Glasgow to Invarary to Oban

 What is it about travel that is so exhausting?

I mean, when you think about it, you're not doing anything physically exerting.

Mostly, I spent the day sitting in a bus from the hotel to the airport where I met my group. Then, I sat around for an hour or so waiting for the group to gather.

Then, we got into the coach and drove for 90 minutes to Invarary where we could stretch our legs and empty our bladders and put some grub into our gullets.

From Invarary we sat while the coach drove us another hour or so to Oban. We had about 40 minutes to get settled before we gathered for introductions and then dinner and then I went for a stroll around Oban Bay and I'm back in my room and I'm done in. Pooped. Exhausted.

Why is that?

Why is waiting and traveling so exhausting?

I'd rather have walked here from Glasgow. Seriously. I don't think I'd be this exhausted.

Tired? Absolutely. Weary? No doubt.

Exhausted? Like this? My experience proves otherwise.

Well, one thing I can say for certain: The beauty of this place is breathtaking.

Intoxicating and exhilarating, all at once.

Our coach driver says that God created Scotland on the last day of Creation because God wanted to save the best for last.

I suspect there is a Central Casting place for coach drivers who transport people to places like this and they all learn the same lines.

The fellow pilgrims I have briefly met tonight seem to share my exhaustion. I think we're tired of waiting. I think we're ready for this pilgrimage.

Maybe it's not exhaustion I feel. Perhaps this is like that moment a woman in labor experiences as her time of transition ends and she is ready to give birth.

There is that moment when she knows the hard work is about to begin.

I think that's what this moment is about.

Let it begin.

I am heading to bed with this prayer on my heart:

Saint Patrick's Creed (excerpt)

God of Heaven and earth, sea and rivers,
God of sun and moon, of all the stars,
God of high mountains and of lowly valleys,
God over heaven, and in heaven, and under heaven/
God has a dwelling in heaven and earth and sea
and in all things that are in them.
God inspires all things, God quickens all things,
God is over all things, God supports all things.
God makes the light of the sun to shine,
God surrounds the moon and stars, and God has made wells in the arid earth,
placed dry islands in the sea and stars for the service of the greater luminaries.

 Amen.

Oh, PS: I wanted to make sure this wonderful moment today doesn't get lost in the dust bin that is sometimes my memory.

When we stopped at Inverary for lunch, we were told by Stephen, our coach driver, that Mr. P's Fish 'n Chips was the "best in all of Scotland". So, when you're served up a steaming hot plate of Scottish hyperbole, you have to take at least a bite.

He was right. So light. So utterly delicious. Best fish 'n chips in all of Scotland. 

Of course, it's the only fish 'n chips I've had in Scotland, but the bar is now set. High.

It was also lovely to get out of the coach and stretch and eat and poke around. I wish I could have walked from Glasgow but maybe next time.

Mostly, I gasped at the water and the vibrant colors of the flowers and played with a few old pups who begged some of my chips while their mommy kept sayin', "Say thank you, darlins. There's mommy's good pup."

She also blessed me with this wisdom: "Doonya pay na attention to ta weather man. You just pull the shades ta tha sidee and loook oout ya winda and bring a sweatah anyway."

Best advice in all of Scotland. Perhaps, the whole world. 

Now, it's off to bed with me.