October 31 - November 2, 2024

The Highland’s new house is really a perfect place for this very active family of 5.  It has three full bathrooms and 4 bedrooms, all quite spacious.  They ended up with almost an acre of land and hope to add a garage/workshop as well as gardens but that might have to wait until Arthur is in school.  He is quite a handful but fortunately for him, cute as a bug!  Garth and Zoe have lots of plans for fixing up the house but both work full-time jobs and after getting the kids fed and to bed, there is little time left.  most of us know that feeling and we all know it will get better but I know they are tired.

After Garth headed out to work, we finished cleaning up the girls and dressing Arthur. Zoe and Mark loaded the brood into the Prius and drove into Sligo to drop the girls at their swimming and arts camp at the Community Center; as Arthur was in quarantine, he continued on with us as we ran errands which included dropping a mis-delivered large package back to the department store and then some grocery shopping. Watching Arthur running around the grocery store was Mark’s job while Zoe traipsed around the aisles loading wine and other provisions into the rolling basket.

Back in the vehicle, we drove the 20 minutes back to the house to find Deb hard at work dealing with some details of a trip she was planning for some clients. No rest for the unretired! Garth returned home and he and Mark drove out to collect the girls from their day camp. Much chatter in the car on the return trip about the vending machines. These are a continuing topic of conversation as the girls take their allowance to the community center day camp and feed it into the vending machines for candy and popcorn to be shared with their buddies.

Back home, Deb broke out her first little gifts - windup monsters that “pooped” out candy as they walked across the table top. Nothing like a series of poop jokes to get 3, 6 and 7 year olds to fall down laughing! Zoe prepared a lovely chicken corma over rice for dinner and we inspected the children’s costumes in preparation for the next BIG day.

Halloween day was rife with excitement. Arthur was cleared  from his quarantine to attend his play school, so every sub-adult was trotted off to burn off some steam. Garth worked a half-day schedule as he and Mark remained at the house while Deb and Zoe drove the kids into town for school. Upon their return, we drove in separate cars back into town for a leisurely lunch and a pint at Walker’s Pub. Deb and Garth enjoyed a wonderful Guiness pie while Mark and Zoe opted for toasted ham & cheese sandwiches and soup.

Following lunch, Zoe drove Mark and Deb around for a tour of the peninsula showing off the ocean, the multi-million Euro houses overlooking the ocean, the small dock areas and breakers along the beaches, and many of the houses they toured during their home search. The home they eventually purchased is about a half kilometer from the sea, on a lovely country lane. it was formerly a Guest House labeled “Eight Gables” and includes four bedrooms and three bath locations. One of the first things they did was to remove the Eight Gables sign from the front yard and now they are in the process of renaming the home “Ceol na Mara”  which translates from the Irish as “Music of the Sea.”

Garth had picked the children up from school and got them organized into their costumes and professionally applied their make-up. When we arrived back, they were ready to roll out for candy. There are three or four homes on the lane and only one other of these has children. The two families banded together and after a stop at each home, they were off in the car for a night of pre-pubescent revelry. Deb & Mark stayed behind to hand out candy to any late comers, though there were none; the word was probably out that all Garth put in stock were gummies! 

After nearly two hours of foraging, they returned, hyped up on excitement and sugar laced with sweet corn syrup. They separated their stash, begrudgingly paid the chocolate tax Mark imposed, and were soon off to bed complaining that they didn’t get enough candy. This is what keeps us coming back to Ireland - the pure joy on the faces of the children (not to mention the love we have for these long suffering parents. We keep telling them that these are the good years and the teens will be much worse, but when you are as busy as these two, juggling jobs, commutes and multiple schools, it seems depressing to think it can get worse.) But, Oh the smiles upon their little faces and the lights in their eyes!

