Memory Lane: Scotland

25 Mar 2008

"Holy crap, I'm tired." - Travis

I'm going to have to agree. Not sure why we thought were departing from Glasgow Prestwick instead of just plain ol' Glasgow airport! Also, tonight we experienced the most expensive cab ride ever at 100 or $200. F-IN A!!!! Definitely not a "relaxi-taxi" when we have an hour to make a flight 45 minutes away. Luckily, the flight was delayed...unluckily,we didn't find that out until 10 minutes before we were supposed to take off...

And then  there was that whole AerLingus check-in desk being closed and not having a boarding pass, but I s'pose that makes for a good story. And an expensive one, at that. Wonderful.

But now for ruminations of the trip that prefaced that whole airport mixup ordeal. Scotland was magnificent. I am elated that Travis knew such a great person from camp in West Virginia nearly 6 or 7 years ago, Graeme and his lovely lady Chloe. Travelling to another country is always much easier and much more pleasant when you know someone who knows it well. We had a place to stay and our own personal tour guide!

First things first. We got to Glasgow VERY EARLY Thursday morning, it was raining and cold. So much so that Travis had no qualms about letting me shop for awhile just so we were out of the rain. It cleared up not too long after that and we went to a record shop while we waited for Pizza Dump to open. I know, I know...we are nothing more that stupid Americans, but we were on a budget and the Pizza Hut buffet was the right price. We bought a Cat Stevens album, Paul Simon and Queen for about 10 quid. Afer lunch, we went to the Museum of Modern Art...modern art stuff is always interesting, I either love it or hate it but there were some gems...plus it was free so we couldn't really go wrong. After that we strolled over to The Lighthouse in the lovely sunshine, although it was still bitter cold. The Lighthouse was fantastic. I will never forget the "take-away' exhibit which had all funky takeout containers from decades ago to the more modern ones, and also picninc gears and thermoses. It also had a spiral staircase of over 130 steps to the top of the lighthouse...the view was incredible but man, IT WAS FRIGID UP THERE!!!!

----TAKEOFF----



      view of Glasgow from the Lighthouse museum

After that we took the train into Ayr and met Graeme and Chloe, chatted for a long while and had dinner. After watching Rocky IV, Travis and I called it a night. The net day we headed to Edinburgh and saw some amazing sights, including a whole store dedicated to whiskey! Again, it was frigid. We actually saw a little bit of snow that day. For lunch I had fisherman's pie with pieces of salmon and haddock, inside the delightful filo pastry that enclosed it. Mmmm! Immediately after lunch, Graeme insisted on trying a deep fried Cadbury Egg from next door in the store which had deep fried anything and everything. Travis and I took some great pictures this day, but it's hard not to since the Royal Mile is so picturesque.

Saturday and sunday we were in Stirling, visiting Graeme's family for Easter. I must say how lucky both Graeme and Chloe are to have gotten such a good one. Especially Uncle Colin! He was my particular favorite to chat with for his collection Elton John and whiskey! What a dear. They all are, in fact. I also must note the insane amount of Guitar Hero played this night. So much so that the carpet was moving after momentarily taking my eyes off the screen. It was a wonderful Easter. Also, the house was breathtaking...right on the Stirling mountainside. It had an outdoor hottub, three baths, a sauna, a sunporch, oh my!
Sunday morning we had breakfast, consisting of many things unfamiliar to our foreign palettes, all except good old fashioned bread. I tried a duck egg which tasted the same, only larger in size, and haggis, which is surprisingly delicious! Who knew lamb paunch could taste so fine?
After breakfast (what an experience!) we said goodbye to the family, and the three of us plus Graeme's brother Mark, went to the William Wallace (of Braveheart fame) monument and saw his massive sword. Then we climbed another assload of steps to the top. Might I add that it was frigid up there as well.
We drove back to Ayr listening to the late,great Mitch Hedberg , before heading to a local hotel bar to catch some European futball (wooo!) with some of Graeme's buddies and his bro. To avoid any trouble, we ordered local Kronenburg which is 5 point something of absoulte deliciousness. After three, I was feeling pretty good, but started to get a little homesick all of a sudden. I couldn't stop thinking about how badly I wanted to hang out with Erin and Jess and how awesome it's going to be to see them again.
After beers, we went home and I prepared my specialty for dinner. Drunken Stirfry!
Gotta love it! And then it was time for our beloved LOST. We got to Meet Kevin Johnson after about 2 seasons of not knowing where the F he and Walt went!

