Playing catch-up after two weeks of travel . . .

[mkmound]

Well, after two very action-packed weeks in England and Germany, I'm back, and glad to be back home (here!!!). It was a bit disconcerting to log on today and see that there were 4,114 posts waiting for me . . .

I think I've scanned quite a few, but with this Krew, I hate to miss any.

Anyway, as I mentioned on the "pics" post, meeting Hamish was DEFINITELY one of the highlights of my trip!! Thanks again, Ham, for your wonderful hospitality!!

In addition to the quick trip down to London, I had the opportunity to tour the Kenilworth Castle ruins, and see Warwick Castle. Warwick is pretty touristy, but quite interesting. These, as well as some of the buildings I saw in Germany, definitely give this Texas boy pause . . . we don't have many that date back 1,000 years!

One real challenge (pardon me while I cry on your collective shoulder . . . ) was that my laptop died the second day in England. I did manage to get a loaner from the company, but it was an older model than mine. What it didn't have in terms of much slower processor speed, it more than made up for in lack of memory. This made basic operations so slow as to be almost unworkable; I quickly abandoned anything not absolutely required -- hence the much-heightened sense of jonsing for keeping up with y'all here. (Did I mention that it's glad to be back? )

As expected, the kilt didn't cause much more than a few looks in England, although when Ham and I were in London, we got a number of requests to pose for pictures with the ladies (some of them quite attractive) -- it was a first for me. Kinda fun, at least for the first few times.

In Germany, I was helping teach a class . . . Germans, Slovenians, Poles, Finns (fortunately, in English!!) They seemed to take the kilt in stride, and several showed interest. Out and about in Wuerzburg, a few looks, but nothing more.

So that's the shortened version . . .

At home this week, then next week in San Jose, CA . . .

Your Roving Kiltie,
Mark

[Hamish]

Great to know you enjoyed your European trip, Mark, and thank you again for making the special journey down to London for our wee gathering! It was a huge pleasure meeting you.