This morning had a sad view outside our window as they were dismantling the tents from the Tall Ships, as we were dismantling our Shetland home. Packing, eating, worrying about time, and trying to down as much caffeine as possible were the main points of the morning.
Our taxi was booked for 9:45, and when that came and went we were very concerned. It turned out that even though Laura emailed the council and received assurances Commercial Street would be open by the time we came to leave, the council steered us wrong. The poor taxi driver had to hustle from the Victoria Pier taxi stand to our flat's door to tell us so. Thank heavens the driver, John, was able to help us with our baggage as that is not something Denise and I can handle any more.
One bonus about having to hobble our way to the taxi stand is that I got to wave goodbye to the webcam in Market Cross.
From the taxi stand, we got one last view of our window.
The drive down to Sumburgh was lovely and Laura counted 32 Shetland ponies on the way. The driver helped by pointing them out along the fence line. We were all very sad to be leaving wishing we could stay longer.
Check in at Sumburgh Airport was easy enough and we were assured there would be a ramp for us to get on the plane. We downed more coffee in the cafe then came to a hiccup in the security line. There wasn't a problem with our luggage, or going through the scanner, no, it was that Denise found another relative in the person who scanned us. We wound up being the last people on the flight in the departure lounge. By the time we got there, we were being called to board the flight. Yes, there was the ramp which made things easy.
Unlike our flight to Shetland, our flight back to the mainland wasn't so smooth. Turbulance wasn't the problem but it was more Loganair. First, we were instructed to go into the wrong seats by the flight attendant. While it didn't affect Denise and me, Laura, as she tried to get into her proper window seat, got shunted to the aisle seat by a one of those overly polite but totally obstinate people who refused to move. When Laura pointed this out to the flight attendant she was condescendingly told "it's all right dearie," as if she was the one causing the problem. Laura was not amused as one of the basic rules of flying in today's world is not to argue with the flight attendant.
It was later discovered the woman who took Laura's seat was a headliner at one of the Tall Ships concerts. We can't help but be suspicious as to why no one in authority was willing to let Laura have the seat she paid extra for.
At Glasgow, the ramp malfunctioned but the OCS attendants were very helpful getting us down the stairs of the plane. We were zipped through the airport, zipped through getting our luggage, and zipped over to the airport taxi. I have never gone through an airport that quickly in my life. Pearson Airport really needs to take lessons.
Our drive to the Marriott was quick and we all flooped (that's like flopped but the lack of grace of it requires an extra o) in our rooms for a few hours.
To my surprise, the ladies had already organized with the hotel's restaurant a meal that I could eat. We owe a great thanks to Lauren and Destiny for not only getting our specialized meal, but also for not rushing us as I ate. Tonight's desert was sticky toffee pudding. I made sure I had room for all of it, and two cups of coffee.
The ladies had petit fours for desert and didn't share any chocolate with me, while they stole bites of my pudding. I know better than to stop them.
It's off to bed early tonight as tomorrow is the grand tour of mainland Scotland, featuring the two most famous lochs, Lomond and Ness.
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