International travel is stressful.  It has its rewards, oh yes, but still … Every time I go to Scotland, I get sick.  ::: sigh ::::

May 15 2009 - We were up at about 4:30 AM this morning and soon headed to Edinburgh Airport in our nifty Vauxhall.  Realized at the airport that I had left a jacket at the TKR.  Wonderful.  It’s gonna be a good day!

Of course, there was no shuttle to take us from the rental car parking area to the terminal, so we hiked it with our luggage…just as it started raining again.

After a bit of a wait to board our flight to London, we were leaving Scottish soil together for the third time, holding hands as the wheels lifted as we do on takeoffs and landings. 

Yes, international travel is stressful.  Yet, for me, leaving Scotland is like leaving Heaven and returning to Earth.  Her grace, strength, beauty and mysticism have such a profound effect on me.  She has been very gracious to me in so many ways, including giving me so much healing of the spirit just when I need it.  Not only the land itself, but the family I have there.  Two stepsons of whom I am so fond and so proud, Ian’s lovely lady Rose for whom I feel a special bond, and our wee grandson Fionn.  Family.  I am such a lucky gal!

We were fortunate to upgrade to Economy Plus seats on the transatlantic leg of the journey and the extra bit of legroom made the trip much more bearable even without having a window seat.  The flight was in daylight coming Stateside as usual and the time of 7.5 hours was not a bad crossing.

I can always tell when we leave land and start the Atlantic crossing.  That first bit feels different…a bit bumpy and just different.  I look at the map at that point and, sure enough, we have just started over the water.  Perhaps a false sense of security, but I feel better once we’re over land again.

Dave and I have always said that if something should happen on these flights, at least we are together. 

Our layover in Washington Dulles was somewhat of a nightmare.  Dave’s bag decided to take a side trip to Denver and was not waiting for us.  We had to go to the Immigration Office and for half a second I had visions of them not letting him back in!  His Resident Card had expired but we had applied for the new one as required months before and were simply waiting on the new one to arrive.  I had brought all sorts of documentation to that effect and it came in handy.  A mind-numbing amount of time spent in layover in the airport (again, you can’t get OUT of the airport) in warm, crowded conditions, some mixed signals about which gate we were supposed to be at for the flight to Austin….aaaaarrrgggh!  I do NOT want to go through Dulles again.

The redeeming factor was that I was back in the UNITED STATES!  Yippiieee!  I figured being in Washington was just about as good as being in Austin.  At least we got that far.  Spent some time calling friends and family to let them know we were on American soil at least.

Hours passed and at last we boarded our flight for Austin.  Already travel-weary, the air conditioning was not on while we sat on the tarmac and there were what sounded like 20 screaming/crying infants in the row behind us.  Oh goodie.  Once we finally took to the air, the a/c kicked in, going to the opposite extreme of freezing everyone.  Folks were bundled up in every jacket they had…me including my hat.  The woman behind us was curled up under a blanket; you could only see a wee bit of the top of her head.

Never have I been so glad to be off a plane!   After 3.5 hours of basically torture and, I might add, no snack, it was divine to be on terra firma again.  After spending some time at the Austin airport filling out a report on Dave’s wandering bag, we eventually made it home in the wee hours of the morning.  We basically dumped the bags in the living room, took showers and fell into bed with our alarms set for the usual work-day time.

Yes, international travel can be brutal for me but I would not miss being in my beloved Scotland for anything.  It is truly a different world, one which I could adapt to and one that I keep close in heart and spirit during the time in between visits.  I hope you have enjoyed my ramblings and the photos.

I’ve been remiss on making these entries; there has been so much happening lately, but I’ll give a shot at catching up.

May 11 came early again; it was difficult to sleep late as the morning light arrives very early in Scotland this time of year.  Dave and I ventured to Two Thin Laddies again for breakfast; it’s hard to resist the temptation as it is so yummy and not an experience we get very often.

Dave ventured out to a bike shop on Lothian Road and I stayed at the flat, chilling out, listening to a Reiki CD I got in Aberdour and doing laundry.  It’s heaven to have the convenience of doing wash, but the machine is a washer/dryer combo and takes a couple of hours to do one small load of clothes.  I don’t mind; it’s so nice to have clean, dry clothes!

Later in the day we made appointments at Bizarre Ink for our tattoos.  I got my first one there during our 2007, and we both were going to get this done this time over.  Fortunately, we were able to book with the same artist who did mine, and we’ll go see him in a couple of days.  Cool!

