October 5th

Well…up at about the normal time today of around 6 and need to get moving soon to get down to breakfast by 8…we have the walking tour of Dublin this morning and it looks like we are going to get wet with the rain that is forecast…so it will be raincoat and jeans since it’s going to be in the 50′s this morning…had a fun day yesterday for the first one here but the trip is winding down and I am looking forward to going home and back to my normal life…where I can just veg for a couple of days…I do need to get my RSV and covid vaccines by the end of next week as I settle back in….still have some cool stuff to do here so I’m going to enjoy it…went out to and Irish pub for dinner last night and had the best Irish stew I’ve ever had so it looks like we are going back there for our last meal Sat night….the we walked around Dublin for a bit and it is a little unusual to walk around at night but cool…I do have a full sized mirror in this room instead of the the little slot mirror from the last place and I have a 2 1/2 foot deep tub that I am going to soak in when we get back from the tour this afternoon…but right now I need to get the morning post out to Mastodon and take a shower….more later….

Found some whiskey…

Well…they day wasn’t going too good with tension between my daughter and SIL that I couldn’t figure out…but it’s not for me to wade in and make things worse…so I’m not…I did get the remote figured out and it was as simple as taking the back off and rotating the battery back and forth to get the corrosion off the ends and now it works fine…and I know how to get ice so that will smooth out my nights here…still want to go out and have a pint in the pub down the way and I may after dinner tonight…they have Irish music that I like and that may make me have more beer than I should…so I won’t…I have a tub that is 2 1/2 feel deep so I am going to soak this old body in hot, hot water after the walking tour tomorrow…still doing okay but I am going to tape up the feet before we go tomorrow…want to be able to enjoy it without thinking of my feet…

Got to Dublin…

Well…got into Dublin a little before noon and had the chance to walk the city and that was fun…the street here are narrower and the buildings closer than Edinburgh but it’s different but cool…I am a little disappointed that the tv remote pad doesn’t work, the mini fridge doesn’t either and there is no ice for a cocktail…basic stuff that an upscale hotel should have down pat before they have guests…I am going to head out to get some Irish whisky here in a half hour or so to have something to sip on after we go out to dinner…okay…have a remote that kind of works and I did walk out and got some oak barrel aged Irish whisky for sipping tonight…not cheap but the company was established in 1778 so they must be doing something right……can’t wait to try it…

October 4th

Well.ward to..up at o dark thirty this morning to be ready to head for the airport  at 6:50…up at about 5:15 to get the rest of my stuff packed and get a shower before we head out…last travel until we go back to the states Sunday and I am looking forward to seeing Ireland…or the part where we are going to be…we do have a half day tour into the country so that should be cool and we have a walking tour of Dublin that should be cool…it’s been fun here in Edinburgh being right under the castle and right in downtown…we are around  the corner from the oldest market in Scotland that has been in continuous use and in the same shape since the 1100′s and that is pretty cool…but now we’re down to the last four days and I am struggling trying to fix it all in my memory…glad I took lots of photos so I can go back through them to jog my memory…I need to get over to Mastodon to do my morning update so I’ll end here….more later…

Just got back….

Well…out early this morning for the train ride to Glasgow that only took about 45 mins….and just got back a few minutes ago…boy, what a difference between Edinburgh and Glasgow…Glasgow looks like it’s just starting the rehab process with lots of derelict buildings that are not having any work done to them along with some that are…they have a cool college row street that has at least three colleges/universities on it and it is on the way to the cathedral that we toured along with the cemetery behind it that was huge and had the best views of the city….Glasgow is much smaller than Edinburgh and has a lot less to see in the downtown but it was still fun…had a nice Indian lunch that I used 50 of the last 160 pounds on…looks like I’ll be coming home with some of those…on to Dublin early tomorrow morning for the last 4 days of the trip…kind of a bittersweet thing but I am looking forward to being home…this trip has been a lot of work and I’m sore and tired…

