Scotland Travel Day: Days 0 and 1, August 25-26, 2017
Just after 3:00 pm Friday August 25, 2017 we took an Uber to Dulles Airport.
Going through TSA there was no issue with my refrigerated growth hormone injections.
The Omnitrope was in its own case from the manufacturer.
I put that in that new iCool weekender case I’d bought for this trip. I chose this one for these reasons:
- For vials or pens (insulin, growth hormones, L-Thyroxin, polyarthritis medication)
- Keeps your medication between 36°F – 46°F (2°C – 8°C) for 12 hours (I knew this trip would be about 20 hours, start to finish)
- The iCool bag uses a new generation of chemical gel pack that generates very little condensation and have a slower thawing period than traditional ice packs. This allows patients with diabetes or those using temperature sensitive medications to transport their medications for a longer cooling period. The iCool Weekender keeps insulin or other temperature sensitive medications cool for up to 12 hours at 36°F – 46°F (2 to 8°C). This bag can carry either pens or vials. There is enough space inside to store needles.
I had the gel pack from the iCool frozen solid and put that in a small Rubbermaid lunch bag with 2 thin ice packs, 1 on top and 1 on the bottom. If you don’t want to read all the way to the end, this system kept the growth hormone cold for the 20 hours going and returning but the 2 thin blocks had completely thawed. The inner iCool was mostly frozen and the growth hormone was still cool.
Hooray!
I had the sharps separately in a little square container with just enough for the week.I used the side pocket of the lunch bag to store my doctor’s note and clipped the whole thing with a carabiner to my backpack.
I also found a smallish sharps disposal container, although this was still kind of big for my needs, it was better than taking the whole huge one that’s in my bathroom. This worked well and I have enough for 5 more trips 🙂
And that’s about it for medical information, at least until we get to Heathrow 🙂
Our first flight out of Dulles there was a lot of turbulence over the ocean. Possibly due to Hurricane Harvey. Apparently, they flew faster to get out of the turbulence and we landed early in London Saturday morning.
We walked for what seemed like forever to get to Customs. Then, since we were coming from outside the UK we had to leave security area and go through TSA again.
I told the agent I was carrying refrigerated medications and she read the doctor’s letter. Everything seemed like it was going well until I was flagged for more screening 🙁 I had to take all the stuff out of my carefully packed Growth Hormone bag and everything else was taken out of my backpack to be swabbed down.
Not fun.
The next plane to Inverness was announced at 9:00 am (Saturday morning) so we moved to that gate. Tom went to the restroom. Turns out that gate was actually down an elevator. I texted Tom that we had to move along. Then they said the flight was closing. Another text to Tom.
He arrived and we hustled down 2 escalators and onto a bus that said “Final Passengers”. We were among the last people on the small plane.
We had to walk up stairs to get on the plane, then back down when we arrived. I could already feel my knee hurting. There was no turbulence on the short flight, though.
We arrived in cold/rain. Of course.
The luggage arrived and we got our rental car and headed off.
We saw lots of sheep, of course.
We arrived in Aviemore and saw lots of bikers. This is their answer to Sturgis, I guess.
Thunder in the Glens
Aviemore
Thunder in the Glens has become one of the major events in the UK for Harley-Davidson fans, with people traveling from all over the world to enjoy the event. It is now officially the largest Harley Davidson rally in the UK with an ever growing number of loyal fans.
Enjoy over 60 trade stands supporting local charities and groups, H-D demo bike rides, Jeep demo drives, Custom bike show, Outside entertainment, Scottish Knights battle scenes, Off road motorbike riding.
Saturday Mass ride out to Grantown on Spey starts at 12.00 noon. Sunday 2.00pm to 4.00pm – charity rides on the back of a Harley-Davidson in Rally Village.
We arrived at our place. Luckily, we knew where it was because we’d been here before. According to RCI (the timeshare company that got us this place, it’s called Macdonald Craigellachie Chalets. According to the place, it’s called Macdonald Spey Valley Golf and Country Club, or Dalfaber Golf and Country Club or Dalfaber Village or…???
We couldn’t check in until 4:00 pm so we had a bite to eat while we waited. 
I had Scotch broth. I haven’t had that for years and years – yummy!
Scotch broth is a filling soup, originating in Scotland (DUH!). The principal ingredients are usually barley, stewing or braising cuts of lamb or mutton (hopefully not relatives of those sheep we saw earlier), root vegetables (such as carrots, swedes [rutabaga], or sometimes turnips [aka neeps]), and dried pulses (legumes, most often split peas and red lentils).
