After two and a half years of fund-raising and planning, the J2A group was finally prepared to finally ready to leave on our pilgrimage to Scotland.  We met at Grace's parking lot around 6:00 PM and after a lot of teasing about the fact that Jonathan's and Anna's suitcases were larger than the 8" depth Jonathan had explained was necessary, we set out for Philadelphia International Airport and their new international wing.  After lugging our carry-on luggage for what seemed like ten miles to our gate (naturally, the last gate on the concourse), we boarded our plane with minimal problems.  We then, however, proceeded to sit on the tarmac for two hours before taking off due to a vicious lightning storm that seemed to sit over the airport. 

Once we got off the ground, though, the flight was very smooth and everyone had lots of fun with US Airways' in-flight entertainment system and all the movie options.  These gadgets proved especially important for some of us, who only slept for an hour or so (or less!) or had the passenger next to us leaning on us like a pillow!

Despite leaving Philadelphia International two hours late, we made into London Gatwick Airport only 45 minutes behind schedule.  We quickly made it through Customs and Immigration (even James!?!), and were soon on the train north into London.  And thus began great the adventure…

I think it is safe to say that everyone was glad we arrived in the City of London on a Saturday morning, when most of the regular commuters were at home!  Although Jonathan had been in London before and had successfully navigated the Tube (Underground System), it still took forty-five minutes to make our way from Victoria Station to Euston Station where we were to pick up our train for Scotland.  With plenty of time to spare before our departure, we grabbed some lunch in a pub and got our first taste of Britain.

The train ride to Scotland?  Well, it was an experience.  Actually, it was probably the one major thing that we won't do again in future trips.  While the ride itself was quite lovely and our train itself was relatively smooth, it would have been much nicer had the air conditioning been on during the length of the trip!  The main problem, though, was the sheer length of the trip.  By the time we got into Glasgow, it was almost 8:00 in the evening, we still had to find the hotel, get out to Glasgow International Airport to get our cars, and then have dinner.  By the time we had finished all of this, it was after 11:00 PM - a very long day considering that many of us had only slept for an hour or so the night before.