The next morning, there were three very tired children shovelling down some cereal and getting dressed for their last day of community camp. Mark and Garth drove the girls into town amidst much arguing about the coming vending machines. A quick search of pockets revealed that both were toting all too much cash from their home allowance stash to drop into the machines. Papa confiscated the excess, bringing on quick tears and protests, followed by resignation and a quick forgetting of the issue. Deb and Zoe dropped Arthur at his day care and we then left one car in the parking lot and, fresh coffee cups in hand, we drove out towards  the village of Foxford and its famous wooden mills shops. We perused the goods, made some purchases and then settled in at their restaurant for a late lunch of mushroom soup, quiche, lasagna and fish tacos. All very tasty. 

During our lunch, Zoe received a call that Arthur was feeling a bit sluggish and out of sorts. We headed back but were at least two hours away. By the time we arrived to pick him up, he was over his malaise and was happy as a clam. Garth and Mark picked up the girls, and all returned home for our last evening with the Highland crew. We dined on pizza and a Caesar’s salad, some wine and lots of leftover candy! The children were all atwitter as Deb broke out all the presents she had stashed in her suitcase. New pajamas, new sweaters, lots of underwear and a shirt for Garth, some hand knit socks for Zoe, and as much love as we could spread around. 

The kids were beginning to show the stress of the holiday, so they were bundled off to bed, although Arthur was having none of it for a while, but finally settled down. The adults talked for a bit and then off to bed, Deb and Mark to finish packing, and Zoe and Garth for some much needed rest.

October 28-30, 2024

We are hitting the road for a fall trip; once again headed towards Ireland and then the Yorkshire Dales in mid central England. Climbing out of bed at 5:30 AM on a dark Monday morning, October 28, our good friend Deb arrived at 9:15 and drove us along the continually ‘under construction” Omaha streets to the “under construction expansion” of Eppley Airfield where we boarded a United Airlines flight to Chicago and then, after a 20 minute hobble through O’Hare to terminal B, to board a flight to Newark. (Did I mention that, due to the arthritis in my lower spine, I am now frequently using a walking stick (Deb says “cane” although the subtle difference of no curved handle top escapes her.) The O’Hare walk was advertised as only 18 minutes, but with two rest stops, we made it in 25! 

The Newark flight was smooth and arrived a few minutes early. Again a terminal change, advertised as 28 minutes. We took nearly 20 minutes to get to Terminal C where we were to head to Gate 128. A young lady pushing a wheelchair saw me struggling and asked if I would like to hop into her chair. Deb encouraged this as she was tiring of having to stop for me to catch up. Although the ride was great, Deb, looking healthy, got to increase her step count for the day by trailing along, bringing up the rear. The young lady earned a healthy tip and we were fortuitously deposited at Gate 128. There was a bar serving food immediately adjacent. Not having eaten so far and now it was nearly 3:00 PM, we took advantage and enjoyed a glass of red wine and a plate of French fries for the tidy sum of $68.00! isn’t this country great! 

Our flight boarded on time and the Boeing 767 taxied away from the gate and arrived at the line of planes queuing for take-off. The pilot then told us there would be a bit of a wait as there was some “technical difficulties” in the Air Traffic Control Tower. Over an hour later we were finally airborne and our arrival in Dublin was pushed back. We had smooth air and the pilot made up some time - we arrived at 7:30 AM on Tuesday morning, only 15 minutes after the scheduled arrival time.

Deb was able to take a few short naps en route, Mark not so much. The food served on the flight was inedible, but we weren’t particularly surprised. I guess to make up for the wait on queue, we did get a gratis glass of red wine with our unknown meal (claimed as either chicken with rice or “pasta.”)

Good weather all the way, and we arrived in Dublin in good spirits. We passed through Irish Immigration and Customs quickly, and our passports were date stamped for October 29, 2024. In looking at our passport pages, we noted that we last landed in Ireland on the same date, but one year prior. As Yogi Berra famously said, “Deja’ vu all over again!” We always choose this time of year to visit as the Irish school system has an annual school break for Halloween each year, especially for us visiting “grandparents” to visit and see the little angels and cherubs take off their normal persona and replace them with witches, goblins, ghosts and skeletons begging for candy and treats, Isn’t it grand: the American traditions we have exported around the globe!

