och, haud yer wheesht

I was having a rough time adapting to Kitten's absence.  Plus, my wanderlust was back big time, except I had nowhere to go.

That is until my best friend said "Come to Scotland!"  I thought she was just being polite, but I looked at tickets and wow had they gone up!  So that was my graceful way of declining.  Until she sent me flights she found for half of that.  That's when I knew she really wanted me to visit.  Her husband even sent texts telling me to come.  It felt so good to know I was truly wanted as a guest and not just a perfunctory offer that lots of people make.

Next hurdle was facing my anxiety about traveling internationally alone.  It had been years since I've done that, decades maybe.  What if I had a bad migraine and didn't have someone with me to assist?  

My word this year is Bold, so I tried to embrace that feeling and bought the tickets.  I did all kinds of research on what the COVID requirements were.  Fortunately, they'd all been relaxed by the time I traveled.  The airlines app made it pretty easy to figure out what else I needed to do -- essentially just my passport.

My friend made it stupid easy for me, too.  She and her husband were picking me up at the airport and graciously allowing me to stay with them.  She's about my size and said I could borrow clothes if I needed to.  All of that took a LOT of my anxiety away.  

My other best friend (I am truly blessed with friends) offered to drive me to and from the airport here, because parking was my next anxiety.  The summer travels had made parking very limited.  She picked me up and got me in a happy mood before my LONG day of flying.  She reassured me that everything would be fine, played out worst case scenarios with me, gave me a hug, and sent me on my way with my carry-on bag, my purple travel pillow, and my new leather tote.

new leather tote bag

 

I changed planes in Newark airport, with a really long connection time. 

I went exploring and looking for food, because they had so many interesting options.  BIG MISTAKE!  

First of all, fuck this airport for every restaurant (even the fancy ones) using individual order-and-pay-at-your-seat tablets.

What if you didn't have a smartphone?  I watched a few older people look in and walk away.  What if your phone broke?  What if you wanted to pay in *gasp* cash?  Or like me and several others I saw, what if you ran into technical snafus?

It just spun and wouldn't load for a solid ten minutes.  I asked multiple staff members for assistance in case I was missing something obvious.  Nope, that's just how it is.  The waitress advised me to connect off her hotspot, which finally did the trick.  I ordered the sampler.

sampler

 

Halfway across the Atlantic Ocean, my tummy was not happy with me. I don't know what they put in their food, but my stomach did not like it.  So much pain!  I spent the next three hours whining and being miserable.  Fortunately, I had WiFi for messaging, so I was able to chat with friends for a distraction.  I had my little travel pillow, but couldn't get comfortable.  I slept maybe twenty minutes total.  I listened to audiobooks I had pre-downloaded.  Nothing was lulling me to sleep.

Eventually we arrived in Scotland!

It was glorious!  I got off the plane and breezed through customs and immigration.  Except when the agent started asking my sleep-deprived brain hard questions like "Why did you come?"  "Who is your friend?"  Did he know her??  She has big hair like me and is quite stunning, so maybe?  But probably unlikely.  Why was he asking?  I was prepared to give the address where I was staying, but somehow that's all I was prepared for.  

She and her husband met me where I exited and they both gave me huge hugs!  It was the first time meeting him, and I couldn't be happier for her!

More later...