The Overdue Scotland Post

I've been dreading this post in the way I dread writing in my journal after several lapsed months during which too much has happened to record. So instead of including a monstrous run through of the entire trip here, I'm just going to point you my Scotland photos on Flickr.

What I do want to write about here is about the fact that the Scotland trip totally reignited my desire to travel. I've always been a fan of traveling (with the exception of the years between 1993 and 1998, when I actually lived in a foreign country and routinely begged my parents to let me stay home and watch MTV instead of touring Patagonia. I had a rough childhood). But daily life has a way of engulfing me sometimes, a way of making me forget the greater outside world. Sometimes this is okay--even good--because it encourages me to make worthwhile connections and investments at home. And that's important. But sometimes it's not so good, in that it allows me to forget, at least a little, how much I love the open road. And that is why spontaneously buying a plane ticket to a foreign country you've never even considered going to before is a fantastic idea. Especially if you can talk a friend into going with you.

Our outlook in Scotland was one of complete open mindedness; we were happy to travel anywhere, try anything (just about), and by the end of the trip I really felt like we grabbed the adventure by the horns. I don't think we could have done a better job of experiencing Scotland in a week, and it is memories like the ones we made there that I really don't think I'll ever forget. My dad lived in Scotland for a brief stint in graduate school, and he loved it so much that 40 years later he can point out exactly where he lived, exactly which pub was his favorite, and the first and last names of all of his roommates. (Maybe the travel bug is genetic?)

Readjusting to life in one place, a place that seems ordinary to me, has actually been kind of difficult. I know it's not a fair comparison; in Scotland I didn't have to pay bills, or wake up and go to work, or vacuum the living room. So I am working on reminding myself why this place (home) is a great place, too. (Which is not to say the travel bug has been diminished, not at all).
l