Arrival!

Finally Here!!!!

Trying to find the hotel...which bus?

The PINK phone...

Blogging, blogging, blogging...

Dinner out with Gill & George

We crashed hard when we hit the hotel, but we did manage to see a few sites before having dinner with Gill and George...the weather is dry and not too cold (so far!) We seemed to have hit Edinburgh during construction season...which has made getting around a bit more of a hassel.. But, we have taken a ton of photos, but the Wi - Fi at this hotel is not high speed, even though they claim it is...hopefully the next place will have faster access so that we can share all the great places we have seen.

Newark

72 degrees! From snow to sweltering...and only a 3 1/2 hour lay-over thanks to the de-icing in Portland. Todd's gout is acting up and now he is a Lion with a sore paw...

I was good and got a Happy Meal...and a purple pony...

Could not get the Wi-Fi to work at the airport, although I tried. We got some Tylenol for Todd, since we had checked most of the baggage, where I had stowed a big bottle for the trip...he was feeling no pain by the time we boarded the flight for Edinbourgh. Last leg of the trip and already I have had enough of being in the same clothes...all I want is a shower and some sleep.

And we're leaving too!

SNOW!!!!???!!!

OY!!!!!! So much for Todd's son, Mitch, taking us to the airport...the taxi was spendy.

We made it! We did end up sitting on the tarmac for an hour waiting for them to de-ice the plane...but then we were up and headed for Newwark.

 

And we're OFF!

Todd had to repack the night before...that would be the girl in him....

Travel phone

Todd's friend Gill in Edinburgh got us a temporary phone to use while we are in country. She put 10 pounds on it for starters and has left it at the Hotel for us to pick up when we arrive.

It is pink...PINK...I can't wait to get pictures of Todd using this.


Bwahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!

Itinerary Complete!

We made the last of the reservations and travel plans…the only thing not booked are the ferry trips to the Isle of Mull and back. We can’t buy tickets for foot traffic in advance…and we haven’t got our accommodations done for while we are on the island. Todd has a friend who had a B & B, but we haven’t been able to contact him…so we are holding out on those few days.

We DO have e-tickets for the bus trips to Belfast and back…and we have paid for train tickets that we can pick up at the ticket window at the stations when we get there. I made sure to request Wi-Fi so that I will be able to update the blog and upload pictures…

We are staying in several Bed & Breakfasts as well as Hotels in the various places we are going to. We got confirmation from the place in Ireland this morning! Excitement is building!

So here is the itinerary so far: (we may add some side trips)

Edinburgh – 1^st 2 days, looking forward to seeing the city and some museums

Belfast – St Patrick’s Day weekend, enough said!

Ayr – Robert Burns country

Mull – The one Island that is accessible at this time of year & Todd has friends here

Oban – Seafood Capital of Scotland

Edinburgh – A final good night’s rest before the long journey home.

Now, we just have to get packed…

Less than 2 weeks to go...

Todd started counting down this last week…12 days to go…

I spent part of yesterday getting all of our reservations, e-tickets, etc… organized. We have changed plans several times and will probably change them several more before we actually make it to the airport.  I have added the links as we get things in order.

We now have reservations in Ayr for several days after leaving Belfast, we may not make all the islands we want to…not every one of them is accessible at this time of year…so we are talking about hitting Fort Williams and Glencoe. I really want to see Glencoe…it has had meaning to me long before I knew about Clan Donald or my being part of it.

I have been getting my laptop cleaned up and ready for the trip as I am hoping to update the blog with pictures and descriptions as we go…probably not daily, but as often as I can manage.

 I have not gotten excited yet…think that is because I have never made a trip like this and will actually believe it is finally happening to me…when it finally happens to me.