Jet Lag Hangover

I am sitting in our cozy kitchen sipping tea and eating a scone while Emma frosts fairy cakes and Anabel shops for books on the Kindle.  Greg naps in the bedroom while Wyatt watches the mind-numbing Ninja Warriors on the "telly" in the sitting room.  Time has slowed as we suffer from a jet lag hangover that has lasted for almost a week.  But I planned it this way.

With plenty of travel experience from this year alone, I know that arriving in a new place gives you a burst of energy.  We turned and burned for two days in London (See London Day 1 and Day 2 blogs) and ran on energy reserves to navigate the British and Scottish rail systems, only to succumb to exhaustion once we were tucked into our apartments in Helensburgh.  

So I planned a seven day stay in one place to rest, relax and get to know the town before we are off to Inverness- where we will undoubtably make history when we spot and capture on film the legendary Nessie.  We will need our rest to handle the press and paparazzi since our photos will upstage the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. (This is our kids' fervent wish!)   After two days at the Loch Ness Lodge, we travel to Edinburgh for a five night stay with much to see in the city centre along the Royal Mile between Edinburgh Castle and Holyrood Palace.  Then, we return for nine days to our adopted hometown of Helensburgh where we have already been charmed by its delightful people, and will have more time to get to know them.

Our schedule for the past four days has been filled with sweet nothingness... the magic of filling the time with desired occupations not necessities.  This is a first for this year!  With good intentions for rest and rejuvenation during our sabbatical year, we, instead, filled every minute with whirlwind trips, homeschool requirements, rental business responsibilities, and publishing deadlines.  Oh, to be like a character in Virginia Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway where we are all "companions in the art of living."  To break our American pattern of needing to either work or be entertained, we have strictly adhered to the following Helensburgh itinerary:  

Sometime between 8 AM and Noon - Wake and enjoy tea and toast.

Sometime between 10 AM and 2 PM - Walk into Helensburgh Central and shop for Dinner

Sometime between  1 PM and 3 PM - Luncheon (Egg and Cress or Liver and Bacon Sandwiches)

Sometime between 2 PM and 5 PM - Nap

Sometime between 3 PM and 6 PM - Walk/ play along the Firth of Clyde

Sometime between 5 PM and 8 PM - Cocktails in the garden

Sometime between 7 PM and 9 PM - Dinner (Leg of Lamb, Cornish Pies, fresh salmon)

Sometime between 8 PM and 11 PM- Knitting by the Telly, Bath and Bed.

I think I could get used to this.