Title: About Scotland
Category: in love
Blog Entry: My vacation has come and gone, but a new chapter in my life has begun.
I was anxious for months as my trip approached. I would day-dream of
what it might be like in the land of my ancestors. I have seen pictures
and heard stories and songs of Scotland but it has always been someone
elses recanting. I have read fiction and some history of the place but
my imagination only reveals so much. What IS Scotland? It is romance
and struggle, hills and rain, green and blue. It is fresh food and
beautiful, rough accents. It is industry and neglect, wealth and
poverty. It is flowers and dead poets, freedom and adventure; home.
I arrived early Saturday morning at the Glasgow airport. It was fairly
deserted and I wondered if David would even be there yet. It was like
waking from a dream, disoriented and unfamiliar as I meandered through
empty corridors, alone. I recognized the tall, nervous man waiting just
beyond the glass paned doors as the person I had been talking to on the
computer for the past six months, but reality had not quite set in that
this was the man that I claimed to be so in love with. Our first kiss
was awkward, but somehow comforting. While we waited for the bus to
take us to the ferry, we had a very traditional cup of Starbucks
Coffee.
It was cloudy and drizzling rain on that morning as the bus took us
through little towns where David pointed out various sights and
buildings. I had never been on a ferry before and was excited to see
the open water as we went across the Clyde to Dunoon. Alas, it was
misty and I could not see much at all, but the water was calm, the air
was crisp and cool and smelt of the salty sea. It was still early in
the morning as we walked to Davids flat. I jumped into a puddle and
soaked my pant legs; just pleased to be there.
Once home, and introduced to the dogs, Beinn and Kyle, David showed me
around and where to find things if I needed them. I wanted to write
down my feelings right away before I forgot them so I walked down the
stairs to a large window looking out the back and up into the hills. I
had a smoke and wrote about all the new sights and smells and sounds. I
then realized that it was about 2 am my time and I had not really slept
on the plane, so I decided to take a nap. David used that time to get
some last minute groceries and begin a late lunch. When I woke up,
David and I talked about our feelings of actually meeting each other.
It was then that I acknowledged that I had indeed made the right
decision in giving my heart to him. I have never known a more genuine
person in my life. He is honest and vulnerable; somewhat frightened by
loving someone so much. He can have an attitude and can be stubborn as
hell, but I relate to all of that and I feel like I have met my exact
equal. He is proud and protective, sincere and faithful; all things
that I have not experienced in a partner before and I know now what I
have been missing. A lot of things make sense now and I do not fear the
future because even if David and I never see each other again, I have
known he existed and was part of my life. That brings me so much peace.
On Sunday morning, after David made me porridge for breakfast, we
walked into town and went up castle hill to the Highland Mary Statue.
She was Robert Burns' mistress. Talk about romantic! We then went to
meet Davids mother, Ann. She greeted me with a kiss on the cheek. I
could tell that David was nervous and uncomfortable; he must not talk
to his mother about love or women for that matter and I think he was
afraid that she might ask me if I was going to marry him and take care
of him and finally give her grandbabies! True to Scottish hospitality,
she served tea and cookies instead and showered me with gifts. Like
mothers do, she also brought out the pictures of David and his sister
as children; happier times when their father was around. It was a great
afternoon.
I rented a car on Monday morning. One can drive in the United Kingdom
on an American driver's license, but let us set the record straight, it
is NOT easy. I know that I am being a spoiled American here,
but who ever thought of driving on the left side of the street and on
the right side of the car? It just is not natural! It is hard to gauge
the distance on the left side and I curb checked the damn thing right
off the bat. But, I had places to see, so we picked up the dogs and
went for a drive to Benmore Gardens. I wish I had taken a picture of
this roadway. It was engulfed in a massive forest on both sides of the
road. It was dark and magical. I have never seen trees so immensely
packed together, it was truly an old growth forest. Speaking of the
road, many of the country roads are only one lane. I do mean ONLY one
lane, so if someone is approaching from the opposite direction, the
paranoid American has to swerve off to the left and into the ditch. Ok,
so that did not actually happen, but it could have. I know our American
roads are wide enough to land a fighter jet in case of invasion (oh
wait, thats just the interstate) but I like wide! Oh, and there is so
much water in Scotland that when it rains, it doesn't soak into the
ground, rather it pools on the surface and appears to be raining from
both directions; not cool to drive in!
Benmore Gardens was brilliant; so many trees and flowers and plants. It
was as though walking through a painting by Monet. Afterwards, we went
for a picnic at Lock Eck (David packed lunch) and got some amazing
pictures, but the midgies drove us to eat in the car. Midgies are tiny
biting knats and are called The curse of Scotland. It is true, they are
horrible. After lunch, we drove to Ardentinny, a lovely little
community with a warm and isolated beach where we let the dogs run
free.
On Tuesday, we left the dogs home and drove to Loch Lomand, a famous
lake lamented in a song from my youth -You'll tak the high road and I'll
tak the low. And I'll be in Scotland afore ye. For me and my true love
will never meet again, on the bonnie, bonnie banks of Loch Lomand. - It
is a sad song, but a beautiful story of sacrifice for honor. To get to
Loch Lomand, one must drive over a small mountain pass called the Rest
and Be Thankful. It is indicative of the days of herding the cattle to
market in Glasgow. The herdsmen would stop there and refresh
themselves, marking the last leg of a difficult cattle drive. It was
absolutely breathtaking. David was freezing cold, but I could have
stayed there forever.
