We woke up around 7 to check out of house. We saw Marie, she was a great host. Lucas got to jump on the trampoline outside the house while we got packed up. We got on the road to Stirling Castle around 9. The driving was a lot better. We really enjoyed the castle. In a way, I think Stirling Castle was better than Edinburgh Castle. There were a few actors that made it somewhat interactive. Lucas was really into listening to them. It felt like you could go into more spaces of the castle than in Edinburgh. The scenery was amazing surrounding the castle. Once again, the weather was perfect.

Kelsey, Jared, and Adeline met up with us at the restaurant in the hotel right next to the castle. It was called The Portcullis. This restaurant was very good, and our waiter was entertaining. We had fish and chips, and they might have been the best on the trip. They also had Blackthorn Cider on tap, which is my favorite cider and very rare in the states! I could have stayed here for a while, but we had to get on the road to our house.

After lunch we drove all the way to Inverness. The driving was mostly like interstate driving until we decided to stop at a Tesco for groceries. This is where the trip took a turn for the worse. It was so stressful driving in this town. The roundabout going into the grocery store was all crazy. I hit a curb in the parking lot. Jared almost got in an accident near the roundabout. Tension was very high in the parking lot and in the grocery store. On the way to the house somehow, I hit a curb on the side of the road going about 45 mph. I have had trouble with realizing how close the left side of the car was getting to the side of the road the whole trip. We also got separated from Kelsey and Jared’s car in one of the roundabouts.

Arriving at the house spirits were pretty low. There was yelling, crying, and people telling me they were ready to be home. It was quite stressful and not a good time for anyone. On top of everyone being unhappy we probably need to get the car’s tire looked at tomorrow because it looks torn up.

Dad and Don went back to the store to get frozen pizzas for dinner because in the chaos of everything of course we didn’t get anything substantial for dinner. Kelsey, my mom and I talked stuff out before dinner. Things seem better. I know it must be hard and super stressful to be on this trip with a 7-month-old. There’s no way in hell I think we would have done it, so I give them credit, but I think we all need to keep in mind how we speak to each other in times of stress.

It was a disappointing arrival here in Inverness. In hindsight, maybe we should have skipped Stirling Castle, but it was really cool to see, and I doubt we would see it later in the trip. I know I let my emotions get to me and I really hope the rest of the trip goes better. After all I’m glad we all made it safely to the house because the driving was insane. It’s unfortunate to be in such a beautiful location and feel like total shit. The house is amazing. I tried to take some time to take it in and appreciate it. Hopefully the rest of the trip allows for that. Lucas was a trooper on the long drive; he did really well.  We went to bed late and I’m not sure what tomorrow holds. The tire on our car looks ruined and I don’t think anyone is up for another day of driving out to the Isle of Skye.