2023 Adventure Wrap Up, Tuesday, November 7, 2023

As noted previously, we dined Monday evening at The Shack.We enjoyed a glass of Shiraz and each a bowl of Irish Lamb Stew that was suitably delicious. Deb wrapped it all up with a “Trinity Mess” dessert of meringue, whipped cream and strawberry jam. Mark was allowed a taste. We then wandered back to our hotel for final packing in preparation for our flights home tomorrow.

We were awake shortly after 5:00 AM on Tuesday and down to the lobby with our bags by 6:00. We checked out and our transfer arrived a bit early. Off to the Dublin International Airport for our 9:00 flight home. We  had already been notified that the flight was delayed about an hour so we had plenty of time. We received our boarding passes for the three upcoming flights and then headed for security. Dublin has a wonderful set up for returning U.S. passengers. After security, one proceeds to U.S. Customs and Immigration and then to the U.S. restricted gates. The whole process eliminates having to pick up your bags upon arrival on home soil, hauling them through immigration and customs and then loading them back onto another trolley for re-tagging for your next flight within the States. Very civilised and smooth.

We had plenty of time and so “enjoyed” the worst waffle with fried turkey bacon that exists on the planet. We could not finish it, but did enjoy the coffee. When we checked our bags, we were assured that although our two hour Newark connection time was now shortened to an hour, it should be no problem. Right!

A pleasant flight into Newark and we strolled off the jetway, stopped for a quick bathroom break, and walked down the three gate areas to our next flight, Newark to Chicago, arriving just as they were calling for boarding. Beautiful timing. However, United Airlines decided that there was no way we would have ever make the connection considering the delay caused by their late arrival of the original plane. Therefore, somewhere over the Atlantic, they cancelled our seats and rebooked us. (Artificial intelligence?) We placed our issued boarding passes on the reader, it lit up red, and the attendant told us we were not on that flight. I held up the boarding pass that clearly showed my name, the flight number and the proper city codes. She said no we weren’t on the flight. We stepped over to the counter to commence a huge argument with the ticket agent. She said we had never booked the flight. I said how did we get issued the boarding passes in Dublin. She said we had never booked the flight. Our travel agent pointed out to her on her computer that we had! Further discussion ensued. Clearly, UAL had bounced us, sold our seats to some other passengers and were not allowing us on the flight. 

We were “agitated and aggravated;” we were afraid the ticket agent was about to call airport security, so we grudgingly went on to the customer service counter and dealt with another incompetent part-time agent. She claimed there was nothing to be done and there were no seats on that flight. Further, our  Chicago to Omaha bookings had also been cancelled by their “headquarters” scheduling computer.

We finally negotiated two middle seats on a flight from Newark to Denver and then another two seats on the Denver to Omaha flight. Rather than arriving home at 5:30, we flew over Omaha by 500 miles and then returned, landing in Omaha around 8:45. Abigail was there to meet us and, amazingly, our luggage accompanied us on this odyssey. Nothing ended up in Amsterdam! We had been in transit from the time we boarded our airport transfer in Dublin until we arrived home. Multiple time zones and 20 hours sitting or flying. 

We were home and fell into our own bed. At least someone had left the lights on for us!

Thursday, November 2, 2023

Thursday morning we arose ready to hit the tourist trail. Zoë dropped Arthur at the babysitter, and then she and the girls joined us at our hotel for an another second breakfast. Next we loaded into Zoë’s Prius for a stop at the Tubbercurry library to return some books and then day long tour of the area. We traveled northward through Sligo and towards the northern coast. The scenery was beautiful and the weather was cooperative. We ended our travels in the village of Foxford, the birthplace of Zoë’s mom, Bernadette, and also the home of the Foxford Woolen Mills. The mill store is in a building that was once an elementary school, the one Bernadette attended. 

A good two hours were spent shopping for some wool throws and eventually a slice of Victorian Sponge for Deb and a Lemon Meringue Pie for Mark as well as some chips for the girls and a bowl of soup for Zoë. We returned to Tubbercurry, we to our hotel to freshen up, and Zoë, Iris and Esmè to pick up Arthur and head home. Around 6:00 we drove back to the house after picking up some wine, and joined the family for take-out Chinese which was different from that in Omaha but quite tasty! The kids went down around 8:00 and we finished the wine and talked until 9:00 before returning again to our temporary quarters.

Friday, we returned to the house and we, together with the entire Highland clan, including the dog Blue, clambored into their two vehicles for a day’s drive. Garth had completed some work from home and so was free to join us for the day. We drove around, looking at homes they had investigated. Until Garth completes six months in his job, they are unable to apply for a home mortgage, but they are actively looking in order to get a feel for the housing market and the schools. A move to Sligo would remove Zoë’s commute and cut Garth’s to less than an hour. Needless to say, come February, they will be ready for the move from the small attached rental duplex to a home of their own.

