DC Metro Animal Shelters & Rescues - Puppy Post

The weather hit 50 degrees today in the DC Metro, and it felt so much like spring that I could hardly believe my luck. I love spring, to me it means gardening, parks, walking my dog leisurely, happy birds, and adoption events!

Something that I've noticed in the DC area is the prominence of rescues at almost every pet store in the area, from the period of March through August. Sitting out front with their wide-eyed-dogs looking ardently for their forever homes. SO I know this isn't just limited to puppies, but actually all dogs out there in the DC Metro area that need a loving home.

I've taken the liberty of compiling an exhaustive list of all the rescues, shelters, & welfare leagues in the DC Metro area (if I've forgotten/missed one - let me know). So as you begin thinking about having a forever furry friend join you for the first (or maybe second time) this spring - consider giving the below a look, if you think dog adoption is the thing for you.

I have to admit though, some of the adoption application processes are quite vigorous - you can't walk into the majority of these places and expect to have a pet the same day. So do your research and choose wisely, because aside from the DC Shiba Inu Rescue, I know 0 things about any of the ones below, and I cannot vouch nor do I represent them.

So essentially - Looking for a Dog in the Northern Virginia, Southern Maryland, or Washington, DC Area? The below rescues/shelters/welfare leagues are within a relatively close driving distance, and are looking for high quality adopters!

Breed Specific Rescues

A lot of people say they don't want to rescue, because they want a specific breed - if that's the case for you here are some Breed Specific Rescues in the DC Metro Area. Some have breed mixes and dogs of other breeds, as well. (Listed Alphabetically by Breed)

• Akita Rescue, Mid-Atlantic Coast (Woodbridge, VA)
• Basset Hound Rescue League (Fort Washington, MD)
• Beagle Rescue, Education, & Welfare (Somewhere in the Metro Area)
• Beagle Rescue of Southern MD (Waldorf, MD)
• Blue Ridge Border Collie Rescue (McLean, VA)
• BoxAR Rescue (Arlington, VA)
• Boxer Rescue and Adoption (Reston, VA)
• Blue Ridge Bull Terrier Club (Somewhere in the Metro Area)
• Mid-Atlantic Chinese Shar-pei Rescue (Bethesda, MD)
• Oldies But Goodies Cocker Rescue (Newington, VA)
• Cocker Spaniel Adoption Center (Westminster, MD) 
• Cockers & Friends Rescue (Alexandria, VA) 
• Save Collies (Chantilly, VA)
• Coonhound Rescue, Education and Welfare for Walkers (Springfield, VA)
• Doberman Assistance Rescue & Education (Arlington, VA)
• Mid-Atlantic German Shepherd Rescue (Mt. Airy, MD)
• Virginia German Shepherd Rescue (Sterling, VA)
• Mid-Atlantic German Shorthaired Pointer Rescue (Somewhere in the Metro Area)
• Mid-Atlantic Great Dane Rescue League (Hanover, MD & Woodbridge, VA)
• Greyhound Pets of America - Northern Virginia Chapter (Centreville, VA)
• Mid-Atlantic Greyhound Welfare (Spencerville, MD)
• Golden Retriever Rescue, Education and Training (Merrifield, VA)
• Lab Rescue of the Labrador Retriever Club of the Potomac (Annandale, VA)
• Bully Paws Pit Bull Patriots (Fredericksburg, VA)
• Vindicated Pit Bull Rescue (Alexandria, VA)
• NoVa Rotweiller Rescue (Germantown, MD)
• Sheltie Haven Sheltie Rescue (Adamstown, MD)
• DC Shiba Inu Rescue (Manassas, VA)
• Sighthound Underground (McLean, VA)
• Westie Rescue of the Mid-Atlantic States

Rescues(Listed by State & then alphabetically by name)

