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But first… we have to get to Scotland. We will meet new friends, see plenty of random selfies, fun art, building decor, learn new facts along the way, won’t you join us? Oh yes, and the obligatory trail marker signs going up!

ADK Travelers is a lovely group that has gone on several previous adventures. Jim and I were lucky enough to join their group. Our group leader from our neck of the woods is Margeaux Davis. Margeaux and I worked together my last year at Carthage. Most everyone else on the trip, has been on these before… to Italy and Greece.

So here we are driving through Canada.. well we had to drive over the TI Bridge from the states to Canada, and there were some okay pictures as we hustled passed and through inspections and of course we missed taking the picture that said, “Welcome to Canada”, but we did get the picture that said Border Patrol. I apparently didn’t upload it.. No worries, many more pictures for you to see…

So we are driving along the 401 headed to Toronto, I think it is the 401. It is the only road I know. I am looking out the window and see signs with an apple and “Fun for the whole family”. We pass by the exit and there on the left… the big apple. reminded me of the the big blueberry in Maine.

So that was fun.. further down the road, much closer to Toronto, we hit traffic… like I mean a lot of traffic. God bless John, I sure as heck wouldn’t want to drive in that. Over on my side of the bus, we only have 12 traveling in our group, so there is plenty of room to spread out, and Jim and I will be close together on the plane, so why not sit apart to breathe.

Arriving at the airport, with plenty of time to spare, we use the self ticketing kiosks, and tag our luggage, then queue up to drop off our luggage, through security and off to our gate. But first, a beverage. Jim and I brought many, mini sandwiches to eat along the way, so we really weren’t that hungry. Lucky for us, there is a sit down restaurant/bar right near our gate, but I have been remiss and not introduced you to our traveling companions.

Thanks to Jim for taking the picture and I don’t know why I didn’t realize that 2 of our group is not in this photo… Will have to make sure I get them all during the day on Tuesday. (It is Tuesday as I write this, and it is very early. I was doing find sleeping and Jim decided to wake up and play a game, so then I decided it was time to bite the bullet and tell you about our first two days, and of course now Jim is bragging that he is sleeping, that’s snoring don’t you know< while I write this little blog 🤣🤦🏻‍♀️) So back to introducing you to our gang! You know the 2 crazy kids in front,: Next to Jim is Angie, and next to Angie is Margeaux. Across from Margeaux is Francis, next to Francis is Jesse with Caitlin across from Jesse. Behind Jesse, are the twins, Tim and Anthony and their mother Paula. So we are just missing Tim and Pam. That’s our group. We will add drivers and Wendy in about 17 hours from now!

Dinner on the plane consisted of some sort of beef pasta dish, with a carrot salad-no raisins- a piece of bread and chocolate cake. Jim and I decided we would forgo upgrading to first classish (Transat really doesn’t have an overseas first class with lie back seats like we are used to-first world problems) but we did go with the exit row and more leg room. I slept most of the flight after dinner. I did get the chance to watch a couple of episodes of Veronica Mars-a cute detective show about a daughter who helps her father solve private investigator cases. Jim and I had watched her early series when she was in high school. This one is 10 years later. Same cast.. mostly. And no, I didn’t have the glass of wine they offered with dinner… It was a chardonnay and I didn’t trust it!

We have to drive from Glasgow to Edinburgh. Originally our trip was supposed to start in Glasgow and end in Edinburgh, but we needed to change for logistics. So off to Edinburgh, to start the trip with a castle.

It’s Monday, June 30th now. The kids are not in school and we make it to Edinburgh in record time. Wendy, our guide says to meet her back at the hub by 1240 for our entrance into Edinburgh Castle. (Little does she know, we are a prompt bunch). So we all head off in opposite directions, or maybe just Jim and I head off in a different diredtion. We are looking for food someplace fun. Diane, the flight attendant who sat in the jump seat next to me for take off and landing, mentioned hitting up Wetherspoon. Little did I know, until I had .internet access, that not only is Wetherspoon a chain, it is also very similar to the chain McMenamins in Oregon. If you don’t know McMenamins or Wetherspoon for that matter, they take old buildings and turn them inot restaurant/bar/hotel places. Each one different, and yet the same. So we found a Wetherspoon, The Booking Office. The Booking Office was the building where one would buy a ticket to ride The Flying Scotsman from Edinburgh to Scotland. The food is reasonable and the coffee was a make it yourself, but choose decaf or regular and push a button for a cappuccino, latte, flat white, etc. We have found, or rather I have found, that the places we visited, you order at the bar and tell them your table number and they bring you the order. Jim and I both had similar breakfasts: his a sammich with egg, sausage, bacon, and cheese, for 51p he added a tattie; I had the wrap and my tattie was incuded as part of the wrap with the bacon, sausage, egg, and cheese. No black pudding or haggis yet! Once we were done with breakfast, brushing our teeth, etc, we walked over to Princes Street, designed by James Craig. Princes Street has a lovely garden with many War memorials and the memorial to Walter Scott. We ended up at St. Cuthbert’s church and cemetery and although I didn’t take pictures of the cemetery, it was quite lovely.

