Today, we had a cruise on Loch Ness scheduled. The cruise dock is about 10 minutes from our hotel and was for 2 hours starting at 9:45. It was easy to find the dock and there was plenty of parking. When we first pulled up, we were able to see one of the Highland cows. We then checked in for our cruise. When it was time to board, we headed upstairs to the upper deck. We found seats next to the rail. One the boat started moving it was cold upstairs with the wind blowing on you. It was a nice peaceful cruise. We stopped at Urquhart Castle to let some of the passengers off. We had booked a round trip, so we stayed on the boat, but decided to move down to the enclosed cabin for the return trip. Unfortunately, we did not see any signs of Nessie.
Jay decided he was hungry, so he found a McDonalds back in Inverness and had us drive to it only to find out it did not have a drive thru. So, we turned around and drove to Urquhart Castle. When we arrived, there was a sign saying the parking lot was full, but I pulled up anyways. The attendant asked if we had booked tickets and I said yes, so he let us through. We were able to find a parking space with no problem. After parking the car, we walked toward the ticket counter. There was a long line, I asked the attendant if we had to stand in line and she said no because we had pre-booked our tickets we could go ahead to the ticket counter. When you enter the visitor center, you have to walk down steps for several floors to get to the gift shop and the entrance to head outside to the castle. The castle is a long walk downhill. It is just ruins now, but it sits right next to the Loch. While we were down at the castle, it started raining, not hard. We looked around and then started the walk back uphill. The walkway was gently sloped so it wasn’t too bad.
Next, Jay wanted to go to the local soccer stadium, so he put the directions into the GPS and off we went. The club store was closed when we arrived. Jay still took pictures of the outside of the stadium. Afterwards, we headed back to hotel. Jay went the fitness center to work out and I took a nap. When he came back it was time to go to dinner. We happened to be a couple of blocks from a nice pedestrian area with a lot of shops and restaurants. Jay picked one and we ate dinner. After dinner, we walked around the area and shopped for souvenirs Then headed back to the hotel..
