was the Bishop's audience room, but we would not be allowed in that morning.
It was the time the Bishop has his weekly meeting. My friends told me he was to be made a Cardinal. Now I must tell you that this was January 24. Before I had left the States, I had an invitation to go to the next consistory. They were making a lot of Cardinals and the three from the U.S. were friends of mine.
Bishop Egan was our bishop before he was sent to New York. Ted McCarrick and I went to school together and won the New York City debating contest while we were at Xavier. The third one was Father Avery Dulles, who taught me at Fordham. He was to be made a Priest Cardinal. I had not planned to go, but Sally was going again with her friends. The ceremony was to be on February 24.
Now back to Lima. Just as we were about to leave, the door to the Bishop's room opened up and out he came. He went over to another couple who bowed and kissed his ring. He then came over to me assuming I wanted to also kiss his ring. I addressed him as "Your Eminence,'' which is the proper term for a Cardinal. He looked at me and said, "I am not Your Eminence yet.''
I looked at my watch for the date and told him he would be "Your Eminence'' a month from today. He was impressed and took me by the arm and asked me to walk with him. We went outside and then he excused himself by saying that in John, it says that I must be about my father’s work.
I was trying to be very religious and I said that it is Luke 4:24 in my house. He asked what that quote was particularly. I told him the prophet was not appreciated in his own town. The kids are always kidding me no matter what honor or trip I get.
The Cardinal-to-be abruptly turned around, got into a car and quickly drove away. I asked my host what did I say wrong. It turned out the Cardinal was not liked for his public support for the local Communist-like group called the Black Hand. As Sally said, you can’t take me anywhere.
Another day in Lima, one of the big professors took me to lunch at a club on the beach. The same Kevlar-suited men again met us. This club had 23 bars, restaurants and snack bars. My friend also knew that I was interested in the gambling casino, so they picked me up after dinner and took me to the Atlantic City casino which was the nearest to my hotel.As we got to the door, the doorman from the night before was very impressed by the headman coming toward him. I couldn't resist. I decided to have some fun and went over to the doorman and shook his hand very warmly as if we were old friends. I am sure he was worried I might tell the headman how I was not allowed in the night before.
We went inside, and I was allowed to take pictures. We then went upstairs where the big guys were but I was not allowed to take pictures. It seems some of the older gentlemen were there with their girlfriends. My friend then asked me if I wanted to gamble. I said no. He said go ahead and took a fist full of chips off the table and handed them to me. It isn’t bad playing with house money. I was careful to lose it right back. We then left and again I gave a warm greeting to my friend the doorman. I am sure he wanted to get rid of me.
Earlier in the week, one of the doctors who came down with me had rented a car and driver. He asked me if I wanted to go to the Continental Divide. I said yes and did not notice on the ride up that the elevation that was 15,000 feet.
We both got out to take pictures, and I was really sick and so was he. We were fine by the time we got back to Lima and we were glad we were not driving. I thought I might have the same problem at 12,000 feet at Machu Picchu, particularly with the rough trail there is along the side of the mountain.
The rest of the week went off well, and on Saturday I flew home.
Late 1990s, the last trip to Scotland
I had another invitation to Scotland, and this time I had the use of a house from my friend Ian Strachan. The house was in Montrose, where there is a big statue of the poet Robby Burns. It was near Inverness.
After we were in Edinburgh, we went over to get the house ready and all the children flew in. The house was adequate. The only problem was that we had to keep feeding the meter for the hot water. It would only take a 50 pence coin. We made sure that if anybody had any as they came and went, they were to leave it next to the meter since we could not readily get them.
We had two cars now. There was the golf group and the touring group. The Strachans visited us, and we had a big fancy dinner at Culloden house. We even had our own party in the main dining room, which came with our own piper in full dress.
The weather was marvelous. It didn't get dark until 11 p.m., and Tommy went to play golf after supper on several evenings. I did not understand how far north we were. It was at the same level as Hudson Bay. The Gulf Stream was the difference. My friend Gunnar said that when he was a child in Stockholm, he skied to school but now there was no snow at all.
One evening, we all went out to the end of our peninsula where there was a small one-car ferry, which worked only during the day but could be rented out at night. We did that and I have included a picture. We brought cheese, crackers, soda and wine. It was a great sail. We saw all the sites but no Loch Ness monster no matter how much scotch I drank.We even had a shopping day at a tartan shop. Everyone got a tartan skirt or a kilt.
Most of the kids then flew home. Sally, Sara and I took the car for a tour of the Isles of Skye for two days. We then collected all sorts of baggage that we could hardly fit in the car.We drove to Edinburgh and were stopping at a B&B recommended by Sara. We brought all our stuff in the house since we had to turn in the car. We were a little embarrassed by the amount of luggage.
“Have you ever seen such a mess?” Sally said to the owner.
In one word he said, "No.”
It was a lovely home. The owner would play the bagpipes for breakfast. We had a car pick us up in the morning and got home without any problems.