Monthly Archives: July 2024

Bloggings, Family, Travel

First Full Day—Driving On The Left Is Crazy

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We got off our overnight flight around 9 am and it was off to get the rental cars. I booked with Arnold Clark which I sort of remembered it being separate from the other car rental places. After walking to the car rental place and having a brief mental panic we were shown the shuttle to Arnold Clark and it was very nearby.

It took awhile to get set up with the cars but everyone at Arnold Clark was very nice. We had a large BMW sedan and Kelsey and Jared had a Nissan SUV. It was a bit of a struggle to get all the bags in the car so luckily we had 2 cars. We were all pretty tired and cranky. Kelsey felt nauseous and sick. I drove to our Airbnb, which is on the outskirts of Edinburgh. The driving was absolutely crazy. I can’t believe we made it to the house actually. Driving on the left and being on the opposite side of the car feels so wrong and different. Marie met us outside her house and had us back into her driveway. She was very nice and showed us around the house. The house is cute. Lucas told her “in Chicago we drive on the right side.”

Today was rough. We ordered Papa John’s. Kelsey was feeling pretty sick all day and none of us could really sleep so we decided to walk to the grocery store for some snacks and breakfast foods. After getting groceries we went to nap. Don and Lucas napped some, but no matter how hard I tried I couldn’t. I decided to cancel our dinner reservation but then we had no food for dinner, so we ended up going back to the grocery store and got some ready meals that had to be heated. We got lasagna and Shepard pie. It was ok. I decided I needed to go to sleep around 7. Don and Lucas went for a walk because he was quite energetic. I just laid in bed trying to sleep. I felt wired and anxious. My mind was all over the place: was this a huge mistake? Is everyone going to have a terrible time? How are we going to drive here? Is Kelsey going to feel better? After how long without sleep does your body just stop working?

Lucas and Don got back from the walk around 8:30. They had a great time exploring. They found a playground and talked to locals. They ended up on a really high bridge. It was fun to hear about their outing. I finally got to sleep around 9. I woke up later thinking it was almost morning, but it was only 12:45 am!! And Lucas was wide awake!! I was starting to lose it a little bit. When will I be able to sleep again?! Don took Lucas into our bed and I went over to Lucas’s bed. Finally we all fell back asleep and we slept until 9!

Bloggings, Family, Travel

Leaving for Edinburgh

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The Scotland trip is actually here! After over a year of planning, I can’t believe it. Kelsey, Jared, and Adeline left San Antonio early this morning for their flight to Chicago. They said lines were long at the airport and they got to their gate as the plane was boarding! This of course stressed me out a ton because all I could think about were their bags haha. If their bags had been stuck in San Antonio it would have been complicated to get them, especially since the Chicago flight was not connected to the Edinburgh flight.

Luckily, they landed here around 9:30 am safely and with their bags. Then they went to visit one of Kelsey’s friends, Jen, to wait for our evening flight to Edinburgh.

Lucas went to school this morning so Don and I could finish up any last minute packing. My parents arrived at our house around noon. We hung out for a bit then we left for O’Hare around 2:30. We all drove together in my parent’s car. It was a little bit of a struggle getting all the luggage in, so that made me a bit worried for the car and luggage situation in Edinburgh.

Actually getting into the airport and through security seemed like it took forever. Finally, we all met up in the United terminal and got some food. We ate in the food court at Billy Goat Tavern. While I was waiting in line for the food a woman’s laptop fell out of her hands and the corner of it landed right on my left pinky toe. I couldn’t believe it, who has their laptop out while in a food line?! It hurt so bad and still hurts.

On the plane they gave us some Gardetto’s like chips and Lucas liked the rye chips. He said “these are the best chips I’ve ever had in my whole life”. He slept a lot on the flight. At times he would wake up in frustration of being hot and uncomfortable. I think I maybe slept 20 minutes total on the flight. Overall though, Lucas and Adeline had a good flight. The kid behind us puked a couple of times which was concerning, was he sick or motion sick? While landing, Lucas looked out the window and said “where’s all the castles?”