Last night, we landed in Inverness without incident and spent the night in a simple but clean hostel. Barry managed to get us half price for the night, since they'd charged us full price for the previous night's booking that we missed, and we felt much more Scottish bartering our way out of yet another out-of-pocket expense. Before we left, many people told us that we'd be missing our beds after six months. Maybe, but not yet. We've never seen any beds look as good as the ones in Inverness.

We awoke today to cloudy skies and wouldn't have had it any other way. Inverness is lush and green and smells like the sea. We walked up to an old castle in the heart of the town and enjoyed the sights and smells, including a quick stop at the bakery for "take away" breakfast and down to the Thistle Hotel where we picked up the car. Barry had never driven on the left hand side of the road, so it took us two whole trips around the parking lot for him to start driving like a pro (we are all going to die!!!). Every two seconds there is a roundabout (traffic circle). You have to yield to the right, which threw Barry a few times. As well, the roads are unbelievably narrow and there are no passing lanes. Instead, there are these tiny passing places that you pull into when someone is coming so you don't hit them. You'd think that the left side passengers would feel safer, but because Barry is busy trying not to hit oncoming traffic, we swerved into the ditch several times. Any lingering jet lag disappeared as the rest of us kept waking up with adrenaline rushes. Anyway, we drove out to Loch Ness and did the Nessie thing. Then we headed to the West Coast to enjoy the sea and history, not to mention some haggis and a pint. Along the way, we stopped for a tour of Glen Ord Scotch Whisky Distillery. The whisky is described as "distant heather and peat aromas, well balanced, with a medium body and a spicy, gingery finish".