Countdown to Edinburgh

What's going on here?

Countdown to departure for Edinburgh and the excitement of teaching creative writing in one of the most scenic countries in the world with links to some of my favorite authors--Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and his Sherlock Holmes series, J.M. Barrie--love Peter Pan, Robert Burns, Robert Louis Stevenson, and then J.K. Rowling (for all you Harry Potter fans). 

If you are wondering about the luggage photo, yes, this is the sum total of my traveling gear--well, excluding the purse that probably weighs 10 pounds, but I'm not admitting that. Do notice that I have reduced my luggage volume from last year's trip to China by at least half. And before any more of you ask, Toto is not going. He is vacationing in the mountains of Virginia and making new friends with a large golden lab named Toby. 

Toto, you are not in Tennessee anymore. For the record, I am a bit travel-wiser this year and have opted out of the travel pillow and blanket for the plane that everyone offering flight advice seemed to focus on last year. There is a baggie of chocolate and almond munchies and a few granola bars for snacks replacing these items. This year it is rain gear and options for layering clothes as the weather in Scotland is cool, rainy, cloudy, rainy, and cool. There's a reason Scotland is so green and lush. Thanks to advice from my niece, who spent a year+ in Edinburgh, I am taking extra wool socks and a warm scarf. She has also recommended that I stop in at Greyfriars Art Shop in Edinburgh and guaranteed her "Scottish mum" would give me a good cup of tea. 

Right now, it's the final packing and making sure that I have all my notebooks and pens for writing class and two good audio books for the plane ride. I'm looking forward to hours of writing talk with students and walking the streets and byways of some of my favorite authors. While I'm filling writing journals, my gardens back home will be on autopilot and I'm sure the grass and weeds have already put out the word that it is safe for a while. It was hard to leave a good crop of lettuce, but I have invited neighbors to help themselves. Surely someone will pick the blueberries that ripen in mid-June.

The TNCIS Scotland program has a busy itinerary this year, and our writing class will be taking advantage of every literary and scenic opportunity available. Expect posts along the way as we venture to the highlands--and even make it on a day of Highland Games. There will be castles galore--ah images of Macbeth, so look forward to lines from poems, plays, and songs as we wind our way through the Scottish countryside.