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The porch before power washing (with the hose lying there innocently)

So, suffice to say, I found myself in the proverbial doghouse with the hubby, which led me to quickly design and create a NEW porch (in three weekends):

I’m still trying to decide what design could go under the porch, so you see a space for now… anyone have thoughts? Going to FB some design ideas, try and crowdsource an idea.

The deck post-BBQ fire May 29, 2010

The new deck as of July 1st, 2010

It looks AWESOME. The contractors did it in about 3 days. And I have a hammock post, so the next pic I post will be of us in the hammock.
]]> http://karmicangel.wordpress.com/2010/07/01/the-deck-is-rebuilt/feed/ 2 karmicangel Deck - May 29, 2010 The new deck as of July 1st, 2010 http://karmicangel.wordpress.com/2010/05/30/the-deck-before-and-after-and-later/ http://karmicangel.wordpress.com/2010/05/30/the-deck-before-and-after-and-later/#comments Sun, 30 May 2010 01:18:36 +0000 karmicangel http://karmicangel.wordpress.com/?p=370 ]]> So, here is what my decked looked like 13 months ago after we finished building it:

Our deck, as taken from the west side, JUNE 2009

And my deck this week after the BBQ fire:

We had a couple contractors in this morning looking at the damage, and they will be rebuilding it (not us, but thank you for all the offers to help!) hopefully before the end of June.

Sigh. The next pics of my deck will hopefully look more like the first ones in this post. Its hard to look at my backyard right now without wincing.

Secondly, I posted the best pics on Flickr.

Thirdly, my list of recommended B&B’s that we were fortunate enough to stay at.

Salisbury: Byways GuestHouse – 5/5 stars – First of all, a gorgeous house, lovely staff, great breakfast and tasteful rooms. The little man went out into the garden in the morning, and there he found a little bouncy trampoline which pretty much made his day. Nicely located, with parking and wi-fi, I would totally go stay there again. Map here:

Bath: The Bath House B&B -5/5 stars – Map here: This was a very nice apartment with lots of comforts, a nice kitchen, lovely furniture, and a generally relaxing place to hang out. The parking was a bit of a beeyatch, but we got used to it eventually, and took the van out as little as possible.

Oxford: Apartments in Oxford – 2/5 stars – I admit that this B&B may have been colored by my disappointment in Oxford itself, but specifically, the wi-fi only worked in the reception office, the beds (called doubles but were really singles) were the only ones on the trip that we actually FELL out of if we rolled, which my dad did, and the kitchen was tiny with teabags purchased in 1975 I’m pretty sure.

Haltwhistle, Hadrian’s Wall  Centre of Britain Hotel – 4/5 – Pretty much the only reason this B&B didn’t get a 5/5 rating is that my parents room and ours were literally a house away from each other. So my parents stayed in the main B&B and their room was lovely with a Sauna, huge vaulted ceilings, electric fireplace we hung out in front of and played cards and a nice big bed. Our room was in the next house over, up two flights of stairs, but was also very lovely once you got up there, though without the vaulted ceilings, it was more like a renovated attic I think. Its a little extra, but we thought it was worth it. Map here:

Edinburgh Waterfront Apartments – 4/5 – By far my favorite place we stayed, and I’m so glad we stayed for two nights. This was a beautiful location, it was our first night with the whole family, so all 7 of us hung out very comfortably, and the view was fantastic. Also had a washing machine in the apartment so that was a nice features as well. My only complaint would be about the staff’s’ attitude, they took a security deposit, there was a mattress that was broken when we got there, and it wasn’t generally well maintained. Map here:

Pitlochry: The Well House – 4/5 – Quiet little B&B, good value, nice couple who were running it, good breakfast as well, I would stay there again. Don’t be turned off by their website, the place is very nice. Map here:

Inverness: Strathness House – 5/5 – This is a statuesque B&B beautifully situated on the Loch, but the main reason this place gets a 5/5 was the fantastic couple who run it. They were very friendly, and just super nice to us. Because all the restaurants stop serving food at 8pm in Inverness (odd) we had to race out at 7:30 looking for take-out food in the neighbourhood. When we got back, this lovely couple set us up in their dining room with plates and everything we needed to have a nice sit-down meal, and even joined us for a bit of it. The rooms were nice and comfortable, and we spent quite a bit of time in their shared living room. Map here:

Fort William: St. Anthony’s – 3/5 – This was a reasonable B&B, with nice people who obviously were just renting out a part of their house as a B&B. Wi-fi only worked in the hallways, and the rooms were a touch small, we were once again in a converted attic, and there was no shared family room space, which was kind of necessary with 7 of us traveling together. We felt a little hurried out the door at their 10am checkout, but all in all, pretty nice. Not sure I’d stay here again, but there were a LOT of options in Fort William. Map here:

Stirling: Number 10 Gladstone – 5/5 – Tartan carpets, large bedrooms, nice views, and reasonably priced, we had a good time at this B&B. I also had the best porridge and tonnes of food served at the complimentary breakfast. Nice staff, and really really talkative, but in a good way. Map here:

Premier Inn – 3/5 – not a B&B but it was a reliable little hotel that we stayed in three times over our trip to the UK, and was pretty decent, Holiday Inn style, nothing more.

Lastly, my list of foods/drinks we imbibed.

Photos coming next!

The parentals are suggesting taking trains: http://www.britrail.com/images/stories/britrail-map.pdf

Train information for Scotland:

Four days ‘freedom’ pass for train rides in Scotland are
$265/adult    $135/child
So for 6 adults = $1725 TOTAL

http://www.britrail.com/passes/britrail-scottish-freedom-pass

Jason and I are proposing renting a car thru Budget: http://www.budget.co.uk/

Budget rentals:
Rent a car for pickup at Heathrow on May 1st, and drop off at Edinburgh airport on May 14th:
According to BUDGET rentals, its $1400 for the whole trip with a small van (Group M – e.g. Kia Sedona 2.9 Auto or similar)

http://www.budget.co.uk/

*NB: For this to work with one car, we have to be prudent with the amount of luggage we haul around. If we each commit to one backpack of stuff, we should be fine. As soon as you throw in a whole bunch of luggage, we need a second car and things get more expensive.

My pitch, as you may have sussed out from the title of this blog entry is for Scotland:

The idea is that we fly into Edinburgh, rent a car, and spend the next week traveling around the countryside.

EDINBURGH

- Edinburgh Castle (featured to the left)
- St. Giles Cathedral
- Holyrood Palace
- Scotch-Whisky Heritage Centre
- Mary King’s Close (a network of subterranean tunnels and chambers running beneath the Old Town area of Edinburgh)

- Urquhart Castle
- Bona Lighthouse

EILEEN DONAN CASTLE (featured to the left)

GLEN BRITTLE

ARISAIG

Back to EDINBURGH