Off to Scotland 24 September

It rained today, all day; it rained when we left St. Albans at about 9:30am and it was raining when we arrived in Edinburgh some ten hours later. In fact, it rained the entire time we were on the road. Even when we stopped for lunch in Ripon, about midway, it continued to rain.

The drive up the A1, the Great North Road, clearly fit into that category of trying men's souls. Richard did a stellar job of piloting and Pauline navigating -- with the help of their SATNAV system when it came time to skirt traffic snarls, particularly around Newcastle.

Oh, and about that lunch in Ripon -- another curious twist of events. Pauline had booked lunch for us at the Royal Oak and yet no one said anything about the village being one of the major stages of the (then) upcoming World Cycle Championships. We learned the hard way, of course. When we arrived at Ripon in the driving rain we discovered the entire city center was closed for the races -- naturally that's where our restaurant was located. And when we tried to park in the one-and-only car park it turned out to be flooded and thus unusable. We had no sooner cancelled our reservations -- the restaurant was no help in suggesting alternative parking -- anyway we had no sooner cancelled than we snagged a parking spot on the street near the edge of town.

A short walk into town past the cycling and racing stalls and we soon found ourselves in a dry, quiet corner of the Royal Oak Inn, Ale & Dining House.

The hassles aside, the place was quite nice, good service and the food very tasty; Susie and I had fish-and-chips with mashed peas, which were really quite tasty; Richard and Pauline had the ham-and-eggs. It was a much-needed rest stop, particularly for our driver and navigator.

After lunch it was back to the car and off to the A1 heading north. Once we hit the greater Newcastle area, traffic began slowing and our driving crew opted to get off the major motorway and head in a more direct fashion to Edinburgh by taking the A696.

The highway was a nice change from the major motorway of the A1 and a lovely drive through a part of the country we had visited some five years before with R & P when we took on Hadrian's Wall. Unfortunately, the weather was the same then as well: rainy and a bit chilly.

It was dark and yes, still raining by the time Richard piloted us all into Edinburgh's city center, and after correcting one wrong turn we found our room for the next four nights: The Dynamite Club at 2 Cambridge Street, in the shadow of the Edinburgh Castle.

Standing in the street in the rain we said our farewells to R & P -- we'll meet up with them sometime Saturday morning for the return drive back south.

After settling in we made our way back outside, around the corner and grabbed a rice bowl and a glass of wine at Wagamama's for dinner. Then it was back to the room and to bed.

Tomorrow it's the heart of Edinburgh and tea at the Balmoral. Stay tuned!

April 30 - Leaving England and arriving in Providence

Terminal 5, A concourse

Tuesday morning began with warm sun and clear skies; a great day for flying. The four of us had a leisurely morning (nothing new there) over breakfast, and chatting about future travel plans; we're tentatively hoping to meet together in northern France, along the Somme battlefields sometime in early fall of 2015.

The rest of the morning was spent packing and getting ready for our respective flights: Richard and Pauline off to Toulouse to pick up their car and drive to Mouchan; Susie and I off to Heathrow and Boston Logan airport.

We said goodbye to Ellis Fields at about a quarter to one and in less than three-quarters of hour were at the drop off in front of British Airways at Terminal 5. After hugs all around we piled our bags on a trolley and pushed our way through the doors and inside, waving as Richard and Pauline pulled out into traffic on their way to Gatwick Airport and their EasyJet flight.

Once inside the terminal, which is roughly the size of Rhode Island, we began the search for our flight on the departure board. Since we were unable to check in online (for reasons that would soon become clear) we tried checking in at one of the many thousands of kiosks scattered about the terminal. The machine prompt informed us that we would need to take the coupons it kindly printed out to a desk in section A since it was impossible to continue the check in process electronically.

Ten minutes later we had our boarding passes in hand — even before the flight was listed mind you — and scooted through security in less than 20 minutes. We strolled a bit of the terminal before making our way to the 2nd floor where we sat down for lunch at Wagamama’s noodle bar. After a scrumptious meal and killing some time, we made our way to our gate.

The flight boarded on time and we found ourselves seated in the very first row of our section, which meant we had plenty of leg room.

The flight was uneventful with virtually no turbulence, and although the food mediocre the attendants were friendly and the visual entertainment pretty good. Our 6.5 hour flight passed quickly and we landed on time in a rainy, chilly Boston. After spending 20 minutes or so working our way through Border Control, we got our bags, passed through customs and out in to the main terminal.

We called for our shuttle from the Holiday Inn and they arrived about a half hour later. Upon reaching the hotel I made my way to the top level of the parking garage — having the good sense to remember to bring the pass codes with me to get into the building.

We loaded our bags into the car and headed off onto US 1 to I-93 and then I-95 south to Providence. After a quick stop at a grocery store for milk and bananas we were home by 10pm and in bed by 10:30, although not quite certain of exactly what time it was. Two things were certain: the trip had been truly fantastic and we were both tired.