This morning’s rain gave way to sunshine by the afternoon. Most of the day we traveled up the west side of Loch Ness. And no, we didn’t spot Nessie—other than scads of colorful toys and stuffed animals in her likeness. We did see a “Nessie bush” where John posed for a photo.

On the way to Inverness, we stopped to see a large memorial statue commemorating Commandos. We also watched boats being raised through locks at the Caledonian Canal and then wandered through the ruins of centuries-old Urquhart Castle.

At a restaurant named “The White House,” John ordered a lamb dinner, and I finally drank Scotland’s “favorite soda,” Irn-Bru, that tastes (to me) like orange bubble gum.

We rode through the busy streets of Inverness to stop at Kingsmills Hotel, where we’ll stay for two nights before heading back to Edinburgh for the final night in Scotland.

I think I like this decor the best of any place yet—who wouldn’t like a purple sofa with purple plaid carpeting? 😁 And the other colorful place of the day was a post office south of Inverness where I mailed funny postcards (bagpipes and unicorns) to our grandkids.