Exhaustion (igˈzôs ch ən)

noun
1 a state of extreme physical or mental fatigue : he was pale with exhaustion.
2 the action or state of using something up or of being used up completely : the rapid exhaustion of fossil fuel reserves.
the action of exploring a subject or options so fully that there is nothing further to be said or discovered : the total exhaustion of viable systematic alternatives.

So I recently returned from Alex’s and my trip across the pond. In retrospect it was a wonderful trip and, speaking for both of us, we had a great time. However, we had a very rough start. Perhaps a brief outline of our schedule at the beginning of our trip will be helpful…

9am EST Monday 1/9: Wake up and finalize packing
6:30pm EST Monday 1/9: Board plane
7:15am GMT Tuesday 1/10: Arrive in London
11:45pm GMT Tuesday 1/10: Board bus to Scotland
12pm GMT Wednesday 1/11: Arrive in Inverness, Scotland
7am GMT Thursday 1/12: Board bus to Edinburgh
11am GMT Thursday 1/12: Arrive in Edinburgh
7pm GMT Thursday 1/12: Board plane
9pm GMT Thursday 1/12: Arrive in Dublin

As you can see, it was quite a whirlwind tour of London on Tuesday, the Scottish highlands on Wednesday, then Edinburgh and Dublin on Thursday. And up until Wednesday night, Alex and I hadn’t gotten any sleep except for a few hours on the plane/bus where we dozed on and off. We caught up on sleep when we got to our hostel in Dublin, sleeping in til 1pm on Friday, the following day. After that, there were cases of minor exhaustion but nothing like we had experienced at the beginning of our trip.

Going into the trip, I thought it would be OK but looking back, I will never plan a trip like that again! Of course I have always known that traveling is exhausting but it took us a few days to figure out that most of that exhaustion is mental. The constant need to figure out where you are, where you need to go, when you need to get there, how you are going to get there, and when you have to leave to get to the place you need to be to leave for the place you are going...it is incredibly mentally taxing.

HOWEVER!- The trip was overall a wonderful time- I got to see a lot of things I had heretofore only read about in books! Our tour was in part a literary tour as we visited places like Platform 9 3/4 (Harry Potter), Magdalen College, Oxford (Dorothy Sayers’ Lord Peter Wimsey novels), Tower Bridge (Sherlock Holmes) and Inverness, Scotland (Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander). We saw a lot of other amazing and beautiful things too but that's material for another post :) So, until next time...

Off to a New Adventure!

Hello fellow travelers,

I hope you all had a blessed Christmas season and a Happy New Year. I haven't had all that many new years in my life but it was nice to think back and remember where I was 5, 10, 15 years ago. Because of all the drastic changes in my life, this new year is especially exciting to me. I am still in the semi-vacation phase that followed the ending of the semester and precedes beginning my grown up job but the holiday season has been filled with joy and celebration for the things past as well as those to come. One of these such things to come is my trip! Monday evening my roommate and I will embark on a travel adventure together- to England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales! Its going to be a whirlwind trip (for example, we are only going to stop in Edinburgh for 6 hours!) but it will be lots of fun. I've always wanted to go to the UK and I'm excited to finally travel to places where they speak English! The history of several of these countries has always interested me and I look forward very much to seeing the places I've read about as well as sharing my stories with you on my return. Please pray for safe travels and few incidents along our path- several of our connections are closely timed so missing a bus could be catastrophic! I will be sure to take lots of pictures and stock up on things that I learn to report when we get home. So... until the 21st!

With love,
the Traveler