Stone Mountain Sunday

In all the trauma and excitement of wondering if and when we would get our cases and begin our road trip, I never mentioned what a wonderful first day in Atlanta we had!

I must admit this day began with an emergency trip to Walmart. This was not in the plans, but all of us had no clothes suitable to climb Stone Mountain and this was one of the things I was looking most forward to! I even "had" to buy two pairs of shoes,which I sincerely needed. The only shoes I had were slip ons and they were too hot for  day wear and not safe for The climb.

On top of Stone Mountain with Atlanta in the background

Roxanne and Ardash regularly climb Stone Mountain on Sundays and I was really looking forward to being there on a Sunday and joining them. Lucky for us, this was going to be Russell's first climb on his own, without being in a backpack on his daddy's back. I kept waiting for him to get tired before I took a rest, but he was a real trooper and virtually kept up with us. But then, he slept in his Mother's arms all the way down!

 (Alan reminded me that Adarsh also shared this honor!)

The rest of Sunday was very relaxed , with a few visitors dropping by.  The first was my niece(and Roxanne's sister), Candi, with her son, Payton.  It is always special to spend time with these girls. I feel so lucky to be an Aunt since I was really an only child, and nieces sweeter than these two would be hard to find.  

Alan, Candi, Payton, Russell and Adarsh just relaxing on a Sunday

I am also pleasantly surprised to have still very dear friends in Atlanta after all this time.  Have had to switch to Alan's computer after publishing this to get the pictures of Dayle and Dana!

Dayle and I used to be Docents at Zoo Atlanta many years ago.  I was so happy to see her and spend an afternoon catching up.

Dana is so much taller than I am, she very kindly took her shoes off for this picture since my shoes were lost somewhere in Roxanne's house!

Dana and her family, Danny and Allison came over a bit later. Which was perfect.  I got to spend quality time with all my visitors because they came and went at different times. Lucky!

Dana and I were absolute best friends almost the entire time I lived in Atlanta.  I cannot imagine what life would have been if we had not had to have adjoining desks and learn each other's secrets through the material that separated our cubicles.  She has just flown to Italy to celebrate her 60th birthday and I will see her again next week to find out her Italian adventures!

Allison, Danny and Dana

Hold a true friend with both hands - Nigerian Proverb

Bonus Day in Atlanta!

Update

After waiting all day for our bags to be delivered, Alan phoned and they informed him it will be tomorrow. We are supposed to be in New Orleans tomorrow. And if we had known, we could have done something more fun than waiting for our bags. This is so unfair.......

We did get a bit of shopping mainly, food and supplies for when we get to the timeshare in Fort Walton Beach. One strange thing happened at Walmart though;Alan picked up a case of Budweiser. When it came to paying -Alan was asked for ID! At first, we thought this was hilarious. But she was not checking his age........once he showed her his UK drivers license, she refused to sell it to him at all.  She said all Walmarts will only sell alcohol to people with US Identification!  What?????  Luckily, I has my US passport with me. But it aaa not good enough that I had ID, I also had to physically pay for it.  I jokingly  asked if it was ok to use a credit card that I had jointly with Alan.  (she didn't laugh). Of course, now we are going yo have to test that "rule by all of my travel mates attempting to purchase alcohol at Walmart! 

I was getting more and more unhappy at our situation, I would have happily just gone on and done without my contacts, medication and battery chargers for my phone! But I was out voted.....

We did manage to salvage the day by Adarsh taking us on a magical mystery tour of downtown Atlanta, we saw the Jimmy Carter presidential library, ate dinner at The Flying Biscuit close to Little Five Points.  First restaurant that has ever heard of a cumin allergy and not looked at me strangely when I ask if it is an ingredient!  For that alone, I fell in love with the place.  The delicious biscuits, grits and other food was an added bonus!

Jim, Jennifer and Adarsh

Then, to add icing to the cake, or should I say donut? - after passing the fabulous Fox Theater, Adarsh suddenly pulled into the Krispy Kreme parking lot and the sign in the window said "Hot Donuts Now".  I was so excited !!!!  I had been hungry for them for months. And they did not disappoint.  Adarsh has turned into my local hero!  And I am very grateful for such a delicious surprise.

Three of the four bags came at about 10 pm. Although it felt like Christmas, it was still upsetting not to have all,the bags, it was Jim's that did not come.  Not sure how it happened, but it was up to Alan and me to be awake when it arrived.  We slept with Roxanne's phone next to us so as not to miss it. Woke up at 2:29, no bag.....but it did arrive at 3am and we left almost immediately. So lucky to have been "stuck" in such a wonderful place with such nice and interesting people.  

