We arrived in Perth, Scotland on Sunday, August 20th late in the afternoon.  It was a sleepy, quiet afternoon – we’d come to learn that is the norm in the UK on Sundays.   Scott planned for us to take a bus to our hostel, so we walked towards downtown from the train station to find the right bus stop.  This time, the bus did not work out for us and Scott was spent, so John got busy and figured out how to call and order a taxi.  We were all impressed by and thankful for his resourcefulness.  That was the cheapest and best cab ride we had in all of England!  It took us right to the hostel and cost less than 7 pounds!  

We thanked the taxi driver and climbed the steps to find The Perth Youth Hostel which is actually a college dorm during the school year that they rent out as a hostel during the summer months.  The pictures and description had been simple and limited, but it seemed like we were going to have a whole apartment.  We told the kids before we arrived, “We aren’t sure what this is going to be like, so please be flexible.”  We checked in and chatted with the friendly employee and he walked us to our reserved space. It turned out to be an entire dorm apartment with four bedrooms!  

Every kid had their own bedroom AND BATHROOM!  We assigned and picked rooms and everyone disappeared.  They were in heaven.  After traveling for a solid month, having to share small spaces and working out whose bed or bedroom is whose and who gets the shower or bathroom when, they did not have to coordinate or work out anything.  It was the quietest, smoothest move-in and two days we had had the whole trip.  When we scheduled the place weeks before we left, we had know idea how perfect this place was going to be; it was just what we needed and obviously a gift from God.

After a little while, we all walked to the store to get groceries.  Up until then, we’d been conservative, just buying enough for one or two meals at a time and then going back to the store when we needed something so we didn’t accidentally end up with food we would have to move or throw away when we left a place.  This time we overdid it a little bit.  Well, A LOT.  Maybe it was because we hadn’t had a kitchen to ourselves for several days or maybe we were just reveling in the joy of our newfound space and happy feelings, but we brought back so much food, I did not know how we were going to eat it all in the two nights and one full day we were going to be in Perth.  Somehow, we did.

We decided to cancel the sightseeing plans we had made for our time in Perth and just enjoyed desk and down time.  John and Abe read a lot.  Arlie sat at her desk and drew for hours.  Scott and I worked on family tasks we needed to take care of and did laundry.  Periodically some of us would hang out or share a meal together in the common room that had a kitchen, table and chairs and a little sitting area as well as a balcony.  Mostly, we each enjoyed alone time.  Scott and the kids also went to a municipal indoor pool and water park while I worked on bookkeeping.  

We would have enjoyed staying at the Perth Youth Hostel another night or two, but it was time for the staff to transition the buildings from hotel and hostel back to dorms.  We packed up and got ready to go to Edinburgh, which ended up being the only place in Scotland we actually explored.  Adjusting our travel plans was the right thing to do and we will have to see the rest of Scotland another time.  The peace and rest we experienced in Perth was a true gift.  If you find yourself making travel plans with older kids or grandkids and see a college dorm that doubles as a hotel or hostel in the summer, we highly recommend giving it a try.  It may be just what you need as well.