August 4-7

• Damien and Lisa returned to London. Mark and Deanna hired a car to drive to The Old Mill House Bed & Breakfast in Acharn to visit Alex and Vivian.
• Already a challenging drive with the steering wheel on the right side of the car and driving on the left side of the narrow Scottish roads, mother nature decided to make it more interesting. Storm Floris — essentially a winter storm that hadn’t been seen in decades — shut down bridges, blocked roads with fallen trees, and generated hurricane force wind gusts up to 82 mph. Fun (not!!!).
• The Old Mill House is a charming bed & breakfast - not to mention home to Alex and Vivian - surrounded by tall trees and red squirrels. Alex and Vivian are wonderful hosts. It'd been over four years since we'd seen them last and we hope that much time does not go by before we see them again.
• Power was briefly knocked out in Acharn and Aberfeldy due to the storm. The original restaurant we planned to visit was closed because of the storm. Vivian selected a wonderful alternative Indian restaurant, Chillies, in Aberfeldy.
• On Tuesday, Mark drove Deanna through the Scottish Highlands. We visited the Queen’s View, Dalwhinnie Distillery, Suidhe Viewpoint, and Loch Ness at Dores Beach on our way to Inverness, Scotland.
• We stayed at the Kingsmill Hotel in Inverness.
• Dinner on Wednesday night was at Rocpool — a true fine dining establishment Damien and Lisa recommended.
• On the morning we left Inverness and the Scottish Highlands, visited the Culloden Battlefield. It was an emotional experience.