Zóe left got up at 4:30 AM, left home and drove three hours fromSligo at the western edge  across the island southeast to Dublin to pick us up at the airport. We had a breakfast and coffee at the airport restaurant and then headed back north for our destination of their newly acquired home to begin the five day visit. Husband Garth and Arthur “the prince,” were there to greet us! Later, Garth and Mark drove into town to pick up Iris and Esmé from swimming practice and for a grocery/wine run.

Returning home, we visited, drank some of the wine, joked with the children and dined on roast chicken, salad and pizza  for the kids. We managed to keep ourselves upright until 7:30 PM before finally crashing into our beds, fully 33 hours after arising in Omaha.

10 hours and 49 minutes later we crawled out of the bed at 6:00 AM, as Arthur sounded the 6:00 wake up call. Garth wisely headed off to work while Zoe prepared us some bagels and added some much needed coffee. Later we bundled the girls off to swimming camp. Arthur was relegated to sick bay as he had contracted a case of impetigo! A great start to the trip! 

June 13-16, 2024

Thursday morning we arose at a reasonable time; Abigail logged into work and Deb & Mark each took turns in the shower. This time a granite surround shower, large with a grab bar integrated into the shower fixture - a sliding handheld that doubled as the main shower head. We made a cup of coffee from the provided treats bar, using the modern SMEG electric kettle. Sometime later in the morning, we discovered that the coffee, while very tasty, was actually part of the honor bar and we had just consumed two $5.00 packets of coffee! What’s kind of hotel doesn’t provide in-room coffee? Evidently, the answer is The Radical in the Asheville River Arts District.

At noon, we loaded our traveling  “gimps” into the RAV 4 and embarked for the nearby town of Black Mountain, our destination being the Black Mountain Wool store. Black Mountain is a a very nicely turned out crafts town - all local stores and restaurants. Abigail scored some nice yarn, and enlisted the store owners to follow her on her Instagram feed. Abigail had shopped at their on-line store and was glad to see the goods and people in person and on display.

After shopping, Mark headed across to the local hardware store to purchase an additional walking stick, as Abigail had appropriated his. We then settled into a small German Restaurant for our lunch. Abigail picked a pork schnitzel accompanied by Spätzle and home fried potatoes. Deb picked a Ruben sandwich on German rye, and Mark chose a ham and Swiss, also on the German rye bread. Deb had a glass of wine and a bag of chips while Mark stuck to the theme with a glass of dark ale and cold German potato salad.  

Next back to the hotel so Abigail could get back to work. Mark and Deb spent 30 minutes searching for Deb’s iPhone that had disappeared; finally located in the back seat of the car, slipped into a crack in the seat. Abandoning Abigail to her work (or leaving her in peace - depending on your outlook,) Deb & Mark drove on to the Biltmore Estate, only 15 minutes away from our hotel location. We drove to the visitor services building for tickets.

Unfortunately, the house closed to guests at 3:30 PM, and it was now 3:20 PM. However we could purchase tickets to the garden and grounds. These were a “bargain” at only $75.00 each. Lucky for us the house was off limits for the day or we would have had to shell out another $60.00!

We drove to one of the parking lots, billed as a short walk to the house lot. Off we started, but before long, Mark’s back began to give out. He headed back to the car to move it to the shuttle lot and catch the shuttle, Deb soldiered on (another 1/4 mile around the bend!) Mark was to catch the shuttle and meet up with her. The shuttle lot was a solid five miles from the walking lot; just as Mark pulled into the lot and was locking up the car to walk to the shuttle stand, Deb called to say that she was done. So, Mark went back to the car and drove back to the first lot to await Deb’s return. We then drove off through the entry and past the kitchen garden, which Mark did get to see.

Our destination was the winery building on the grounds to purchase some wine grown on the estate. This lot also was some 10 miles from our position. We arrived and took one glance at the steep steps up to the winery building, noting that it was now  4:30 PM and that we had a 6:00 PM dinner reservation. Executive decision time - we headed back to the Hotel.

