In the few minutes I have before I dive back into another conference session, figured I’d cover some of the items of our last vacation. This was a 2.5 week excursion mostly to Scotland, with a few days in England. Alex planned most of the trip, with me handling things like the transportation and hotels to stay along the way. Overall, about a 50/50 split on the events et al.

Sadly, at the end, it wasn’t a usual vacation. Until now, it’s always been either just me, or myself and Alex. Now there’s three of us, and the Wee One doesn’t have our stamina for travel and has a pseudo-schedule that needs to be followed from time-to-time.

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I’m back at the St. Columba Hotel again — the only place on the island with an internet connection, it seems — enjoying my last day here on Iona. The weather over the last few days has improved considerably, even though we had ice pellets again last evening.

The last few days have been marked with a variety of excursions, notably on what they call “pilgrimages” (the Community here, although ecumenial, is still devoutly Christian). The pilgrimage route here is so well-known it’s even published on maps. They tell you that it’s not a “hike” because that would remove all sense of the meaning behind the pilgrimage. It’s about going to the religiously significant places on the island.

Talk about being the odd man out.

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Well, we’re into Day 2 on our Iona Community experience. Thus far it’s been … well, chilly. The weather here is reminiscent of something we tried to leave back home. Only windier with the sea dampness to add to the chill. Walking about is a little hard right now, so I haven’t been much further than the abbey itself.

I suppose you gotta start somewhere, right?

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I love travelling — I honestly believe that I don’t do enough of it. Always makes me feel more energised, and sitting on my duff all day long really makes me pine for it.

So I’m lucky to be getting around a bit in the next few months.

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