So yeah .... we went to the UK .... :D .. Part 1

I know .. it's been MONTHS .. but .. I'm doing better. It's amazing what a bout with "nervous exhaustion" will do for a person. O_o

There are a whole host of reasons that brought me to that point .. but I'm handling them better .. have reorganized my thinking and feeling about them .. and hopefully .. am on the permanent upswing from there back to my usual self. ;)

On April 28th MC and I headed to Halifax for a night flight to Scotland via Heathrow .. it was her first flight and she was SO nervous. We had a great time just waiting for boarding .. airport staff in Halifax are amazingly friendly and helpful .. and we chatted our way through security and beyoooonnnd.

After a 2 hour wait in the lounge by our gate we finally boarded our flight and got comfy in our seats .. at the back .. the VERY back no less ahaha .. and waited for take off. At 11:45PM .. as we taxied out along the runway MC says "Oh my God .. we're taking off" .. to which I responded .. "not yet darlin' .. it's only getting warmed up .. you'll know when it's taking off" .. and got a somewhat alarmed look in response. :D

When the mighty roar .. followed by that great rush happened .. I reached over and gently squeezed her hand and told her it would be fine .. she clung to my hand so tightly and I told her to look out the window as the receding view of Halifax Harbor .. outlined by the string of lights around it .. was something really beautiful to see. She loved it .. it is the last view I recall on my first flight to England when I was 17 .. and I still remember how perfect it looked.

Sleep was outta the question for us .. we chatted with the staff onboard that serviced our side of the plane .. they get EXTRA brownie points for being shocked that MC and I were NOT sisters but mother and daughter :D .. and with a few people near us .. watched a movie .. and tried to follow our flights progress on the monitor for that in the screen on the seat back but .. WE got the ONLY 2 on the entire plane that didn't work .. always showing us at 60 feet and still in Halifax. LOLOL

Sunrise came as a great wash of reddish light into the plane and MC thought it was beautiful .. not long afterward .. land .. we finally were over England!! She began taking pictures and as we began to descend and circle over London she let this excited cry out of her .. "there's the Eye!!" .. and there it was .. the London Eye .. how she spotted it amongst all that is London I'll never know but she did. lol

When we finally rolled up to the gate and left the plane .. the staff we'd been chatting with had 'specially mentioned to the captain that this was MC's first flight ever .. and he took the time to watch for her and ask her how she had liked it and thank her for being along with him as we left. Kinda' a nice thing to do I think. :)

Heathrow is one of the most massive .. confusing .. good lord pack-a-lunch-and -take-a-tent sorta places that you NEED a lot of time between flights just to get where you need to .. we had 5 and a half hours and used 3 just traversing from point of arrival to next departure point. O_O

We arrived at Terminal 3 .. walked miles of tunnels and pathways .. took a bus to another one .. walked through security and customs .. walked another 10 miles .. with a couple of stops for me to rest as .. ya' know .. the old knees aren't what they once were and they tote a heavy load at this point ;) .. and FINALLY arrived at the correct gate in Terminal 1 to catch our flight to Aberdeen. And I have to say .. the staff in London were outstanding in their friendliness and helpfulness as we made our way through that confusing area to get to Terminal 1. :)

I hadn't slept all night .. make up was LONG gone .. eyes red .. contacts killin' me .. exhausted and bedraggled .. I musta been a sight to behold straggling through that entire area .. hahahaha !! .. and when I arrived at the BMI area .. to be honest .. I didn't think I had it in me to make it till flight time. But .. with her nose keen for finding hot coffee .. there .. in our gate area .. was a place called Costa's .. and .. with 2 large cups of tea in me .. a meal of their toasted Ham & Cheese Panini .. and a few of their Raspberry & Almond Bake squares .. and I was able to keep lively the next 2 and a half hours for our flight to Aberdeen. :D Tim Horton's has got NUTHIN' on Costa's .. :)~~~~

Finally we're on our way to Aberdeen .. a MUCH smaller jet .. rattlin' along .. MC .. gazing out through the clouds and videoing our climb through them with such awe .. she reaches over and grabs my hand .. softly says "thank you for this .. " and gives me a teary smile .. "I love flying". I love her .. and am glad we are traveling together on this adventure. :)

We arrive in Aberdeen .. exhausted .. make our way to our luggage that someone has pulled off the belt .. and we wait for my oldest to find us. She is frazzled .. running late .. and grumpy .. lol .. she hugs me .. says "hi" and walks away before her sister can hug her .. "oh great" I think .. and loads us bag and baggage into her Amazon to take us to her house. I get to see 3 of my grandchildren for the very first time and my sweet Megs that I haven't seen since she was 2. I haven't words .. of any kind to adequately describe how that felt .. those dear little ones .. with such sweet faces .. I want them to know who "Gram in Canada" is .. to feel that I love them .. and to hopefully always know that even when I'm here so far away.

I visited as long as I could last .. MC and her sister went driving and shopping for a bit .. I went to bed .. truly exhausted .. glad that I had pushed through to 9PM their time .. the better to get my time swung around to UK time .. and to be rested and ready to DO things and GO places and take in as much as I could .. absorb the essence as much as the memories .. who knows how long that'll have to last me before I am there again.

We had 6 weeks ahead of us .. things planned .. and unplanned .. to do .. being rested was the first order for me. :)