Despite a few close calls on the windy, winding mountain roads The Daily Caveat and wife have made a safe return to the States after a week in beautiful Scotland. The primary purpose of this trip was the attendance of a friend's nuptials in Edinburgh.

Prior to the ceremony, we made time to tour the Royal Mile and visit Edinburgh's impressive castle, situated in the center of the city atop the ridge of a long-extinct volcano. Ideal placement, as castles go.

The wedding, which took place at the lovely St. John's Church on Princes Street, was wonderful. Other than the wide variety of kilts on display, Irn Bru on tap at the bar and the grand guignol gesture of cutting the wedding cake with a sabre, I would observe that Scottish weddings are much like their American counterparts.

During the course of the reception, alongside the expected wedding tunes we were treated to some traditional Scottish music in the form of the song and dance number, Gay Gordons, which is, for all intents and purposes, the Scot equivalent of the Electric Slide.

Our wedding duties done, from Edinburgh we struck out west and north in our trusty Vauxhall Corsa (this picture actual size). We found driving on the left side of the road to be less intimidating that we anticipated.

Given her low opinion of my driving prowess, it was not surprising to me that my wife's anxieties on the subject of driving dissapated almost instantly after seeing me negotiate the right turns and roundabouts without incident.

Suddenly she was brimming with confidence...

Out first stop was the sleepy, whitewashed town of Inverary where we spent a night at The George, perhaps the coziest inn in Christendom. For the record The George was built in 1775, which makes it older than our entire country.

From Inverary we headed north and west on a foggy, wet morning through Glen Coe (the scenic drive here being quite spectacular) and out toward the western coast. Our destination was the tiny water-side town of Glenelg, where we were treated to the kind hospitality of Christopher Mains at his lovely Glenelg Inn.

Glenelg overlooks the Sound of Sleat as well as the Isle of Skye and is only accessible by boat or through the beautiful, if somewhat harrowing, Ratagan mountain pass.

On our way in to Glenelg, we were treated to fog and rain and zero visibility. On our far less white-knuckled drive out we had crystal-clear vistas and a fabulous view of Scotland's "Five Sisters of Kintail" mountain range.

After leaving Glenelg we turned again north to Dornie and a short stop at the Eilean Donan castle, which has been featured in dozens of films. Interestingly enough, the castle remains a private residence, its primary purpose since the current structure was rebuilt from ruins in the early 20th century.

After taking our fill of photos and being both chilled and soaked by a sudden shower we made our way accross the Shiel bridge and north-east through the beautiful, remote mountain views of Torridon.

Late that evening we crept into Inverness for a night at the quirky and charming Trafford Bank Guest House. After miles and miles of wilderness where the primary population seemed to be sheep seeing the bright lights of a city was quite welcome. We had dinner right on the banks of the fast flowing River Ness before turning in.

On our last day of traveling we headed south out of Inverness, following the eastern banks of Loch Ness. We were treated to miles and miles of beautiful scenery and a crisp, clear day in which to enjoy it.

We stopped long enough to enjoy the exquisite sunset views of the countryside from atop Stirling Castle, grabbed a bite at the adjacent Portculis Bar and then hit the road for our final leg back to Edinburgh and the flight home.

My thanks for your indulgence.

Now...back to business.

-- MDT