What a stunningly beautiful day. 💙

I took a holiday today as I could see it was the last day of freezing cold sunshine for the foreeable future. The calm before the storm.

I set the alarm for 8.30am….. I was woken by Craig’s alarm at 5.45am. 😳

He slept on.

I did not….. 😳

So, I knew I wanted to see as much of the lovely day but also wanted to pick up some Christmas presents, my head started on that plan at 5.46am. 🙄😬

Today I enjoyed the good stuff….. I decided to head up to our local Barcraig’s Reservoir, for sunrise.

Now I should say here, there was a LOT of overthinking between 5.46am and 8am when I decided to leave…. What if the single track roads are really icy? Didn’t put the windscreen cover on Abbie, what if I can’t get her clear in time? What if I can’t get parked? What if I don’t go to the right place and miss the sunrise. I’m really nervous for some reason.

I fought through all of that and was still nervous until I actually got parked and jumped out the van, without any hiccups.

This is where I parked.

And this is what I find……

All of sudden there’s a ruckus over the water…. The geese are “chattering”…. And top goose says “c’mon guys, we’re aff” (they’re Scottish geese obviously!)

That was the most amazing experience. If you’ve access to FB, pop into my page for the video clips I shared. The noise!!!

The sun is just about to rise. The only sounds are the geese and planes taking off from Glasgow Airport. (The geese were not taking off from the airport obviously!) There’s a hum of traffic from a distant Glasgow. It’s so crisp and clear that sound carries so clearly.

Wow. I can honestly feel the warmth from the sun already. My toes are numb, my fingers are almost sore. My gloves are on and off like a yo-yo, so I can take photos. 😆

It’s been so worth the wait.

I then go for a wander.

We live in a beautiful world when we actually take the time to stop and look around. I’m blown away by the beauty.

Abbie the Campervan nestled under the trees. Check the colour on the bush in the middle of the pic. The sun is just touching it.

The frost is so thick.

Now two suns!

Now almost 3… with a plane flying directly overhead. What a view they must have!

I finally dragged myself away about 9.30am.

I can’t tell you how good that makes me feel. The calm, the peace, the solitude and the beauty just blows me away. I’m so proud of myself for fighting the doubt and so grateful that it was just that special.

I head to Starbucks for a Caramel Waffle Coconut Latte… with whipped cream. Yeah, I get the irony… 😆

I forget to order decaf…..

I spent the next few hours wandering around the shops. I didn’t get much but even the car park was lovely in that frosty sun!

I came home for a bite of lunch with Craig and then we headed down to Portencross for sunset.

I am so nervous it’s unreal. My stomach is churning and the nerves create a pain in my chest. Why do I feel so bad? It’s like I’ve lost confidence in my driving completely. Have I lost confidence in Abbie the Campervan, who’s running better than she has all year?

I struggle to see in the low sun glare, the windscreen gets covered in salt spray pretty quickly and the windscreen washers are too icy to work. When it’s darker the headlights dazzle me, I just feel a bit out of my depth.

It could be the double shot of caffeine from Starbucks, but I was nervous when I woke up too so that’s maybe only exacerbated it.

Strange. A new one to be explored.

Anyway, we had a lovely time once I got us there.

We walked out to my usual bit in the rocks.

Craigie took over the photography for a minute 😂

When I suddenly realised the tide was coming up between my legs!!!

Time to move back!

All too quickly the sun was down.

Thought this cloud looks like a mushroom or jellyfish?! 🍄

My sun rose at 8.53am and set at 3.32pm. A quick day!

Then I went to get my nails done…. Yup I’m knackered writing it!

I’ve had a lovely time. I don’t understand the nerves (which are still churning!) but I’m sure they will pass as soon as I get my Christmas onesie on and settle down for the night…. (Yes the Christmas onesie needs washed soon!!)

Stay safe everyone 🌅❄️☀️