Our first stop was just a little road off the motorway that led to Scott's view, a spot reputed to be one of the favorite views of Sir Walter Scott. It is rumored that he stopped here so often that his horses would pause without command, and on his funeral march the horses stopped of their own accord to offer their master one last look over the landscape.
Eventually we came to the town of Jedburgh where we stopped for lunch. My parents took a quick tour of the Mary Queen of Scots house while Richard and I let the kids have some much needed play time at a park.
Cameron and Eli rode in the car with my parents and fortunately Mim and Simon fell asleep for a bit. Richard and I were also pretty proud of ourselves for finding a circuitous route around some bad traffic that probably saved us an hour of sitting at a standstill on the motor way.
On we drove... eventually we stopped for dinner at what they apparently call a "Welcome Break" or what we would call a rest stop/gas station in America. We got some food and used the toilets and on we went. Then it got dark and Richard and my dad developed a system so my dad could make sure he was always following our taillights and not a different car. Richard would tap his breaks two times and my dad would flash his brights. It worked really well so that we never got separated.
We didn't get back to our house until around 10:00 at night. We have made drives that long before, we take a road trip to Las Vegas at least once a year. But something about this drive just felt soooooo long.
I hate to end the Scotland saga on such a pathetic note- so I'll say this to wrap it up.
Scotland was magnificent, historic, and unforgettable. I feel tremendously grateful to have seen what I saw and met who I met and ate what I ate. I hope we have another opportunity to make it back to hear the bagpipes play and learn a few more Scottish legends.