Travel

Blame it on the Maynard! I've never really been a much of a wine person. For me, its always been about beer. Not really sure why. I guess its sort of like you are a water person versus a land lover. In any case, my relationship with wine changed after watching the movie "Blood Into Wine"....

  Beer, its whats for dinner (and lunch, and well just about any time!) While up in Traverse City for the Bayshore half and full marathon over Memorial day weekend, we couldn't miss an opportunity to check out some great Michigan beer. The Traverse City area has become a bit of a beer mecca...

A Tale of Four Castles is a tour of the castles we visited during our trip to Scotland in 2012: Edinburgh Castle, Eilean Donan, Dunvegan, Urquhart Castle

The Fellowship of the Ring - The Ring of Steall that is Why The Ring? One of my favorite scenes from the movie Braveheart, is when William Walace is running through the mountains of Scotland.  I had always thought that if I ever get over to Scotland, I need to find those mountains and run on...

  Its Time for a Beer! After our snowshoe adventure at the Bigfoot Boogie, Brenda and I refueled our tanks with a fantastic lunch at Poppycocks.  Rain had started to fall and after a little bit of shopping (Brenda couldn't resist 50% off!), it was time to start our afternoon beer...

The Detroit Auto Show Rocks! On Tuesday, I went to the Delta SkyMiles American Express preview of the Detroit Auto Show (aka the North American International Auto Show) with my friends Jeff and Rick. For the last three years, Rick has been able to score tickets to the preview for us through Delta...

Five months after purchasing the kilt in Edinburgh, it ARRIVED. Charlie the dog was mildly concerned or perhaps hopeful that it contained something for him. They needed to weave the "Marshall" tarten before they could hand-sew this beautiful work of art! These were very intriguing. I'm told these...

If you are just joining the blog conversation, Chuck and I spent 10 days hiking in Scotland. Our first taste of Scotland's West Highland Way was in Kinlochleven, After stashing our bags at the McDonald House and finding our rain gear, we started walking. Our destination was a bit ambiguous. We...

Edinburgh was fun but we traveled from Michigan to Scotland to hike. Let the Kinlochleven Scotland Adventure begin! The basecamp for our hiking adventures in the Great Glen was the MacDonald Hotel in Kinlochleven. When Chuck called to make reservations at the MacDonald Hotel, he first emailed with...

The websites and tour books simply say, "Great Britain drives on the left-hand side of the road." In very small print they add "you will find single track roads that are only wide enough for one vehicle." There is mention of "passing places" but it is a little unclear what this means. Believe me...

Edinburgh Castle was on the "list" and we were leaving in the morning for Kinlochleven so it was now or never. For some reason they built castles on the highest point they could find! Cobblestone is not easy to traverse either. We scrambled to main entrance just before it closed. I'd...

The Scott Monument was not on the list but it was a good workout. We climbed the 287 steps to the top and enjoyed the splendid view of Edinburgh which included Arthur's Seat. We didn't spend a lot of time looking at the exhibition on Sir Walter Scott's life on the second landing but we had fun...

We found family in the Edinburgh Cemetery. I couldn't tell if they were excited to see us but we were surprised to find them! We wandered into this cemetery while touring Edinburgh. We were looking for place to pee. No we didn't pee here and sadly we didn't stay long either. Snapped a few cool...

Buying a kilt in Edinburgh was very high on Chuck's Scotland to-do list. In fact, it was the very first thing we did after lunch at the Albanach. I had no idea it could be so complicated. Step 1: Select your kiltmaker. Chuck researched kiltmakers before leaving Michigan and selected Geoffrey...

This picture speaks volumes... Chuck was not pole dancing.  He was no mood to dance.  In fact, he was very irritated if you can't tell by the picture.  There were no chairs and only a dirty floor.  We were tired, hungry and ready for the plane ride to be over.   We...

Chuck's first Scottish pub experience was at the Albanach Pub in Edinburgh, Scotland. We found vegan food and beer. What else does a person need?  We ordered a Guinness and a Belhaven IPA. The waitstaff was incredibly friendly and the food was very good but it isn't the food or waitstaff...

Scotland Hiking Trip Itinerary: with Chuck Marshall. Ten days, 5 hikes, 7 pubs, 4 castles, 5 different beds, and nearly 50 miles of trail. Day 1: Depart from Detroit. Day 2: Survived the Amsterdam layover, located “The Albanach” for a beer and lunch, purchased a Kilt, and explored the city...

While scanning our entertainment options on Netflix, Chuck and I stumbled upon the documentary, Blood into Wine.  It is a crazy video about Maynard Keenan from the band Tool and Puscifer making wine in Arizona.  I love wine and Chuck loves Maynard. (He loves metal but Maynard sounded...