Virginia

• AWOL Mutts (Falls Church, VA) - No Website that I found
• A Forever Home Rescue Foundation (Chantilly, VA)
• Dogs Deserve Better: No Chains (Somewhere in NOVA)
• Foster Parents for Pooches (Arlington, VA)
• Good Dog! Rescue (Arlington, VA)
• Good Dogz (Reston, VA)
• Homeless Animals Rescue Team (Fairfax Station, VA)
• Homeward Trails Animal Rescue (Arlington, VA)
• Lost Dog & Cat Rescue Foundation (Headquarters in Arlington, VA; Ranch in Sumerduck, VA)
• Lucky Dog Animal Rescue (Arlington, VA)
• Mutt Love Rescue (Fairfax, VA)
• Operation Paws for Homes Rescue (Alexandria, VA)
• Pet Rescue Alliance (Somewhere in NOVA & TX... somehow)
• Second Chances Animal Rescue (Alexandria, VA)

Washington, DC

• Capitol Canines (Washington, DC)
• City Dog Rescue (Washington, DC)
• Dog World Rescue (Washington, DC)
• Homeless Pets Lifeline (Washington, DC)
• Rural Dog Rescue (Washington, DC - I think)

Maryland

• Last Chance Animal Rescue (White Plains, MD)
• Best DAWG Rescue (Bethesda, MD)
• Dogs XL Rescue (DC/Baltimore, MD Area) 
• All Breed Rescue & Referral (Laytonsville, MD) 
• Rude Ranch Animal Rescue (Harwood, MD) 

Shelters
(Listed by State & then alphabetically by name)

Virginia

• City of Fairfax Animal Shelter (Fairfax, VA)
• City of Manassas Animal Control and Adoption Shelter (Manassas, VA)
• Fairfax County Animal Shelter (Fairfax, VA)
• Friends of Homeless Animals (Location in NoVa - Unknown)
• Humane Society of Fairfax County (Fairfax, VA)
• Humane Society of Loudon County (Leesburg, VA)
• Loundon County Animal Services (Waterford, VA)
• Prince William County Animal Control (Manassas, VA)
• SPCA of Northern Virginia (Arlington, VA)

Washington, DC

• Washington Humane Society (Washington, DC)

Maryland

• Frederick County Humane Society (Frederick, MD) 
• Humane Society of Charles County (Waldorf, MD)
• Maryland SPCA (Baltimore, MD) 
• Montgomery County SPCA (Washington Grove, MD)
• SPCA of Anne Arundel County (Annapolis, MD) 
• SPCA of Prince Georges County (Bowie, MD)

Welfare Leagues(Listed alphabetically by name)

• Animal Welfare League of Alexandria (Alexandria, VA)
• Animal Welfare League of Arlington (Arlington, VA)
• Animal Welfare League of Montgomery County (Gaithersburg, MD) 
• Washington Animal Rescue League (Washington, DC)

If you know that one of these rescues or shelters not on this list or that are on this list and no longer operating - let me know!


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Planning Spring's Plantings - Garden Post

Nymeria's First Snow

With the frost in the air getting more and more bitter, I can't help but dream of warmer days. The smell of marigolds, while I flip through a Southern Living Magazine with a sweet tea in hand - sunning on the porch.

It's enough to make me start thinking about my plants and my garden and my seedlings.

Last year, I purchased a grow light, which was just the bees absolute knees in terms of prepping seedlings for spring planting, but after a particularly viscous set of aphids, all my seedlings were destroyed and with it my hopes of a magnificent harvest. So I recouped what I could and struggled along the rest of the summer with an eggplant (destroyed by a hornworm), 2 pepper plants (produced until the first frost), and a pineberry plant (my pride and joy).

When the chills of fall set in I pulled my pineberry plant and the runners I had cultivated indoors with me, but a long thanksgiving break killed one of the runners, and little Nymeria did in the rest. So I'm back to my sole pineberry plant hoping fervently for some warmer weather.

But what to grow with my pineberry plant - what to grow... what to grow...

I've decided that I'm going to stick with what I know and what I can eat. I want to limit myself to the bare necessities, because we might be moving places in the middle of the summer and it would be a beast to have to move 20 containers.

