Quiet River Raging

If nothing else, it has been a very productive day, and it's not even over yet. ( boring domestic crap follows )

( boring love life crap follows )

( not-so-boring-but-far-off trip planning follows )

Anyway, those are my activities and musings for the day - it's dinnertime, and I have one last serving left of the venison stew I made last week (mmmmmmm...). Then it's back to MP/comp exam studying for the evening.

Hope you've all had a great weekend!

According to the results of the poll, those of you who voted want to read more about Scotland. So, I am complying with those wishes and therefore offer you details of Falkirk and Stirling. Enjoy!

( May 21 )

( May 22 )

( Lodging Review )

Next chapter: Macduff!

Last night was my last work night at the store before my trip. WOO HOO!!! I love my p/t job, but I really need a break.

Tonight I'll head straight home (no gym time this week, alas) and start on the following:

1. Clean out the car
2. Dinner
3. Empty dishwasher, do any dirty dishes by hand
4. Clean the laminate floors/vacuum the rugs and carpet
5. Take photos of stuff to-be-packed in my checked bag and print them out
6. Strip the bed/put fresh sheets on

Tomorrow night will be devoted to laundry and packing.

My Citylink Explorer Pass arrived in the mail yesterday, so that's taken care of. I called the Aros Centre in Skye this morning to confirm the time and pick-up location for the tour I'm taking through them. I got travel insurance yesterday. I got a couple of bills off in the mail today.

Everything specifically Scotland-related is done. I'm ready. I'm so ready.

I've been checking Scotland's weather on weather.com off and on this week, and it looks like the weather and temperatures are right on target. Daytime temps in the 50s and 60s, nights in the 40s and 50s. Kind of like camping at Bealtainne. :)

Sunrise and sunset is going to be different, though. I've never been as far north in latitude as I will be in Orkney. By the end of this month (when I'll be in Stromness and Kirkwall), sunrise (not just the pale grey of dawn - actual sunrise) will be at 4:15am. Sunset is at 10:00pm.

I also checked the website for the Macduff Arts Festival, and it looks like it's going to be a lot of fun. There's even a sandcastle-building contest on the beach at Banff. There will be plenty to see and do and eat. And a lot of the activities are free!

http://www.coastfestival.org.uk/index.php

Busy busy busy...

( yardwork )


Yesterday afternoon's level of activity has continued into today here at work.
( work work work )

OMG OMG OMG!!!!!

( ZOMG, only FIFTEEN days and a wake-up left to Scotland!!! )

Basically, I'm ready. I have a few things to do before I leave, like some house-cleaning, mail and paper holds, writing checks for the petsitter, and arranging for grass-cutting whilst I'm gone. I need to make sure that all my electronic equipment/computer stuff is turned off AND unplugged. And a few other little tasks.

Almost time, almost time...

... or in type, whichever the case may be.

***Quick note so that the rest of this makes sense: Lewis and Harris are in the Outer Hebrides, off the west coast of Scotland. Despite the two names, Lewis and Harris are actually the same land mass as opposed to two geographically distinct islands. Lewis' topography tends to be flatter, with lots of moors and marshes, while Harris has lots of mountains.***

Okay, the Outer Hebrides portion of my trip has a bit of a kink in it, in particular the part where I actually leave Lewis/Harris and go to Skye. I am currently reserved for 2 nights in Laxdale Holiday Park's bunkhouse, just outside Stornoway, on Lewis. The day I leave, I need to be at the ferry terminal in Tarbert (on Harris) by 7:00 am. It's about an hour from Stornoway to Tarbert by bus, but there's a major problem with that - the buses don't run that early in the morning.

Here are my options:

1. Drive to Tarbert myself and leave the rental car at the pier. This really isn't a good option, since the fee for doing so is pretty high. In fact, it would double my rental rate. MEEP!

2. Take a taxi from Laxdale to Tarbert Pier. A possibility, but an expensive one - about 55 pounds or so. MEEP!

3. Cancel the second night at Laxdale and find a place in Tarbert to stay for that night, greatly facilitating my on-time arrival at the pier. And it costs considerably less as well.


I've already done some work regarding option #3 - I contacted a B&B that's spitting distance from the pier about their single room. Unfortunately, that room's been booked for several months. I've e-mailed the nice lady back about other rooms/area B&Bs, and I plan to follow that up with a phone call in a couple of hours.

I ironed out the other travel wrinkle yesterday - same type of thing, only in Drumnadrochit/Inverness. I also made my Orkney ferry reservations.

There's really not much left to do at this point, arrangements-wise. I plan to stop at the local AAA office this week to get my international driver's permit and some British sterling. I also need to get my travelers' checks at Navy Federal (that won't take long).

Only 58 days and a wake-up left to go...

It was a quiet, but fairly productive weekend. Friday night I worked the crop at the store - good sales that day, plus I managed to get out a bit earlier than usual.

( Saturday )

( Sunday )

In other news, ( More updates - refrigerators, cats, travel planning, etc. )


That's it for now, I guess. I expect to be hearing from genevieve2006 about her newest pending arrival (son #3), whose due date is next week, but could probably show up at any time.

Busy, busy, busy...

( New-sy, but kind of boring )

I guess that's it for now. Time for another cup of coffee. At least I get to leave early today for a dentist appointment - I have a feeling I'm going to be in bed by 8:00 tonight...

Have you ever looked for something in your house/apartment/tent/shack/whatever that you absolutely, positively, without-a-doubt KNOW is within those four exterior walls somewhere, yet you can't find it to save your life?

I've just spent over an hour searching just about every conceivable spot in this house, looking for this:

http://uncommonscents.com/Bucky-Utopia-Neck-Pillow-p/bu0001.htm

I bought one WAY back, when I was stationed in Hawaii, prior to going to Australia in August 1996. It is the best travel pillow EVER. I can't remember when I used it last, but I know I've looked for it before, and I'm certain it made the move with me. I even had an eyeshade that I got in a little complimentary bag (along with socks, toothbrush, and paste) that I got from Qantas when I flew to Sydney tucked inside the outer cover.

Gone. Without a trace.

There's one more spot I can look, but I'm not holding out much hope - it's possible that it's in my seabag, which is full of uniforms that haven't seen the light of day in over 3 years. I guess I'll drag that thing out of my smaller bedroom closet tomorrow and dump it out. At least I know where I can get another pillow if my old one doesn't show up.

(Or, "The Post In Which Heather Goes On And On Ad Nauseum About Her Travel Plans To Scotland")


( Seriously. This is a lengthy post. Consider yourself warned. )

Well, this is certainly long enough, so I'll stop making your eyeballs bleed here.


ETA: Passport arrived today! That's gotta be some kind of record - I only sent it about a week and a half ago...

In light of the lovely morning I had last Friday, I decided to indulge in a little retail therapy. Well, it isn't really retail, but it certainly was therapeutic.

I finally nailed down the dates for my trip to Scotland and bought my tickets for my flights. Departure from Washington National (yes, I still refuse to call it Reagan National) to Glasgow on May 16, arrival back in the states evening of June 7. I've pretty much also figured out where I will be on what days whilst I'm there, too. I had a couple of date priorities - being in Banff/Macduff from 23-25 May for their first annual Arts Festival, and avoiding being in Lewis on a Sunday (because EVERYTHING is closed - you can't even take a ferry to the mainland). I think I've got everything worked out for the most part. Now I just need to obtain my Historic Scotland membership, contact the falconry course company about reservations, and make my room reservations in Banff/Macduff. Pretty much everything else can be played by ear.

Only 6 months away!