To be fair, the Biltmore Estate and Gardens are magnificent. The estate encompasses some 8,000 acres of ground; the house is the largest private residence in the United States, over 250 rooms, over multiple floors, covering some 18,000 square feet. We would recommend that anyone near the Asheville area plan to invest a day and tour both the home and the grounds. We, however, did not feel too bad (although the cost for what we experienced was regrettable.) We have seen and toured so many huge castles, homes and manor houses through out Europe, that they all tend to run together. One more would have just added to the overload.

We dined Thursday evening at the hotel restaurant - the Golden Hour. This was one of the most delicious meals we have ever enjoyed, the room is interesting, service was excellent and the food marvelous. For a starter we chose  deviled blue crab dip; Abigail enjoyed a double patty smash burger, interlaced with cheese, together with very well prepared French fries. Deb enjoyed Duck Confit, accompanied by charred and raw summer root vegetables; Mark picked the Market Fish, today a Cobia (Grouper) with spring alliums & olives, underlaid by a bruschetta. For dessert, Deb enjoyed chocolate and sorghum (vanilla)  pots de creme; Abigail picked the carrot cake with cream cheese frosting. Both Abigail and Deb declared it the best carrot cake they had ever tasted, no raisins or fruit included in the batter, just pure sweet carrot with plenty of sugar and flavoring.  Abigail enjoyed a hibiscus tequila cocktail, Deb a filthy Martini, and Mark stuck with a Cabernet franc. A wonderful dining experience to top a good day.

Friday morning we arose on time and were out of our room by 8:30 AM. Only one minor mishap as Abigail managed to catch her little finger in a heavy steel door, smashing it, and, for a moment thinking it had broken. Luckily only very sore and now with an ugly bruise. We needed to get out of here and get our girl on the road. Abigail loaded into the front passenger seat, set up her computer and was quickly logged on to her office. The destination today is Nashville. This is about a four hour drive and we made good time, rolling into Nashville around 12:30 PM and arriving at the City View Hampton Inn. this is a very new and nice 10 story hotel in downtown, which featured a rooftop swimming pool with bar and snacks. We sat in the bar, enjoying the view and dining on a pair of cheese pizzas and a bowl of chips with a selection of dips, together with a glass of wine. 

Refreshed, we headed to our reason for being in Nashville - Ann Padgett’s Parnassus Book Store. It was not too distant from the hotel. Perhaps a 20 minute drive, and we browsed, read and purchased. Very reminiscent of our own Bookworm shop in Omaha. 

One last stop in Nashville, their exact reproduction of the Parthenon of Athens. Strange, but it seems that in 1897, for the Tennessee Centennial Celebration in Nashville, the city fathers decided to construct this exact reproduction in order to play up to their nickname as the “Athens of the South.” The building is the center the Centennial Park in Nashville and now serves as a museum. We stopped at a Walgreen’s for a fresh supply of Dramamine and then back to the hotel for resting, packing and turning in early for the long Saturday drive.

We were out of our hotel by 7:15 AM after a stop at the Hampton Inn breakfast bar, with no more injuries. 12 hours later, we rolled into Omaha and pulled up to Abigail’s house at 6:30 PM. We had touched in twelve States: Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, and Nebraska. Not counting our home state, we had laid our heads in five of those states. We traveled  3,380 miles, spent quality time with relatives, brought back a lot of memories, and brought home one broken daughter! Apologies to Abigail for her damaging holiday, she will think twice before traveling with us again but probably will not forget the experience in many a year!

