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By yon bonnie banks and by yon bonnie braes,
Where the sun shines bright on Loch Lomond.
Where me and my true love were ever wont to gae
On the bonnie, bonnie banks o' Loch Lomond.

   

O ye'll tak' the high road and I'll tak the low road,
An' I'll be in Scotland afore ye;
But me and my true love will never meet again
On the bonnie, bonnie banks o' Loch Lomond.

'Twas there that we parted in yon shady glen,
On the steep, steep side o' Ben Lomond,
Where deep in purple hue the Hieland hills we view,
An' the moon comin' out in the gloamin'.

 O ye'll tak' the high road and I'll tak the low road,
An' I'll be in Scotland afore ye;
But me and my true love will never meet again
On the bonnie, bonnie banks o' Loch Lomond.

The wee birdies sing and the wild flow'rs spring,
And in sunshine the waters are sleepin';
But the broken heart it kens nae second spring again,
Tho' the waefu' may cease frae their greetin'

O ye'll tak' the high road and I'll tak the low road,
An' I'll be in Scotland afore ye;
But me and my true love will never meet again
By the bonnie, bonnie banks o' Loch Lomond.

So, yes, we spent the day on Loch Lomond, and I may have spent the whole time with this song in my head.  I also may have sung it aloud more times than my traveling companions appreciated.  But, in my defense, HOW COULD I NOT????

(Incidentally, this song was written by a Jacobite soldier who was captured after Culloden--a fellow soldier was released and brought the song back to his friend's sweetheart in Scotland.  I KNOW, RIGHT??)

After a picture perfect boat ride on the lake, we wandered along the shore up to Balloch Castle.

 

 This garden was the site of Denise's reprise of her Most Awesome Figure Skating Moves Done On Dry Ground, first enjoyed on our Prague Girls' trip.

Oh yes, that just happened.

 The day was capped off brilliantly with a stay in our favorite bed and breakfast in the village of Craftamie.

 These were our rooms--adorable!

Once we'd checked in, we walked to this pub for dinner...

 ...where Susanne--the most courageous of all food tryers--had haggis with tats and nips (potatoes and turnips).  We all tried it, but Susanne ate nearly all of it.
Legendary, I tell you.

Then, we headed back to our B & B, where we lazed by the fire in our jammies and had tea and homemade cake graciously served to us by our host, Vickie.

A more perfect day has never been had in the history of the world.  Seriously.