Heidi's Cafe: Day 7: Train to Inverness, or, you never really travel alone

"Here sitting on the world, she thought, for she could not shake herself free from the sense that everything this morning was happening for the first time, perhaps for the last time, as a traveller, even though he is half asleep, knows, looking out of the train window, that he must look now, for he will never see that town, or that mule-cart, or that woman at work in the fields, again"-- Virginia Woolf, To The Lighthouse p 288.

Last week, before I left, more than a few people mentioned they were worried I wouldn't come back. They'd seen how deeply smitten I was with Ireland and wondered if I'd somehow find a way to stay this time: third time's the charm? It's nice to ponder.

One of the things about traveling is that while you're looking at the new and unknown, you do still think about home and the people you love there. It's occured to me over the past few days that I never really travel alone. Obviously I'm traveling with Dale, Sean and Barbara but I've realized that there are a lot of other people along with me on this journey. Maybe this blog is meant to let them know they're along with me.

Today we took a train to Inverness from Kyle of Loch Alsh to Inverness. Inverness is a pleasant surprise: very pretty and interesting. Once settled here, we went out for a drive and went to see Loch Ness (avoiding the tourist areas) and also seeing the Falls of Foyers. All of it was so lovely and exciting, it would seem

It was a pretty and rainy train ride to Inverness this morning and the scenery was astoundingly beautiful. I read To The Lighthouse on most of the train trip, looking up often to take in the scenery and let my mind wander. My mind wandered to the people I love and who are-- perhaps unknown to them-- along on this trip with me.

Yesterday I got an email from my adored friend A who, writing about this blog and the posted pictures, noted "I was amazed but not surprised to learn that we were reading To The Lighthouse at the same time." This pleased me and, while I read it on the train today, I was loving every word but also imagining what he was thinking about this very book and imagining what conversations we'd have about the book and wondering too what he would say about the landscape before us. It was nice to travel with him today.

And it's nice to travel with my friend G who would have, I am sure, been able to identify the birds I saw today and would have, I am quite sure, known that Robert Burns wrote "Lines on the Fall of Fyers Near Loch-Ness" before we got to those falls today, I looked at those falls, excited to tell him "I saw how 'the horrid cauldron boils'!" And perhaps mention the various whiskeys I've encountered on the trip.

And, last night, thinking about the recently lost and much missed AH, I ordered for the table an order of sticky toffee pudding in her honour. I was lucky to see her in a dream last night. She called my name and gave me a big hug. I woke up teary yet grateful to see her again.

And I was also thinking about my friend J, who would have talked about Lairds and Lochs in a Sean Connery accent to make me laugh.

And, I was thinking about my favourite professor who taught me how to read and love Virginia Woolf among many other things.

And my brother who, writing a final exam about To The Lighthouse, somehow (?!) forgot Mrs Ramsay's

name and ended up writing the whole exam referring to Mrs Ramsay as "the friend of Lily Briscoe." No matter how many times I think about this, I still laugh.

And my parents who would love the highland cows, the clouds, the green, the people, the stories, the rain, the sunshine, the hills: they would love it all in the same ways that I love it all.

Even though I'm far away from lots of people I love, many of them along here with me and I'm grateful for their company.