Thursday. A nice day with family. I woke at 9am!. I was meant to take my niece, Rachael’s children to school, a walk of maybe ½ a mile, but slept through all the early morning noises. My sister Allie decided against waking me as I could take them today, (Friday) which I did.
We had a nice supper together, with the two energetic kids and lots of conversation and laughter.
My brother in law Bob and and Rachael’s husband Martin and I followed a long Thursday tradition of visiting the social club later in the evening for a rewarding Guinness.
Up early this morning and made it to take the kids to school and get to the train station by 9.30 for the train to Glasgow.
I have a travel companion Rhino who first featured at the Raleigh airport and has been little trouble and good company to date.
We decided to forgo the culinary delights of the railway and take a packed lunch, and a suitable beverage, and you can see that Rhino was sharing in the feast!!
I traveled from Birmingham to Glasgow with another Andy who I met on the train. We had an interesting, wide ranging conversation that helped pass the 4 hour journey and helped me in one of the trip objectives, which is to meet people. Thanks Andy. A nice guy who will be following the blog.
My Glasgow accommodation is, as intended a hostel that provides a clean, basic room that is inexpensive, so I can spend money on more interesting things. The room pleasantly surprised me. It is basic, but has an excellent hot shower with plenty of pressure, and a comfortable double bed. For 29 pounds a night a good deal I think. It was not difficult to find the room as the numbers on the door are “large and easy to read” (see picture.
I am off to see Carlos Nunez this evening. He is a Spanish celtic music performer that I have admired for several years but never heard in concert.
I will tell you tomorrow how it went.
I am going to have to practice more with uploading photos to get them in order. Please be patient

More snow today

Still cold as all get out and some train disruptions but not too bad. Great to see family and I have a growing anticipation of the Shetland trip after talking with my brother Steve this evening. We have a weekend at a beach cottage on the island of Unst and hope to walk to get a view of Muckle Flugga the most northerly island in the chain It is uninhabited.

First day in the UK

Well I am in the UK! Good flight over with some open seats including the one next to me, which helped with getting some sleep.
The change of the London flight to Heathrow a year or so ago has added to my journey as my sister Mags lives very close to Gatwick, but a more lengthy journey by train and underground coupled with a later departure from Raleigh.
Nick and Diana were kind enough to give me a ride to the airport. Nick bought a small gift from work. A squishy Rhino from the Project Rhino team. You can see me holding him up in the pic at RDU. I did not declare him when I arrived as I think he may be considered an endaggered species!
It is about 34 deg F (2C) and there is still quite a bit of snow on the ground.
Looking forward to a cup of tea (or two) and a chat with Mags to get caught up and maybe a nap this afternoon for a while.
I wrote that part on the train and it is now around 5pm. Took some pics of the snow. More is threatened for tonight.
Off to see my other sister Allie tomorrow in route to Scotland.

Almost forgot

In the picture you will see a green hat in front of Mabs. The hat was made for me by my friend Jen Sloan specifically to keep my noggin warm when we are in Shetland. Itis my safety hat (long story) Thanks Jen!!

All ready to go

It is finally Jan 11th and I leave this evening for London and the beginning of the big adventure. My buddy Nick has offered to take me to the airport, and I am as ready as I will ever be.
I did a "test" pack over the weekend to ensure that everything would fit in the bag (it does) and that I would not have a bag that was overweight. Allowance is 23kg and I just did a final check and come in at 18kg, so a comfortable margin.
My cat Mabou (Mabs) has been increasingly nervous as she sees the preparations, and has no idea if I will be gone for a couple of days or (as in this case 3 months!)
My fish do not seem to care anywhere near as much for some reason.
I went back into the bedroom and saw Mabs laying on some of the clothes but not quie in the bag!
The weather in the UK is moderating and I hear that it is worse in the south and warmer up north. Glad about that as I head to Glasgow on Friday for a Carlos Nunez concert. I have several of his CDs (kinda Spanish Celtic music from Galacia in Spain), but he never tours in the USA. I am lucky the timing looks like it will work.
More when I get to the UK

T minus 3

Three days to go until I leave on the first leg of this incredible journey. Snow , ice and freezing temps await me in the UK but it looks like Shetland is warmer than London or Aberdeen.
Planning for the first part mostly completed, and NZ plans going ahead. I have extended NZ by 4 days to get more in
Thanks to all who have shared information and ideas.
More when I get to the frigid UK Brrr.

Planning continues

The England and Scotland / Shetland portion is cooked! I have been focusing on the New Zealand portion. The distances are much greater than I had originally believed, and as I want to travel mostly by public transport it is an issue of determining who the operators are and the best way to get decent fares.
Everyone I have contacted has been very heplful and quick to respond. That is a great sign!
More later