I recently visited Loch Ness in Scotland. It was a grey, rainy day but I was able to get some shots of the opaque water and the clear absence of the famous monster.

My daughter and my son-in-law took me along for a short part of their weekend trip to Scotland and I was happy to come along at a short notice.

I snapped photos as they stood by the edge of Loch Ness scouring the horizon.  No, there was still no monster anywhere around, but that’s okay.  Another bucket list item checked off.

There is an eerie feeling around the lake so lore and magic is required.  I recently read that they found an extremely high count of eel DNA in the lake.  A few giant eels, or many small ones was the explanation.

We stopped at Fort Augustus and I let the kids go on their own, while I did some other things.  When they returned we drove in a thin drizzle towards the highlands.  Fort Augustus is a charming village and I wish I was able to explore it some more.  Maybe another time.

We chatted as the mountains grew bigger and greener and then stopped by the side of the road for a short hike up a mountain.  The rain had stopped and it turned out to be a brilliant day for a hike.

I snapped another photo as they were hiking up a trail, an assisted selfie if you will.  Alas, reception was bad in the highlands and the video chat faded in and out and finally the call dropped.

Just like that I was back in my kitchen in Canada. No jet lag, no expensive airplane ticket and I got to spend some time with the kids.

As technology blurs the distance between continents, the definition of travel can be reimagined.  I have to insist I was there with them even though it was only through a video chat.  It was great spending a couple of hours together with the kids.

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