things & stuff: lessons from recent travels

Flight over Baffin Island, Canada

The stones of Castlerigg

I am a very fortunate person --before writing anything else, I should say that. That is not meant in a prideful way. That is meant in a way that I have had an opportunity recently that is special, and I recognize it as such.

I went on vacation.

Not everyone has the opportunity to travel for vacation. It is not something I can make a habit of doing, but I don't regret the time or expense.

The places: Rosslyn Chapel, Alnwick Castle, the Isle of Iona, St. Conan's Kirk, Borrowdale, Arthur's Seat, ...

The people: family, friends, strangers, an owl named Merlin (owls are people, too), ...

The events: visiting a Poison Garden; driving one-lane roads and laughing about flamboyant party turkeys; getting trapped by cows in Northumberland on the way to Hadrian's Wall; living in a converted pub that must have been haunted by someone named Jonathan (it's the only possible explanation as to how we could have lost Scrabble so badly); ...

I could describe it all, but I wouldn't be able to capture those little moments and surprises in a concise way. I will be using some of it in writing for months to come (oh, so many ideas!) by trying to recall the sensations and looking up the details I can't remember. At the moment, though, I am a bit weepy because I miss it. Words are hard to come by, so pictures ...