Working Mom – Travel Dreams

Along with my transition into my new goals that start in October, I will be adding in some pampering for myself.  I already get a mani-pedi every month.  No matter how busy I get I still go in for my mani-pedi.  I refuse to drop that and keep those couple hours a month just for myself.

Along with my upcoming goals of getting back in shape and getting back to my daily yoga practice I will be adding massages, facials or both as a reward for myself while I work hard to get back in shape.  While my coworker is off and I am doing it all, I think massages once a month should be on the menu.  I’m not sure when I want to start the facials or how often I want to do them.  But I do want to get back to it especially as I get older.  I am horrible at taking care of my skin (I’m clean, but lets just say if I remember to put on moisturizer it’s a shocker) So, I feel once I’m up to it, I’ll start fresh with a facial and try to get a regular skin care routine going.

I GOT THIS!

Working Mom – Travel Dreams is finally traveling again! This is a long awaited solo trip to the UK!  I had a bit of drama with the airline going on strike and my flight getting canceled, so I had to scramble to find another flight only to have them resolve the issue and have my flight be back on so I had to cancel my replacement flight. Then they went on strike anyway and I booked myself another replacement flight just incase and it’s a good thing I did because I needed it when my flight got canceled 3 hours before take off. But all that is sorted out and I finally made my way to the UK!

I’m currently in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is probably one of the prettiest cities I have seen. But then again, I love old buildings. The only probables I seem to be running into here is that they are currently filming Fast and Furious 9 here and by here I mean at the corner of the street where I’m staying. Before I knew what was going on there were people taking photos of a few cars when I was trying to get lunch. Then in the evening I walked back to my flat a different way and the street was closed so I had to go all the way back around. After that I looked to see what was going on. They are filming here all month. But the bulk of what they are doing is all within 1 mile of where I’m staying and all their movie stuff (trailers, equipment, dressing rooms, food service etc) are parked at the end of the street. I was not planning on that and I would not complain if I ran into any of the stars. But I would probably be pretty embarrassed if I ended up in the background of one of the shots in the movie all red faced and sweaty from hiking up the hill to get to my flat.

Anyway, today was a rainy day here in Scotland. Beautiful in Edinburgh but pouring down rain in the highlands where I spent my day. Tomorrow is a new day and that day takes me to a new place. I’m just planning to leave the flat early because while walking home I saw a notice that my street is closed tomorrow morning for filming. The last thing I want to do is get ran over by a chase scene crossing the street to get to the bus.

After my long travel day and late evening the last thing I wanted to do was get up at 3:30 AM to go to Stonehenge. But I’m SO glad it did.

Now nothing miraculous happened. I didn’t see aliens, feel a surreal energy or hear a hum from the stones. But it was amazing to be up close to the stones like that.

When we got to Stonehenge all the signs said “Closed” but we were allowed in. After a briefing from…I guess he was a park ranger…all 23 of us were allowed beyond the ropes and had 1.5 hours to wander the site as we wanted. No crowds. No lines. Just us, a guide to answer questions and the stones.

I started with a walk around the roped off area to get a feel for the view other people get when they go to Stonehenge. Honestly, it’s so far away that you really can’t get a feel for how large they really are and you can’t really see the interior stones. Now there isn’t anything wrong with that, but since it was a bucket list item I went all out!

After my stroll around the ropes I went into the center. I listened to the guide tell us where the stones came from and the history of the area. It was pretty interesting. Then I started taking photos of the interior of the stones since it’s the part others just don’t see. I stood in the middle of the columns looking up and the stone above me and just thought after all these years I’m actually here. It was surreal.

Travel is about the experience. It’s that sense of awe you feel the first time you see the giant redwoods, the pyramids in Giza or the Sistine Chapel. For me Stonehenge had that same feel. The feel of wonder and amazement that I was really there.

Today my plan B came in handy. As if the re-paving of San Francisco airport runways wasn’t bad enough, British Airlines union went on strike. Of course I’m booked to fly direct from SFO to London on British Airlines. My flight got canceled when I was almost to the airport.

