http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/World-Quest/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from World Quest en-us Wed, 02 Dec 2009 21:55:21 +0000 Wed, 02 Dec 2009 21:55:21 +0000 After the late night before sleeping in would have been nice but that would leave the city of London without our wondrous presence...or something like that. Instead when the alarm went off at 600am we were all up and showering actually Cindy's mom told us her dad had been up since 4am talking about the previous day and his ancestors so we could be down for breakfast when it was first served a http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/England/Greater-London/blog-61612.html HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY They don't observe that here in EnglandWe woke up and were downstairs for breakfast by 730am enjoying a nice meal of cereal eggs fried or scrambled bacon well a Londoner's version of bacon which is more like what we consider Canadian bacon in the states toast and orange juice. We also had a nice view of the back garden with squirrels scampering about birds flitting http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/England/Greater-London/blog-60125.html NOTE A little administrative note herein the whirlwind that has been happening since leaving Scotland and arriving in London I mistakenly posted parts of 2 different entries in the last post. I have deleted that entry and am posting the correct the 2 separate posts. Sorry for the confusion JeffADDITIONAL NOTEBetween trying to cram a week's worth of sightseeing visiting with family and gen http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/Scotland/Oban/blog-59764.html NOTE A little administrative note herein the whirlwind that has been happening since leaving Scotland and arrivin gin London I mistakenly posted parts of 2 different entries in the last post. I have deleted that entry and am posting the correct the 2 separate posts. Sorry for the confusion JeffI awaken at 430am to the sounds of sheep grazing birds singing and the ocean as its waves break http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/Scotland/Oban/blog-59763.html Thursday morning dawned as another perfect day weatherwise. We have been very fortunate that other than our first few days the weather here has been delightful.The excellent weather led us to decide to revisit Kilmartin and finish viewing the ruins and a castle there that we missed last week due to the freezing rain. Well I should amend that...three of us will return to Kilmartin and Cindy's http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/Scotland/Oban/blog-58863.html The weather as we awoke this morning was like a dream come true. The sky was clear and blue and there was a cool light breeze blowing in off the ocean. The air here seems to have the dual ability to invigorate you and to make you relaxed all the time. Cindy appears to be completely over her cold now and is feeling like her usual self. Everyone else was up before me this morning and when I got up I http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/Scotland/Oban/blog-58644.html NOTE SUCCESS I was able to upload all of the Edinburgh Road trip pictures for that post the one that was missing from The Highlands post as well as these from yesterday's activities.I slept until 9am this morning but I awoke feeling like a new man. Between the driving and the walking yesterday I was whipped when we got back to the cottage last night.The weather has turned warm 80 degrees an http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/Scotland/Oban/blog-58306.html NOTE This is a long one.ANOTHER NOTE I've tried for several minutes to upload the photos fro this entry but Travelblog is apparently having some kind of problems in that area. I'll try again next time to upload them even if they don't go with that particular post or edit this one to add them in. Apologies for the inconvenience.I almost beat the sun up by rising at 430 this morning but it's http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/Scotland/Oban/blog-58085.html I awoke early this morning and began writing before everyone else got up. It was quiet and from where I write I can look out the window and see the sheep and their lambs grazing and watch the ducks flying down to the inlet beach and back. The rest of the world seems so far away. We've only watched the news on TV twice since we've been here trying to find weather forecasts more than to see the new http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/Scotland/Oban/blog-57935.html If there's one thing everyone knows about Scotland besides their whisky golf and thriftiness it's the Loch Ness Monster or Nessie as she he it is affectionately known. One of Cindy's many reasons for coming to Scotland was to visit the Loch Ness in the hopes of spying Nessie in the water. She also wanted to visit the Glencoe area to walk through the part of the land that saw the betrayal http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/Scotland/Oban/blog-57928.html We awoke to an absolutely beautiful day. The sun was shining sunrise is at 445am here thank goodness for thick curtains on the windows the sky was clear and the temperature was a balmy 51 degrees. Looking out to the bay the water reflected the blue of the clear sky and was still and tranquil. The sheep were grazing out in the back field and as we ate breakfast we looked out the dining room w http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/Scotland/Oban/blog-57667.html Cindy awoke with the cold still hanging on to her despite taking the wee dram of whisky that was actually about 3 fingers worth the night before but she wasn't about to stay in the house on her vacation.Since Edinburgh the capital of Scotland is on the opposite coast from where we are in Oban we thought it might be a good idea to take the Scottish Rail from Oban to Glasgow and then Glasgow http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/Scotland/Oban/blog-57663.html Happy Birthday AmberThe day began beautifully with the sun trying to shine through the clouds covering the sky around the bay. Cindy prepared an excellent breakfast of scrambled brown eggs which have a slightly stronger 'egg' taste to them fortunately mine was covered up by the cheese than regular white eggs with toast and jam. Today we're taking the car on the ferry across to the Isle of Mu http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/Scotland/Oban/blog-57657.html We awoke to no rain this morning but the skies held the possibility of showers in the heavy clouds that were rolling in from the ocean. After breakfast and showering we drove into Oban where I was dropped off at the Internet Cafe hope you all read the posts that day while everyone else went to the bank to exchange money Yikes The 1.94 exchange rate gave us half the pounds we had in dollars a http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/Scotland/Oban/blog-57288.html When I woke up this morning the first thing I did was get my little miniMaglite out of my suitcase and put it on the nightstand just in case I have to get up in the middle of the pitch black night again.Though I awoke at 710am I remained warmly ensconced beneath the thick covers until 745. Today is to be our easy day of staying close to the cottage and village of Oban so as to shake off th http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/Scotland/Oban/blog-57102.html 550amIceland time. After the flight from hell which lasted 6 hours and 40 minutes and took us through several time zones we have arrived at Klefavlik Airport in Reykjavik Iceland. The flight was packed solid with passengers and of course behind me was a crying screaming infant. The seats themselves are fine for passengers who are 5' 8 or shorter and weigh less than 160 pounds. Anything t http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/Scotland/Oban/blog-56558.html 436pm Well we are currently situated in the International Lounge of the OrlandoSanford International Airport awaiting the call for our flight which is scheduled to depart at 7pm so we'll be waiting for a while.Rebecca picked us up at 145pm and then we drove over and picked up Cindy's parents at 2pm. We drove up the Greeneway to Sanford and had a late lunch at Sonny's BBQ. We are all very gr http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/Scotland/Oban/blog-56553.html WELCOMEThis is the first entry of Jeff Cindy's Travel Blog WORLD QUEST.One week from now at this time we will be airborne and about 34 of the way through the first leg of our flight to Iceland. From there we fly into Glasgow and we will be spending 2 weeks exploring Scotland. Our home base in Scotland will be at a servant's quarters cottage attached to a 300 year old castle in Oban.Then we fl http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/Scotland/blog-54497.html