Later that afternoon, we visited Inveraray; a quaint tourist town but
well worth it. It was raining pretty steadily, but we toured the town
anyway. We had lunch at the George, and old hotel where sailors no
doubt drank and paid for women. It was very romantic. We shopped for
gifts most of the afternoon and I got David inside a church. A Catholic
church at that! He was christened a Protestant and he made such a fuss
about it. Neither of us are god-fearing people so it did not make a
difference to me. It was an old building, beautiful and dry. And no, we
did not do anything naughty, though the thought did cross my mind..
We also went to Inveraray Castle where the Duke of Argyle lives. You
had to pay to go inside, so instead we walked around the grounds and
saw Highland cattle. It was interesting, and wet. Arriving back in
Dunoon, we had dinner at Anns. She made chicken with broccoli and
mashed carrots, potatoes and turnips. It was wonderful.
We took the car back on Wednesday morning and then stopped in at Davids
grandmothers house. Margaret is the sweetest lady. She helped raise
David and his sister and was just a darling to be around. I needed
David to translate a few times as she speaks in traditional terms, such
as, Was yer flight light? Meaning was it ok, but you can see how I
would be confused.
Wednesday evening it was my turn to cook dinner for Ann. I had carted
enchilada sauce and corn tortillas in my suitcase, so I made
green-chili chicken enchiladas, rice pudding and a lovely fruit desert.
Considering the oven temperature settings are different in the US,
dinner was not bad at all. I think David and Ann really appreciated a
taste of my home.
David and I spent most of Thursday in bed. We talked and experimented
with each other to our hearts content. I will only say that I have seen
a side of David that makes me weak in the knees when I think about it.
Later that evening, we went to meet his friends Greg and Ronnie. Ronnie
is from Ireland and the little witch got me three sheets to the wind
drunk. We had wine but she was drinking from a dainty little cup and I
had the customary guest goblet. Also, I was drinking at sea level; not
good combinations. However, the more I drank, the more I could
understand the rest of them and I probably started speaking in an
accent too.
David took me on a date on Friday. We went into town and had fish and
chips (also called a Chippy) in the community rose garden where we met
an elderly gentleman who reminisced the times he and his sweetheart did
the same thing over 40 years prior. We then saw a movie at the local
cinema and had dinner at a really good Indian place. It was so special
and I hope to do the same thing every year on our anniversary. That
night, we made passionate, amazing, beautiful and memorable love. It
was like falling in love all over again, only instantaneous. He makes
me feel beautiful everyday, but that night I was worshiped.
Ann and Margaret treated us to lunch on Saturday afternoon. It was such
a treat to get everyone together like that. I wish Davids sister could
have been there, but she was on vacation with her husband. After lunch,
David and I took one final walk through Dunoon and to Morags Fairy
Glen, a manicured trail up a stream and under a waterfall. There is an
old lookout tower on a hill overlooking the sea, where we made love in
nature. He will never forget that, I am positive. On our way home, we
stopped to say good bye to Ann and Margaret. It was bitter sweet
because we all knew that I was leaving and we had to get back to
reality, but all of us had hope that I would return to Scotland one day
and complete this romantic notion of true love.
Sadly, on Sunday I did leave. David went with me to the airport, this
time bustling with people. Mostly Americans and I was quite perturbed
about it because I did not feel like a tourist at all. My boarding time
was 11am on my tickets, but they told me 10am at the ticketing counter;
it was 9:30. So, once I got my luggage checked, David and I only had
minutes together. Saying good bye was something that I was not prepared
to do and once through the doors to security, I cried and cried. Then,
at the gate, I waited for an hour to board! I was SO mad. My flight
home was horrendous. I slept as much as possible, but the midgie bites
were itching like mad. I tried reading, could not pay attention,
writing, I had nothing to say, daydreaming, I kept seeing Davids face.
I was a complete wreck. Once back in the states, I had to hurry up and
wait. Wait for luggage, wait for customs, wait for other travelers,
wait for the plane, wait for the captain, wait for the weather, wait
for the tower, we were in the plane grounded on the tarmac for 4 hours.
We had witnessed the first of the rains that have sense flooded
Pittsburgh. I arrived in Phoenix at 12am and my luggage was nowhere to
be found. I had personally checked it through customs, so I knew it was
somewhere in the states, but I was too tired to wait any longer. Vince
picked me up from the airport and I went straight to bed when I finally
arrived home at 2:30 am. I had been awake for over 24 hours. It was
back to work at 7:30 that morning.
Since I have been back, I have been completely preoccupied with work
and figuring out how I am going to get back to David. It is amazing how
much one thing can change a person. I told David tonight that I realize
that I have never trusted someone so much as I trust him. I am
completely open to him and that is kind of scary. But the best bit
about it, is that we can talk about it. Thats what we do, we talk to
each other and in doing so, we better ourselves and our relationship
grows in leaps and bounds.. I have found the man that I will spend the
rest of time with; my warrior, my protector, my love, my God, my David.
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