AC Capehart capehart

Sunday. We weren’t really sure what we wanted to do today, but we had talked about doing one of the “bus to bus” walks in Brighton where you could take a bus to one of the stops and then do a country walk in the Sussex downs to somewhere else that a bus runs, and catch that back into town. As a family, we’d done the Ditchling Beacon to Devil’s Dyke walk once.

Saturday, we awoke late after a mixed night’s sleep. We ate our breakfast procured from Waitrose the day before. Yogurt and blueberries for myself while Sam and Carolyn had Muffins with Bonne Mammon, clementines and milk. We confirmed that trains to Lewes were frequent and headed up to the station. We got our tickets there and boarded a Southern “local” train with a few stops before we even got to Lewes.

Alas, there was no day 1 post, so this will have to suffice for both, at least for now. I wish I were more observant about the mundane, because in some important ways, I think it’s the mudane that matters far more than the extrordinary. At least in story telling. We left Philadelphia Thursday evening. We flew from the international terminal at PHL on USAirways. We were originally supposed to fly from A6 at one end of the terminal, and shortly after we settled down there, an announcement came over the PA that there was a gate change and we needed to switch to A23 at the other end of the terminal.

I like Virgin Airlines. I particularly liked my transcontinental business class trip on Virgin America. I like the Virgin lounge in Heathrow. And I LOVE business class when east-bound transatlantic. I’ve had worse nights of sleep in hotels than on that “red eye” (I’m looking at you Barcelona Pensione!) Obviously, I’m a Virgin flying club member. That was then. This is now. Now, each transatlantic flight comes directly out of my own pocket and I’m in uncertain financial waters as I try to start a transatlantic business.

On Friday, it was supposed to rain. We were going to go shopping. I needed a replacement keychain – my “England” one from Heathrow had broken under the strain of daily use. I needed a hat (CF my post wherein I left my hat on the train on the way up). I was interested in a sweater of Scottish wool. We have various birthdays coming up that we need to provide for.

Thursday, we again had an excellent lie in, and a lazy breakfast in the cottage wherein we discussed what we might want to do. There were three hikes that I had in mind as possibilities. 1) The mountain we’d skirted around on our Killiecrankie walk, 2) the loop near the top of the mountain we’d traversed on our Strathtay walk or 3) further up the Tummel river to see “Queen’s View“.

We’re back from another very nice, if somewhat wearying hike. This time, we walked “over the hill” from Pitlochry to Strathtay. The hike was nice, though today, the boots weren’t as magic, and Botticelli, while still engaging wasn’t as thoroughly distracting as it was the day before. Therefore, we had a somewhat more recalcitrant hiker than a couple of days ago. Still, all things considered, I’m pleased with her capability and willingness.

A relaxed day in and near town. The morning consisted of some errands (buy postcards, scan documents for closing, buy a couple presents, some groceries, drop clothing off at the launderette). Lunch was sandwiches from the Scottish Deli. After lunch, we hiked through the Black Spout wood to reach the smallest distillery in Scotland – Edradour. We watched a video, took a tour and bought some gift-Scotch and some personal Scotch.

Today, we hiked. By the weather forecast, this looked to be the best day of the week, and as we were fresh, and came here to walk around, we set out for a hike. We got off to a leisurely start. We had breakfast in our cottage, got ourselves packed up and headed off (after a quick trip to the Indian restaurant where we’d eaten the night before to pick up the rucksack we’d left there by accident!

I sent an email to peeps at work about my truck. We were considering donating it, but that doesn’t look all that easy either (or when it is, the charity only gets a percentage of the take) so I thought I’d offer it around. Here’s what’s on offer: 1994 Toyota 4-Runner SRV 6-cylinder, 5 speed manual transmission with in-console 4-wheel drive (You don’t have to get out of the car to put it in 4-wheel drive.