SO.

What to grow.

I want my garden to have some focus, and I want my garden to not die, like it did this past summer (which might have been my fault - planning a wedding and all that jazz). So I'm going to limit my plants. 

I'm thinking that I should pick up some pineberry seeds and start from seeds, to see how that goes, and add to my one prize, lonely plant. I always love a challenge.

I'm also thinking about branching out into another kind of strawberry - I think the alpines all have a nice small size to them, and one I found doesn't have runners - so that would keep it all in it's container.

I also like having scallions and chives about - they have such a distinctive smell, and my chives grow quite prolifically.

I think I'll bring back some basil. It's always so expensive to get fresh basil at the store, and I do so long for some fresh pesto.

Aside from that... I still have some garlic in the ground, trying to get it to winter properly so that it grows me some big, honking bulbs, but if that fails - I think I'll wait till next summer (2016) to try again.

SO that's it:
Strawberries, Scallions, Chives, Basil.

It's going to be small, but I hope it's at least fruitful.

Best Gardening,

Laura

Scotland Tips - Get the Explorer Pass

Take my advice, if you're ever in Scotland... see some friggin' castles. See the friggin' history - it's got a good 2+ millennia of history on the United States, and the lore and the culture and the people just beg to be seen and told.

The view from Eilean Donan Castle (Not on the Explorer Pass)

So, with that said, if you're traveling to Scotland to see the historic sites, then I highly, HIGHLY recommend that you get the Explorer Pass. Seriously, If you plan on visiting more than two castles in a short-time frame, it's worth it. The $$ to get into the various castles ranges, based on popularity and location, and to be perfectly honest the length of the lines to get in at some of the more popular castles is completely unreal.

Walking down the historic Royal Mile, which involved
a lot of buying things, as you could imagine.

I also recommend that you do NOT get it at Stirling or Edinburgh Castles. These are two of the top tourist destinations in the Highlands and as such, they have the longest lines. If you get your Explorer Pass at a less popular destination then you get fast-tracked at the other two, which means you get to waltz past the people who did not get this tip and do not have to waste countless minutes or hours, depending on how busy they are that day, in line just to get past the gate.

JR and I did not set out to Scotland to see castles, we just set out with the hopes of letting our feet guide us, but we wound up seeing quite a few in the 6 days we spent galavanting across the highlands. We saw privately owned castles, as well as nationally owned castles, and while the privately owned had a stronger feel of charm and homeliness (since some are still used as a home), the nationally owned ones were quite awesome for the history they told and the views. Seriously, the views were amazing.

In fact, since JR and I did not set out to Scotland to see castles, we did NOT get the Explorer Pass, until we had already visited two of the locations at which we could have used said Explorer Pass... man... wish we would have known that - but the last thing you want to do after knocking the side mirror off of a brand new Mercedes is stand around and talk about the various ways to explore Scotland with a cashier... I wish we would have stood around and talked about the various ways to explore Scotland with that cashier....

Standing outside Doune Castle, which is where parts of Outlander, Game of Thrones, and the Classic Monty Python Movie that involves the Holy Grail.

Anywho, the Explorer Pass is not universal - not all castles we went to would accept it, but you know that going in - you can see the full list of historic sites that the pass allows you to see here and they even have a mobile app - HOW FRIGGIN' HANDY IS THAT? Basically the most friggin' handiest, that's how handy. The Scots are always using their thinkers that's for sure!

ALL I'M SAYING is that's the wall Bran's climbing up when
Jamie pushes him out of the window in the first season of Game of Thrones,
and that well is definitely in a few Outlander scenes.

We saw Urquhart Castle, Elgin Cathedral, Doune Castle, Stirling Castle, Edinburgh Castle, among others... all eligible for the Explorer Pass, but we didn't get it until we were two places in. IF ONLY we would have known those passes were there...

Don't be like us - get the Explorer Pass, and explore to your heart's content. Because who doesn't hate paying for something twice, when they could have just paid for it once, all at the same time... and just flashed a book to go through the lines without a fuss.... no one. That's who!

