A Hop, Skip, and Jump Across the Pond - 05.21.25

One thing to know about me is that I am sort of a perfectionist. I thrive off organization and having a plan keeps me sane. I think that these are some of the reasons as to why I am good at traveling. Unfortunately, traveling is never perfect. In fact, I think traveling likes a bit of chaos as that is what heightens the adventure. 

All this said, you can imagine that my plans did not go as I planned them. I planned to go to my boyfriend’s hockey game the night before my flight and then get myself into bed at a reasonable time in order to get a full night of sleep before going into work for 6 hours then driving to the airport for my international flight. Unfortunately, my boyfriend suffered a serious injury during his game which ended us in the emergency room well into the morning hours of the following day, my travel day. Sleep was a thought of the past as we were in the emergency room for over 6 hours as tests were run and doctors came in and out of the room. Avery, my boyfriend, is still in recovery but we are hopeful that he is on the road to full health. As for me, I ended up going into work late and secured a little over 2 hours of sleep for the night. I still went into work as I wanted to get a few last-minute tasks completed before heading out of the country. This was quite a way to start off my European vacation. 

I would like to use this space to express how thankful I am for a multitude of people in my life, particularly those involved in the day's events. A moment of gratitude to all of the staff at the hospital who helped us throughout the night, healthcare workers are amazing! A moment of gratitude to Avery’s mom for being there and helping him. It is a terrifying experience to leave a sick loved one as you travel overseas. Also, a shout out to his mom for fueling us with Starbucks, a true lifesaver. A moment of gratitude to my work for being understanding in the case of emergencies. A moment of gratitude for my soon to be cousin-in-law for driving me to the airport. Lastly, a moment of gratitude for all of my family and friends who supported me in my travels. 

Now, let’s get to the adventure. Scotland, here I come. Well, actually, London here I come for my layover and then Scotland, here I come. 

My time at the Philadelphia Airport went well with my mom and sister. The bag check and security both went smoothly. We commenced our trip in one of the best Philly ways possible, by eating at Chickie’s and Pete’s. At C&P, I had a grilled chicken sandwich with fries before boarding our red-eye flight. On our flight I had a curry chicken meal with rice, a roll with butter, crackers, and white wine and later on I had an egg and cheese bagel with orange juice. I tried to get as much sleep as possible on our red-eye as I knew we would have a busy first day.