We spent quite a bit of time simply walking through Edinburgh.  I love this city.  New and ancient, both in the same instant.  The weather was pleasant today and we had a good stroll, just soaking up the sights and sounds.

Today was Paul’s birthday and he came over to join us for dinner at Biddy’s and then spend the night with us at the flat.  Ian, Rose and Fionn popped in at the flat for a very fun visit after dinner.  We all had such a good time with each other and being constantly entertained by the wee lad.  My heart just swells with affection and honor when he walks up and hands me a book or something else he wants to share.  So, so special, it’s difficult to describe.  After they left, it was just me, Dave and Paul for the remainder of the evening.  Enjoyed his visit, although I was truly suffering with allergies and a nasty congested cough.  We visited, watched some TV and headed to bed shortly before midnight.

The morning of the 12th saw the three of us headed back to…you guessed it…Two Thin Laddies for our morning fare.  Paul had never been there, so it was a new experience for him.  I had not slept well and was still under the weather, so Dave headed to Kirkcaldy alone to see the aunts and uncles.  I truly hated not going with him, but really needed a day to rest and figured my presence with coughing, etc., would make the visits less than what they should be.  I snuggled on the couch in the flat with a blankie and watched, of all things, “The Vikings” with Kirk Douglas and Tony Curtis, dozing off and on. 

Refreshed a bit from my nap, I ventured next door to the church.  On our previous stay at TKR, I had wanted to go in the church but never managed to find the time.  Technically Catholic, I have not attended Mass in ages; however, I do “go to church” on occasion, this being my wandering into a Catholic church and sitting, thinking, giving thanks on my own terms.  The beauty of this church took me a bit by surprise; it was quite impressive and yet very welcoming, peaceful and joyous.  Karen constantly in my heart and thoughts, I lit a candle for her and asked that gentleness, peace and mercy be shown to her in these her last days.

Damn.  The tears still come when writing this.  She had said before we left that she would wait until we returned.  I had told her to go if she needed to.  Calling her every day from Scotland, the conversations were very short - “I love you, baby.”  “I love you, too.”  That was about it.

After Dave returned from visiting his relatives in Kirkcaldy, we sat outside at Biddy’s for a while and then got take away at a little Italian place down the street.  Back in the flat, we just chilled in the evening watching TV, updating our journals, looking at photographs….nice, relaxed evening.

The 13th saw us enjoying another “no plans” day, really, with the exception of taking care of some business in the morning and then our tattoo appointments at noon.  This was my second, a Bear pawprint on my left ankle.  Dave got his first, a very impressive thistle…the Flower of Scotland.  Kudos to our artist at Bizarre Ink for making it a fun experience and for being so professional.  No bothers with this one, just like the first one.

After takeaway lunch from Two Thin Laddies, we enjoyed some lazy time alone in the flat, even managing to sneak in naps.  In the early evening we were back once again at Biddy’s and then to Maggie’s for dinner.  We parted ways before reaching our snug abode, Dave going off alone to spend some time in a few pubs in his beloved Edinburgh.  I know he misses that and I’m glad he took the opportunity to get some alone time.  Funny, though, here he is in his country and I still feel protective of him.  I have no fear or anxiety walking the streets of Edinburgh alone, night or day, and I’m not the Scot!  But there I was “watching over” him in his native land.

Yep, guess I am my father’s daughter.  I can be anywhere and feel like it is home, like it is so natural.

The 14th was our final day in this amazing country.  I finally had a good night’s sleep and we awoke to an absolutely brilliant day.  By now you can guess where we had breakfast!  Dave made another trip to the bike shop on Lothian Road and I wound up the last loads of laundry, trying to take home more clean clothes than dirty ones since we would be working the day after arriving home.

After Dave returned, we again sallied forth on a walking expedition around Edinburgh.  So many people enjoying the Gardens this day.  Strolling along, I began to hear a drum!  As we neared, sure enough, there was a young man playing a djembe.  Ah…the universal language, music.  Halfway around the world, I find a common interest…drumming…with someone in a foreign land.  It was so special….

After an afternoon of chilling out at the flat, we had an evening walk down through the Grassmarket and into the cemetery where Greyfriar’s Bobby is buried, as is his master. 

Checking the Web for airport info and flights tomorrow, I noticed that many airports were screening people for the H1N1 virus…  I know what I have been suffering with is not that and hope I can slide through checkpoints without being quarantined!