Fun Friday: An All-Girls Adventure in Inverness, Scotland

Fun Friday: An All-Girls Adventure in Inverness, Scotland

by: Debbie Waltz

Welcome Back, Readers~

Let me begin this blog with a word of appreciation for all the positive feedback I’ve received on my “Travel” series. When my mother first mentioned the idea of highlighting some of my travels on my blog, I hesitated. First off, I didn’t want to forget why I created this blog in the first place; God laid it on my heart that there needed to be more advocates in the disabled community who have learned from their own experiences. Too often, advocates have learned what they’ve needed to graduate, but don’t know what thing about what it’s like living with a disability. That’s why I even considered going back to school to become a lawyer. But I figured by the time I graduated, I would be way past my prime. Anyway, I can still make a difference in advocacy without getting a degree.

Second, I didn’t want readers to come to this blog expecting travel topics. Mind you, travel is a big part of who I am and I know if I wasn’t disabled I would travel a lot more. But there are so many more important issues going on in today’s society involving the disabled community that I hope to cover in the months and years to come. After seeing such a positive amount of feedback, I realize there is no room for both.

I guess it’s time for me to step off my soapbox. That being said, I hope you can see how advocacy rings through in everything I write and speak about. It’s so important for everyone’s voice to be heard. Back to the real reason for this post; in my last blog, I wrote about my experiences exploring the different lakes around Scotland and hearing about the cultural and political issues plaguing Ireland to this day. It’s amazing to hear about how far they’ve come; they’ve still got a way to go to heal past hurts that have occurred throughout the years. It’s one thing to simply say, “Love One Another,” it’s another thing to live out the statement daily.

During one of these excursions, Dad started exhibiting symptoms of a cold; at first, he thought it was because he was overdoing it. Over the next couple of days, we watched him closely becoming increasingly concerned about him as the Paris excursion grew nearer. Mom and I did not want to risk getting ourselves sick and jeopardize my only chance to see Paris. Therefore, we asked that Dad stay on one side of the room unless necessary.

Because of our quarantine efforts, this left us with a dilemma- Do we go ashore and explore Inverness (Ivergordon) Scotland on our own and make a girls’ day out of it or do we spend the day on the boat -just like we had for the other inaccessible ports? In the end, we ventured out just to get the lay of the land and see what we could find. To be honest, this was one of my favorite days because it allowed us more time to sightsee and shop without my dad complaining his legs were getting tired or that he was getting bored.

Mom must have taken these in the morning, because by the time we headed out it already started looking a little dreary outside.

As we walked this port of call, I was amazed at how old the buildings looked. Not only did these have a lot of character and personality but they made sure that the values of their country took center stage. These values include patriotism,  community, and sports.

 

As we walked along the cracked sidewalks, we looked for accessible stores with either little or no steps upon entry. I wanted to get a few souvenirs from every country I visited to commemorate the occasion. We came across this one shop featuring tartans and jewelry; partly to escape the wind and rain and the items inside piqued our interest, we proceeded inside. Inside, I found a blue plaid tartan for my friend and another pink for myself. Yes, it’s true. I had already gotten on in Ireland. But this one was special because it commemorates the life of Princess Diana. Many of these tartans had matching scarves as well, but I passed on them.

Along with the tartans, I also looked at their jewelry selection. As previously alluded to, I love jewelry as much as the next girl. Since I don’t wear earrings or rings, because my hands are bent, I have my fair share of necklaces. It was difficult deciding between a silver Celtic symbol and a silver heart- in the end, I decided on the Celtic symbol which is synonymous with Scotland.

When we came across this church, I wanted to venture inside since I hadn’t attended Bible study on the cruise ship. Unfortunately, the closer we got we realized it had steps. But some of my favorite moments were in the mornings when I did my You Version devotional in front of the balcony overlooking the ocean.

We thought about Dad all along the way-, stopping at a pharmacy to get some medicine that would hopefully help with symptoms and make it possible for him to accompany us to Paris in a few days. Fingers crossed. FYI, it worked. While we were gone, he had access to room service and enjoyed eating a hamburger and French fries.

By this time, we were both tired and ready to return to the ship. With our purchases hanging on the back of my wheelchair, we headed back. The closer we got to the porch, we were amazed at how enormous the ship was.

To commemorate the shopping trip, I took a photo of my second new poncho after dinner. My mom said it went perfectly with the Titanic-like background.