The Concept

I'm a planner.  We generally plan our vacations an entire year in advance.  We know where we're staying, how we're getting there, what activities we'll enjoy, yada, yada, yada.  I know... this doesn't sound very fun, BUT I always think it's fun to have the months of anticipation leading up to the trip.  I eat the marshmallows last when eating a bowl of Lucky Charms, if you get my meaning.  

However, we have decided there are two types of trips.  There is "travel" and "vacation".  We usually go on vacation.  This consists of us sitting under a palapa or some suitable sunshade while we order our fancy drinks and enjoy a few days of utter relaxation.  Case in point, me and my little friend. :)

Don't get me wrong.  We don't sit like a sloth the entire week.  We do things like zip lines, shopping, playing in the surf, etc.  But we stay in one location and have all of the main details planned.  

Then there is Travel.  May of 2013 was the first time we took a "Travel Trip" and it was to Italy.  It was glorious.  The only thing we had planned was our flights and our stay the night we arrived in Venice and the nights before departing, in Rome.  The two weeks in between were completely unplanned.  Talk about out of my comfort zone.  My hubbies, not so much.  He's a pretty laid back, go with the flow type of guy.  But me... hmmm.  It was my fist time across the Atlantic and I should have been nervous, but I wasn't.  It was like the time we went skydiving and I found it to be the most peaceful experience of my life.  I know, I'm strange.  
Anyway, it couldn't have been a better trip.  Other than all those blasted tourists in Rome (yes, I see the irony), we had a wonderful time.  After that trip we decided we'd Travel every few years.  
Well, it's 2016 and it's time for another trip.  This year, it's Scotland and Ireland!!!  We leave in 4 days.  Yep, it's much like Italy - we have our tickets, night stay when we arrive in Edinburgh and leave two weeks later from Dublin.  Actually we do have another stay booked at a castle.  We had to or else it probably wouldn't be available and we HAVE to stay in a castle. Right?  The Airbnb app is on my phone (we used this exclusively on our Italy trip) and we're also not opposed to walking into a pub in a small town and ask if anyone has a room to rent for a night.  
The additional item on this trip is a car.  We "hired" (as they say in the UK) a car.  I'm a tad nervous about this.  Never driven on the opposite side of the road, but I hear you get used to it fairly fast.  We've watched a few Youtube videos on what to be aware of, etc.  We also purchased a GPS on Ebay for $60.00 with Ireland and Scotland maps loaded.  It'd be $15.00 a day to rent with the car.  I figured this was a better deal and we'd be able to sell it afterward.
Not only does the car allow us to go "off the beaten path", but we also have a place to store/carry a suitcase.  So unlike Italy, where we carried our backpack for two weeks, I get to bring a suitcase with more shoe options. :)  This makes me happy.   Here is the backpack for Italy - not a lot of room for options... 

So, for the next few days we'll be packing and preparing to leave the house at 3:45 AM on Saturday morning... To be continued.