Day 25 - Dublin to SFO

4:45 alarm. On the shuttle by 5:30. The flight from Dublin to Heathrow was fine, However, the flight was delayed and with only a 1 hour 20 minute layover at Heathrow, things were going to be cut close. Fortunately, we arrived in Terminal 2 and we departed from Terminal 2, because after the multiple security checks and screenings, we made it to the Lounge with just 10 minutes. We grabbed a super fast breakfast and had to immediately proceed to the gate. We could not upgrade my seat to business class because my ticket was free with miles. Matt was seated upstairs in business class and went to my seat back in Premium Plus. Overall, it was not one of my better flights. The 2-1/2 old behind me screamed 60% of the flight. When she was not screaming, she was kicking the back of my seat non-stop. I asked the parents to stop her, but they basically ignored me. We got a small "snack." Two hours into the flight, we were served a "meal" of which I could only tolerate the make-shift risotto. Then there was nothing for the next 7 hours other than two water services. Of the 10 hour flight, I slept only 20 minutes and United's entertainment wi-fi system went down 3 hours into the flight. 

I have a feeling that Matt's experience in Business class was much different than mine. After telling him how things went with me, he chose not to give any details about life with the upper class other than an annoying lady who raised her window cover every hour and flooding the cabin with light.

 As we approached SF, the pilot said, "below, you can see San Francisco." There was an audible sigh of disappointment from the French family in front of me, because all they could really see was fog. No view of the city. No view of the Bridge. Welcome to SF in the summer!

In closing, we had a great trip. We had challenges with the weather, but always managed to find some very beautiful parts of the world. I plan on returning to Scotland some day for the sole purpose of accomplishing some of the hikes I wanted to do. I am definitely packing my hiking poles. The terrain is much rockier that I had thought and can be unstable.

We would  also rent a little campervan so we could have our own basecamp. To our surprise, there is a very big campervan community with campsites set up like those in New Zealand. I'd also head straight for the highlands and let the weather patterns determine our route. There seemed to be plenty of camper spots available at the sites this time of year which is before the main tourist season starts. 

Matt once again was my travel trooper. I'm very lucky to have him by my side to explore this great big world. Love you Matt!