David and I left this morning to pick up a 'dongle' that will allow us to have internet access basically anywhere in the UK that has cell service. It took a bit longer than expected so Tara and I didn't leave David's until around 2pm. We stopped at a grocery store to pick up our first batch of supplies and met a very old and friendly man named Lorie with a rickety bike and a single pannier. He talked with Tara about bicycle touring, being in the mountaineering club as a 50 year member, and his wife making him do all the shopping and cooking (with a smile)! He was adorable but very difficult to understand due to his thick Scottish accent.

We took our time, taking photos and detouring to see a bit of the West Highland Way before we realized that our goal of riding to Stirling (about 30 miles northeast) was pretty lofty given the amount of daylight left. Going slowly and actually going at all is going to take some practice. We didn't make it very far before we decided to pack it in for the night with a bit of stealth camping.

We snuck off the road into the woods at the peak of a large hill, setting up camp in a well-hidden clearing with a multitude of daffodils. Tara worked on making dinner (potato & leek soup) while I tested the dongle from David and was able to video chat with a few friends, crazy!

Our Walkstools worked wonderfully and I could tell right away that they were going to be one of my favorite pieces of equipment for camping.

Later in the night a light flicked on in the distance and then faded out. Tara was worried it was somebody with a flashlight but I was pretty certain it was just a streetlamp or a motion sensitive light on a house. Tara sent me out to investigate; I was thankful to find I was right and also surprised to find out how close houses were to our very well hidden spot.

Before we went to bed I had to break out our shovel to go to the bathroom. It was a pretty humbling experience that made me truly appreciate indoor plumbing in a way I never have ;)