Traveling to Scotland

June 13, 14, 15

We left home Monday afternoon to drive a few hours closer to the airport where we would catch our first plane on Tuesday.  Unfortunately, the hotel we had reserved turned out to be a disaster.  Our room was filled with mold and I couldn't even stand to walk into it.  Julie and I ended up moving down the street to another hotel (after pre-inspecting the room) and we got a good nights sleep.  The mold room would have been awful even if I hadn't gone into it already sick.  But, I knew if I stayed in that room that I probably wouldn't be fit to fly to Scotland the next day.  Thankful for options!  :)

As we left the restaurant where we ate dinner we saw this rainbow.  I took it as a good sign.  I do believe it WAS a good sign, but maybe not quite in the way I envisioned that night.  :D

Tuesday morning we got up bright and early to drive the rest of the way to the airport for our first flight.  We flew first from St. Louis to Chicago, then after a layover we boarded our plane that would take us from Chicago to Dublin overnight.

flight from St. Louis to Chicago

ready to board in Chicago for Dublin

flying over Scotland

landing in rain and clouds

Welcome to Edinburgh!

We didn't get much sleep at all on the flights so by the time we landed in Edinburgh we were all quite exhausted.  We were thrilled to find our luggage waiting for us at the baggage carousel and then began making our way out to meet Jennifer.  It was wonderful to see her smiling face as our welcome to Edinburgh!

After picking up our rental car, Jennifer drove us to the apartment we had rented through Airbnb.  That drive was our first view of Edinburgh and we were enchanted by the historic buildings.  What it must be like to live your daily life in the midst of such history.  We are such a young country here in the States.

Our apartment was a true highlight of the trip for us.  The view was absolutely magnificent.  I had hoped that the photos on the listing would be accurate and they truly were.  We enjoyed many times just sitting and looking out at beautiful Holyrood Park.  No matter the weather or the time of day, we never got tired of the view.

I took many more photos of the view that were
much better than this one.  But this is the
first one I took... sitting exhausted on the
sofa and just thankful to be there.  :)

You can also note just from the few photos I have here of Edinburgh that the weather can change completely in mere hours or even minutes.  That was something we finally got used to.  That and the daylight from 4:30 a.m. to well after 10:00 p.m.!  :D

When we finally fell into bed that night we all slept hard.  It was good to be there and be settled in.  And it was oh so good to be with dear Jennifer.  :)

Links of Interest
Flickr photo album of this day - there is a bit more commentary with the photos -
https://www.flickr.com/photos/williscreekranch/sets/72157670352785125

Our apartment rental - we LOVED it! - https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/994272

Holyrood Park - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holyrood_Park

Visit Scotland - https://www.visitscotland.com


Complete listing of all Scotland blog posts -

Grace over Scotland -
http://lifeatwilliscreekranch.blogspot.com/2016/06/grace-over-scotland.html

Traveling to Scotland -
http://lifeatwilliscreekranch.blogspot.com/2016/06/traveling-to-scotland.html

Stirling, or bust -
http://lifeatwilliscreekranch.blogspot.com/2016/06/stirling-or-bust.html

Holy Island of Lindisfarne -
http://lifeatwilliscreekranch.blogspot.com/2016/06/holy-island-of-lindisfarne.html

Our day in Edinburgh, Part 1 -
http://lifeatwilliscreekranch.blogspot.com/2016/06/our-day-in-edinburgh-part-1.html

Our day in Edinburgh, Part 2 -
http://lifeatwilliscreekranch.blogspot.com/2016/06/our-day-in-edinburgh-part-2.html

Sunday in Portobello -
http://lifeatwilliscreekranch.blogspot.com/2016/06/sunday-in-portobello.html

Part 1 of Family History Day -
http://lifeatwilliscreekranch.blogspot.com/2016/06/part-1-of-family-history-day.html

Part 2 of Family History Day -
http://lifeatwilliscreekranch.blogspot.com/2016/06/part-2-of-family-history-day.html

Camus House to Inverlochy -
http://lifeatwilliscreekranch.blogspot.com/2016/07/camus-house-to-inverlochy.html

Highland Folk Museum to apartment -
http://lifeatwilliscreekranch.blogspot.com/2016/07/highland-folk-museum-to-home.html

The 'not what we had planned' day -
http://lifeatwilliscreekranch.blogspot.com/2016/07/the-not-what-we-had-planned-day.html

Our final day -
http://lifeatwilliscreekranch.blogspot.com/2016/07/our-final-day.html

The road home -
http://lifeatwilliscreekranch.blogspot.com/2016/07/the-road-home.html

Scotland Accommodations -
http://lifeatwilliscreekranch.blogspot.com/2016/07/scotland-accommodations.html

The many faces of Arthurs Seat -
http://lifeatwilliscreekranch.blogspot.com/2016/07/the-many-faces-of-arthurs-seat.html