Scotland 1st Day — Sunday, June 29

If some of you don't know already, Jon and I agreed to "house-swap" our home in the desert for a flat in Stirling, Scotland. It didn't take very long to decide to do this, since July in the desert is uninhabitable by most people's standards, and Scotland in the summer is grand and the sun sets at 11pm. Also, it has two of Jon's favorite things in life...golf and whiskey!


Beautiful Stirling Castle

I must first preface this entry by saying that I began journaling 3 days into the trip, and back-tracked. On the 3rd day, my camera card malfunctioned (yes David & Jake...that would be considered an Auntie Carolyn "technical difficulty"), and lost all photos of the first couple of days, so I will need to improvise.

Still fighting what I believed to be a flu, I tried to enjoy our "Upper Class" Virgin Atlantic seats from Boston to Heathrow. This proved to be a bit challenging, since my throat was on fire and I had the chills, so it was difficult to eat and sleep. I will hope to be healthier and in better spirits on the journey back. Once in Heathrow and through customs, we wound our way to the new, hip "Terminal 5" to catch our British Airways trip to Glasgow. We ended up on the last row of the plane, but it was a quick trip and we found our fellow house-swappers, Janette and Steve -- patiently waiting for us at baggage claim. Janette and Steve are a lively couple in their 30s and 40s (respectively), who work at a local school and have a long holiday off in the summer.

They proceeded to help us with our bags and drive us via the "scenic road" to their flat in Sterling -- which, by the way, happens to be next to this amazing 15th century castle! Janette's mum, Frances is there to greet us with a warm cup o' tea. Janette shows us around the flat -- which is quaint and tastefully decorated, and then they are off to the states. Jon & I take a long nap and when I discover that I have strep-throat -- decide to settle-in for the night.


Our fellow swappers Janette and Steve (Again, since I lost all me photos from the first two days, I took this pic from a photo in the living room. I think we did well in choosing them --- dont'ya think?)