Friday, July 26th
Once awake, showered, and packed, Bryan and I headed out for breakfast at a little pub adjacent the river for a wonderful breakfast of salmon, toast, and juice. Scotland, although very similar to London, was far less expensive, which meant we could afford to eat out comfortably. At breakfast, we decided we’d head out to Loch Ness to find the monster. Although I never met him, my grandfather (Robert Knox Little) was fascinated with the loch ness monster. Part of a Scottish society of believers, he took his three sons to the Loch when they were young. I’ve only heard stories of my grandfather from my dad, and figured Robert would have gotten a kick out of hearing that I’d visited the Loch Ness.
Although long, the drive to Loch Ness was beautiful. Unlike my previous trips, I had no idea what kind of geography I’d see in Scotland. We drove through broad valleys, rich with green grasses and forests wedged between steep cliffs. Every now and again there would be the ruins of a castle – unmarked and nearly forgotten.
Four and some hours passed before we made it to the Loch Ness. A surprise to me, Loch Ness is no small pond or lake, but is a long, deep lake several miles long. On the east end, a wall of trees encircles the road, only broken by select pullouts to view the lake from. We finally arrived at the visitor center in the late afternoon. Almost like a Disneyland ride, the tour consisted of a series of decorated rooms with documentary video projections chronicling the history, theories, and pursuits of the monster. Although fun, the tour was a bit anticlimactic; each segment spared no time dispelling the magic and mystery of a century old, giant dinosaur-like creature.
To get the most out of our visit, we traveled to the northern most point of the lake. A short loop trail led us along a narrow canal rich with thistle and cow parsnip on the sideline. I was recommended to go camping and fishing up in this area by a waitress who’d been married in the nearby town of Inverness, and I could see why; the lake is surrounded by dense forest and calm rivers to row or kayak.
By now it was time for dinner, so I hopped in the right side door of the car and drove on the left into the unfamiliar city of Inverness. This city proved to be more difficult to drive in than Edinburgh; almost every intersection was a multiple lane roundabout, parking was nonexistent, and I had no idea where I was most of the time. After dinner, we searched for a place to stay, and everything reasonably priced was booked up. I finally lost it after getting trapped in a parking lot. Bryan had spotted a hotel that was said to have open rooms, but when we arrived in the gated parking lot, we couldn’t find the entrance. As I turned around and headed for the gated exit, I found that the gate wouldn't open. I walked up the small incline to the gate sensor and waved my hands. No luck. No parking attendant. We were trapped! Luckily only a few minutes later, a couple emerged from the pub inside the lot. I approached him, but he already knew what I was going to ask. “1-4-3-7-E” he yelled with a smile. I thanked him, punched in the code, and got in the car. As I approached the gate, it closed again. Hmmmm, I must have to go quicker. I pulled right up to the keypad and punched in the code. The gate opened, I drove up closer, and the gate shut again! The timer must have been five seconds or less. Mind you, I was in manual car going up hill, holding the emergency brake in between punching the code, then punching the clutch, throwing it into gear, releasing the brake, and playing the balance game giving gas while releasing the clutch…it was literally impossible. I was having a good laugh, and the friendly man who had given me the code noticed my struggles. He kindly came over, unprompted, and punched the code in for me. I gassed it and was out of that lot as fast as I could be.
Frustrated and energized, we decided it would be best to get faaaaaaar away from Loch Ness and head back to town. I enjoyed the long drive back to Edinburgh, watching the sun set (which took hours here). Of course, being a Friday night, we encountered a similar lodging problem like in Inverness, so we ended up staying at the hotel that we’d checked out only that morning. It was quite an adventurous, long day.
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