Now the adventure begins!

"The journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step." Lao Tzu

woe is us!

Today

I must apologise for posting a little sentence. Adarsh was helping me figure out how to do this blog AND post pictures. I had been looking forward to this almost since we booked the tickets! Not sure why I was convinced he could do this, he didn't know anything about it either.  But he had knowledge of what to look for and eventually he figured it out!  Not that I can download any pictures, however............we never got our suitcases. That it is one reason I am sitting in Roxanne's living room at 3:33 am. Ok, that and the famous jet lag that caused me to start writing blogs when we travel in the first place!

Still struggling with how this works on an iPad, wish me luck.....

It was a bit sad leaving my Mom on Saturday morning, but we got Jim and Jennifer to arrive at Glasgow airport and begin the summer holiday!  Our first obstacle was getting off the bus from dropping the car off at long term parking. We were almost the last folks to get off and there was only one case left. It was not mine..........Alan and Jim ran to catch up with passengers and see if they could find it. The woman who had it must have been first off and a fast walker, but they caught her at the very last second before she would have entered the building and gotten lost in the crowds, whew!

The flight was uneventful, I even got to watch two complete and uninterrupted movies. I always thought that was impossible and many times don't even start to watch one. But I have been desperate to see these and an so glad I was able to. The first one was The Iron Lady, with Meryl Streep. It was a fantastic film, very well done and sensitive. I had read they concentrated too much on her dementia, but I loved it, in fact, I sobbed through the last part!  And The Artiste. A silent film that was a joy to watch. Nothing more to say about it!

At the new international terminal in Atlanta,which had opened 3 days earlier, the joy of being entertained died a sudden and painful death!  Not only are the lines for immigration ridiculously long (I cannot imagine Heathrow being half as bad even with all the press complaining).  Alan is able to come with me in the citizens and residents line. That took an hour.  We knew Jim and Jennifer would take longer, but never anticipated they would take TWICE as long! To add insult to injury, while in line, both Alan and I got texts from British Airways that our bags had not arrived with us.  

After getting through immigration, we found the BA rep to get details-not one of our bags followed us from the UK. This is usually not a big deal as they have always been delivered the next day.  In fact, it makes life easier not to,have to juggle bags through customs and in your transportation away from the airport.  I managed to get each couple compensation and away we went without a care in the world!  With a promise of being reunited with our bags at about the same time tomorrow.  You already know this did not happen. 

The documentation we have from BA gives ways to,track our bags, they do not work. The 1. 800. Number requires input of letters and numbers with the automated calling system, and none of the phones we have access to are able to do this.  They have my bag listed as turquoise and it is red.......so worried that these bags are not coming at all.

Lucky that we planned to spend a second night with Roxanne and Adarsh, but we intended to leave early and mosy down south on the way to New Orleans this morning. 

And we have no battery charging facilities for my phone or Alan's laptop. The card reader for the iPad is also packed, so all my energy of worrying how to download photos is almost a moot point. 

On the other hand, we could not be in a better place in the middle of a crisis. My niece, Roxanne, and her husband are very gracious hosts, we all feel wonderfully welcome and had a perfect day today, regardless of 'Hardship'!

That will be the story of my next blog, I am going to try to go back to sleep.

"Few delights can equal the mere presence we utterly."  George MacDonald

Go!!

I have been building up to this trip since January when we first booked a trip we never went on!  So happy that I am going home and not to New England. Maybe we will get there one day, but home is where my heart is just now. 

Real life is getting a bit in the way of getting excited about leaving so soon - Wednesday was spent in meetings all day, shared almost equally between my work and Girlguiding!  As a Patient Adviser for the new Patient Advice and Support Service, there are still many details to be ironed out.  My managers and I met with others from our health board to see how to work with this new law.  I must admit I am extremely traumatized by what appears to be so many more responsibilities and obligations, while answering to double the number of national groups that I used to report to.  Not sure how one person can accomplish this, but I have decided I will do the best I can.  That is all I can do.  Not my fault that everything seems to have doubled, apart from any raise in salary and no hope of any administrative assistance.  Not even a whole lot of support from the people I work with (apart from the managers themselves, they are fantastic!)  And then, maybe, this is just teething problems and it will not be as bad as it sounds once we establish systems and see how it all fits together.  If I look back, I think it was equally upsetting in the first incarnation of this job!

After work, I met with one of my Rangers ( senior section unit) to discuss doing a residential permit!  This is a huge deal for me, since this unit is almost 6 years old and no one has gained any SS permits before.  She is lovely too and I wish she were not leaving for university after this term.  But never mind that, I am hoping this will be a great way to advertise how many things Senior Section Guides can accomplish! 

