We Rented a Van!

Yes, you read the title right. Garrett came to visit this past week, and if you know anything about us, you know that Garrett is currently living full-time #VanLife in a converted Ram Promaster. I think it's pretty cool, but then again I may be a little biased.

Before we jump to the awesome weekend road trip we took, let's start at the beginning of the week. Garrett landed Saturday (Feb. 9) evening and I picked him up from the airport, we dropped off his bags at my dorm, and went to dinner at one of my favorite restaurants in Edinburgh, The Innis & Gunn Beer Kitchen. The following day we walked the entire city. We started with a full Scottish breakfast in Grassmarket, followed by going to the castle, walking the Royal Mile all the way to Calton Hill, going from there and exploring New Town (Princes Street area) and the chocolate cafe, and finished by climbing Arthur's Seat in time for sunset.

Monday through Thursday were spent going through my usual routine of gym, class, and homework with a few extra twists put in. Monday we went out for dinner and got fish & chips, Tuesday we got coffee after class, planned our weekend adventure, and I had a job interview over the phone. Wednesday we got coffee at The Elephant House (where J.K. Rowling wrote the first 2 Harry Potter books), went to the National Museum of Scotland, and prepared for our camping adventure. Thursday morning I went to class while Garrett finished packing everything for the weekend, I returned home, we picked up the van, and we were off!

It's not nearly as sketchy as it sounds, but we rented the converted VW camper van from a lady who lives a few blocks from my dorm. She was registered on an app called "Yescapa," which we learned is basically the Airbnb of camper vans in Europe. Our route was approximately 400 miles in total, and was about 9 hours worth of driving. By the way, that's driving on the opposite side of the road, in a manual van, with no previous experience. Garrett absolutely knocked it out of the park, especially since I'm still not old enough to drive a rental vehicle here.

This was our approximate route.

We started our journey on Thursday by driving from Edinburgh, through Glasgow and Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park, and camped in a pretty sweet spot we found on Park4Night that overlooked the town of Fort William, and gave us a great view of Ben Nevis, the highest peak in all of Scotland. Friday morning we woke up and hiked halfway up Ben Nevis. It was steep, and we didn't have crampons or an ice axe, so we weren't properly equipped to make it to the summit. Part of the hike was through a sheep farm where, in true Scottish fashion, we got to watch a shepherd with his 4 sheep dogs go all over the mountains rounding up the sheep through only the use of some varying whistles and commands. The views were stunning, but by the time we returned to the van we were ready to make lunch and get on the road. We drove up along Loch Ness (unfortunately no Nessie sightings for us), through Inverness which is considered the capital of the Highlands, and into Cairngorms National Park where we camped for the night.

Saturday was our last day with the van, so we woke up and made Nutella French toast with sausage and eggs and headed for the visitor centre to learn more about the park and figure out our game plan for the day. We decided on a 5 mile hike recommended to us by one of the employees of the park. It was miserably windy at the peak, but the views definitely paid off. We got back to the van around 3:30pm and headed for Edinburgh, stopping at Dalwhinnie Distillery on the way. Dalwhinnie is not only the highest and coldest distillery in the country, they were also the first to have a female distiller! Stopping only once more for fish & chips and ice cream, we finally made it back to Edinburgh at around 8pm. We packed Garrett's bags and booked his flight for April (Yes! He's coming back when my parents come to visit!!) and then crashed. Airport goodbyes are some of the saddest I've ever experienced. Not just because it's at an airport, but because it typically means whomever you are saying goodbye to is going somewhere far enough away that driving isn't feasible. The 8-hour time difference Garrett and I are experiencing is tough. We talk for maybe 30 minutes a day, along with texting and sending funny Instagram/Facebook posts. We try to do things like schedule Netflix dates, but they typically have to be on a weekend and I'm usually either traveling or he's working on the van. So while it definitely isn't easy, it's worth it to get to have experiences like these together. Last year we went to 11 states together. This year, it's going to be at least 6 countries. Next year, we may not be so lucky. Who knows. What I do know is that I'm extremely thankful for all this season of life has brought me. It's stressful, I've cried more than I thought I would, but so far every struggle has led to something greater than I could've imagined.

This week was definitely eventful, and it doesn't look like I'll be slowing down anytime soon. Next weekend the group of girls I've been traveling with and myself will be going to Stockholm, Sweden, and Copenhagen, Denmark. I'll be making a post about the trip next Monday or Tuesday, so keep an eye out.