Happy Travels, and bring me back some clotted cream and scones!

What's in a Name? A Lot of Hootenany, That's What - Puppy Post

Now that we're on the path to certain puppydom x2.

Don't worry, it's a year and a half down the line. We got to recover from this one first...

Isn't she looking a lil Harry Connick Jr. in this pic? It's the eyes... just don't tell Harry. 

And expand... our current place is only big enough for the three of us... and maybe a few more misguided necessary art purchases (It was Phill Singer! How could I pass up on a Singer!?), but that's neither here nor there. Okay, where was I...

Oh yeah! Now that a 2nd puppy is as sure as Nymeria is cute - it's time to start thinking about names. I mean, how do you top an AKC name like Nymeria MacBattleby Logiealmond MacGold?! It's nearly impossible! And granted the lil' pup his or herself will have a lot of say in the matter as well... you couldn't name a Swedish Vallhund Melly Joe Carmichael, could you? No! 

So to start where our last puppy name search ended, I give you - potential AKC puppy names of the next puppy MacGold:

• Brodie Tighnabruaich Crieff MacGold
• Ullapool Rosemarkie Golspie MacGold
• Onich Banavie Halkirk MacGold
• Keiss Braetongue Cannich MacGold
• Altnaharra Scourie Plockton MacGold
• Bettyhill Gairloch Netherley MacGold
• Dalwhinnie Coldbackie Inveraray MacGold
• Torridon Wick Laggan Doune MacGold
• Shieldaig Poolewe Farr MacGold
• Thurso Whaligoe Kingussie MacGold
• Beuly Dalnaspidal Tyndrum MacGold
• Cammachmore Drumnadrochit Keiss MacGold
• Crieff Invergordon Lochgilphead MacGold
• Maryculter Lochailort Muir MacGold
• Shandwick Spey on Braemar MacGold
• Siar Tullich Groats MacGold
• Fairbairn Codswallup Dougal MacGold
• Lennox Spey Coldbackie MacGold
• Angus Waldroup Wallace MacGold
• Trask Urquhart Kirriemuir MacGold
• Brechin Ardbeg Turriff MacGold
• Cladich Ellon Rosehearty MacGold
• Iona Aven Cumnock MacGold
• Ailsa Rannock Thurso MacGold
• Texa Inverurie Glendaruel MacGold
• Oban Tayvallich Dingwall MacGold
• Gretna Sanquhar Dumfries MacGold
• Govan Balloch Kirkintilloch MacGold
• Tarbert Tiree Dornoch MacGold

And yes, any of these could be rearranged for the perfect Scottish puppy name, but what's the fun in just telling you a bunch of potentials, if I haven't created names with them. I do have some favorite first names for the pup - depending on the gender and you'll find all of them above, but I thought I'd share the basics with you as well. These are in no particular order.

Girls: 

1. Ailsa
2. Texa
3. Gretna
4. Ullapool
5. Aven
6. Banavie
7. Beuly
8. Dalwhinnie (could call her Winnie)

Boys: 

1. Onich
2. Oban
3. Brodie
4. Thurso
5. Crieff
6. Brechin
7. Lennox
8. Tarbert

So that's that! I mean something I've learned recently is that we did not properly name little Nymeria - apparently if you have a Shiba Inu, you are basically by law required to give the lil' kipper a Japanese name, like Hachi, Kenji, Hairu, Sumo, Nori, Yuki, Yoshi, Masa, Saki, Kuma, Kiko, etc...

Of course, if you've met me - you'll know I already disagree. Where's the fun in that? That's like finding a Scottish Terrier named Angus... how many of those are frickin' running around?!

It's cute for all about 5 mins before people realize you have absolutely no imagination. At this point in time, I've met 12 Shibas named Kenji... and that's only in the DC/MD/VA area. Come on people! Just because your dog is historically from X, doesn't mean you need to name them a name from that culture. Base it off of their sparkling (or unsparkling) personality. Granted yes, I go back to the Swedish Vallhund reference, no Vally should be named Melly Joe Carmichael, because I just don't see that fitting, but you could name them something other than Helga or Lars, couldn't you?

