keys and you slid behind the wheel for that inaugural solo flight? All
the things you had learned came reeling through your head: don't hug
the center line, don't put a wheel in the ditch, first gear is up and
to the left, cross traffic on a left turn, hug the curb on a right
turn and so on. By now, all that is so automatic we don't even think
about it.
I remember my first day well, as if it were today . . . because it was.
I also remember reading Superman comics when he went to Bizzaro World,
where everything is backwards; they deliver garbage to your house,
planes crash on purpose, people drive on the left side of the road . . .
I have landed in Bizzaro world. In place of my dad, Dave handed me the
keys to his VW Polo, a cute little diesel car with steering wheel and
control pedals on the wrong side of the car. Everything that used to
be automatic now requires . . . egads, thought! I have to constantly
remind myself to stay against the left curb. All that is true about
right turns - hug the curb, only look at the oncoming traffic, now
applies to left turns, and worst of all, when making a right turn be
sure to stay to the left as you enter the intersection, not the right.
All goes well when cruising down the road, it is the intersections and
turning that get confounding. And, just as you think you are getting
the hang of it and you start to relax a bit, your old instincts take
over and there you are on the wrong side of the road with oncoming
traffic bearing down on you.
If this is not enough to deal with, I launch down Scottish roads that
are narrower than any I have ever driven before. In the small towns
the road is only one and a half lanes wide so you have to know the
corners of your car perfectly to negotiate the streets, all while
sitting in a drivers seat on the wrong side of the car.
To make matters worse, our chosen destination is the western shores
where the population is so scarce that the road is only one very
narrow lane wide with turnouts every few hundred yards where two cars
can pass, around blind corners and over small rises. Often one or the
other must back up to a wide spot so the two cars can slip by each
other. And through all this stay to the left!
Also, now that I am driving from the right side of the car, all the
rest of the car is on my left. I am not used to it being there. This
means that I tend to run the car close to the ditch because all that
bulk of car is not supposed to be there. The narrow roads are lined
with rock walls and close growing trees. I often hear Sally saying,
"Chuck, your getting really close to this rock wall", or " Chuck, we
are really close to these trees." I have found that if I consider
myself riding a motorcycle
with a side car attached to the left I tend to give that half of the
car the respect it deserves.
Bizzaro World.
After a leisurely morning at Mackay's (pronounced ma-kye) we again
tried to get Orbitz to fix our return flight. They said they would
call us back in two hours. We visited with Dave and Caroline and
readied for our driving adventures. After two hours they emailed us to
tell us they had lost the phone number and could we please call them
again. We just loaded the car and left.
We drove through Glen Coe, the most beautiful part of the Highlands.
Heather mountains rising 3000 ft with fiord like lochs licking their
feet, swirling in mist with the occasional kiss of sunlight. Truly
beautiful. This is also the site of the McDonald clan massacre.
We camped here at the Red Squirrel campground. There is no limit to
the number of campers, you just park where you can, find a bare piece
of ground to pitch your tent and squeeze in with the rest. It was
Saturday night so it was packed.
We found a spot and pitched our tent in the rain. About 2 am I woke to
our adjacent tent occupant violently tossing his cookies, or I suspect
in this case, his overindulgent whiskey. Luckily, Sally slept through
this flemy, gutteral demonstration of projectile vomiting.
I love car camping.
Chuck
PS. Take a look at the picture of us in the car. I am driving. Do you
notice anything unusual?
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