So I forgot to mention that Saturday morning before we left for Stirling, Graeme brought us to see some sights of Ayr, including the Electric Brae...a raod that appears to be going downhill at one point, but is actually going uphill. We experienced this by driving to a certain point, putting the car in neutral and feeling it roll back downhill. Crazy!
That same car trip we also stopped off at an old castle site, quite in ruin, right on the coast of Ayr. We climbed all through it and took some lovely pictures.

Yesterday was Monday and we drove up to the highest point in Ayr and saw herds of sheep crossing the road! That may have been my favorite part of the whole trip. After that we went to the Brig O'Doon bridge, which was also brilliant. And a beautiful place to get married, I might add. Then, dinner at Graeme's parents house, which consisted of steak pie with a WONDERFUL turnip mash (mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!) and some more haggis! They are two fine people whose paths I hope to cross again one day.

------LANDING!!------

Let me just note that this flight took less time than the cab ride to the airport from the airport. BAH!  'Tis all for now.

Update Shmupdate

The last month has been crazy, a mix of hills and valleys. It started out with 4th of July weekend---Travis and I were house-sitting for his parents, which is one of my favorite things to do. Not only do they have an amazing house with a huge bathtub, fridge filled with beer and cable, but that weekend had perfect weather...and in the privacy of their extremely large backyard, I tanned topless while my own personal Cabana boy (Travis) brought me gin and tonics, that is when he didn't "accidentally" spill beer all over me!

In speaking of backyards, we were hoping to have our wedding reception in his parents' since it's a beautiful expanse of green and trees and flowers, flat land and plenty of room. But get this. His mom wasn't really feeling her only son's wedding in her own home! I'm sorry, but

CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT?

Here's something else I can't believe. Getting fired, surprise style. Like, leave work on Thursday for a 3-day weekend...come back on Monday, incidentally the Monday my boss was on vacation, and am handed a letter by my co-worker who was telling me something along the lines of "It's not working out. Thank you and good luck."

Dumbfounded, I took the letter and said "No, thank you!" and left. Feeling totally defeated. I did abhor that job, but I am unsure of what exactly I can tolerate for 8 hours out of my day. Whatever happened to the verbal warning? The letter said I was "unwilling to follow directions." What directions? Not to use the internet? Well, I would have gladly stopped had there had been any sort of direction not to, instead of moving my desk so "Jenn could help you out more." Well, before that, I was sitting next to Jenn. Then I was just sitting merely in front of her. Now, I was getting fired via Jenn.

That was a month ago. *sigh*

I'm not too sure of any prospective jobs at the moment. All I know is, I would love to own my own business...something along the lines of Estate Sales, Ebay and Event Planning. A little extra shot of faith in myself would be perfect right now.

Then there was debit card fraud. Excellent.

But on one of those said hills, I had the extreme pleasure of seeing two concerts in the last two weeks. The first was Aimee Mann in Albany, her only FREE! show of all of her tour dates, in an outdoor park about 80 miles away. Travis and I decided to also go camping that weekend before seeing the show on Monday. We ended up in the Catskills, tenting during a HORRENDOUS thunderstorm! I was scared, so we collected our must-haves from the tent (did I mention just about everything, including us, was soaked?) to head over the car to seek shelter. On our way, we discovered a brand new river running between us and the car. We were on our own private island.

The concert was amazing, I am so in love with Aimee and her new album &*$(#)^$ Smilers! She never disappoints. Especially since this is the second time I've seen her in concert and the first time I had to drive all the way down to VA to see her! The opening act, Ashley Pond, was just as incredible. What a voice that chick has, not to mention she's not bad on the eyes either. Her and her band are like a mix of blues,rock,country,soul, something...wow.

