Trip of a Lifetime

Judy and I have truly enjoyed planning this trip. Thank goodness for Skype. She is more of a computer person than I so she has handled the trip logistics from her computer. I have been doing a great deal of reading, pouring through many travel guides for Ireland. Of course, we won't being seeing it all. We decided early on to skip the big cities (too much traffic and congestion) and roam the country side. Our main focus will be the southwest, west and northwest coasts of Ireland (up to Sligo). We also decided not to travel to Northern Ireland because the rental car situation can be tricky there. Both of us had originally wanted to visit Newgrange and Knowth but early on decided that it was not doable. Somewhere along the way in our plans we decided it was doable so we are going. Yippee!

My interests are ancient, pre-Christian sites for the most part. Judy wants to see castles, sheep dogs and some of the ancient sites but I may be taking her to one too many "pile of rocks" for her tastes so we have agreed that we may do different things in certain areas. Of course, local pubs and pub life with traditional music is on the agenda. Judy will be doing most of the driving and I, the navigating. Everything we have read says that driving in Ireland can be challenging, especially in the areas where we will be spending most of our time. So we will be taking it slow. Knowing Judy's "gift for the gab", I am sure we will be meeting a wide variety of delightful folks. From Judy's explorations and contacts via the computer, I think she knows half of Ireland already.

Of course, the trip back and forth, across the north Atlantic is a huge part of the our journey. Judy says our family may have arrived in America via steerage but we are returning to our homeland above board. The reason for this amazing trip is to celebrate my 60th birthday and celebrate we will. I am grateful to everyone who helped make this dream come true. Thank you Judy, Brian, Father, Mother, Adair, Den, Doug, Richard, Pearl, and all others seen and unseen. I truly believe the Universe is perfect and on time. I feel very blessed.

Margaret