Yes. You could.

So that brings me back to my array of fine Scottish names - It fits with the MacGold that all our little AKC bundle of joys will have. It fits because it's fun, and what's not fun about naming a little pup that will be your forever companion? Nothing. That's what!

The Most Important Election of 2014 - Puppy Post

In case you didn't know. It's political season, and with five weeks left to go in this uncertain time of backstabbing, name calling, straight up deceit and dishonesty - It's time that we get to what really matters. No. Not next year's open enrollment for Obamacare.

Deciding the next member of the Gold/MacGold family. Pssst, the secret's out... it's going to be another puppy.

Okay, okay, okay.... I know we just got this little ball of joy, like 2 months ago, and it has been just the peachiest, but guys - it is way past time to start pondering which puppy to get next.

Lil' Nymeria Solving World Hunger and The Proper Way to Nom on a Wubba

So I know you are all on the edge of your seat, pondering what beautiful (and remarkably cleverly named) puppy we want next.

And let me tell you, this is a tough one. I'm sure you my loyal readers, remember the puppy debate that we had around this time last year.  And it was heated. I mean come on... how do you pick between a Swedish Vallhund and a Schipperke!? Nearly impossible... Nearly impossible. 

So I give you...

The 2014 Puppy Election Debate 

This is seriously the most important election of yours, mine, and America's life this political season. 

And we have some of the same contenders from 2013's vital race

The Oldies:

The Swedish Vallhund in all his Spitzy-Squat glory. 

This my friends, is a puppy that's just going to get cuter WITH age. 

SERIOUSLY! JUST AS CUTE IF NOT CUTER THAN THE PUPPY.

The Schipperke in all his Pint-Sized-Spitzy glory. 

Look at that face. And those eyes. And Just everything about him. UGH. ADORABLE. 

UGH. Imma puke. Look how adorable this lil one is. It's like a mini Shiba Inu, but equally as awesome in just a different breed. 

The Havanese in all his Adorably-Fuzzy-Non-Spitzy glory.

How can you say no to this face? You couldn't... There would be no disciplining this face. 

Come ON when they grow up you can make them look like miniature Old English Sheep Dogs... That's brilliant! 

VS The Newbies:

The Skye Terrier in all his Bizarrely-Shaped-Yet-Captivating-Non-Spitzy glory. 

Such a cute bizarre body-ear-head ratio, it's enough to make you squee with delight... SQUEEE! 

And their bangs are supposed to be in their eyes... Like that's how theyre supposed to look. All those years of "laura, fix your bangs," "laura your hair is in your face," or "laura why can't you just pin them back?" Should have been retorted with - because I want to look like my dream dog mom! Geez! 

 The Tibetan Spaniel in all his Adorably-Adorable-Quirky-Yet-Still-Adorable-Non-Spitzy glory.

This is a face that only a mother, her baby-daddy, her baby, her momma, her pops, her pop's mamma, her pop's pops, her mamma's mamma, her mamma's pops, and everybody would love. Everybody could love this frickin' adorable face. And - they're not just a pretty face - this pup is one smart unedible cookie. 

I mean COME. ON. It's an adorable adult dog, too?! This just isn't right. It's just tooooooo right! ;-)

So there you have the 2014 Puppy Debate contenders. Who do you choose?! 

Puppy Post - BAHA! Nym's Name & Where it Came From

So I was checking out this website about naming your dogs and came across this:

The Self-Appointed Nobility: You will find that announcing your dog to anyone with a title, usually of royal distinction ,will get you a look followed shortly thereafter by a non-committal noise. Anyone who’s worked with dogs will tell you a dog with a self-styled title is a dog and owner combo you don’t want to deal with. Prince Foxy, Lady Dingles, Princess Mary Molly, Sir Charles and so on. Aside from the fact that you’re naming a dog, not the heir of the Luxembourgish throne, these people are typically incredibly high maintenance. They make the dog snobs look like slobs and while that’s not all that hard to do, it’s an impressive feat in micromanagement.

