Update

It's generally best to learn there is engine trouble before your aircraft is thousands of feet above the ocean, and hundreds of miles from land. We are still @Logan @ 11:30PM. Probably at least another hour before the engine part is replaced. We will be missing our connecting flight to Glasgow.

If anyone is reading this ,,,

We are in Logan Airport, it's about 8PM, flight should be leaving in less than 2 hours. Hope to be able to post an entry at Heathrow but that will depend on the "freeness" of the interknot connection and how much power is in the 'puter battery. Our arrival time for Heathrow is approx 930AM local time. It is now approx 1AM London. Signing off for now.

Today is the day !!! Tha mi agus mo bhean a dol a Alba an-diugh.

If I phrased The Gaelic correctly it translates my wife and I are going to Scotland today. This entry is being made rather quickly due to the time limitations.

We will be in Alba for 18 days. Our friends Gordon and Margaret Campbell will pick us up and convey us to where we will stay for the first "leg" of the journey: the home of Pastor Marshall Cross, and his family, in Wishaw. We plan/hope to fellowship with Pastor, his friends, etc. and visit Kelvingrove Museum, a street that my cousin Kyle McLea has determined is where an ancestor lived and ??? We will also travel to Edinburgh, Greenock, Gourock, and Wigtown.

Following the Glasgow leg we will drive to Tarbert then take a ferry to Islay where we will stay for several days. While there we will revisit several of our "old favorites", see some new sites (Kilnave, Kintra, iron age forts, and Jura) and revisit friends we made last year.

God has been gracious to us and we anticipate spiritual blessings during this time. Thanks be to Him, families and friends who have been encouraging, and supportive.

Well, I need to sign off for now.

Heart and treasure ...

" ... where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." (Matthew 6:21, NASB)

God willing my wife and I will be sitting in Logan Airport one week from tonight waiting for our flight to Alba.

Over the years my mother has given to me (and my wife) items that were owned by my Grandmother. Those items include a few books, and a knick knack that has a copy of the Lord's prayer printed on one side and "God grant me the serenity ..." printed on the other. Most recently my Aunt "Doodle Mama" Edie passed on to us a wee butter dish that was my Grandmother's. None of these items is worth much money but we treasure them more than words can say.

We hope God grants our wish and desire to live in Scotland ... even for a short time. My mother has told me several times that my Grandmother enjoyed living in the USofA but never lost her love for Scotland. I can say that even though I have only visited Alba twice I can appreciate that sentiment. We look forward to our return in several days and our visits with friends, as well as seeing familiar places and new places.

Irn Bru

For more than 20 years (indeed, perhaps most of my life) I have drunk a can/bottle of CocaCola each day with lunch. I thought it the best soft drink ever, no contest. Then I travelled to Scotland and tried Irn Bru. CocaCola had met its master. Bright orange in color, nice and sweet, and infused with caffeine, it meets my dietary lunch beverage requirements. And it's Scottish. What more could I want? Interestingly, I was told by a friend in Scotland that Irn Bru is the number one soft drink in Scotland and that has for years knotted the knickers of CocaCola. My only question is ... why orange and not blue? Regardless, I am committed to securing a source of my preferred beverage.

Links to Irn Bru, and a story about Coca Cola's desire to be #1.

http://www.irn-bru.co.uk/

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/irn-bru-girds-its-loins-for-cocaculloden-1089181.html

Pressing forward to the goal, more family information

Wow, has it been a month since my last entry? Time has flown.

We continue to plan our trip to Alba. It looks this time to last almost 3 weeks between the 2010 Feis Ile on Islay, and several days exploring the same sites that I saw during 2009 Hogmanay/New Year. The only thing left "to do" is book the flights and the car hire; we have arranged accomodations in all areas. We look forward, very much, to our return to Scotland.

As for family, I've begun digging a bit more vigorously into the paternal side of my family, where the names MacLea,and MacKay are represented. I will continue to research those clan names, my family and hopefully have the opportunity to take a picture or two of where they lived, much as I did in Coatbridge.

Sorry, no pictures this time.

"Bagging" Scotland

This blog entry has been on my mind for several days, perhaps longer, since "Bagging Scotland" was brought to my attention via Armin Grewe's Islay Blog. A link to his blog entry is here.

So, what exactly is "Bagging Scotland"? Well, rather than try to explain it, I'll quote from the Bagging Scotland website:

"Give your vacations, short breaks or holidays a sense of purpose! Aim high and make it your life’s work to bag Scotland’s 3,000(ish) Castles or why not try to bag ALL of Scotland’s 95 inhabited Islands in a year? By Bagging the 85 Malt Whisky Distilleries in Scotland, you’ll just happen to pass through some of Scotlands best scenery which is full of Castle culture, history and heritage as well. It’s simple, with Bagging Scotland.

At the risk of sounding narrow minded, I honestly don't understand why anyone would desire to "bag" Scotland. "Passing through" scenery on your way to put another notch in your bag-belt is hardly the way to appreciate the country or its people. I freely admit I've not spent a lot of time in Scotland but what time I have spent has been more enjoyable than my wildest dreams would have expected. I attribute the enjoyment to the simple fact that I was not out to see as much as possible in a limited amount of time.

As a matter of fact, in 2009 mo bhean and I spent more than a week on Islay itself and still did not see all that we wanted. I recently spent more than a week traveling between Ghlaschu, Dhun Eideann, and Dumfries and only scratched the surface. How, I ask, can anyone expect to really appreciate Scotland by tramping all over the place in a mad rush to see all the castles, islands, distilleries, or whatever, in 'x' amount of time?

My opinion is that Scotland is like a beautiful woman (or handsome man, if my reader is a woman): she should be savored and appreciated through time spent in her embrace, lingering for a time at each spot and drinking it all in prior to moving on. Then, when you must leave, return again and again, as many times as possible, but don't rush the moment, and certainly don't be in a hurry to rush to the next "baggable" location.

In any case, that's my opinion. I'd appreciate any readers comments whether, or not, you agree with me.