We had breakfast at the hotel and then hit the road.  It was a beautiful, scenic drive along Loch Ness to Urquhart Castle.  We didn't take the castle tour but we peered over the wall for a view.  Then continued our scenic drive, stopping at pull-off spot and taking a trail down to an old bridge.

There was rushing water, vibrant purple heather, and rolling highland hills.  We continued the drive along the windy, two-lane highway until we came across a police car going the opposite direction and waving his hands.  He seemed awfully excited about something, but we couldn't figure out what it was, so we continued on our  merry way.

We passed some cars pulled off to the side of the road and thought it was puzzling, but still continued.

Shortly thereafter, around a bend in the road, coming towards us is a wide load truck hauling a wind turbine blade.  Now we know what all the fuss was about - he takes up both lanes!  We manage to find a spot along the road to pull over and wait for him to pass.

We came to the turnoff to head towards the Isle of Skye, and stopped at a cute little cafe along the road.  Continuing on the drive, we of course stopped at the iconic Eileen Doonan castle.  It was low tide, so the water didn't come right up to the bridge, but it was still some impressive scenery.  We took the castle tour (it is still privately owned by one family!).
























It was now after 1pm, and we needed to stop for lunch, so we pulled into Kyle of Locklash before crossing the bridge to Skye.  After walking around looking for a seafood restaurant that ended up being closed, we settled on a small cafe packed mostly with locals.

Which led to one of our biggest regrets of the trip and a story worth it's own entry: Acuqa Jane and Dolores.

Because it was already almost 2 in the afternoon, we had enough time to pick just one stop on Skye, and I chose Talisker Bay.  We drove on the main road for a while, eventually turning off onto a one-lane road with wandering sheep, waterfalls, and grassland for miles.
























Although it was a bit overcast at this point, it was temperate, and not overly windy or cold.  Talisker Bay was amazing. You follow the windy, narrow, sheep-filled road pictured above until it dead-ends at the bottom of a hill by the sea.  After parking, you follow a trail for about 20 minutes until you reach the beach.
























On the way out we stopped at the Seaumas Bar in Sligachan and had a friendly conversation with the gal tending bar.  Back on the road we left Skye, but the drive to our next hotel in Fort William was just as beautiful.  We took another break at the Invergarry Hotel, which was very fun and quaint.  Finally arrived at the Inverlochy Castle Hotel.  The grounds were beautiful!  We were staying not in the hotel itself but on the grounds at one of their guest houses, the Factor's Cottage.  It was very cute, with a cozy living area complete with.... a bat!  We cracked the window open so the poor fellow could escape before leaving for our dinner reservations at the Castle Hotel restaurant.

Dinner was amazing, and our waiter was Joni, from Transylvania.  He had the unfortunate luck to bear a slight resemblance to Bella Lugosi, and combined with the bat we had found in our lodgings, some good natured jokes were made.  He was used to it, apparently, as he had perfected the Dracula laugh.