Fun! Painted Desert and Petrified Forest are pretty cool bucket list items, a little further south but still on your way to SoCal, more or less.

Speaking of "move along, nothing to see here" states. I can't imagine how anything rivals crossing Texas. I swear, I think it was 2.5 days or more. Nothing but oil rigs and cows. But I digress.

Since I'm Chihuahua sitting at someone else's house today, I thought I'd write a bit about the trip I'm taking. It's kind of a long story how this all came about but I'll try to shorten it, though it might feel like I'm torturing the reader by omitting details but if I didn't leave them out I'd end up posting chapters.

So, I was raised an only child, have all the characteristics of an only child, but about 6 years ago I was reunited with my siblings. One of my sisters and I were together when she visited us here at the homestead, sitting outside one night when she said that she always wanted to go to Scotland to which my reaction was something like !!!

I'm Scottish and, of course, so is she. The difference is that (because the family split in two when I was younger and before she was born) I was the one who heard the family stories throughout my childhood (because the part of the family that I was split off in were all the Scots) and had been searching up ancestral information for a couple of years prior. I ***always*** wanted to see Scotland where my G-Gma came from. Suddenly I had a sister who wanted to do the same and that's when we started cooking up the trip.

My G'Gma was central to the family and all the stories revolved around her and her life. When I remind my kids and other females in the family that they come from a long line of strong women, I am pointing back to her and those who came after her, including the women who raised us because she raised them.

In the 4 years or so following, I did more family research and last year I took a genealogy course through a university in Glasgow that happened to pop up in my Facebook feed for no reason other than it must've been dumb luck or fate or preordained or something. On account of that course, I was able to answer some questions about the family but the best thing was...I was able to confirm the old family stories. The class had discussions and I stayed up late at night until the Scots came online so I could ask them questions about the area. ;-)

Where all I had at the beginning were the names of people I grew up with, the passenger list from Ellis Island for when they crossed over, and the family photos/stories, I now have names, dates, addresses and all kinds of stuff now. I'm talking tons of stuff.

So...we're going to the UK this fall, starting with London, then Scotland, and on the way back, we're making the same journey that our G-Gma did when she crossed over with her children only we're doing it by air. Before we go or on the way back, we'll be visiting our G-Gma's grave in Newark. Yes, I tracked that down, too. All my life I drove past that cemetery never knowing that she was buried there. I'm not a huge fan of cemeteries. I just need to do this.

If you have noticed any of my postings to Nightlion you might know that we're legit related. One night he was posting, I asked him a couple of questions or whatever and he posted a pic of his family castle and I about died on the spot because it was MY family castle and then...I remembered Nightlion's last name and wanted to smack myself upside my own head because it is one of my family names. The castle is less than an hour's drive down from Glasgow, so we'll be visiting that as well.

We're all booked for flights and accommodations! I don't think I'll be posting during the trip but who knows. I'm definitely going to be writing a journal type thing. I just know that when I land in Glasgow I'll be in happy tears. I get to honor my G'Gma by making this trip, seeing where she came from and seeing if there is anything of me in Scotland.

:-)

Already looks like a chapter book. Sheesh.

Cam have you been to the Grand Canyon? If not, put that on your bucket list!

Jersey Girl,

You should post updates.

And yeah, I've been to the General Conference. I wanted to do a rim to rim hike, but that may be down the road because I could give two ____ less about hiking right now.

Lem,

I have been to the PD! I have some really beautiful sunrise pics, but they're on a hard from an old laptop packed away in storage. If you have any pics you'd like to share I'd be really interested in seeing them.

- Doc

Mount Rushmore was a disappointment to me when I visited in '97 but it was also under renovation so we couldn't hike the trail up to it or above it. I've been told that makes a difference.

Devil's Tower was on the other end of the spectrum for me which we visited during the same trip, and I found it fascinating. But I attribute part of that to it's striking appearance after hours of driving seeing nothing but mile after mile of Wyoming scrub and antelopes. I don't recall what the drive back from South Dakota towards Utah was like.

Well, I'm looking fwd to the treasure room tour of Rushmore...

- Doc

I dunno if I'll be posting at all during the time I'm away. I'll think about it.

Wanna see mine and Nightlion's family castle?

http://rowallancastle.com/hire-scottish-castle/

*Website says it's a 20 minute drive. MapQuest says 45. Who knows.

Oh ____. The world isn't kind today. Even the patients on the support groups are at each other's throats and if you think people on this board get horsey with each other, lemme tell ya sick people get mean af. Two weeks ago one group invited me to join the mod team >>>>

So...escaping to the UK in my head. Health & Fitness thread, mental health has got to be worth something here, right?

We're visiting London, Glasgow, Paisley and Edinburgh.

I'm doing all the travel plans. I cannot express how long it took for me to wrap my head around logistics. I have to go out to the East Coast and pray that my flight isn't delayed by some act of hurricane god or Newark International Airport, then leave out of Newark International Airport a few days later and on to London first stop. Studied airfares in various combinations, transportation between countries (we almost added Ireland and then dropped it due to time constraints), then return to the states. Studied the trip leaving/arriving/returning from and to various locations and settled on London first.

Visited Expedia and airline websites until I realized that if you mess with Expedia using different starting points and destinations, you get different airlines--you never get them all because many airline companies aren't contracted with Expedia. Then you go to the websites. I booked through Expedia because I was able to get nonstop and the rates were basically the same as the websites.

