Inverness -> Aberdeen -> Amsterdam -> Atlanta and Beyond

Tomorrow I will reverse the trip I made on 11 January.  I will not only be reversing the route itself, but the trip will also be the "reverse" in the sense that, rather than going from the familiar to the unfamiliar or the known to the unknown as I did in January, I will be traveling back to the familiar, to family, friends, and the southern US which, until 3 months ago, has been my home all of my life.

But the biggest difference is that tomorrow I will not be traveling alone.  I will be bringing Lynden with me, and I hope I can be one-tenth the "tour guide" he has been for me.  Competing with the raw, wild, and genuinely awe-inspiring natural beauty of the Scottish Highlands is a tall order indeed!  We plan to visit the north Georgia mountains and North Carolina, and to do some hiking on the Appalachian Trail and elsewhere.

Later in the visit we will spend some time in Florida, possibly both the east and west coasts, and by then we should know which one of us has the greater heat tolerance!  Perhaps I have a slight edge based on length of experience, but I wouldn't place any wagers.  This winter in northern Scotland has shown me that perhaps I'm not quite as cold-natured as I thought I had become in recent years.  However, I have to say I am a bit concerned about the rapid transition from one climate to another upon arriving in Atlanta tomorrow evening.  It's been in the 30's in Inverness after our mini-spring preview of a few weeks ago.  I remember last summer, upon returning from the cool mountainous region of Guatemala to a wall of heat in Atlanta, I was in a state of shock.  I'm hoping that the fact that, at least technically, it's still spring will be in my favor.

Yesterday we went for a walk along Glen Strathfarrar, where there was a new and stunning vista every few steps.  We took over 230 photographs (I've posted a few below), including several groups of mountain goats, and we saw a fox that wasn't interested in posing.  It was a gorgeous day, perfect weather, and a fitting send-off.  I found my eyes lingering on now-familiar scenery, well aware that it would be several months before I would look upon it again in person.  While many of the day's photographs turned out to be excellent, we agreed that they did not capture the beauty that our eyes had seen.

Today dawned gray and drizzly, and as I write this approaching mid-day the rain is continuing.  If the weather continues this way until tomorrow, maybe it will make it a bit easier to finish packing and fly away.

The first mountain goat of the day was not particularly camera-shy.

Yes, the sky really was that blue!

Cuckooflower

Home

As I write this on April 3rd, I have been in Scotland nearly 3 months.  I return to Atlanta 2 weeks from tomorrow, which has caused me to reflect on what I look forward to (and don't look forward to) about that fast-approaching event.

What I look forward to most of all is seeing my children, my sister, my friends, and my little dog Daisy.  I also look forward to showing Lynden the Atlanta area and as much of the southeastern US as we can possibly squeeze in.

What I look forward to least of all is the heat and humidity, which can be so energy-sapping.  I just hope there will be a few weeks of weather that is not oppressively, stiflingly hot.  Hey, I can dream, right?

There will be lots of catching up to do with friends, lots of errands to run and things to take care of - God only knows what's become of my mail since I have long since exceeded my already-specially-extended hold period! - but I'm sure all of that will sort itself out in due course. 

With any luck, I will remember how to drive, and remember to do it on the right-hand side of the road!  I am sure I will fall back into some old habits, but perhaps I will also bring some newly-made ones back to Atlanta with me.  I know that things will feel both familiar and strangely foreign, the way they did when I first arrived here.  It's remarkable how quickly the unfamiliar becomes familiar, and the familiar becomes habit, until you don't even notice it anymore.

But Scotland is not one of those things.  Today dawned with a startlingly beautiful 4-6 inches of snow.  Even though it was in the weather forecast as a very real possibility, it followed a week or more of spring warmth and sunshine, and consequently the world was made new again, easy to see with fresh eyes.  So profoundly beautiful, I know I will miss it terribly.

I have felt so at home here.  Home:  it's a powerful word.  Home.  It's more than the place where you have your belongings.  It's the place where you can be your truest self, where you can relax in your own company, and read, think, or do absolutely nothing.  It's the place you long to return to when you have been away, or when you're tired or don't feel well.  Home is a feeling, a state of mind.

I know I'll be back.