October 3rd

Well…..it seems I’m back to my normal sleep pattern of getting up once overnight at 4 am and having problems getting back to sleep after that…but, at least I’ve met the rehab goals of being able to not go for over 5 hours at a stretch and there may still be some small improvements coming over the next few months…I hope…sore as heck this morning but I think that is going to be normal for the next 5 days as we continue to walk almost 10 miles a day…going to make a day trip to Glasgow this morning and it looks like rain off and on  there all day and there is a new free transport museum that I would like to see if it is within walking distance…and there are some cool art deco buildings that I would like to see…other than that, I don’t think there are any forts but every city here has a cathedral or 7 and we may spend some time looking at those…then just wandering around for a bit….more later…

Long day of walking…

Well…man, I was on my feet for 6 1/2 hours today and I am sore…and we are getting ready to go out for dinner at the oldest pub in Edinburgh, the White Hart Tavern that has been in continuous operation since the 1500′s…okay, that didn’t work out since the cook at the tavern went home sick so we went to another place right across the street and had a great meal…I finally had my haggis and it was really good…so tomorrow we take the train to Glasgow for the day and just fool around there for a while…then back here and out to Dublin wed for the end of the trip…so, we’ll have 4 days in Dublin and then back to Maryland Sunday and home on Monday…it has been a great trip and I can’t thank my daughter and son in law enough for making the trip of a lifetime for me….more tomorrow…

October 2nd

Well…up at about the normal time this morning…a little before 6 and I’ve had my first cup of coffee and a shower to get ready for the two hour walking tour and castle visit…should be pretty cool but I’ve already taken an ibuprofen and slathered myself in Voltaren and biofreeze to help with the stiffness and pain I’ve had for a couple of days now…glad we’re getting out early today and I hope the crowds aren’t as bad as they were yesterday afternoon when it was nuts out there…I did buy myself a Harris wool flat hat yesterday that I like a lot an that will be worn today as we go out for the day…or maybe not since I don’t want to sweat in it as I will as the temps come up…no rain in the forecast for today and it’s only about 50 out there so I may have to wear a fleece for the first part of the walk…my daughter bought me a pair of pants from Costco that feel just like Carharts and are so comfortable that I’m wearing them again today even though I do have clean jeans…this has been a long trip with more traveling than I’ve done in my entire life and I am starting to look forward to getting home and back into my routine to get some rest….more later…

Lot’s of walking…

Well…spent the day walking up and down the Royal Mile which is the main drag here in Edinburgh looking at all of or the old buildings, forts, and palaces and just taking it all in…I’m saying”cool” a lot and I am just amazed at how these buildings from the 1500′s up are so well preserved and repurposed for the modern age….it got way too busy on the way back this afternoon and it was almost like London busy…much prefer to be out early in the day…have a private walking tour of the city and fort tomorrow and that should be cool…but right now I need to rub some painkiller on my back sine the pain is howling under my right shoulder blade….more later….

October 1st

Well…up and moving at 6:41 this morning and I slept okay and feel okay today…only had breakfast yesterday an that feels good…have been eating way too much on this trip and I think I’ve gained 5 pounds…still look okay but just the thought of gaining weight goes against everything I’ve tried to do after losing 35 pounds…it’s raining again…surprise! But it’s suppose to clear up this afternoon so we can walk around the city and get a look at it after just heading here we yesterday…got the laundry done but now need to put it ways today and that means rolling it all up and getting it back in the compression bags that have really helped to get 9 days worth of clothes into my suitcase…we are down to the last 7 days and I am looking forward to getting home and back into my routine…not sure what the plan is for today since I am the first one up and ready to go…only have a bagel with cream cheese and coffee for breakfast and that is just fine with me…I do need to get more photos of the city today to post out on Mastodon and facebook after we get back here…it has been fun sharing the trip with my Mastodon fans…just noticed I have almost 600 people following me there and that is pretty cool….more later…