Open Ended Plane Ticket

         William was a geologist and had seen most of the great sites in Arizona. He booked a flight in first class, with an open return date. William picked Scotland for its natural beauty, excellent climate, and geological phenomena. He was looking forward to the long, relaxing plane ride.

         As more people arrived, he watched with interest as people of all nationalities came aboard. As he watched, he noticed a tall willowy blonde heading toward first class. He avoided letting their eyes meet. Finally, they were ready for takeoff; the stewardess showed them the safety protocols. The fastening seat belt light came on, and the Captain announced: Welcome aboard flight 246. Ladies and gentlemen, our flight time today will be 10 hours and 25 minutes. We will arrive at 7:30 PM. The weather on our route looks good.

         After takeoff, William decided to nap for a while as he had gotten up early to catch his flight. When he woke, they reached the Atlantic Ocean, and William decided to read up on Scotland. Before he knew it, his lunch tray was there. After lunch, William decided to take a stroll and stretch his legs. While walking through first class, he noticed the blonde whom he had seen while passengers were loading. William stopped and talked with her a little. He discovered that her name was Ingrid, and she was also a geologist; an empty seat was next to her, so she invited him to sit and talk for a while.

         They both loved Edinburgh, known for its many biodiverse landscapes. So, they decided to travel together and enjoy themselves. It is always exciting to see a favorite place with someone who has the same knowledge and interests that you do. One of you might see something that the other one doesn’t. They both wanted to see the sites: Siccar Point and Moine Thrust.

         After supper and a movie, everyone settled in for the night. As morning dawned, they could see Scotland out of their windows. They were looking forward to some time on the sandy beaches and the mountains of Munros. There are so many diverse ecosystems that they weren’t sure they would get to see them all. They finally landed in Edinburgh. After checking with their hotels, they decided to try The Witchery By The Castle to celebrate their first night in Scotland. They did a leisurely walk around the city and ended up at their hotel. After a restful night, they met for breakfast to plan their day. They decided to spend the day looking at the many peaceful lochs that Scotland had to offer. There are over 31,000 locks that exist in the mountains. They also thrive in valleys and villages in Scotland.

         They decided on the Great Glen in the Scottish highlands, which has three lochs: Ness, Oich, and Lochy. The first one they wanted to see was Loch Ness, due to the stories of the Loch Ness Monster. Nessie came around in the 6^th century. The monster Irish saint, St. Columba, encountered. The saint ordered one of his monks to swim across the lock and fetch a boat. When he was halfway across, Nessie appeared and rushed at the swimmer, roaring frighteningly! Columbia yelled to the monster, “go no further, nor touch the man! Get back! Nessie then fled. They have been seen many times since then, but in the 20^th century, Nessie was around more.

         They decided to proceed to the next loch, Loch Oich; when they arrived, they got an all-day car pass. They decided to have lunch, as there was a picnic spot next to the loch. They had purchased a lunch from a local coffee & takeaway. They tried haggis with neeps and tatties. It was hard to eat the haggis since they knew what was inside. However, they managed to get it down. After they ate, they decided to walk the River Oich Trail, which was only three ¼ miles long and had towering Norway spruce, Larch, and Scots pine. After the hike, they returned to their hotels, had dinner, and sat and talked about what they had seen that day.

         They had heard that Lochs Lochy also had a monster. Her name was Lizzie the Loch Locky Monser. She was first spotted in 1929 when two fishermen thought they saw a floating log, and they checked with a telescope and found out that it was a large living creature. She was spotted again in 2021.

         Loch Lochy is deep with good fishing for wild Brown Trout; with this in mind, they decided to try the fishing. They had a great time fishing and caught a few Brown Trout. It was then time for Laggan Lochs, where the Battle of the Shirts occurred in 1544, when the Macdonalds, Madonnells, and Camerons fought against the Frasers and the Grants. After lunch, William thought it might be a good idea to try road biking. The trail was 20.7 miles out-and-back trail. After the road biking, William and Ingrid decided to call it a day. They had supper at Papa Pops Pizza and decided to call it a night.

         William had already decided that he would like to stay and save the forests for a more casual adventure. In the meantime, he planned to apply for a job as Senior Forestry Manager. He had to return to the states and take care of things there. Ingrid wanted to stay to check the forests, but she was not sure about coming back. She took the time to check out the woods and enjoy the rest of her vacation. Before they left Scotland, William asked her to marry him. Ingrid decided to come back and marry William. Then she would start housekeeping and look for a job. Ingrid found a career as an environmental scientist. She enjoyed her time in the woods.

           They started by buying a small cottage. It was home for the time being. They eventually wanted to live near the forests. Both William and Ingrid knew that their dream house would finally be theirs.