But I had a plan B. When I heard that lots of flights were getting canceled at SFO I started looking for another flight. I found one with 2 stops that will still have me in London on the 11th and it leaves from Oakland. So I book it as my backup plan.

Sure enough I’m on the freeway on my way to the airport when my flight gets canceled. So I have my mom take the next exit, turn around and go to Oakland instead. My last minute change has me traveling from Oakland to Copenhagen to Brussels to London.

My first flight was ok. I had an isle seat one row up from the restrooms. I asked for a window but the girl at the ticketing counter was new and she didn’t get that or get my known traveler number in so instead of breezing through security I had to wait in line, rearrange my stuff, take all my electronics out of my bag, take off my shoes. It was quite inconvenient.

So I make it through that flight and land in Copenhagen. While the airport isn’t that big it has the largest section of duty free shops I have ever seen in my life. It took me 36 minutes to walk from one end of the shopping to the other. I stopped to grab a pre-made sandwich but I couldn’t read and if the labels and the sandwiches were packaged in brown paper so I couldn’t even look at them and see what they were. So I skipped the sandwich. I wasn’t hungry enough to paint airport prices for a mystery meal.

When I finally get to my gate I end up having to check my carry on bag. I absolutely hate checking bags. Apparently after 1st class and business class boarded the bins were all full so the rest of us were only allowed one personal item and everything else had to be checked. Lots of cranky people there who didn’t want to check their bags at the gate…including me. They check it all the way through to London. I get in late and did not want to wait for my bag when I get there but I don’t have a choice now. I almost made it through the baggage Natzi but the lady in front of me dropped her phone and I got caught when she turned her head to see the commotion. When I got on the plane I saw 2 spots I could have stashed my bag.

I’m finally on my last flight to London. My flight says it leaves at 9:25 and lands at 9:35 but the flight time is 1 hour and 10 minutes. I figure it’s an error and send a message to the Airbnb I’m staying at and tell her I’ll be in later than expected. Then just before take off I hear the ladies next to me talking about getting in at 9:35. Duh, London is 1 hour behind brussels in time. OMG I need sleep!

Well, the rest went smooth. The taxi to my room cost me a lot. But I got there fine. I got to bed around midnight.

Travel day #1…done

I am down to one day left at work until I am off for two weeks and 4 days left until I’m on a plane on my way to the UK.

Have I packed? No. That’s a weird thing for me because I usually start tossing stuff in my bag (or in a pile next to it) a week or two before. I have not even pulled out my bag with the power adapters yet. I’ll start gathering things this weekend.

I did purchase myself a coat. It’s beautiful and I’m excited about it. I know that sounds weird but, I live in California and I don’t own a coat. If it gets cold I toss on a sweatshirt or sweater. If it’s raining I put on a rain jacket (nothing for warmth, it’s just a waterproof shell to keep me dry). So owning an actual coat feels so…grown up and fancy. But in the UK, particularly in the highlands I need a coat.

But I am starting to get excited. I planned an awesome trip! I packed a lot into a short period of time because I don’t get out much anymore so I want to see and do as much as possible.

I still have a lot to do before I leave, but the anticipation is building.

Life is hard and it often comes from you at all angles at the same time leaving you struggling just to keep up.  When this happens we tent to let things go and push off things that are not of immediate importance.  In my life the thing I put off is me.  My kids and job always come first taking up the majority of my time and energy.  What I have left after that goes to my husband often leaving nothing left for me.

This year it’s going to change.  Where most people make new years resolutions, I set goals every October (around my birthday).  On the zeros and fives I set longer, 5 year goals and on the single years shorter goals.  With my birthday coming up (it a 5 year goal one) I have been evaluating my life and trying to figure out what I want to change or accomplish.  I think my 5 year plan is going to be about me.  I’m going to accomplish the following:

Loose the baby weight and get back in shape

Get back to my daily yoga practice

Travel somewhere new once a year (this was my goal many years ago. I kept it up for a couple decades and it kinda fell apart when I had kids)

Continue working on my website and photography business.

Finish and publish my book

-and- actually meet my goal of posting a blog post once a week (it’s a new goal year coming up and I have improved every year.)

Doable? Absolutely!