THE FIRST FIFTY DAYS OF RETIREMENT

I remember counting down the days to retirement, and now i am counting up the days from retirement. I only had about 10 days at home before setting off on this long trip. I am a little concerned about how the reality of being home will hit me after this great whirlwind of travel has settled down and I find myself without specific daily structured plans. I will certainly be taking time to review the wonders of this travel opportunity that I have been involved in. I need to re-visit different aspects of this trip and touch base with some of the people that made various parts of this trip special for me. I will be working on photographs taken on this journey, and I will also be taking a look at the video from the reunion to see if there is a documentary waiting to happen there.

I have been driving on the fabulous roads of Scotland. Some of the single track roads in the north and the Isle of Skye are invigorating. 

I have enjoyed the challenge of looking ahead to see if there might be a vehicle speeding toward me at an upcoming sharp bend. The magnificent views are a dangerous distraction to a driver. There are frequent tiny areas where one can pull off the road to allow oncoming traffic to pass; it is, however, a matter of timing as one has to communicate through ESP with strangers in passing cars to navigate the roads, drop-offs, rough edges, cattle grids, narrow bridges, sharp turns, and hairpin bends in a safe manner. Sometimes one has to also account for the powerful effects (on others) of Scottish whisky. 

There are only a couple of days left now before we return to Madison. Best to fully enjoy the beauty of what we have here and relax into the future gradually as it happens.

GREETINGS FROM EDINBURGH

 

Edinburgh Castle

Well, time passes and spaces transform. I have been traveling for more than four weeks and barely remember where I am at times. Places and faces have flown by. It is difficult to clasp any memory; sometimes it is hard to slow down at all for fear of missing a nugget of gold. I have seen and felt so much beauty, warmth, and love. I have seen colorful streets and monuments, rolling landscapes passing by fleetingly. Magical, profound interactions blend together.

Right now I am in Edinburgh in a gorgeous Georgian style Air BnB in New Town during the Fringe Festival. We just arrived here and it feels good to relax beneath 12 -foot ceilings by a big bay window. The view outside is of the typical limestone buildings seen throughout this majestic city. I am here with my wife and my brother after a crowded train journey from Carlisle. This is the fifth country visited on this journey after being in England, France, Portugal and Ireland. 

St. Paul's Cathedral and Millennium Bridge, London, England

Ireland

Belem, Lisbon, Portugal

The Louvre, Paris, France

Most recently we were at my brother’s house in Cockermouth in the Lake District. This seemingly rudely named town is at the mouth of the River Cocker and is known as the birthplace of William Wordsworth and the origins of the cocker spaniel. Whilst there, we were able to meet with my nephew Owen, his girlfriend Tracy, my niece Francesca, her five month old daughter Ada, and Ada’s father Stephan.  Quite a family reunion!

 Alan, Stephan, Ada, Francesca

Tracy

Bill

Owen

Prior to my time in the Lake District, I was in my hometown of London at a reunion with friends from 45 years ago. It was amazing to see some of my close friends whom I lived with at such a formative time straight out of high school so long ago.

Mark

Doug

Jeff

Spencer

As I have moved from one adventure to another it has been difficult to find the time or space to sit down and write. I have been enamored by my surroundings and engaged by the stream of wonderful people that I have spent time with. It is as though I have no choice but to live in the moment with little time to reflect upon the events. Of course this lack of the usual processing time leads to some underlying and as yet unvisited emotions which currently well up inside me and swirl around in an abstract melee.

I still have almost two weeks to explore Scotland with Cindy, my wife. It will be nice to retreat to our casual way of life and to our more familiar shared pace. For now however we have a festival to explore here in Edinburgh.