Bob’s Sabbatical
Day 33 - 35, October 3-5, 2009
Day 33, Oct. 3.
Piddled around and had nice
breakfast at hotel. Finally get on the
road and head to Royal Lochnager distillery for a tour. Chris and I had more fun than Sarah and
Susan. On to lee of Dees (headwaters of
Dees river). Stopped at Mars lodge,
hunting place of royals for years (lots of deer heads on walls). I found St. Ninian’s Chapel, which still
holds services.
Head
into Edinburgh, and go in circles because of road construction, which confused
us, as well as our GPS. Try to do “Royal
Mile,” but construction again frustrates us.
Christopher and I head for HolyRood while Susan and Sarah shop.
This was
our last night together as a family, so we went to a nice dinner (we thought)
across the street from the hotel. Loud
music, but they sent us upstairs, where it was better. We had a great time remembering all we had
seen and done for two weeks, and tried not to think about separating tomorrow
morning.
Again,
thanks to all who have made our “Journey of Faith and Family” possible. This “family” part of it has been a rare gift
for all four of us.
Day 34, Oct. 4.
I got us
all up at 5:30 am (terrible waste of a nice hotel!). At the airport, we have a “family hug” in the
pouring rain, and then Christopher and Sarah disappear into the terminal. We go to trade the Volvo wagon for a smaller
car, and head for Oban, to catch a ferry to Mull and then on to Iona. The smaller car is much easier to deal with,
especially as the roads narrow the further we get from big cities.
The sky
gets darker, and we drive in and out of rain and wind. By the end of the day we have seen 6
rainbows, 2 full arcs, and 4 partial ones.
We
arrive at Oban much earlier than expected, so we to to Ferry Terminal to see
about catching an earlier ride to Mull.
Learn that no ferry has left port all day, due to strong winds. 11:00 am ferry is cancelled, and weather is
not looking good for our 2:00 pm ride – there is some sleet, and the wind is so
strong that I cannot even walk into it.
Find place for lunch, to see if things change. Bar has good food (prawns not as good as St.
Augustine shrimp) , beer, and WIFI.
Our
Ferry is cancelled, and it is pretty clear that the weather will not
change. We manage to get reservations on
the 11:55 am Ferry tomorrow, and go to find a place to spend the night. Get the last available room at the Regent
Hotel (certainly not the Ritz, but it will do for one night). We can hear the wind roaring outside our
windows. Have dinner up the street at a
very nice place, even though they sat us by the door.
During
the night, the wind finally begins to quiet down, which allows me to begin to
hear the snoring from the next door room.
Maybe wind is not so bad afterall!
Day 35, Sunday, October
4.
No wind is blowing, amazingly
quiet compared to when we went to bed last night. After the shower from Hell (sprayed entire
bathroom - which I warned Susan about, but was repeated for her) I went
downstairs for coffee, etc. Looking out
the window, the bay is as calm as could be – not a ripple in sight. I have a Sarah moment (Sarah starts singing
whenever someone says something that reminds her of a song). A verse from the hymn, “Holy, Holy, Holy,”
pops into my mind, “Holy, Holy, Holy, All the Saints adore thee; casting down
their golden crowns around the glassy sea.”
Compared to yesterday, the sea appeared quite glassy. I also saw a ferry coming in to the dock, so
I knew they would be running today – good news indeed.
We
thought about trying to go to Church, but we have to have the car in the ferry
line at 11:25. Receptionist thinks there
is a 10:30 service at St. John’s Cathedral (Scottish Episcopal Church), but it
is clear she does not know where it is, much less when they meet. We decide to at least go look at it, and
after driving past several other Churches, find it two blocks from the hotel. It is 10:10 am, and the sign outside says
there is “Matins” at 10:15am. We go in,
and the Priest is in the back, still in coat and collar. We shake hands and introduce ourselves, and
he wispers, “ we don’t shake hands, and Communion is in one kind only, Swine
Flu, you know.” Turns out that today is
their “Harvest Festival Eucharist,” and we are just in time. The sermon was by a lay person who is the
head of their diocesan Relief and Development agency – talking about
Fair-trade, and complementing the congregation for being a “Fair-Trade
Cathedral.” Susan (our diocesan
Episcopal Relief and Development Coordinator, introduced herself to him during
the anthem that followed the sermon, and they exchanged cards. The choir was made up of 12 people, 1 bass,
one tenor, and the rest altos and sopranos.
They sang a Haydn piece that was really fine.
What
made this service special for me is that it was the Scottish Church that
consecrated our first American Bishop, Samuel Seabury. When he was sent to England after the
Revolutionary War to be consecrated, the English Church refused, and so he went
to Scotland and was consecrated there. Our
two Churches have had a long-standing relationship. When Seabury returned to America, he brought the
Eucharistic rite from the Scottish Church, and much of it became the basis for the
American Church’s rite.
We made
it to the ferry, along with many other cars, a bus and a tractor. In 30 minutes we were in Craignure, on the
Island of Mull. The road from Craignure
to Fionnphort, at the other end of Mull is not exactly a super-highway. In fact, it is a 25-mile one-lane road, with
frequent pull-over spots so traffic can go both ways. Had lunch at a nice spot near the ferry, and
finally made it to Iona, a day late.
St.
Columba came here in 563 from Ireland, with 12 companions. They founded a Monastery which became the
heart of the Scottish Church during its early years.
Iona is
still a tiny community, very quiet on a Sunday afternoon. I walk , and make dinner reservations at the
St. Columba Hotel.
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