Day 44--Typical Scottish Weather

That is to say, rain, rain, rain! Fortunately, I was up at the butt-crack of dawn (4:30), and it wasn't raining until I was well on my way. I stopped aways down the trail and cooked my breakfast. As for the junkies and the rats...none that I know of. I was startled awake by a noise. Turns out it was another f**** broken tent pole section! Seriously! That's the third one! 

I followed Route 7 into Glasgow. Here's just a few photos.

Lovely way of crossing the Motorway...stairs with little ramps. It worked.

BBC Scotland, and Bell's Bridge. I crossed the bridge.

This was actually along the canal coming into Glasgow. There were 8 goslings. Papa swan was just in front.

Glasgow was a little crazy. After crossing the Bell's Bridge, I turned on the Garmin and headed toward Troon. That's when the rain began in earnest, along with the wind. It was not a pleasant ride to Troon. All I really saw was the road in front of me. The wind was primarily a headwind, and it was rolling hills all the way.

I decided to go ahead and take the ferry to Larne, Northern Ireland, today. It sails at 7:30. I got to Troon at 1:45 (that's what happens when you get on the road at 5:30). I had a few hours to kill. I went into the town center, and had some lunch at Subway. Then I went to a hardware shop to find something to repair the broken tent pole. I found a PVC coupler that should work. Maybe I should have bought a couple! 

It was still raining, so I went to the grocery store to pick up a few things, and basically, wander the store to kill time. They had a nice cafe, so I spent some time there. At one point I went into the toilet and spent awhile using the hand dryer to dry my gloves, and my jacket. Although I still had plenty of time left before the ferry, I thought they might not like me using the dryer over and over. Besides, it was still raining.

I returned to the ferry office (I already have my ticket) to wait. There are two couples on tandems who are also taking the ferry. I might ask them where they are staying in Larne as I will be arriving about 9:45. I'm hoping there is a hostel, or a cheap hotel. I need to fix the tent pole.

Best thing about this waiting room is that there are outlets, so I can finally charge my iPad, and the Garmin. That's been the strangest thing about Scotland (and I suspect UK in general)--no outlets. None in the caravan parks.

Anyway, I will sleep in Northern Ireland tonight! Although it's still part of the UK, it's a new country to me!

On the Boat

I'm on the boat now. It's a full service vessel, including outlets to charge! My Garmin is now at 100%.

The weather is improving, with blue sky. A young man working on the boat has drawn me a map to the Caravan Park, so hopefully, I'll be able to stay there. I've fixed my tent.