Hotels are another thing altogether. I booked directly with the hotel websites which means I was constantly using a pounds to dollars calculator to estimate the cost. Somewhere around 2 a.m. I would typically forget what monetary system I was using on whatever website, throw up my hands, go to bed only to do the same thing the next go round.

What I've learned so far...

1. Like I said, if you're going to use Expedia--mess with it in different combinations. On my last attempt, I struck gold with 3 different non-stops--few and far between when I started. Do the trip one way, then reverse the trip and see what you come up with.

2. Scotland hotels are dirt cheap compared to London. There's a cool interactive map of London hotels you can move around to different areas and it'll come up with the list of hotels by whatever order you choose...lowest to highest, highest to lowest. Daily rate, rate of the entire booking and so on. The range of accommodations is startling. Anything from luxury hotels, to hostels, to well basically a closet size room where you share bathroom facilities. I chose the same hotel chain for each area.

3. Hotel chain websites are weird in the UK. They have 4 different combinations of booking types to choose from. Never saw anything like it. Free cancellation within 24 hours plus wifi, breakfast (I call it benefits now), Free cancellation within 24 hours plus nothing. Non-refundable plus benefits, and non-refundable plus nothing. Crazy.

4. Transportation between countries...train, air, bus. Air was cheaper and faster.

5. Ground transportation within countries...trains, buses, state cabs, independent cabs, Uber and Hop on Hop off tour double decker buses. We'll be using state owned cabs, Uber, trains and our feet most of the time. Taking a train between Glasgow and Edinburgh, faster and not much higher than the bus.

I want to acknowledge that I had tons of help and guidance from two MDBers who, in addition to my own research, gave me practical advice and answered my questions until they probably got sick of hearing from me. But they're good folks so they stuck with me. You can tell who they are. They're the ones I'm not smarting off at on the board.

Other things on the hit list:

How to get money (ATM)
Use our cell phone (Get short term International plan)
UK medical services (Emergency services are free to visitors)
Health insurance coverage (I'm covered)
Trip insurance (Getting it to cover the tickets in case we pull out within 48 hours of departure)

Currently sorting through details of the actual visit now. Spent last night organizing 900 Pins into manageable categories. Now attempting to "bundle" sights together in convenient locations.

If it weren't for my MormonDiscussions.com friends and Pinterest I'd be nothing!

It sounds like you have done a wonderful job of sorting all this out! You will have a wonderful time!

Please post photos when it's convenient. Remember that pubs are the best places to eat and if you need advice, ask a Bobby.

It took me months to sort things out. I am slow to wrap my head around something new but once I've got it, I've got it. I have this trip nailed down and am so looking forward to it!



I don't know if I can or will. Maybe I can work something out. ;-)



If you need a Pub, ask a Bobby.
If you don't know where you are, ask a Bobby.
If you don't know how to get there, ask a Bobby.
If your heart flips out, ask a Bobby.

Bobbys know everything and they go in pairs.

And, you will find them on just about every corner in a city.

ETA: An interesting, but useless fact: Bobbies are called that because Sir Robert Peel (Prime Minister) created the world's first police department. Most people call them Bobbies. Criminals tend to call them Peelers or Coppers because the used to have copper buttons on their uniforms. That's why we still call them Cops in this country.

So I hear!

:-)

Of course, if you are in Scotland, you may need a translator.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEYKiRXVJRU

Holy crap. Driving through Oregon in route to the Redwoods and I see this:





They were right all along...

- Doc

Nice, Doc.

I recently had a slightly uncomfortable conversation with my 18-year-old son about the definition of a "hook-up" across our generations. In my opinion, a "full hook-up" definitely requires a tent, so I hope you were able to at least consider defiling that Shady Acres venue in a similar manner!!!!!!

I understood every word they were saying...even without the subtitles. What does that mean, eh?

That was perrrrfect!

Couple of notes on the trip prep. May be of help to someone else in their travels.

Dual Voltage Features:

All my electronics/appliances have dual voltage features: iPhone charging cord and flat iron. Hair dryer has it as well, not bringing that. I charge my Fire with the phone charging cord. I'm assuming that'll work and if not, then I fry it. Not worried about it.

Converters: If your electronics have dual voltage you don't need a converter. Converters can be purchased on Amazon.

Voltage Adapters: They simply plug on to your plug to change the configuration or shape of the plug to whatever country you're visiting. These can be purchases on Amazon, in Target, even Walmart has them.

Portable charger: Kevin Graham recommended this by Anker.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01JI ... VXLJ&psc=1

Notice it says it has Qualcomm. This makes it charge quicker.

Android phones can have Qualcomm capability. iPhones have Intel (whatever it's called). So I settled on this. Doesn't charge as fast as Qualcomm, but close.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0194 ... VXLJ&psc=1


by the way, when we lived in Europe the converters we had were bigger than a shoe box.

Let us take a moment from the mundane details of health, fitness and travel to ask ourselves, "Why would anyone go to Scotland?" Well, there are many reasons. Here's one.

Meet Clanadonia. Raw, wild, tribal Scots.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvMSDFJO7SI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCMK7hJwtJg

I like this too:

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-41294688

Get outta heah ya godless swine.