After going home and enjoying  a lovely dinner cooked by my long suffering husband, 3 Guide leaders stopped by to discuss my experiences with opening a Ranger unit. They are contemplating this for the Fall.  More power to them, it is a wonderful thing to do and ensures that those wonderful Guides that are too good to lose get the opportunity to take the next step.  They didn't leave til almost my bedtime! So it is very lucky that I have been so organized and am so near to completed packing!

Last night we took Whitney out to dinner to celebrate her 23rd birthday,which is today. But she is a much different person than I was and would prefer to spend her day with friends.  Actually I might be selling her short.  I didn't live near my Mom from the age of 16, so a birthday was a big deal. She would come to whereever I was and take me out.  If we had lived near each other like Whitney and I do, I am certain things would have been a bit different. Either way, we had a lovely evening at Frankie & Benny's. Not any of our favorite restaurants, but very child friendly and Corbyn was with us.  With any luck, Whitney and I can have "quality" another time!!!

I don't think there is much  more I can add to this blog.....I am all packed, suitcases all done, with the exception of make up, and changing my handbag.  This is not natural for me, but I am certainly enjoying the lack of pressure.  Before I get too confident though, I better wait to see what time I get to bed!

Friends and family have all been contacted and plans have been made or are at least being considered.  It is so nice that people care enough to make special efforts to see us.  Or anyone who has had to travel thousands of miles to get home.  I have had my feelings hurt in the past about people who don't seem to care enough to make a relatively short trip to see us. But after years of wondering how they can not see the difficulties encountered when we are visiting, I have come to the conclusion that these people do not travel and have no idea what it is like to come home and then have to do extra and unnecessary trips.  Oh, soapbox time and this is not good.  And not right, I am not angry or disappointed with anyone (ok that is not true but I am not getting into it here and will now change the subject!)

Weather in our part of Scotland has been predicted to be wintry for the next month.  Of course, I always brag how Ayrshire has a mini-climate and we never get it as bad as anyone else.  Well, I certainly hope that holds true for this terrible prediction for the month of June!!!

Will sign off now and do what the title of this blog says to do:   GO!!!

'Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?' 'That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,' said the Cat. 'I don't much care where --' said Alice. 'Then it doesn't matter which way you go,' said the Cat. '--so long as I get somewhere,' Alice added as an explanation. Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

"Get Set"

All the last minute dotting of i's and crossing of t's.  Having people stay in your home while you are away is a bit daunting.  We do try to leave the house in a way we would like to return, but now it has to be "company ready".  Not a bad thing, especially since we are packed so early. So there should not be a huge panic the night before we go.

However, there is a huge panic with my work!  Since April and getting a new contract, I have been run off my feet.  I have a huge backlog of complaint letters to write for clients and no way to finish these before I go.  Then when I get back, I have other obligations that will take me to another week or two before I can start catching up again. Ok, enough of that, it is starting to upset me.

In saying all that, a colleague came to visit me today from the Edinburgh area.  The way our jobs work, there is really only one person in our role in each Health Board - makes for quite a lonely job sometime.  With this new contract, there are new reporting requirements and she just wanted to touch base that she was doing it right.  Or, if not right, then the same way as me!!  Poor thing drove for 2 hours to get to my office in Saltcoats. But she had never been to the West Coast of Scotland before and, as happens so often, this part of Scotland was absolutely beautiful.  Bright sun and gorgeous landscapes.  For lunch, I drove her to Cechini's in Ardrossan and she got a great look at Arran and the beaches.  Scotland does not get any prettier than on a sunny day!  Sitting at Cechini's with the sailing boats and sunshine was a great reward for her long drive. And she is now inspired to spend more time on this side of Scotland, including the Isle of Arran. 

Arran

I might be really busy at work, but the boost of having a colleague visit, a nice long lunch and relaxed conversation was worth the extra effort needed to get me through the rest of this week!

From contentment with little comes happiness - African proverb

"On your mark"

For the first time in my life, I am packed and ready to go, not even one day early - but 4plus days early!!  How is this possible?  Alan is convinced it is because we have the extra room to pack as and when we think about things, I think he has something there.  But I could leave tomorrow. This is not good for keeping my head around work.  Like now, I should be doing work things, not starting a new blog entry!

In some ways, I am afraid this vacation will not be the idyll on the beach that I require.  I have loaded the days with meetings with friends and family and obligations - like swimming with dolphins.  Nice obligations, but I am a bit concerned that I have limited my shopping and beach time.  We won't know the answer to this for another few weeks though.

