Scotland - The Best Summer Vacation Ever

This year's busy summertime schedule has made me glad we took so many pictures of our summer vacation in Scotland last year.  We have our favorite Scottish photos set as a screensaver on our computers at home and at the Blue Belle Inn so we can see the beautiful, summertime sights every day, so matter what the season. Here are some of my favorites!



The Scottish Highlands were every bit as beautiful as I'd always imagined.



Who could forget these sheep grazing on a hillside near Ayr?



It's easy to see where poets like Robert Burns got their inspiration with such lovely sights all around.



We'll never forget the bittersweet splendor of hearing this bagpipe player in front of Eilean Donan Castle...



Or this lighthouse welcoming us to (or warning us away) from the Island of Mull!



Fingals's Cave on the Island of Staffa will always live on in my memories!



The water was so blue, and the basault columns were so striking!



Quaint images like this stile leading to a castle on the Island of Mull are among our favorites, too.



Visiting Tobermory, On the Isle of Mull, was a dream come true for me, since one of my books is set there. (Blue Belle of Scotland)



Putting together a jigsaw puzzle we purchased on our trip helps the memories stay fresh even in winter!



We even saw a rainbow while on the Island of Mull!



St. Conan's Kirk, on Loch Awe, made such an impression on me that my next book (Wild Rose of Scotland) will be set there.



Another favorite spot was Luss, on Lake Lomond.



Every cottage, every country lane, was simply breathtaking.



If we could go back every year and explore each and every one, we would!



And who could forget Sweetheart Abbey, along the border, south of Dumfries?



The incredible gardens...



The rhododendrons blooming wild along every roadside...



The lupine were also in bloom...



There were flowers blooming everywhere we looked!

Thanks for sharing my memories of my best summer vacation ever...