October 2

Sad day, we are leaving Edinburgh. 

I think before I go to our departure, I need to share some Ryan and Jen truths:

1.  if Jen licks a potato chip (because she likes the salt but not the carbs) and hands the chips to Ryan, he will eat it.
2. Jen needed some Kleenex, I think I was mentioning her possible illness, so she was looking for a Kleenex. Ryan dug in his pocket and pulled out a fairly used Kleenex, Jen did not hesitate and grabbed his Kleenex and used it. With abundance.
3. We stopped for lunch and Ryan desperately needed dental floss. Desperately. He made the emergency call. Who answered? Jen. She pulled 18” of dental floss she had previously used out and stored in the door of the car and handed to Ryan with a quick note - it was used. Ryan did not miss a beat, used it, and handed it back to Jen and she tucked it back in the door for either of them to use again in the future.
4. They both share the same contact. There is no problem if one of them can’t see. Nope, they pop out the contact and pass it to the next one. But when they do it they talk in an Italian accent. It makes it more acceptable. 

Sorry, slight detour but it really had to be said. You know you are spending too much time together when….

So leaving Edinburgh. I am sad but we are headed to Findon. To the people I love. I am pretty excited. We had a quick stop in Stonehaven. Just because we have to go full circle. Hard to believe that we were here a short 9 days ago. Honestly, such a hidden gem. Half of my heart will always be here. 

On to Portlethen. This was the little village that we lived in when I lived with mom and dad and Scott in Scotland. Holy shit, it has grown. I had to go towards Old Porty to find my way to Findon. Scott, you would be ashamed. Anyway, Pam and Mike, Roy and Sher and Lynn and Dek. Words can never, never express my love. You are my heart and soul. My childhood and my inspiration. I so, so love you. I canna look at Roy without greeting. I’m so sad mom and dad and Scott aren’t here with me. The laughter and tears mean more too me then you can ever know. I love, love, love you. I could spend 1,000 hours with you. Thank you. Thank you for making Scotland my home. You are the heart. 

So you can only imagine how hard it was to leave. Makes me miss my dad more than anything. 

Okay, on to Aberdeen. Our last night in Scotland. Our hotel room was pretty bloody spectacular. But there was so much work involved. We had to pack, repack, pack, regret our Edinburgh purchases, repack again all while we were drinking the remaining alcohol we had packed around Scotland. While “hot tubbing” in our room.