Jen Turns 30

Well, it finally happened.  Jen turned 30 years old last week. We had a great combination of friends, family and travel to celebrate the main event.  Jen and I took the car and ferry over to Islay on thursday, where we met her parents at the airport.  Jen's childhood friend Ellen lives on the island, where she teaches French and Spanish at the local high school.  So we spent four days there visiting Ellen and her island.

We took this cake to the island, made by Joyce, a receptionist at Jen's work. The girls at the office obviously know her well!

Friday night was spent at the pub, of course! We had a nice meal at The Islay Hotel in Port Ellen, followed by music provided by Ellen's band. They regularly play traditional music here and in Port Charlotte.

Probably not what she was expecting, but the first thing we did on her birthday (Saturday) was take a tour of the Bowmore Distillery.  Here is Jen with a genuine piece of Islay peat.  Don't worry, it's not what you thought it was at first glance.  The tour was really good, especially seeing the malting barns, which only a few distilleries still have.

On Sunday the clouds blew away and we explored some other parts of the island.  Here we are with Jen's parents at Finlaggan.  This is the old seat of the Lord of the Isles.  It was a small fort located on an island in Loch Finlaggan.  So it is an island in a loch on an island. There used to be a stone causeway but now Historic Scotland has built a wooden walkway.  You can just make out the Paps of Jura in the background on the left.  These are the largest hills on the neighbouring island of Jura.

One of the last places we went to was Portnahaven at the far west point of the island.  Sometimes you can see Ireland from here.  It was really wind-swept but we were rewarded for our perserverance by the presence of at least a dozen seals in the harbour area.
So those are most of the highlights. Hope you enjoyed the pictures.  It was a good trip and Islay is a place we'd happily return to.  It's a bit of a journey but that is part of what makes it special.  That and the fact that Jen turned 30 there.  Poor Jen.

-david