Quick Quarantine Dispatch

Well, that happened.

I'm at Day 5 of quarantine after moving through 4 airports, taking 3 flights, a bus, and a train to visit my wife in Oban, Scotland.

No symptoms to speak of so far other than feeling disassociated from the outside world since I arrived in what is actually a postcard-perfect town at night, then made a beeline from the train station to our Airbnb for the next 6 weeks. Now I'm just waiting out the clock until it's safe to go out and have my first Scottish experience without inadvertently infecting anyone in what is a comparatively low-risk area.

“Bill Murray vibes are intensifying for the next 14 days, but with the knowledge that castles, fjords, and whisky await us.”

While quarantine can be boring, it's not all bad. The pandemic has disrupted our plans to meet for months, and while I realize this is a small violin moment compared to what many are going through right now, it's an astronomical improvement from this past year of static stagnation and monotonous malaise. Don't get me wrong - spending time with my family has been great, but things were getting a little too Groundhog Day for my liking. Bill Murray vibes are intensifying for the next 14 days, but with the knowledge that castles, fjords, and whisky await us. Until then, each other's company is better than great.

I should clarify that the pandemic situation here is not nearly as tits up as it is in America at the moment since Scotland actually has a national strategy to keep COVID-19 at bay. Weird, I know. North Carolina has had a total of 314,207 cases (at the time of writing) while all of Scotland has 82,000. There have only been 26 positive cases in our region over the last week. Needless to say, they take quarantining here quite seriously and there is a £10,000 fine if you're caught breaking it. Enough COVID stuff for now.

That's it, short and sweet. I know I haven't really posted in a long while, mostly because I didn't really feel like it. Now that I'm somewhat back in my element and poised to enjoy some new travel experiences, I'll try to post more regularly. It's not my first rodeo in the UK, but Scotland is a world apart from England - just ask the locals. One thing that hasn't changed throughout the centuries is their national pride in the many cultural institutions that set them apart from the rest of the Kingdom, and I'm excited to see what that's all about.

Also, whisky. See you soon! ◉

Written by Seth Barham