Well you know what dog snobs.... Our dog is the heir to the throne of STFU and was picked as one of The Daily Puppy's Daily Puppy!!!, so I'll name her how I ever loving please. Our precious little Dowager Countess Nymeria MacBattleby Logiealmond MacGold of the Easter Geddes, the Maid of Nairnshire, Baroness of Drumornie, the First of Her Name is an absolute gem... and she has a story to go with it...

Pretty freaking adorably, noble-looking... right?! 

Here's where she got her name... As JR and I drove through the Scottish countryside on our honeymoon, we were at a loss for what to call a boy puppy, if that's what the breeder had available - so we started picking up potential names as we went.

Scottish Honeysuckle - I LURVE honeysuckle. It's probably my favorite flower. 

All those names made their way into a note on his phone and as he was reading off the potentials, I thought HA those aren't names - it's a friggin' title. Which then turned into - what if we gave our dog a preposterous title for a name and attempted to enforce people to call her by the full name? What hilarity would ensue?

JR in front of Kilravock signage in Nairnshire

So we picked up Nairnshire (which happens to be where my ancestors are from) and MacBattleby Logiealmond off of road signs. We picked out Drumornie, because it was still a funny word, but a lot easier to pronounce than Drumnadrochit. I picked out the Easter Geddes, because that was a part of my family's lands back in the times of landed gentry.

My family's Castle Sign in the Nairnshire, a part of the Easter Geddes

But the reasons for the specific titles... now that's where lil Nymeria's story gets interesting. ;-)

Little Nymeria MacBattleby Logiealmond MacGold is the only daughter of the fake Laird MacBattleby Logiealmond MacGold of Nairnshire, a widower, which means all his estates will become hers upon his death... this makes her according to Scottish titles a Maid of his lands.

Her fake, late, lady mother (also an only child) died in childbirth, which bestowed her title to little Nymeria - Baroness of Drumornie.

And even before little Nymeria took her first steps, she was promised and married by proxy to the Count of the Easter Geddes... who died at the Battle of Bannockburn, in 1314... supporting the good Robert the Bruce (clearly she's very, very old for such a young puppy). That makes her the Dowager Countess of the Easter Geddes.

Hence her perfectly logical name... for all her fake lineage - The Dowager Countess Nymeria MacBattleby Logiealmond MacGold of the Easter Geddes, the Maid of Nairnshire, Baroness of Drumornie, the First of Her Name.

If you'd like to be kept abreast of all of little Nymeria's comings and goings - follow her on Twitter: @NymeriaMacGold!

Scotland Tips - Rental Car

You always get the extra insurance...

We arrived on a Monday in Glasgow and picked up our rental car and the insurance with all the bells and whistles and headed immediately north on the A87 to Fort William. Our travel agent had us staying at the Inverlochy Castle Hotel, a 2 1/2 hour drive from the airport. We had decided to forgo Glasgow for our honeymoon to see more of the countryside - and boy was this the right decision.

Black Mount Estate en route to Fort William

It was JR and my first trip to Scotland, and my first trip across the Atlantic. I thought flying to Puerto Rico took a while.... but clearly I had no idea. Our honeymoon started as all should near Loch Lomond... I'd never seen such a beautiful place - the rolling green hills, the still water caressing the banks, and a sky so blue it was of sapphires.

But it didn't take long for me to realize that while the loch was gorgeous - the drive was a nightmare.

I think the Scottish definition of highway needs to be rethought, because A87 is no highway. It was a cowpath with two lanes of traffic going in opposite direction at 60 mph with only a spotty white line betwixt ya and a solid brick wall on your left and a sheer drop into the loch on your right. I've always been a nervous passenger in cars, but this was a lesson in horror. The road winds back and forth and up and down akin to a drunken camel stumbling in the dunes of the Sahara. But where that's pure open sky, this was a wooded journey into blind faith that the person in the other lane around the corner was actually staying in their lane.

