Goodbye Ireland, Hello Scotland!

Ireland/Scotland- Day 10

My friends and I had a great breakfast and then took a cab to the airport. I sent them on their way to Shannon and beyond and I waited for my afternoon flight to Edinburgh. The weather was absolutely miserable. Landing in Edinburgh was way too easy and I kept waiting for a customs agent to start chasing me down.

The highlight of my day came when I stepped through the doorway and stared out at the awaiting crowd. I panicked for a second because I was meeting a friend I wasn't sure I'd be able to pick out of a crowd. (Sue and I are both teachers. One year our classes of young children were penpal classes-Hers in Bristol, England. Mine in Austin, TX. We only did that one year, but we kept in touch over the next 4 years. When I mentioned my trip to Scotland, she offered to fly up and meet me for a couple of days. This was the first time we were going to meet.) But Sue stood out front with a Lexi Connor sign! That truly touched my heart and brought a huge smile to my face. She's been very supportive of my quest for publication and so this was extra special coming from her!

I admit I was worried at first that we'd have these awkward silences and, God forbid, but what if we didn't like each other! But I had NOTHING to worry about. I felt instantly at ease with her and I don't think we stopped talking until we said goodbye after dinner and drinks that
night!

By the time I got back to my hotel that night, I was cold, wet and exhausted. My hotel that night was the Smith's Guest House, which was a lovely little place to stay with kind people running it. I was hoping for a common room so I could sit and write, but they didn't have one. It didn't matter, though. My plan had always been to spend my days along the Royal Mile or Prince's Street, writing, people watching, eating scones, sipping tea or Tennent's. I had to take a bus to and from the hotel to the city proper, but the bus stop was right out side the front door. My room though, was on the very top of some very narrow stairs and I had a sky light. At first I worried, because there was no curtain and I knew it wouldn't get dark until late and wouldn't stay dark for very long. But I managed to figure out it had a screen I could pull down over it to block out the light. Sleeping that night was very comfortable and very much needed.