Scotland-- The highlands

So lets go back to Scotland shall we? I think we left off somewhere around Wednesday-- This was our only Scheduled day. I signed up for a Van tour to take us up to Loch Ness-- which is way north from our place. WAYYYYYY north, and I figured we would never make it up and back and still be alive to tell the story-- We cover alot of ground in one day.

The van was nice and there was a couple from Australia and a family from South Carolina (husband wife sister and friend to be exact) and us and our driver Alen. Alen was a pleasant young guy-- 25 years old who put up with all our questions... and even repeated things so that I could laugh-- There are coo's off to the left.... (yes coo's) (translation cows) (how I love the accent!)

Anyway we were picked up at 8am-- and off we went! I don't actually remember where our first stop was but it was a potty break-- and a chance to get souveniers (haha) I chose to meander over to the Garden Center that shared the parking lot with our stop-- pretty much had the same stuff as ours does here at home... but I wondered if their grass seed would work better than ours.. needless to say my suitcase wouldn't hold grass seed so I left it on the shelf. Then I spyed some hairy coo's on the other side of the parking lot... they facinate me. How often do you see hairy cows??? hmmm? here we have the normal kind all over... but ones with hair and horns just not popular. Alen told us the Queen had actually decided that the black and white cows didn't look right on the hill side and had some farmers experiment with getting the lovely shade of brown that is so popular with the cows--- (just alittle factoid)What was also amazing about these little buggers is how fast they run... I saw it first hand --Yes I called them and they actually came--

After that little stop we were off to the highlands... the scenery changed immensly-- very rugged and rocky-- but beautiful just the same. We made a stop in Glencoe to admire the view and get some great pictures. ( I think Alen knew we were all antsy in the van too)

And then it was off to Ben Nevis and Fort William. Where we stopped again for lunch, Mike and I had packed a picnic lunch so we took off into town-- there was a monument and a cemetary that looked interesting so we headed that way. After reading a few headstones we sat for lunch on a bench with a lovely view of a garden.

Next stop Loch Ness-- this is where disappointment comes in... I can say I was there but due to time constraints it was alittle like the Chevy Chase National Lampoon Vacation movies where he is standing looking over a landmark for two seconds before jumping back in the car..... We got out of the van... made a few Loch Ness Monster jokes and then wandered down the canal where we Alen picked us back up to head back south.... No we didn't see the Monster-- but we did see a lighthouse!

Our Group!Lighthouse

Our way home included a few scenic stops-- a great waterfall where we got a chance to do alittle hiking. Great photos and lots of fun to climb around the rocks. And then Alen put on a tape of old scottish tales and tunes... I think we were suppose to quiet down for the long ride home.. but we were full of questions and kept him on his toes for the remainder of the trip. Glad we did it... but sure would like to go back and do it on our own......