| Hi, my name is Linda Shute from New Jersey | | | | |
| and I'd like to tell you about my exciting | | | | Loch Ness has many moods from the sultry to |
| trip to Scotland and "The Highlands". My | | | | the serene. Strange currents move across |
| hunger to travel to far away places has not | | | | and below the surface and even sturgeon have |
| diminished as I have grow older I still enjoy | | | | been known to swim across the loch. |
| far away places and like to meet the folks | | | | |
| who live there. Being an avid horse | | | | The waters are so black from the depth and |
| enthusiast, and riding since childhood, I | | | | pitch it's hard find anything even on sonar, |
| like to combine these two pleasures whenever | | | | so who knows what people have seen or not |
| I can. | | | | seen. You have to make up your own mind |
| | | | whether Nessie swims freely through those |
| One day while browsing my new travel | | | | dark waters or not. |
| catalogue from Equitours, (they offer | | | | |
| worldwide riding holidays), I found a trip to | | | | Next it was onward to Aberdeen to return the |
| Scotland that I just couldn't pass up. I | | | | car and go to the stables for my horseback |
| phoned them and booked the horseback trip and | | | | part of the trip which was stationed out of a |
| extended the trip to include a week of | | | | small town called Tomintoul in the Highlands. |
| traveling via rental car and stay at | | | | |
| Bed-and-Breakfast homes. | | | | I stayed at the same hotel for the week and |
| | | | the horseback tours headed out in a different |
| This would ensure I would get off the beaten | | | | direction each day and lasted about 5 to 6 |
| path to meet the local people and just maybe | | | | hours. I found Tomintoul to be a sleepy |
| get a glimpse of the Loch Ness Monster. | | | | little town with not much action you could |
| | | | say they rolled up the sidewalks at dusk. |
| Unlike the trip I took to Ireland, first I | | | | |
| did the horseback trip and then traveled on | | | | On this trip there were three other riders |
| my own in a rental car. | | | | from England and one other lady from the US. |
| | | | |
| This time I drove around first, then did the | | | | For the week we were all suppose to ride the |
| horseback trip. | | | | Highland ponies. This I did not like at |
| | | | all. I found them to be slow and pokey with |
| Off to the travel agent I went with checkbook | | | | not much get up a go spirit. |
| in hand. I paid for the airline tickets and | | | | |
| booked the rental car and picked up the | | | | At the end of the day my legs were so tired |
| Bed-and-Breakfast information. I flew into | | | | from the constant urging on of this animal I |
| Glasgow, rented a car and headed east towards | | | | was miserable. I complained so much they |
| Edinburgh. | | | | finally let me go out into the pasture and |
| | | | pick another mount. |
| After getting lost and found several times in | | | | |
| this city, I finally found my destination | | | | I chose a high-spirited half Arabian mare for |
| castle. | | | | the rest of the week and I was very happy |
| | | | with her. |
| I took a tour of Edinburgh Castle. This was | | | | |
| a breath-taking experience in two ways: the | | | | One of our day trips was to the Glenlivet |
| shear beauty of the place and It was a huge, | | | | Distillery where we tied our mounts to the |
| very steep hill, I had to walk up to get to | | | | fence and wet inside for the tour and taste |
| the castle. | | | | test. |
| | | | |
| Once at the entrance, I asked the guard who | | | | I'm not usually much of a straight whiskey |
| was the big bronze statue of and he replied | | | | drinker but on this day I made an exception. |
| "William Wallace, he is similar to your | | | | Needless to say the ride home was very |
| George Washington in the Americans fight for | | | | interesting. Most days where spent on |
| freedom". | | | | trails through the hills and crossing streams |
| | | | or forest. |
| After the tour of the castle and a peek at | | | | |
| the crown jewels it was a much easier trek | | | | The Heather was not in bloom when I was there |
| downhill to the car. | | | | and this was a bit disappointing, I could see |
| | | | that the hillsides would be blazing with |
| I headed northwest towards Stirling then on | | | | color just a few weeks after my departure. |
| to Fort William and Loch Ness. I spent a | | | | On our last day in Tomintoul were taken to a |
| day and a night in Fort William browsing old | | | | nearby town and to watch the one and only |
| museums, enjoying a lovely dinner, complete | | | | Highland Games I have ever seen. |
| with local folk musicians and dancers. | | | | |
| | | | They started out with a parade of horse drawn |
| In the morning I was off to Loch Ness and in | | | | carriages, bagpipers and all the competitors |
| search of the mystery monster. | | | | walking behind them all were dressed in |
| | | | Kilts. |
| Loch Ness is a really huge lake 22 miles long | | | | |
| with waters as black as pitch, in its deepest | | | | They had dancing, log throwing, tossing the |
| parts it's said to be about 700 feet. | | | | caber, tug of war, and other contest I have |
| | | | know idea what the name of it would be it was |
| I learned that the legend of 'Nessie' the | | | | not like anything I had ever seen before. |
| monster dates back to 565 AD. I visited the | | | | Everything was more of a Medieval type |
| Loch Ness museum and found some very | | | | atmosphere. |
| interesting information. Sonar surveys of | | | | |
| the loch using the latest equipment have | | | | At last much to my dismay, my vacation has |
| failed to find any conclusive evidence of | | | | come to an end and I must return to New |
| Nessie existence, but neither have they | | | | Jersey. |
| proved that she doesn't exist. | | | | |