June 11-12, 2024

Tuesday morning and we are ready to leave Charleston. We were packed and out of our room by 10:00 AM. Mark assumed piloting controls while Abigail was in the co-pilot seat logged in to her work computer and processing payroll as we motored south. Another good driving day. Partly cloudy, no rain in the forecast and a high during the afternoon of 91ºF.  As US Route 17 merged with I-95 just north of the town of Coosawatchie we stopped for a fuel top off and a bit of McDonald’s. Two soft serve ice cream cones and a black coffee later we piled into the vehicle to join the concrete ribbon southward. As Deb was wrestling with her seatbelt, her cone took a dive to the floor of the rear passenger compartment. Expletives were uttered, the dirt encrusted cone was unceremoniously stuffed into the empty coffee cup and we were on the I-95 route south. We arrived in Savannah about 12:30 PM. At the Olde Harbor Inn, our hotel room was not ready so we left our bags with the porter and walked down some very steep steps to the Savannah River to walk and shop.

We picked the Shrimp Factory Restaurant for our lunch. A starter of Oysters Rockefeller was followed by a bowl of shrimp bisque, a po’boy shrimp sandwich, and a shrimp & grits platter. There was salad, red wine, dark ale and a rum based Savanna Breeze cocktail. We shopped at the market stalls, the 5 & 10 tourist trap shop (the true meaning of the phrase “nickeled and dimed,”) and eventually climbed the steep steps back up to our hotel. The rooms were ready so we checked these out, Deb and Abigail napped and Mark read for a while. The luncheon had been late and large - we opted to break out our road snacks, some cheese, and wine for our dinner. We watched a bit of TV and bedded down for the night.

The accommodation at The Olde Harbor Inn was a two bedroom suite - one bath, a sitting room, a bedroom and another bedroom loft above; an old facility nicely rehabbed and furnished. Savannah is the largest shipping container port on the east coast, and they are enlarging it even more. As these HUGE container ships passed by on the river, one can easily see how a ship took out the bridge in Baltimore earlier in the year. These behemoth, self propelled barges tower some sixty feet above the water line, stacked with thousands of shipping containers, and they stretch for at least one hundred yards. There would be no way to stop them once they begin moving and are totally at the behest of the tugboats. It was a startling sight to see what our consumerism has wrought.

The next morning we marshaled our luggage up and carried it down the steps to our trusty RAV 4. We loaded up and walked back down the steps to pick up the Hop-On Hop-Off bus tour we had booked. Abigail, being the good protective daughter, led us down the steps so we wouldn’t fall. One misstep, four steps up and Abigail’s foot turned and down she went. Sitting at the bottom of the steps, after righting herself, we quickly determined that she had done something to her ankle. This right foot had been broken before so there was real concern. Luckily Mark has been gimping along with his cane/walking stick, so Abigail regained in an upright status, Deb went back up to the lobby and obtained the address and phone number of an Urgent care clinic. We called an Uber and made our way there.

After two hours of x-ray and wrapping, the medic on duty was not sure if it was broken again or just badly sprained. The technician sent the prints on to the radiologist, we called another Uber and headed to the Churchill Pub, across from our hotel for a late lunch. Here we dined on a steak and ale pie, a shepherd’s pie and a “ploughman’s” lunch, all accompanied by wine, a Smithwick’s dark ale draft and a Pepsi.

Then, fueled by ersatz English Pub food and a healthy dosage of Advil, we found a stop for the missed bus tour and climbed onboard to tour the Savannah Historic District. The tour was informative and entertaining; we learned the history of Savannah and the historic district. Well worth the time.

Back in the car, we pointed our nose to Asheville, the destination of the day. As we were somewhat behind schedule, the 4+ hour drive was a bit tiring. Abigail received a phone call from the Urgent Care clinic - the foot was  broken and they recommended staying off the foot and putting a boot on it. Not good news when you are on the road! We arrived around 8:20 PM at our Asheville lodging - The Radical Hotel. This is a very modern, chic establishment in an old factory building. Luckily there is an elevator and grade entrance. We were too late for the kitchen, as it closed at 9:00 PM. Abigail ordered Taco Bell delivery, and Mark and Deb selected from our array of car snacks - this time Goldfish and M&M chocolate peanuts to accompany their evening red box wine! We tumbled into our beds, Abigail watching an NBA game, and Mark and Deb buried in their respective Kindle reading devices.

A truly eventful day, not the best we have ever had, but we are limping towards the finish line undaunted but “bloodied.”