This morning, we woke up and at breakfast at the house before loading into the van to go and experience the ruins of Urquhart Castle. The drive was only 30 minutes and the kids were a little concerned that they didn't bring their iPads to pass the time. Gasp - instead, they had to look at the scenery outside the window.
We arrived at around 9:40, beating the crowds and getting in for the 10am castle video showing.
The scenery was spectacular - views of the castle overlooking Loch Ness. MBM was excited to try and find places where she took photos previously. A few people even put their hands into the water to feel how cold it is.
A few things we learned:
1. DD really wanted to text his mom to ask questions about their Scottish ancestry but was told that it was too early to text. Later, we found out that his family roots go back to Drumnadrochit which is right beside the castle. This has now created a theme for the trip - to learn more about the MacDonald clan near Loch Ness.
2. The castle was destroyed by the Grant Clan, to prevent the Jacobites from capturing the castle.
3. The deepest part of the Loch is just outside the castle, going down 255 meters.
After seeing everything there was to see at the castle, the gang made their way into Drumnadrochit to the Ness Cafe for lunch. Everyone was very happy with their selections:
- DD, AA and T had the homemade chili
- B had a smoothie and soup of the day (parsnip and taragon)
- MBM had soup and a tuna sandwich
- Lola had a baked potato with chili
After everyone was finished eating their lunch, MBM and B shared a dessert while Lola enjoyed a gluten free brownie. It was a nice relaxing lunch as the next activity (The Inverness Castle Immersive Experience) was planned.
On the walk back to the van, AA was startled by a truck that passed very close to him when he was on the sidewalk (not expecting a vehicle to be going the other direction, that closely to him).
The drive back to the house was uneventful, as it should be. There was a short pitstop at a Nessie Statue for a photo opportunity - MBM's memory of the location was about 40% which grew to 80% when we got to the Jacobite Loch Ness Cruises location.
We had a short rest back at the house before our next adventure. B and T took advantage of the free time by playing video games. Also a theme of the trip.
It was a short walk to the Inverness Castle. We had some time to kill so we wandered around the castle garden to see some local plants.
Inside the Immersive Experience was not what we expected. B enjoyed the exhibits, T did not. The adults had mixed reactions, DD was the only real vocal one about experience. The experience was several different rooms inside the refurbished castle which used to be a courthouse. Each room had several different audio guides that talked about different things - animals, plants, geography, people and history and arts and sports.
We had a short break for some refreshments (tea, hot chocolate, a rhubarb drink and a couple beers) before continuing on to see an exhibit about Scottish music and tapestries (which B really enjoyed).
After finishing the exhibit, we went to a couple stores to see if we could find "Monopoly Deal", which is one of the card games MBM really likes to play. We were unsuccessful and made the a short walk to the restaurant (The White House, which gives a very different answer when searching in Google) from the Castle. The food was very good - Lola enjoyed some fish and chips, T and AA both had brisket burgers, MBM had salmon, DD had "the special", which was venison steak and mashed potatoes, and B devoured a gyoza bowl with chicken. DD's meal came with a dessert but B was upset that she couldn't order her own because she already had dessert today. Insert sad face B chewing on some mint from DD's dessert...
On the way back to the house, we made a "quick" pitstop at the grocery store to get more peanut butter, bananas, tea and beer. And... Monopoly Deal!
After getting back to the house, the kids got ready for bed quickly so that we could play some video games (Towerfall) before bed. The adults stayed up a little longer (it was a struggle for AA) and played Monopoly Deal, which MBM was very excited since the properties were all "English" (e.g. Piccadilly, Bond Street, Kings Cross Station, etc.). After the fourth game, it was time for bed - AA was turning into a pumpkin and Lola's throat was starting to hurt more than earlier in the day.
