(A tip for using my blog site, whenever you see a word that is blue and underlined, it's a link. Click on it and a new window will open up with more information about that subject. I linked Rochester below as an example.) Friday, November 27th, 2009 Rochester, NY to Dublin, Ireland. So, a quick rundown of why Amanda was mucho stressed leading up to the trip (this paragraph will bore/stress you out): Pack house in case it sells; sell my car/that falls thru/put in storage; set up Mom's car so a friend could drive it/this fails and John is dealing with it; find homes for cats; realtor/surveyor crap; get Mom's finances in order to be continued/cancelled when house sells; get my finances in order in case I croak; plan a world trip; pack for world ... read more

Friday, August 10th- Leave Glasgow and head back home: Mom, John and I board the bus for the last time around 8am (can’t remember when actually- just know we were on the 2nd shuttle to the airport). No Frank- he took off the night before so we just have Margie. She isn’t quite sure she believes my mom when she says we went to The Waterloo last night, so I whip out the computer and show our proof. Think she wishes she had joined us. It’s raining pretty good today, and when we get to the airport, we all get a second shower. Mom forgot her raincoat in the hotel (Margie is suppose to be mailing it to her) and I had packed mine. So, we give Margie a final hug and take off in the ... read more

Wednesday, August 8th - Isle of Mull- Iona Excursion We drive across Mull and take a ferry to Iona. Let’s read what the Itinerary has to say, shall we? “A leisurely day to relax and enjoy the best of the Scottish western isles. Drive across Mull for a visit to the beautiful and fascinating Isle of Iona. This is the burial place of many Scottish kings and chiefs, including Macbeth. And it is here that in 563 A.D., St. Columba established one of the earliest Christian monasteries in the British Isles. Time to visit the url=http://guide.visitscotland.com/vs/guide/5,en,SCH1/objectId,RGN192vs,curr,GBP,season,at1,selectedEntry,home/home.htmlCATHEDRAL and explore the religious settlement before returning to the hotel early afternoon. Later, enjoy the drive up to Tobermory for a visit to the quaint island capital (Editor note: We did this yest... read more

Monday, August 6th - Isle of Skye: I don’t really remember what we did on this day during the morning, so I’ll just go off of the brochure notes: “A full day on Skye to absorb the breathtaking scenery of this spectacular and history-steeped isle. Explore Portree, the tiny island capital, then visit remote Dunvegan Castle, seat of the chiefs of Clan MacLeod since 1200, and learn of connections with Bonnie Prince Charlie and Flora MacDonald. Take in the views of the Cullin Hills on the way back to Broadford.” So, yeah, there you go. We looked at scenery and the fact that it was “history steeped” probably explains my lack of memory. I do remember Dunvegan castle (because it had the word “vegan” in it and that made me smirk and think of ... read more

Saturday, August 4th - Thurso: I go down to breakfast a little later than mom and John and sit at a table with David and George. After about 15 minutes, I give up on ever getting a waiter to take our order, so I finish my cereal and take off for the room. Went to the Orkney Islands, the most northern point in Scotland. We took a 40 minute ferry ride from John O’Groats (Dunnet Head) to South Ronaldsay where we met up with our local driver/tour guide for the day. I’m horrible, I can’t remember his name, but I do remember his accent (in my humble opinion) was impossible to understand. Very Nordic sounding, but with a lot of Scottish too. Mom asked him, at one point, if they did the Highland games ... read more