finding loch lomond

a fine day...
exactly the kind of day on which to bundle ones sweetheart into the rav and ....
drive to loch lomond ...
not as far as loch ness (a place herself would really like to visit),i now feel a need to watch the carbon footprint on any trip. multimap have certainly curtailed my wanderings since they decided to include carbon footprint info along with requested directions.not that i'm complaining, mind ...saves me money and portrays me as more green than mean!

i checked out the route on my "map of the uk", seemed simple enough ...hmmmm
must have missed a turn off ... ended up driving in glasgow city centre with herself gazing at me in admiration. why admiration you may well ask? well damn ... did i or did i not stop and ask for directions, an act of extreme humility on my part. the instructions for escaping glasgow were simple enough... turn right, at the second set of traffic lights turn right again, follow the signs to loch lomond. oh yeah? i must have missed a set of traffic lights, we ended up heading back from whence we had just departed.
herself was growing slightly concerned, she remembers our trip to stonehenge - but that is another story....
at the next traffic light, herself wound done her window and in her inimitable bronx accent, informed the world and the cabby next to us that we were looking for dumbarton. dumbarton being a place on the route to loch lomond. the cabby, significantly impressed by herselfs sheer americaness,was stunned into being most helpful... twice stopping and leaping out of his cab to point out the correct way.
so ... now we were on the right route, signs everywhere pointing the way to dumbarton, the erskine bridge came into view ...great... we needed to cross the clyde river...
we crossed the bridge. the next road sign read greenock/irvine ...huh? we were on the wrong side of the clyde, we were heading west, we were a damn sight closer to home than we were to loch lomond!
now, i will tell the truth and shame the devil ... i am damn good at becoming lost, one might even look to me as some kind of expert in the art of arriving elsewhere...
this loch lomond lark was a fish of another sort, even herself feels that we entered some type of alternate universe in order to end up where we did!

did we ever find loch lomond...no! but i did locate a castle for herself to admire, unfortunately it was closed to the public, some scottish castles close for the winter. but we walked up to it, admired it, wondered how old it might be. it was next to the water, we walked on a rather less than robust wooden pier, out into the clyde.it was beautiful, one of those magical moments lovers are fortunate to enjoy.

we bought sandwiches at an m & s, and crisps and chocolate puddings in plastic cups. we parked the car and enjoyed a picnic lunch looking out over the firth of clyde.
the bonnie, bonnie banks of loch lomond will have to wait for another day...