The way here.

Yesterday was another travel day. It was probably the roughest transition we've had so far. Our goal was to make it from Edinburgh, Scotland to a hotel just outside of Macclesfield, England. The first step of our journey was to catch a bus to the Edinburgh airport. We made the colossal mistake of thinking the best place to catch a bus would be the bus station. After walking to the bus station (while rolling our luggage behind us) we discovered the error of our ways. Evidently the buses to the airport do not leave from the bus station They pick people up on the Waverley Bridge (naturally). Essentially you have to walk to the train station if you want to catch a bus to the airport. How silly of us for not figuring that out on our own.

A slightly late start compounded by our little stroll around the city looking for the bus started to make the prospect of us catching our plane look grim. When we got to the airport it initially looked like a mad house. Fortunately, it was only congested at one or two carrier's areas. Our carrier (flybe) was virtually empty and we were able to check in relatively quickly and made our way to the gate to catch our flight with a little bit of time to spare.

Once we got to the Birmingham airport the next chapter in our adventure began. We were renting a car and trying to drive to Macclesfield (actually Pott Shrigley) from Birmingham which was an hour or so away. Three quarters of the trip was simply driving north on the M6. That part went smoothly. Once we got off the M6 and on to the little English country roads things got hairy. Eventually we were completely lost. We knew were we near one of the towns in our directions (Presbury) but we couldn't figure out how we were suppose to get to Pott Shrigley. We eventually stopped and ask for directions at a small hotel. The receptionist looked at our Google Map directions and said that she recognized the names but the maps and directions didn't make any sense. She consulted some other people at the hotel and they gave us directions that only seemed to compound how lost and clueless we were. At that point we passed a small Italian restaurant and Dawn declared it was lunch time (it was actually 3:00... a long time since breakfast). After a good meal Dawn asked for directions at the restaurant. These directions lead us down a super narrow country road and dead-ended at a gate to a farm. Fantastic.

I am prepared to declare the English midlands to be a complete and total failure in regards to the art of cartography. Google and the residents only have the vaguest idea of where they are and no concept what lies adjacent to them. All the attempts at directions that we received can be summed up by “meander through some traffic circles then just wander around for a bit and maybe you'll find it.”

Eventually we meandered through some traffic circles and wandered around for a bit and Dawn saw a sign for Pott Shrigley. Once we got near the town we drove right past our hotel Shrigley Hall because the sign was posted so high up that they must assumed we'd be arriving in the second level of a double decker bus (Dawn caught a glimpse of it in the rear view mirror). After driving for what seemed like an eternity (curse you narrow English roads) we eventually were able to turn around and go back and get to our destination.

So now we're at Shrigley Hall. It is the location of Dawn's conference and we were fortunate enough to get a room at the hotel (so we don't have to do anymore driving). It is an old estate turned into a hotel and golf country club. I feel a bit out of place being that this is the sort of spot that caters to the old, white, and wealthy. I'm only one out of three. Their business model is to charge a lot for the rooms and then a-la cart charges for everything else too. I'm kind of afraid to walk around the place for fear on incurring more charges. You want internet? That will be £12 pounds a day (that's like $24). You want to go to the pool? Bring a £1 to use a locker and be prepared to pay extra for a towel. You want room service? That will be £4 over the prices on the menu if you want us to bring it to your room. Basically everything here has an additional cost. It's also in the middle of nowhere so they're aren't a lot of alternatives. On top of that there are dress codes detailing what kinds of shoes, pants, and shirts are allowed in various areas of the estate. Please, do not get comfortable and do not make yourself at home.

I had a £12.50 club sandwich at lunch. It was a good sandwich, but I don't know if was $25 good. I smartly ordered the plebeians drink, tap water, with it. Although there all sorts of spring waters costing up to £10 that I could have enjoyed. For this kind of coin I could have been eating like a king in Edinburgh.

Last night after Dawn did her conference registration and attended a reception she came back and asked if I'd like to go to a pub with some of the other attendees. It sounded better than sitting in the room so I said sure. The group decided to walk it because the pub was supposedly “just down the street.” It turned out it was closer to two miles down the street in the next town of Bollington. The pub was actually pretty awesome. It was an authentic small town English pub. They had cask drawn ales that the bartender had to pump out of the casks. Bass has never been so tasty. The walk there had been so long that some of the people decided to take a cab back. The cab filled up (there aren't many of them in the middle of nowhere) so Dawn and I decided to walk back...in the dark...in the middle of nowhere. I'll chalk it up to an experience I'm glad I had...but not looking to recreate.

Dawn is busy literally all day with her conference. They have her booked up morning, afternoon, and evening. Seriously they are providing her dinner and after dinner entertainment while I get to sit in this room and hope I'm not making us poor by inadvertently triggering more charges. I brought along some school work to study for my thesis. That's what I've done for most of the day. It's raining outside and Dawn won't be back for hours. I long to be back on Islay.