Scotland2005: Home

We just wanted to send out a final note letting you know we got home safe and sound. As I write this it's 5am on Wednesday, October 29th, and we have both been wide awake since about 430am, thanks to the after effects of jet lag. Yesterday it was 3am, and tomorrow we hope to be back to a regular 6am. We are both still feeling the effects of long jet travel -- sore scratchy throat, mild cough, and all the other ailments that come with being cooped up in a big toothpaste tube for 15 plus hours breathing recirculated air and germs of our fellow travelers.



Our trip back from Wales was quick and fast, although the train did fill up as we approached London with people who'd made a getaway for the weekend. We arrived back about 7pm and went for one last dinner at Garfunkels, that UK "Denney-esque" type diner. They had started an ad campaign while we were there with tube posters saying "A UK Institution" for 25 years. In UK time that's a drop in the bucket I suppose, but we liked it and it seemed a fitting last meal in town. Of course we had the Waffle Toffee sundae for dessert. Back on South Beach when we get home (I'm feeling a tad fat from ignoring the diet all these days).

Tony did his usual miraculous packing job -- unfortunately I'd been meaning to take a picture of the process since what he can stuff into a suitcase is truly beyond words. The usual process is that we lay out everything on the bed, then he makes me stand in a corner far away so I don't "help" (or inadvertently get packed I don't know which), and he goes to town. I've never seen anything like it, and by the time he's done, there we have everything neatly put into two rolling travel bags.

I however have control over the daypack -- which we use as our carry-on for the plane -- it has our reading material, tickets, passports, note pads, camera etc. It is the one thing Tony lets me pack, I suppose this is because there is very little in it and I can't do any damage packing it. Since I packed it, naturally the camera was deep inside when the real packing began so "out of sight, out of mind" I forgot to take a picture. Next time we go on a big trip I'll do one before we go to illustrate this. If they gave out an Oscar for packing, Tony would win it.

We decided to stay up quite late to be able to sleep on the plane, and fortunately London's gay night life doesn't stop, and we got home abut 3am. We slept for a bit, but worried that we'd oversleep our 915am flight, we had a wake-up call, the in-room TV alarm, and the travel alarm clock all set to go off at 6a. They all did, and we groggily stumbled down the street to Victoria Station, hopped on the Gatwick Express and made our way to the airport.

They say London is famous for fog -- we never saw any before on previous trips. We got introduced this time. By the time we got to Gatwick is was pretty foggy and by the time we got through customs and passport control and to the gate, several miles it seemed like away from the ticket counter, it was time to board. Naturally they let us board the plane, seal up the doors and then announce "due to fog, we are going to pull away from the gate and park at the end of the runway for 2 hours or more as we wait for a take-off slot." No way could they let us wait on the concourse with food, shops and things to do. So away we went to the far end of Gatwick and parked, fuel burning away, engines idling, and 200+ people on a 777 trapped in a prison of recurculated air.

About 11a, the fog lifted and so did we, and away west we went. At least it cut down on our 4 hour layover in Atlanta, which by the time we got there, was now just 2 hours. Nothing like 2 hours at Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Hell to make one grateful that we live where we do. Then onto a 5.5 hour trip to Seattle. By the time it finally landed at 7p Seattle time we were both so tired of flying we swore we'd never go again -- or at least fly British Airways direct from Seattle next time.

Our friends M&M picked us up at the airport and deposited us in a driveway full of fallen aspen leaves with a huge tub of mail that came in while we were gone. We both spent yesterday sorting through the parts of life that go on while you are on vacation -- work stuff, home stuff, mail, e-mail, and small tasks around the house. We sort of made a dent in it, and should be back to normal in another day or so.

If you are truly interested in our travel adventures you'll note we've expanded the blog site and that Tony spent some time this morning updating it with pictures while I wrote this, as well as posting some of our summer travel this year before we went to Scotland. It now makes a nice on-line picture book of our adventures. I don't know if its ostentatious or fun or both, but if you enjoyed our Scotland adventure, read back into the archives as Tony put up our Whistler motorcycle trip e-mails to friends and family along with some pictures, and renamed the whole site. The archives are located on the right-hand side of the blog and start in July 2005 and continues into August 2005.

I expect we'll add to it when we send out other travel e-mails in the future, and it will be a fun way for us to share our experiences with you.

Now its back to the real world of clients, and politics, and work, and friends and neighbors and chorus and all that we do. It's good to be back, but a bit of a daunting task to get caught up for sure. First thing today we go pick up the dogs, whom we've missed terribly. And now that we are more or less back to functioning on Seattle time, we'll be catching up with our friends and family face to face.

Thanks again for coming along with us. Don't be a stranger.

From our Home on Fauntleroy Park..

Gary and Tony