Right now, I'm sitting here banging away on the keys the night before I leave for this Scotland trip. I'm packed about as well as I could be at this point. Fairly light when you really consider I'll be there for 3 weeks. I have one large duffel, my BD Speed 30 pack and my laptop bag...which won't actually have my laptop in it, just guidebooks, road maps, etc. I'll have to make do with the iPhone and Wi-Fi wherever we find it or internet cafes.
Our "plans", such as they are, are still very open, but I did make one small change to the beginning. I was able to shift our camping reservation back one day so we could check out Stirling. I'm due to pick-up Alan at the central bus station in Edinburgh on Saturday afternoon. It's actually right at St. Andrews Square for those of you looking for a landmark on a map. And yes, I'm driving there to pick him up...driving a stick-shift on the other side of the road...hopefully I won't be too jet-lagged. After I safely pick him up (knocks on wood :-) we'll find a grocery store and stock up with some stuff, picking up a cooler (or a cool box as they're called there) along the way too. I'd like to swing by the Tiso shop (outdoor chain in the UK) just south of Edinburgh airport at a place called Ratho. The shop is attached to the largest indoor climbing facility in Europe (http://www.eica-ratho.co.uk/facilities). After that we'll head north to the city of Stirling where we'll camp the first night. Saturday and Sunday it's quite likely to rain so I thought it'd be a good opportunity for Alan to see Stirling Castle and the Wallace Monument.
After Stirling we'll head further north to a campsite near Comrie, Scotland. We'll have a couple of days there and there is plenty of climbing nearby at Weem and Dunkeld or a bit further north near Dalwhinnie (also a couple distilleries and some great history in the region plus a really good pub in the village of Moulin). At that point, the schedule just starts to go with the flow. I have lists of climbs on different crags and their locations as well as a listing I made of campgrounds near those crags. But in the end, we'll just see how it shakes out!
Just a few last minute things to get tomorrow and I'll be out the door. It's pretty amazing to realize it's finally here. In thinking back on the months leading up to this I honestly don't really even remember how we decided to do another trip. But that's how things seem to work out sometimes for me. I just suggest something at some point and roll with it. Not that every trip isn't special, but this one hold a very significant importance. Alan's moving to Finland after this trip. Who knows when I might see him again, much less be able to pull off a trip like this. We've had some really good times over the years, going back to our first big trip together in 2007 to Philmont in New Mexico when I was the Scoutmaster of Troop 45 and Alan was still considered a youth. A lot has transpired since then and I find it pretty awesome that we are doing this trip. A pretty sweet way to say goodbye for now.
I hope I cherish every moment of it. I know lots of my friends who would kill to be on a trip like this and they've told me how amazing it sounds. But for some reason, to me anyway, it's normal. This is kinda what I really like to do. I live for trips like this. Amazing times in fantastic places with great friends. Half the fun in it has been the planning...the other half will be the execution.
So with all that, I will say that I will post when I can, I will take zillions of pictures, hopefully get some good video footage and I'll see all you guys on the flipside...we're doin it live!
ps...in case you're wondering where our saying, "we'll do it live" comes from, check this out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1M6EYA14eU
and this one too...Stewie does it great :-)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGZtaoWT96E
