It seemed fitting that the road skirted a golf course at the end. There are hundreds of whiskies and hundreds of golf courses in Scotland.
The road between Aviemore and Boat-of-Spey is about 5-1/2 miles, so we had to share the path with joggers, bicyclists, and day trippers.
It was a little anticlimactic at the end because there was no post or commemorative plaque or statue to signal the end, unlike Buckie's start/end sign. We took a picture at a signpost and toasted the end at lunch.
I missed telling a couple of stories. One had to do with a pink dog.
This had to do with yesterday's trip by Matt, Tom, Jessica, and me. Matt kept saying, "We actually passed somebody, we actually walked faster than someone!" The someone was two young mothers, two dogs, and three kids. We said hello as we passed but didn't stop to talk. About a quarter mile further on was the dark pond with dragonflies and the lone duck. Since we had paused to look at that, the mothers, etc. caught up with us. Matt had noticed the first time around that the dog was faintly pink and we had speculated on what that was about as we walked along. Color-coded for sheepherding competition? Owner a hairdresser using dog for practice? Kid accidentally got hold of spray paint?
So now we had an opportunity to satisfy our curiosity. This time we talked with them and found out that the dog was pink because its owner had run in a Race for the Cure event a few days ago. She had sprayed her dog pink and there was still some left. Very cute.
Here's the second story. In Buckie, Matt and Patty had bought gloves at the pound store. A few days later, Matt lost one of the gloves. The day after that, he found another glove in his pocket, the mate of which he had lost a while back. For the rest of the walk, he wore one blue glove and one tan. Practical, but odd.
Tomorrow we all catch the same train, but we have different destinations. Matt and Kathy will return to Glasgow, the rest of us to Edinburgh.
Last night at dinner, waiting to eat our "beef olive," a thin Angus beef strip wrapped around haggis!
This is where we stayed in Boat-on-Garten. Pretty fancy, huh?
Jessica is showing us how to run the last five miles.
The trail goes through town.
The lichen turns the stone blue.
Yep, that's us! Posing in front of the dramatic scenery.
Matt's fashion statement.
Patty gazing off into the heather.
At the crossroads with a downed signpost. Now which way do we go?
Entering Aviemore.
We marked our own end-of-trail.
Greeted by ravens circling the house. Appropriately, the B&B is named Ravenscraig.
