Monsters first:

We went to Loch Ness, and this is what we saw! Actually, Loch Ness really wasn’t terribly special, but is a must-see for tourists. And we had a good lunch.

Yesterday (Saturday) we left the Isle of Skye to return to Edinburgh, stopping several places along the way. We sampled a whisky at a famous distillery.

One of the nicest people we met on the trip was Gary Norwood (and his equally nice wife, Ann), a large-animal vet from Cheyenne, Wyoming. When we were oohing over the hairy coos, Gary went up to pet them, then leaned over to give the big fella a kiss. Gary and Ann have invited us to visit them in Wyoming.

When we got back to Edinburgh, we got to our hotel only to be told our reservation wasn’t until Sunday night, and the only room they had available would be over $600. We frantically searched the internet for a cheaper available room, finally finding one at an airport hotel. A tram ride later, we checked in—at close to 10 pm. Luckily, the restaurant was still open, and the bed looked really good by the time we got up to it.

Today we picked up our rental car and after spending a huge amount of time trying to figure out how to operate it (I have the newest car of the three of us, and it is 9 years old), get the navigation system figured out, etc, Mary started her up and drove around the car lot for a few rounds to get the feel of driving on the left hand side of the road. Being on the bus trip helped get us familiar with the system, and Mary quite expertly got us from Edinburgh to Keswick, England, mostly in the rain. We stopped in Penrith, where I had my first steak and ale pie, served with mashed potatoes and garden peas. Very good!

In Keswick we are staying in a lovely 3-bedroom place on the river. The town itself is lively, filled with outdoor sport stores and enchanting pubs. Of course we had to try one, before coming home to a dinner of crusty bread, hummus and cheese.

And now for the miscellaneous: Things I loved about the Isle of Sky:

Sheep. There are far more sheep than people on the Isle. They pretty much have the run of the place, and cars frequently have to share the road with them.

White Houses. The majority of houses are whitewashed stucco, most often with gables and often with chimneys on either end. I fell in love with them.

No pictures of the last thing I love—bagpipe music! Totally unexpected, but our guide played some of the most beautiful songs, pensive and full of longing. I’ll never make fun of bagpipers again. Well, maybe never.