The other concert we went to, and just returned from, was Radiohead in Montreal. But first, we stopped in Old Forge (Adirondacks area) to stay at camp with his parents. We would be dining with some of DC's finest gay men this evening, and other friends. Before the rest of the gang arrived, Travis and I decided to go kayaking, this being my first time. I was a bit of a slow-poke but enjoyed myself nonetheless. Feeling just as adventerous, I also opted to go tubing for the first time ever, once David and Maurice arrived with a speedboat and a tube! I stayed on for the entire ride, not noticing until later that I had a MASSIVE contusion on my shin!  I think the booze may have had something to do with that. I usually try to opt for beer instead of liquor, but Leslie (future mother in law) makes a mean martini and pomegranate cosmo, so I had a few.

Other noteworthy aspects of that evening included: Jim and Leslie learning from the said gay couple what exactly a "blumpkin" is.
Okay, that was the only noteworthy aspect.

The next morning, I awoke in some PAIN. Slight hangover, extreme nausea ("In the beautiful land of fun and sun, we never flush for number one.") the bathroom pee stench was OUTRAGEOUS, upper body pain from rowing, the rest of the body pain from the tubing incident. Both of my butt cheeks have bruises and charlie horses. Not fun for a 5 hour drive to Montreal. YOW!

We arrived in Canada in plenty of time for waiting around, but were not allowed to bring in any food or beverages to the concert area. Enter: me drinking 2 beers faster than I have ever drank before. Not that it mattered, by the time we got into the venue I was way beyond sober. While waiting in line, Travis and I tried to pick out the Canadians from Americans. It was relatively easy. Where we were standing, there was a railing seperating us from what  weconsidered to be the front of the line, or at least, they were closer than we were. What we didn't know was how long the line actually was. We thought showing up 4.5 hours in advance would be enough time, but man. When they opened the gates, we realized just how far away we were.

The area was a large, muddy field. Muddy only because it had been a torrential downpour, recently upgraded to sprinkling status. We purchased a pricy hotdog and bottle of water, and the hotdog was peculiar to say the least. Wanting to find a good spot, we walked into the crowd and almost immediately ended up next to two of the coolest people ever! I was stoked when I heard one of them utter "That's what she said." When I mentioned we came unprepared, they said they also had and we set out to find some of that good Canadian stuff we always hear about. It didn't take too long after that.

During the opening act, Grizzly Bear, the sun came out momentarily and presented the crowd with a rainbow, notable only because Radiohead's new album is entitled "In Rainbows."

Radiohead was incredible. I wish I had a better view, but being as vertically challenged as I am, I guess I'm always going to have to wish I had a better view. By the end of the concert, my back hurt even worse from the constant standing, prior evening, no room to move or breathe in the crowd. Don't get me wrong, I didn't want Radiohead to leave the stage, but I couldn't wait to get back to the car either. We were planning on sleeping in the car until the parking lot cleared out and then head for the border. After a beer and three Advil, I was in a much better place. I didn't rouse until the alarm went off at 3:30 am and we awoke to a totally empty lot. By 9, we were home again and only minus $120, most of which was spent on gas.

I guess the only thing I left out was the wedding plans. Like I may have mentioned before, about the B&B in Maine and the reception in his parent's backyard...those plans have changed...for the better, I think and hope. The ceremony will be at his parents friends' camp in Old Forge, where we stayed this week, on the water with 50 of our closest friends and family. The couple also offered to cook for everyone afterwards. Perfection.
It's much closer and easier and free.

The reception venue was just decided. Our downstairs neighbors are moving out, to our surprise, and I was fearing the worst: since we live in the house that Travis' stepdad owns and is planning to sell relatively soon, I thought this would be it. Loss of 2 tenants and us already paying a deeply-comped rent. We met them (the parents) for dinner out, had drinks, got to talking about wedding plans, which seems to happen alot these days. After two Red Stripes, I felt ballsy enough to say, "You know, I was kind of hoping we could have the reception in our own backyard." And, to my very much surprise, they both immediately agreed.

So, we don't have to move until at least next September. That's good for us and our wallets.

And I couldn't think of a better place to celebrate our wedding than our own home. I'm elated.