24 years

this past weekend was one filled with travel!

on saturday i left my friends in prague and began the looong pilgrimage to the orkney island north of scotland.

on saturday i had two flights-

prague to london,

and london to glasgow, scotland.

in glasgow i met up with my friend shannon and got treated to a great stay in a hotel.

she had a ticket to  the fringe festival in the evening i arrived and i really enjoyed just getting to take a long, hot back and relax a bit.

on sunday shannon and i spent the day processing and working through this past month along with some anxiety i've been dealing with (more on that later) and she helped me get the rest of my trip sorted.

i'm certainly getting better on getting my travel stuff together, but the travel to orkney is unique and i was so thankful to have her help me navigate it.

later sunday evening shannon took off back to london and i began the bus ride up to inverness where i stayed in a hostel for the evening.

now, hostels in the UK are totally different than the states.

it was clean, there were young people everywhere, and very safe.

the only downer was the snoring going on in my room.

other than that, it went well and cheaply (the best part).

when i woke, i instantly began thinking through the things i needed to do before my next bus ride but suddenly remembered...TODAY IS MY BIRTHDAY. and i smiled.

after checking out of the hostel i bought myself some food for the day and began the short walk over to the bus station where i had come the night before.

on the way i asked a woman whether i was headed in the right direction, she told me to just follow her...she was on her way there too.

we chatted on the way and finally made it to the bus station where i went inside and had a seat.

i was feeling kind of lonely and it was nice to have had some audible conversation with another human.

after buying her ticket, this lovely woman came back over to me and asked when my bus would be leaving-i told her not for another hour and half so she invited me to come join her for tea with her friend at a cafe right next door that is run by special needs people.

of course i joined her and she was lovely enough to buy me tea for my birthday.

i almost cried.

shannon had told me that she hoped God would do something special for my birthday and in the back of my mind i wondered how that could happen in a hostel but thought maybe the view from my bus would be my treat,

but of course, God gave me lee and her friend mary to sit and chat with.

they had great stories to tell and i was so very, very thankful for the encounter.

the rest of the day was spent on the bus and then a ferry boat ride across to the orkney island.

i also got plenty of facebook posts, emails, and e-cards wishing me a happy birthday and although i couldn't be there with my family or friends, i was still gifted with some great presents orchestrated for me.

.

yesterday mr. andrew jones, who is indeed a  tallskinnykiwi, took myself, jenna (another american visitor from the states) and two of his daughters out to check out the island.

i've got to tell you, i think orkney is the most beautiful place i have EVER been.

(click on the picture above to see a much bigger photo)

i no longer wonder why in the world they live so far away.

today i'm working on some projects for andrew and shannon along with just enjoying the chilly weather (it's 55 degrees here at noon) and the great company with their 5 children hanging around. 

yes, happy happy happy birthday to me.