Traveling Fool

  It has been an interesting month and a half for my concert attendance. October was supposed to be filled with Genesis music: two Genesis concerts in the UK and then Steve Hackett in Newcastle, followed by Genesis in Chicago and The Musical Box in St. Charles, Illinois. Whew. Except it didn't happen like that. The two UK Genesis concerts were cancelled/postponed due to COVID in the band. Sadly, it's not possible for me to just pop over in March for the re-scheduled show, however, all was not lost in my unending quest for Genesis music. O2 City Hall, Newcastle, before Big Head sat in front of me I did get to the Hackett show, featuring the entirety of the Seconds Out  live album, in Newcastle, England. He and the band put on an amazing show, and even though my view was blocked by someone's very large head (hence, no photos), I still had a great time. If you're a Genesis fan and you haven't seen Steve Hackett, I totally recommend catching one of the shows he is doing

                         As I was researching mainland Orkney, I started wondering about the other islands, how could I get to them, how many could I cover in my all too brief time, what would I do when I got there, etc. I learned about Papa Westray, or Papay (population less than 100), and the existence of some more Neolithic buildings and the wildlife, and, what really geeked me out was the possibility to take the world's shortest scheduled flight at under two minutes (see above video). I was hoping to be able to get a tour of the island and the wildlife, maybe cruise around the island a little, but sadly my October visit was after the local ranger stopped giving tours. I was on my own, which as we know, can lead to all sorts of trouble, like, well, wait and see. I knew the plane was going to be small, but I didn't have any idea that it would be so small that my backpack (maybe a little bigger than some) had to go in the cargo hold. I could tell there were some regular custom

                                             Our stop at Yesnaby Cliffs was not as long as I wanted it to be, so I wasn't able to take a good long hike. Archie dropped me off near the dramatic cliffs you see in the photos, and I walked around a little, but if you have the time, and if I ever have the chance again, I would definitely hike around. It was really windy up there, and I was mesmerized by the crashing waves. In the far distance (not in these photos), I could see Hoy, another island in the archipelago (check my usage of the word here).  The cliffs are beautiful, but they can also be dangerous if you're not careful and lose your footing, so be mindful when taking selfies.  Our next stop was Unstan Chambered Cairn (a burial mound). There are several of these types of cairns around the mainland, some are more accessible than others. This was accessible, but it did require a few more maneuvers that I had not planned on, like crawling in on my hands and knees. I almost didn

First let me say - please try to spend more than two days on Orkney, you'll get to slow the pace down a bit and really savor all the sights. Second, if you don't have the time (and if you do not have your own car), I would recommend a 6 hour tour with Craigie's Taxis to maximize efficiency, get some local knowledge and maybe explore things you hadn't thought of. Archie was my taxi driver on my arrival, and that's when we set up my itinerary for the next day; I told him what I was interested and and in a general sense, what I wanted to see. Voila.  We started the morning promptly at 9:30 to make it to Skara Brae by 10:00 am (as of this writing, it is recommended to book your tickets online). You check in, get your ticket, go through the exhibit which has replicas of what the Neolithic houses looked like, the interior design, etc.; there are also storyboards throughout with information on what they might have eaten, worn, farmed. As you head outside, you follow the p