DavTravels

Scotland 5: Prelude

02.29.16 | 13:14 | Denver International Airport

This is the quote that one of my roommates jotted down on the dry-erase board in the bathroom at our crashpad. How inspiring is that? I googled it and found the quote on several websites, but can’t find the person who is responsible. Maybe it’s by Anonymous… Anonymous sure comes up with some beautiful quotes!

Just over two months ago, in preparation for this vacation, I checked to see how many seats were available on the Iceland Air flights from the east coast United States to Glasgow, Scotland. I could see that there were some empty seats still, but also a chance that I may not get on the flight. I’m very thankful for the job perk of flying very cheap, if not free, but I’m never guaranteed a seat when flying space-available. Non-revenue flying means that you never know whether or not you’re going to get to your destination in time. Just like the domestic rules, a fully booked flight means that I could get bumped for a paying passenger. Unlike the states, however, being bumped on an international flight means that I could possibly end up stuck in a foreign country. I guess it wouldn’t be the end of the world if this happened. I am all about the adventure, after all.

I decided that I would take a bit of the stress out of this trip by booking my one-way flight, just like a normal passenger. Kayak.com found me the fare from Denver International Airport to Keflavik International Airport in Iceland, then on then to Glasgow for only $388 after tax! I figured this was a decent deal, so I booked it. At least the beginning of the trip shouldn’t be too stressful. Hopefully, I’ll be able to find an empty seat on my return flight home, when the time comes. Perhaps I’ll just stay in Scotland forever and start a new life. I hope British Airways is hiring.

I have been counting down to this day for over awhile now, which means that there has been plenty of sleepless nights. I’m like a kid. I get so excited and I start to overthink things and am constantly wondering if I remembered everything I’m going to possibly need while I’m there. I guess Scotland isn’t a third-world country- they have plenty of stores if I need to pick something up. What is the United Kingdom equivalent to Walmart? Primark? I think Asda is owned by Walmart. I’m sure I’ll need to make some visits there before too long.

Finally, the long-awaited day has come! I’ve been at the airport now for a few hours already. Dawn asked me last night what time I wanted to go to the airport. I told her I wanted to leave at about 03:00, even though my flight doesn’t take off until 16:15. It’s just that I’ve been planning this trip for so many months, leaving the crashpad would feel to me like it’s really happening. She looked at me and rolled her eyes… there may have been some colorful language that came out next. She didn’t want to wake up and drive me to the airport that early. Even though my body woke up at about 04:15, I made myself lay in bed until 05:00. I am a strong person who has total control over himself. Yeah, right.

One of my roommates had to be to the airport at about 10:30, so I dropped her off, parked the car in the employee lot, and had to hang out near the Icelandair ticket counter since nobody was even scheduled to be there until about noon. Finally, she got to the counter so I could check my big backpack. After that, I headed to the inflight lounge for a few minutes, found some lunch, bought some chocolate for the customer service counter and the flight attendants, and now I’m hunkered down in the terminal, waiting for my phone to finish charging. It’s currently at 86%.

Here we go!

Forward to Scotland 5: Prelude 2