A Trip to the Highlands and Loch Ness

I need about Tree-Fitty

25/02/2011

I woke up earlier than expected.....around 6am. I gathered my things for the day and walked up the street where the Highlands Bus was going to start for the day. Right when I reached the top Camila was walking by.....she looked great, but very tired. I asked her how she was doing and she said that she over slept her alarm and had to rush. Two girls came up to us (Amanda & Allyson) and asked if we were on the tour. The bus wasn't there, but there was a van with no windows parked in front of the building. I said, "Yep, and there is the bus!" We laughed. I had a lot of energy for being such an early morning with little sleep the night before. I was ready!

The bus came and we were underway. Like yesterday it was information overload so I won't get into everything. The driver was Scottish, but very mono-toned and he had some bad jokes. Nice enough guy, but he pointed out the most random stuff in the middle of the tour. Here are a few things:
Campsites
Hairy Coos
Bathrooms
Falling Rock Signs
City Entrance Signs
Castles
Bridges
Pigs
Speed Cameras
A Waterfall
Lochs
Mountain
A Dead Animal Carcass
It was interesting!!!!!!

For the most part is was a lovely day, but it did rain off and on. Sometimes it was hard to see out the window due the rain. I don't like bus tours where the person is talking the entire time.....only exception is the Tram Tour at Universal Studios. I love it! Anyway, it was a little tiring. Both Camila and I were exhausted from the night before so we did sleep occasionally. Occasionally, Camila and I would be sleeping and then I would wake to a semi-loud thud. Poor Camila would shift while she was sleeping and hit her head on the window. I'm sorry, but I couldn't help but laugh every time.

Thankfully, Amanda and Allyson were a blast to chat with during the day. Both of their husbands are in the US military so they were taking the advantage of getting some travel time in. They were funny! The bus driver would say something odd and we'd all look at each other and smirk. Sadly, everyone else on the bus seemed to be a bore. Very quiet and not very talkative. It made for a long day. Fun and beautiful, but a long day.

Our main stop of the day was Loch Ness. Our bus driver said, "Everyone always asks me if I have ever seen the Loch Ness Monster and I say, Yes. everyday when I wake in the morning." Get it? Yep......the whole way! Anyway, when we got to Loch Ness Amanda, Allyson, and I went on a boat and cruised the lake. They had a sonar screen, an indoor warm cabin, a couple of decks, and most importantly.....a bar. I had a beer that was brewed in Loch Ness. It was an ale.....not bad, but my dad would have loved it more. Anyway, Camila did the Urquhart Castle tour and joined us on the boat later and did a half trip. The boat ride was a blast! From the inside of the boat you could see the water crash up over the front of the boat and drench the front windows with water. It was cool!

The rest of the tour whet further north went all the way around Loch Ness and then back to Edinburgh. During the first part of the trip we went through Sterling, Kilmahog, Glencoe, Ben Nevis, Fort William, Fort Augustas, Loch Ness, Interness, Pitlochry, and Perth. Now, we didn't stop at all of these places, but that was our route.

Well, while the tour wasn't the greatest. The company was fun and the sunny parts of the day provided us with some fantastic photo opportunities!

A Hairy Coo