What Makes a Vacation Memorable?

I surprise myself sometimes by how philosophical this blog has to become. While it really reflects the way I think I had always envisioned this being more of a travel log than an editorial column. However, I like the way it's turned out.

This is my last post from Scotland. It's weird when you get to the end of a trip how much you want to stay--and this emotion becomes even more ironic when I've been wanting to return home badly for over a week at this point. I suppose that it's more of wanting to remain in a place which is currently familiar, and of course who wants to spend nearly 20 hours traveling? Not me. In either case, I'm sitting in the seat that has been my computing hub for the last five weeks, looking out the window onto a street that has become home, and beginning to miss the tranquility and comfort that Scotland has offered me. The only saving grace I suppose is that I will be returning to this country--what has become to seem like a second home--in five short months.

What all of this leads me to wonder is what has made this trip special? The family time has definitely been nice, although having it at a constant clip has obviously taken its toll. Simply being away from Maine for a while is always nice--especially in a place which is so remarkably different that you can truly miss things that you can't experience on this side of the pond.

But what has made this trip different? I was here six years ago, as a bright-eyed 14 year old who had never been to his ancestral homeland. Unlike this trip, our time here in 2003 consisted of non-stop travel. We covered most of Scotland, a good deal of Ireland, and then traveled "south of the border" to see as much of England as we could pack into two weeks. I had no time to stop and think--nor did I have the mental stamina or maturity to do so. I simply took it all in, took a few photos, and lived my truly oblivious pre-high school life without a care.

We retraced a number of our steps this time around, and took in things we hadn't known existed last time. We went to Edinburgh, Glasgow, Stirling--the big sites, and thus early on I had seen what I really wanted to see and was able to take it all in on a different level.

Being someone who has seen 20 years of life, who has been in college for two years, and who now has a deep appreciation for culture and the small details of life--for better or for worse--I was able to really experience Scotland. The ability to live in a house, in a community, and to essentially "be a Scot" for a short while puts everything in a different light. Not only was I able to see the things that made Scotland wonderful: the food, the drink, the customs; and the bad--unemployment, alcoholism, ridiculous retail prices etc. As someone who's seen what it means to be a semi-adult in America I was/wasn't able to see/overlook the things the things below the surface that make a country what it is. Because, being a country that is relatively similar to my own, I was able to digest and analyze what made it unique.

So, what I will remember from this trip will not necessarily be all the castles, cathedrals, and other historical spots--although they were fantastic to visit--but the everyday interactions with people, watching different TV sitcoms and quiz shows, and getting to dive headfirst into a culture which is relatively similar yet remarkably different from my own. I'm thankful that I was able to share this experience with my family, and even more thankful that I will be able to return soon to experience life as a University student, an experience which I'm sure will provide me with plenty more food for thought and reflection.

Thus concludes the McCall's Scottish Odyssey 2009. Tomorrow it's off to Edinburgh, Dublin, Shannon, Boston, Portland and finally South Portland! Cheers.