Let us not forget the funny toilet signs in New Zealand. Why you ask, because we have them in Scotland. I guess it is important to flush the toilet paper down the toilet.

We still have time to kill before our scheduled meet up time, but we have come full circle back to the start of the Royal Mile. It is not a mile, it is a Scottish mile. A Scottish mile is 1.1 miles and the only imperial measurement Scotland uses. Go figure. Anyway the Royal Mile which we will delve into more deeply on our excursion on Tuesday, is full of quaint performers.

Being a tourist is hard work, so off to find a pub. Truly it was no small feat, there are so many to choose. I think we found a good one, though. It was named, The Cafe at Deacon’s House. Come to find out, this man who lived here was a cabinet maker by day and a cat burglar by night. Kind of a Jekyll and Hyde don’t you think????

Jim had the Stewart’s lager. not much to write home about, but the Elderflower Thistly Cider was quite lovely and refreshing, albeit a little sweet. There are two other flavors which I would be willing to try but on to our meeting we must head

Off to meet our group, by 1240. Did i mention we were prompt? It was probably 1220 or so when we all met up. We learned about the Witches Well. A memorial made to remember more than 4,000 people who were accused and killed during King James VI’s rule. Wendy led us to the castle gave some little tidbits, let us watch the firing of the cannon at 1. This is done to help the ships in the harbor set their clocks. In some places, like the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, they drop a ball so the astronomer’s could validate the time. Check out these fun facts about the canon fire. Margeaux recorded a video of the canon fire. You can watch below.

There were so many people visiting the castle. Of course most of them want to see the Canon fire at 1. Apparently 500 tickets are allowed for each time slot, or so Wendy says, but people time their ticket entrance or tour to coincide with said canon fire.

Wendy gave us the background of the castle. I am not sure how much I processed or remember. I have been very diligent about writing notes in my journal, little composition book that my friend, Noelle Haney, gave me. However it is over on the other side of the room as I write this and although my watch says to get up and move around a bit (and that I have to close my exercise ring 23/31 days this month), I will stay comfortably on the bed. Anywho, I do remember that James the VI of Scotland was born in the castle, the governor of the grounds, more like a general in our army, is in residence when his flag flies outside the gate (apparently it was flying yesterday) in between the pride flag and the Scottish flag, and the Honors of Scotland, Crown Jewels, were lost, until they weren’t when Sir Walter Scott found them.

So back to the minicoach and Allen (Alan?) our driver to take us to our hotel room. We are staying at the Courtyard by Marriott and we were gifted an accessible room with a walk in shower… maybe they took one look at Jim 🤣 Just kidding. I think it was the only king room ready. I did not take pictures of our bedroom. It is a typical hotel room. We settled in, walked up to the Tesco express to get some supplies, walked back home, put away our groceries and put the wine on ice as it wouldn’t fit in the refrigerator, then walked back across the street to Simply Greek. We were the only ones in the restaurant, which opened at 4. And yes, we arrived by 4ish… OMG!!! the food was incredible. Here is the menu. Back to the hotel, to shower, I fell asleep to Wimbedon, Jim made it about an hour after me (he lasted to 630). I woke up several times, noticing at 2223 (10:23pm) that it was still light outside or the lights were on in the little courtyard.. I don’t know.. Jim woke up at 2:30 ish, did I mention that up above? and that started the organizing of pictures and the typing of the blog.

The Giraffe sculpture had a poem written around it.

#HowFortunateWeAre. #RetiredAndLovingaIt. #MakingOurOwnSunshine