DAY 3 – AUGUST 4th – DESTINATION: THE ISLE OF SKYE

We woke up today and had a nice Scottish breakfast that Liz had prepared for us. They are so cute! You really feel like you have been invited into their lives by staying with them. The dining room is full of pictures of their family, not to mention their wedding photo. Gifts and drawings obviously submitted by guests of the Bed & Breakfast hung all about the room as well. We got to chat with Jim for a while about heritage, his history, favorite places to visit, how many of the American cities are named after Scottish cities (Houston, Dallas, Irvine, etc…). Oh, we had such fun chatting with him! Both Liz & Jim walked outside with is and wished us safe travels. They were so cute! (I told Matt that SO many of these Scots seem joyful… If I didn’t know any better, I would think that they were ALL Christians! They have such cheery dispositions!) Jim had told Matt that the surname Roy was a very common Scottish name. He sent us to a store in Oban to look up the Roy ancestry and we realized something… the Roys ARE related to the Robertsons. We went to some other stores too (with “Ness” clothing!) before we hopped in the car and headed through the beautiful highlands to the Isle of Skye. We stopped briefly in Fort William, a small port town known for two things: as the Gateway to the Highlands and for containing the UK’s tallest peak Ben Nevis.

I was looking on the map and noticed an area slightly off the beaten path (and our route). It was called Glen Roy and contained the “Roy Bridge.” We pulled off and walked around a little bit, Matt hoping to find some relatives that may live there. Alas, some gentlemen in a nearby pub explained that they didn’t think it had ANY relation to the surname Roy, but that everything was named after the River Roy (and so I ask you, how then did the RIVER get it’s name, hmmmmm?) After a few pictures we continued on our journey and drove through some of the most beautiful landscapes EVER created! I told Matt, “God must’ve had fun creating this place!” HUGE rolling “hills” with purple heather, pine trees, green grass continued for miles and miles. And did I mention all of the inlets and lochs in between some of these hills? Scattered throughout! It was so beautiful I could cry! We saw a castle (actually a few today!) that we plan on stopping by on our way back.
Finally we arrived in Portree (“Road of the King”) and at our WONDEFUL B & B called Almondbank Bed & Breakfast. Effie greeted us warmly at the door and showed us to our room (I was a little sad because I forgot to request the ocean-view room at no extra charge). She was completely booked for the night, but guess what! The room WAS the one I had wanted! I didn’t even have to request it! The Lord did for us!!! ☺ We settled in and realized that this was the nicest place we have stayed so far. There is a TOWEL warming rack in the restroom… what does THAT tell you? ☺ We went over to the town centre, found most of the shops closed AGAIN, so we walked around and explored a bit and then had a nice dinner on the pier (the Pier Restaurant.)… ok ok, MATT’S beef pie was DELICIOUS, but my salmon fettuccini alfredo tasted like it had been heavily smoked over a campfire. VERY strong “flavor.” :op So now, here we are in our oceanfront room overlooking the water and the town. Matt fell asleep early and I am typing as I glance out my window once in a while. THIS is the life. ☺ I feel so blessed!

Tomorrow we plan on exploring more of Skye and then heading over to Inverness to see our friend Ben. Good night! ☺