Ireland! Brace Yourself!
TODAY’S POSTING KINDA FOLLOWS UP on the one from last Saturday about the fantasy list of what we would do if we hit it big in the lottery. When we began to compile that first wish list my wife, the lovely and adventuresome, Dawn, said, “I’d want us to go to Ireland.”
Well, even though we didn’t win the lottery we made that trip to Ireland. In fact, we’ve been there several times and we are knee deep in planning for another trip in the Spring of 2016.
Our last trip was in 2008. We were in Ireland when the world economy decided to take a header into the shallow end of the financial pool. It was quite interesting to see it unfold from a perspective other than that of the U.S. Mass Media which talks incessantly but tells you nothing.
But to the question at hand: Ireland 2016.
On our last two trips we rented houses instead of doing the B&B routine which can become tiresome and expensive very quickly. We find that renting a house for our stay gives us much more flexibility, convenience, and the luxury of being able to sleep past 8 AM and to “stay home” in our jammies all day if we wish.
Last trip across the pond we rented a house in Westport, County Mayo, for three weeks and we just “lived in Ireland.”
For 2016 we are going to do something new. We will have only two weeks and for the second week we hope to be joined by two friends who will be making their first visit to the Republic.
We are currently thrashing out the details of where to go and what to do. We also have to find a rental car that will seat 4 adults, plus luggage. That may not seem like a big deal if you are in The States, but most of the popular cars in America would be awkward on Irish streets and roads. Unless things have changed since 2008 most SUVs would not do well on country lanes when a speeding tour bus or delivery van comes the other way.
The one part of Ireland that we haven’t spent much time visiting is the Southeast. We would like to go to Waterford. Our touring companions haven’t expressed their wishes yet, but as they prepare, I’m sure they will. They are adventurous souls. After all, it was with them that we visited the canyons of the American Southwest this summer.
Dawn and I plan on spending week number one back in Westport and then moving to a more centrally located spot for week two. There are places we want to show our friends (Rock of Cashel for one) and that we want to revisit.
I wish we had more time for this trip. A month would be nice (Dream on old man!), but that ain’t gonna happen.
When we are in Ireland we feel very much at home. Both of us have ancestors who emigrated here and that genetic heritage doesn’t fade easily. On my side they came in about 1840. For Dawn that branch of the family tree reaches back much farther, centuries earlier.
It is now early August 2015 and our plan is to go in April of 2016. Time is moving along and there are details by the ton that need to be settled. I’m sure there will be emails and phone calls galore before we lift off the tarmac on our way to Ireland.
To Ireland I say, “We are coming. We are gentle souls who promise to not be just another bunch of “noisy Yanks.”
Down the Hall on Your Left 
Forward looking and pleasant reading artical! Jim K
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