Cabbage and leeks are often added shortly before serving to preserve their texture, color and flavors.
Tom had a club sandwich – and lost a crown 🙁
The club room had a Snooker table. I didn’t know what snooker was, although the table looks like a pool table. It sounds quite complicated according to Wikipedia.
We finally got the key and started driving around trying to find our chalet. Then we went back to main desk for better directions and finally found it.
After 20 hours at 4:15pm (11:15 am at home) I finally removed the growth hormone from the cases. The 2 ice packs had melted but the GH in its weekender case was still cool and that gel pack mostly frozen. A good solution except for issues at Heathrow.
Then, the usual unpacking, charging electronics, short naps.
Then off to Tesco for some grocery shopping. The streets were crowded with bikers, drinks in hand, oblivious to traffic. There was a long queue in the grocery near their customer toilets. Lots of folks wandering around the store, not necessarily with any items in their carts.
We spent 52.60 pounds (67.88 US Dollar in Sunday’s exchange)
Coconut rum and tropical juice (orange, apple, pineapple, pomegranate, banana, and mango) makes an interestingly passable drink.
We watched a show on BBC about royal life, divorces, Diana and Captain Phillips, a movie we saw on a cruise
I didn’t read my Kindle at all first night. Instant sleep!
Scotland: Loch an Eilein
August 11, 2015. For whatever reason, I didn’t make many notes today.
We decided to go back to the Rothiemurchus Forest and go to either Loch an Eilein or Loch Murlich and walk around. At the first day introduction, we heard that there was a pottery at Loch an Eilein where we could sit on high stools and look out at the various animals in the forest.
First, though, we stopped at the The Druie Cafe Restaurant located at the Visitor Centre for lunch. The Druie takes its name from the sparkling burn that flows behind the restaurant carrying mountain water from the Cairngorms down to the River Spey. Most of their food was either grown or killed in the forest, so there was lots of venison on the menu as well as Highland beef and rainbow trout.
We sat between a very interesting couple from Australia and a woman who was staying at Grantown-on-Spey (Baile Ùr nan Granndach) until the festivals in Edinburgh were over the crowds had gone home. She said she really liked the Edinburgh Tattoo, though 🙂
There was also a small gift shop and a store that sold local veggies and meats from the forest.
Rothiemurchus is incredibly passionate about its own home-grown produce, from its succulent Highland beef and velvety wild venison to fresh rainbow trout and sweet heather honey. We also work with a range of artisan producers including chocolatiers, cheese makers and vineyards to ensure that our deli is stocked to the rafters with decadent chocolates, seasonal wines by Corney & Barrow, home-made fudge, home baking, chutneys and preserves (made exclusively for Rothiemurchus), haggis, black pudding and bacon and a wide variety of artisan cheeses.
We left the cafe/shop and headed out for the pottery at Loch an Eilein. We never found that but we did find the car park for the Loch, itself so we went there instead.
Lots of people, bikes, dogs, enjoying the beautiful day, There were ducks swimming on the loch, little old buildings, old castle – what more could we want?
Loch an Eilein is a small irregular shaped, freshwater loch in the Rothiemurchus Forest about 3.1 mi south of Aviemore, Scotland.
In the late 18th and early 19th century, the loch was used mainly for two things. On the banks of the loch there is a limestone kiln where the lime stone was collected from a rockface looking over the loch. Also loggers used the connecting river to float logs down to the wood-treating factories downstream. Rob Roy and other cattle rustlers used the loch, and one side of the loch is called ‘Robbers Way’. There are only three remaining houses on the loch side (Pictures in the slideshow, below), which are now used by forestry officers.
In the middle of the Loch, on what may be a natural island, are the ruins of a small 15th century castle. At this time the castle was connected to the shore by a causeway. The causeway was lost when the water level in the loch was raised in the 18th century.
On the way back to our place, we stopped at Tesco (of course!).
Sometime in the late afternoon, Tom got a call from his client that he needed something NOW. His computer had only 1 hour left of battery (we still had no adaptor) and mine had 6 hours, so mine was commandeered again. I was worried because I always have a bit of work to do on Thursdays and Sundays. I had set up a lot of stuff to autopost before we came but some things had to be done later.
Tom worked most of that night and a lot of the next morning. I grumped and grumbled…
All pictures from today: