The Loch Ness Monster

Who hasn't heard of the Loch Ness Monster, or Nessie as some affectionately call her? It's one of those mysterious stories that told to school children and we are lead to believe that she is as real as Santa Claus himself. 

The Loch Ness Monster lives in Loch Ness in the Scottish Highlands. The most frequent speculation is that the creature represents a line of long-surviving plesiosaurs. Evidence of its existence is anecdotal, with minimal and much-disputed photographic material and sonar readings. The legendary monster has been affectionately referred to by the nickname Nessie since the 1950s. (Thanks again Wikipedia!)
  
This weekend we went in search of dear Nessie. Cindy always loved the story of the Loch Ness Monster and really wanted to go searching for her. And, after reading a few stories to the girls, Katie also decided that this was a must-do adventure while we were here in Scotland.

Cole did some research and booked a hotel, train tickets, and a boat tour of the loch. On Friday morning, we got ready and loaded the kids on a bus and headed to the train station for our 3.5 hour train ride. The scenery was beautiful, but the kids were a bit bored. After eating lunch, they played Nintendo DS, watched movies, and played with our iPods. Katie frequently asked when we were going to get there. And, Claire had to scream for about 10 minutes before finally falling asleep. Not exactly the fun train rides that I remember from before we had kids!

From the train, we even saw some snow covered mountains! Katie was bummed that we weren't able to get off the train and go play in the snow. Cole and Cindy were bummed, too. Maybe that will have to be our next trip!

We were able to find a taxi that could accommodate 5 people plus a few bags, which isn't a trivial task! We booked a hotel room with 2 beds and a cot thinking that we'd have room for everyone, but found out that our room had a double bed, a single bed/couch, and a porta crib. Poor Cole wound up sleeping with Dani on the single bed. The hotel did have a kid-friendly restaurant where the kids had a play area to play in while we waited for food. That was definitely nice! We all went to bed early that night, excited that we would get to take a boat ride the next day. (Although, Katie had to be assured that the boat would not sink.)

The next day, we arrived at the boat dock a little early in the drizzling rain. There was a statue of Nessie and we had to get a picture of the girls in front of it. It's pretty tough getting a picture of those three standing still let alone looking in the same direction! There was no one at the ticket office and we saw people waiting under a little rain shelter. We all went in that rain shelter and then got on the boat with them. Then, we found out that we were on the wrong boat, but they told us to stay on it anyway. 

We were actually on the boat with an Italian tour group that was going to get off at Urquhart Castle. Our friends Andy and Mollie once told us that Italians absolutely LOVE children. Boy did this seem true on this tour! (As a result, we love Italians too!) After we got on the boat they were essentially lining up to take pictures of the girls. At first, we thought that they were asking us to move the children so that they could take pictures. But, no, they were asking us if they could take pictures *of* the girls. It really was a blessing in disguise that we got on that wrong boat! It was fun to be on the boat with them and then when everyone got off the boat at the castle, we got to ride back alone to the dock.  On the ride back, the girls were given some activity packs in a little backpack.

The Italian tour that was on the boat with us disembarked at Urquhart Castle. This castle is located on a headland overlooking Loch Ness. It was originally one of the largest strongholds of medieval Scotland. Today, it is extensively ruined, but still an impressive structure. 

We didn't really hear much on the boat tour. We were too busy talking with the others and refereeing the girls. But, we had a fun ride on the loch. The girls were fascinated watching the bubbles churn up from the wake of the boat and Katie even saw a green shadow under the water that must have been Nessie. She was following us in the boat! And, there were lots of green/yellow bubbles that were stirred up and thus green shadows. So, the girls concluded that Nessie's family was also playing alongside the boat. Katie counted 31 relatives. Dani counted 28. Wow! I didn't know that Nessie had so many family members and all in the same loch! It is 2 miles wide and 24 miles long, but if they all get to be as big as Nessie it seems like it would be quite crowded in there.