I am very lucky to have some wonderful friends.  One of them is Sue, who is staying over at our house while we are gone so our dog, Bailey, does not have to go into the kennel.  (with older kids in the house, Bailey didn't need to go into the kennels much and is now too old to adjust to this lack of comfort! ) I am so grateful to Sue for doing this for us.  My Mom will also be here, but she can't really take care of Bailey.  But she also enjoys Sue's company so it is good for her too.

This is the life Bailey is used to

Sue came over tonight to talk about the stay and learn about how the boiler works, get phone numbers and all that. She has stayed here before - to keep Mom company that time!  But it is good to have a reminder and update phone numbers, etc.

Sue is also planning to spend the Jubilee day with Mom.   That is my one true regret about the timing of this trip.  I would love to be able to spend the day here, like Sue, Mom and I did for William and Catherine's wedding.  I love the pomp and circumstance of these Royal events and it can't get any bigger than the Golden Jubilee.  I had worried that Mom would be home alone and sort of neglected with everyone else having a fantastic day.  So I was very pleased to hear they will celebrate this day together.  Plus Sue has a friend coming from Ireland for a visit and she is staying here too! So it will be a busy and fun place while we are gone.

Celebrating the Royal Wedding last year

I still have 4 working days left, so I should really just go to bed now.

Good night!

"A friend is one that knows you as you are, understands where you have been, accepts what you have become, and still, gently allows you to grow."  Unknown author

Family ties Part 2

Martin moved to London in July last year and I had never been to see him.  Not that I didn't want to, but with my Mom living with me and working full time, things are just not easy to get to London.  I felt really bad and disappointed about this because when Martin moved there, I had  visions of going down there all the time - shows, shopping, restaurants.......not to mention I really, really miss Martin and would like to see him a bit more often!

Going to Chiswick via Gatwick is not nice, in fact it is horrible - too long and much too expensive!  Martin suggested meeting us at Clapham Junction and accompanying us to his home in Chiswick.  It was fantastic to see him in the tube station, and he is always such a nice person - for example, taking my suitcase immediately.  It is the little things, but they always add up.

It took us longer to get from Gatwick to Martin's flat than it took us to get from Glasgow to Gatwick, ridiculous!  But arriving at Martin's was great!  And one of the first things that happened was Martin needing advice from his dad.  He had the chance to film at the FA Cup Final and was using a camera Alan is more familiar with. 

Alan sharing his knowledge of how this camera works.

On Saturday, we planned to go into London and see the sights.  Since my priority for the weekend was only to see Martin, I was not too concerned about what we did, which was a good thing since the day was spent in cold and rain.  We met Martin's girlfriend, Pamela, at the station and the poor thing had to trudge around London in this abominable weather with us.  I felt really sorry for her (and myself actually, this was not a day to be wandering around in London).  She was lovely though and shared her own knowledge of the city, including the Borough Market - where it is food heaven!  Too bad we had already eaten, but then again -with this horrible weather, if we had bought any food, what could we have done with it?  I also really missed my sense of smell at this market, I bet the smells were fantastic! 

We did witness a really cool protest about road safety for bicycles, the roads were all shut and it seemed like thousands of cyclists went by. What a fantastic, well organized and planned protest!

Just some of the cyclists that went by us

Pamela was really nice, but I would not have expected otherwise.  If Martin likes her, she would have to be nice!  Not only did she happily suffer along with us wandering all over London, wearing really nice grey boots and never complaining - but she also bought me a coffee.  Like I said, it is the little things. 

On Saturday night, Martin and Pamela introduced us to Franco Manca restaurant.  Within walking distance of both their homes and delicious pizzas!  The next night we all went to Boys Thai restaurant, another fantastic evening and meal. 

On Sunday, Martin had to work so Alan and I walked in with him.  We went with him for a tour of where he works and it was fantastic!  Since I am writing about his life, I am not going into detail about where he works and all, but I was so impressed and happy for him. 

We then went into town, to give you an idea how awful a day it was - we got very close to Kensington Palace, where I have wanted to go to pay my respects to Diana since she died in 1997, but I could not cope anymore and turned back.  Preferred sitting in McDonald's with coffee and a muffin to spending anymore time outside in the rain. 

London was cold and dreary when we arrived and this never improved.  I must admit this could have been  one of the most miserable weekends of my life!  That is saying something when I live in Scotland, but I was totally not prepared for constant rain and cold and wind. Not only did I not have the right clothes, I would have never spent so much time outside in this type of weather.  The saving grace was I was not there to see London, but to see my son.  And so it was a very special weekend and I would go back anytime, even in the same weather conditions!

Miserable, but still beautiful