You know - they normally weren't.

And maybe Scotsmen are made of sterner stuff, but as a Scotsman myself - I screamed and shrieked like a little girl. I'm pretty sure JR was going to kill me. "AH the wall! AH the car! Ah the fuck - was that a fucking 18-wheeler?" Let's just say the first fight in our marriage was about the 5 inches between us and the brick wall to the left of our car as we sat waiting for a construction stop light in the middle of a Scottish highway.

It was probably fortuitous that I was the one complaining about those 5 inches...

Our honeymoon was basically the great-Scottish roadtrip, complete with castles, beautiful purple moors, and sheep... in the actual road - like a frickin movie.

Between JR's inability to cope with the copious amounts of complaining I spurted on our first day of driving and his general distaste for learning to drive on the wrong side of the road... I did the majority of the driving for the rest of the trip... and I loved it.

There is something exuberating in doing something wrong. And driving on the wrong side of the road at 60 mph (okay.... 80 mph) on the narrow roads round curves and bends was like a shot of adrenaline to my soul. I've always loved driving, but driving in Scotland was like driving in heaven. They say heaven has streets of gold... well I hypothesize those streets are crooked and tiny, cutting through grass covered mountains with an ambiguous speed limit.

Loch Ness from the A87

As you can imagine from my blossoming enthusiasm... it was only a matter of time before my desire for the open roads was curbed by slow moving cars and 18-wheelers (which the Scots so cheerily call lorries). In Scotland though this shouldn't have been a problem, because they have posted signs every 10 miles that say, please pull over in the laybys and allow for passing.

Most cars abided by the rules, but those frickin lorries and their ignorance of the stacking traffic behind them never pulled over. It was a miracle if one even pulled over on the A9 (one of the few roads with more than one lane going in either direction) in the slow lane of traffic.

Urquhart Castle

I've never been the patient sort - so on day three, en route to Urquhart Castle on the banks of the Loch Ness, we'd been stacked in backed of traffic for every construction crew, slow cyclist, and janky draw-bridge for nearly an hour and a half, and I was up to my eyeballs in screw this.

As we jolted up to speed after a particularly grueling wait for a road-crew re-affixing metal mesh to the side of a particularly jagged cliff face, I couldn't stand it any more. The lorrie in front with his slow moving ways (seriously 40mph in a 60?!) was driving me wild. Loch Ness was so close and a bathroom was my promised reward. I could just see the oddly flushing Scottish toilet in my mind's eye and racks of kitschy Scottish souvenirs in my future. If only this truck would... just... go... a... little... bit...  aw screw it.

I looked around him, and seeing no one I pressed the gas hard on the 2014 E-Class Mercedes with only 200 miles on it. I could feel the engine rev and the whoosh of air from the window. The wind whipped my still shower-damp hair, and the peaceful sound of the countryside begged for me to join it. Oh the Scottish roads! Ah Loch Ness! You sweet highland air fragrant with the sweet tinge of <CRACK>
OH SWEET MOTHER OF THE LORD, OUR EVER LOVING MIGHTY

WHAT THE FRICK.

And with that... the side mirror detached.

I'd like to say I held some sort of dignified air as I pulled into Urquhart Castle - side mirror dangling from two of the thinnest, dinkiest wires on the side of the brand new Merc.

And aside from a few mental WTFs... I did...

It was the German tourists that appeared nary a second after I pulled into a parking spot that cracked me. Their cheerful demeanor as they said, "Oh Wow, yah! That was a doozy. We saw it from behind!"

Loch Ness from Urquhart Castle

Yeah... you lost the last two World Wars - my one broken side mirror is nothing! Screw you!

So my recommendation for you my good readers? When you visit the UK and drive on the wrong side of the road... You always get the extra insurance.

That extra 10 pounds a day was nothing to the repair bill - let me tell you. Those extra pounds were well worth it to know we didn't have to pay for a new side mirror.