The legend of the Loch Ness monster, (“Nessie”) is rooted in Scottish folklore. Nessie is a mythical creature who inhabits the Loch Ness, an extremely deep waterway in the Scottish Highlands. She is long and thin, usually green and with black humps, tail and snake-like head.

It took two hours to drive to Urquhart Castle, whose ruins are one of the most-visited castles in Scotland. It is situated along the Loch Ness and is important in Scottish history although it has been in ruins since the 16th century.

Then we enjoyed a 30-minute boat ride on the Loch, keeping an eye out for Nessie and watching the sonar measure the depth of the water, which went over 700 feet deep!

We returned to the shore and guess where we found Nessie?! At the gift shop, ha ha! Nessie was found in plush toys, on T-shirts, and many other souvenir items. These photos were all taken by Bill Potter.

In the afternoon we also spent time at the Culloden Battlefield, the site of a bloodbath between the English and the Scottish. It started raining and I had left my umbrella in the bus!

I found out by scrolling through Facebook that today is Bill’s birthday! I informed Cornelius, our tour director, and he asked me to come to the microphone to lead us all in “Happy Birthday!”