Adventures in packing

We're almost ready to leave. I'm carrying stuff for mom and stepdad, so I had to borrow their larger suitcase to fit it all in. Bless whomever first thought to add wheels to luggage.
Best Goodbyes

Daryl, Danielle and Destany came to say goodbye before we leave. These (occasionally silly) faces are pretty hard to say goodbye to.
1 down

Hello, Portland! First flight done, now on to the second. In case you didn't know, 5:00am flights are way too early!!
2 Down

Hello, San Francisco! Second flight done. Mom and I are enjoying bagels for breakfast before we pace the terminal waiting for our 2pm flight. Had fun starting my Irish/Welsh socks (one foot for each Czytaj więcej
3 Down

Arrived in Amsterdam 40 minutes late and ran (or as close to running as mom, Kathy and I do) and barely made the flight. We are all tired but I am starting to get re-energized for our arrival in Czytaj więcej
4 And We're Here!

We made it to Dublin! Our luggage did not!
Apparently our flight from Amsterdam didn't quite get all the luggage aboard, as we were in the lost luggage line with about 30 others. Ugh. The airline Czytaj więcej
Dublin

Today has been good, despite still missing luggage. We toured the book of Kells, which included the long library. Uncle Dennis, upon seeing the library, exclaimed, "I think this is what heaven looks Czytaj więcej
It's all about history

Today we went on a tour of Irish history sites. We started at fourknocks, a passage chamber tomb built 500 years before the pyramids in Egypt. We got to go into the tomb, which was very cool. Even Czytaj więcej
Tralee

I started the day today by shopping for enough clothes to get me through the next couple of weeks (hopefully, anyhow). Thank goodness I walked first into Pennys, which seems to be the Irish version of Czytaj więcej
The perils of wind

How can I tell how windy and rainy it is today? By the size of my hair, of course.
Killarney national park

Today, after running errands, including leaving all our clothes to be washed at the laundrette, Mom, Jerry and I drove out to Killarney National Park. It was really busy for a Wednesday but we still Czytaj więcej
Dingle Day 1

Well, we survived the first day of the Dingle way. It was a long, hard, muddy, rocky day. More later when my feet aren't screaming at me.
Day 2

Thank all that is good, but today was a much, much easier walk. Most of it was on either gravel roads or tiny, one-lane paved roads. What a relief after yesterday! Mom and I still chose to only walk Czytaj więcej
Day 3

Today, after nearly forgetting my rain jacket at our bnb, mom and I walked half the distance to Dingle. We decided to stop in Lispole and catch the bus, figuring that 7 miles was enough for today. The Czytaj więcej
Dingle

Yesterday after arriving by bus and getting cleaned up, I spent little time shopping here in Dingle. All the little shops had locally made products as well as a mix of very Ashland-like over priced Czytaj więcej
Day 4

Today was a long walk (14 or so miles) but mostly not a hard walk. We got to spend a lovely stretch walking along the beach at Ventry and then climbed, climbed, climbed up through fields lined by rock Czytaj więcej
Day 5

Today's walk was long (14+ miles), but mostly easy. We walked over a small hill, during which it poured rain. We were soaked through. About the time we were mostly dried out, we hit a looooong stretch Czytaj więcej
Day 6

Today we chose (wisely, I think) to skip the hike over Mount Brandon and instead have spent the day sleeping in and shopping in Dingle (well, the girls shopped, the boys read books). Choosing to have Czytaj więcej
Day 7

Today Mom, Bill, and I chose to not walk the full 17 miles and instead took a shortcut which saved 8 or 9 miles. Our bnb is wonderful, probably the fanciest one yet, and we feel guilty showing up Czytaj więcej
Day 8

Back to the beginning. Sort of. Today's hike brought us back to Camp, which was our destination the first day of hiking. Luckily, today's hike was very, very easy and not the horrible torture that the Czytaj więcej
Cork

Today is an all bus day for me. So far have gone from Tralee to Cork and next am off for Waterford. If the bus is on time there I should have about two hours to explore.
Between Buses

Got 30 minutes between buses in Waterford, so took a peek aroud the old Viking town, which I am sad to report has mostly been turned into a shopping center. I did step into a lovely church, with a Czytaj więcej
Saying Farewell

We have just boarded our ferry for Wales. I'm sad to say goodbye to Ireland, as there was so much we didn't see, but I'm also excited to move forward in our next vacation adventure. Fingers crossed Czytaj więcej
Wales

We've arrived in Wales. Now we're waiting for the bus to get us to our house for the week. I'm looking forward to settling in for a few days and just breathing without having any real plans. I've Czytaj więcej
Rest and Relaxation

Today we spent the day resting, doing laundry, and wandering in town a bit. I took a walk down to St. Non's well and chapel, which is right along side the Pembrokeshire Coast Trail. It was a lovely Czytaj więcej