This is the year of Over the Hill. The big one. FIVE-OH. THE BIG 5-0. (Not me, Im still the trophy wife. Of course, I am talking about Dear Hubby. He is the one dipping his big toe into the old pool.)
A few years ago I asked him "If you could travel anywhere for your 50th birthday, what would you say? Dont worry about cost, or what you think I would like, this is YOUR trip. Where would you like to go for the big 5-0?"
He thought about it for a little bit, had a few ideas but ultimately decided that he wanted to go on a tour of Scotland.
SO I did what every good trip planner does- I went on Amazon and bought Rick Steves Scotland book and Map!
I read blogs.
I bought a notebook to keep all my ideas, scribbles and notes in.
I have been following every Scottish hasthag on Instagram, reading every Scottish itinerary, getting ideas from friends and family who have been to Scotland etc etc etc.
I have a notebook full of ideas and lists, revised and revised again itineraries.
I spent months looking for airline tickets (daily!!), and figuring out multiple itineraries, based on which airport we will be flying into.
We fly out of a home airport that isnt a major hub, so tickets can tend to be pricey, which is why when I found a great price, I jumped!
Now that tickets are booked, it is time to really get to the nitty gritty, and the heart of it all...THE ITINERARY!
I started with a rough itinerary. The major cities we were seeing, and the 3 areas we were using as our "home base". I mapped out every day with one of the cities we will be sleeping in. I have lists of our "MUST DO/ABSOLUTELY CANNOT MISS", a list of our "WOULD REALLY LIKE TO DO/TRY HARD TO GET TO IT", and a "WOULD BE NICE,/BUT WONT HURT MY FEELINGS IF WE DONT GET TO IT".
So now that I have a starting point, and I know where we will be sleeping every night, I start filling in our days with MUST DO's, then add WOULD REALLY LIKE TO's, and then WONT HURT MY FEELINGS. That way once we get done with a MUST, and we have the time and energy, we can choose something from our alternate lists.
To bus and Train, or to rent a car?? That is the question.
Although the bus and train system in Scotland is reputed to be wonderful, we have decided to rent a car to make sure we can hit all those wonderful little towns that tend to be off the beaten path.
With all the things that I wanted to be able to do, I didnt want to be beholden to a bus or train schedule, and I had read that in some of those smaller off the beaten trail towns, the busses may only run once or twice a day, leaving us a LOT of waiting time. Plus with a car you have the freedom to go and see more. And as it turns out, 10 days with a car is cheaper than buying 2 Scotland rail passes!
I have already booked the tickets, I have booked the car, and I have gone in and booked the hotel rooms in our 3 major home base of operations (with the intention of looking around more and re-booking if needed). Really, the hardest part is done, now it is just finalizing our various lists and figuring out what we can realistically see and do.
I continue to look at blogs and recommendations, scour trip advisor and have broken out the hiking boots to get them broken in and ready for an adventure.
Now we wait....impatiently.
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