We ended the day at one of their favorite beaches where the kids ran over the sand, Garth threw the tennis ball for Blue to chase, Deb and Zoë walked the sand, and Mark stayed seated at the camp chairs they had brought along. The North Atlantic creates some lovely scenes with the roar of the surf, the scent of the salt air, and the miles of sand available at low tide. The beach was cold, windy, but lovely; there were even some surfers in their wet suits playing in the waves.

We returned home while driving through some mountains and enjoying the scenery. We arrived home around sunset and tucked in for their normal Friday night fare of pizza and a movie, sans the movie for the adults.  We polished off another bottle of wine after Arthur was down - the girls curled up in the front room for some television time and the adults reminisced about our seven years of close friendship. The parting was truly “sweet sorrows” for us all, kids and adults, but we had determined that the evening time was best to say our goodbyes, as the next morning we would try for an early start for County Antrim and the Belfast area.

As we sat out front in out car waiting for the windshield to defog, Zoë came running out with Deb’s forgotten scarf, waving it in the air and saying “don’t leave, take me with you, I have a green card!”  A good laugh to end a wonderful visit.

Saturday, we were packed and out after our last Murphy’s Hotel breakfast by 9:00. Our goal today was to reach County Antrim and the village of Ahoghill outside of Belfast.

Deb’s ancestors are from this area, and Abigail had tracked down some information on her genealogy sites about gravestones in the area. We arrived at Ahoghill around 12:30 and started the hunt. In requesting cemetery information from Google, we were non-pulsed to find over 14 cemeteries in the area. Where to begin? We stopped in a small grocery store to pick up some supplies and the helpful manager pointed us to one of the older cemetery sites at an older church. We arrived and started searching out the old tombstones, looking for some that were erected in the 1860’s with the name of Picken. We didn’t find any, but a helpful lady tidying a grave told us of a nearby cemetery that contained a few Picken headstones.

We traveled there, found the Picken gravestones, but they were newer. Deb surmised that the Mary Picken buried there, was her known Great, Great Aunt Mary, whom she had never met, but was aware lived in the area. As it was getting late and we had yet to drive a nearly three hours back to Dublin, we aborted the search and headed South. The traffic going through Belfast was hellish at 5:30 on a Saturday night, there were accidents and diverted traffic. We made it through and hopped on the divided highway towards Dublin and the airport. We arrived near 7:00, returned the car and hopped the rental service shuttle to the airport to catch a cab. Two young women students from France rode in the shuttle with us, and we learned they too were headed to the same area as we, so we shared a cab in from the airport. They were obviously on a budget, so we waved off their offer of sharing the cost of the taxi - there was no up charge for the additional passengers, and we were glad to do it. Deb was reminded of her summer of backpacking through Europe on a very tight budget.

We arrived at our destination, the Morgan Hotel, in the Temple Bar area, and loaded into our room. A nice room until the A/C kicked on; the rattle was so bad that we demanded a room change, which we were granted. We arrived in the new room, found it acceptable, and broke out the chips and wine we had provisioned in Ahoghill, in for the night and our last few days in Ireland.

Sunday morning we arose and had a leisurely breakfast. Mark stayed in the room to read for a few hours and Deb headed out for some minor shopping. She returned, we rested and then headed to Jamie Oliver’s Chequers Lane restaurant nearby for an evening meal.

Mark is a Jamie Oliver groupie, sometimes even cooking from one of the many Jamie Oliver cookbooks he owns. We each had a roast duck leg, over a bed of jammy red onions and accompanied by roast potatoes. For dessert, Deb had a huge chocolate sauce covered Profiterole and Mark enjoyed some Irish cheese and a wee nip of Connemara Whisky.

We thoroughly enjoyed the evening and were home to read and rest for the evening. Monday morning, we again enjoyed our last Irish breakfast in a hotel, and then went for a walk about; at 12:30 we met Zoë’s mother Bernadette for a lunch at a small French bistro, Chez Mac. We visited and dined on Mussels Marnieres for Deb and a pair of Croque Monsieurs for Mark and Bernie. It was great to also catch up with her and visit about her life in Carrick on Suir, her home about 1:30 minutes south of Dublin. a wonderful familial ending to a truly fulfilling trip. we returned to the hotel and rested and read until time for dinner at The Shack, at which we had dined with Howie and Lee last year. we loved it and decided it would be a good place to return.Tomorrow home! Look out king bed, bidet and washer/dryer. You are all in for a workout.

We 

HALLOWEEN, 2023

Halloween is a time for kids, a time for meltdowns, a time for candy, a time for parents to consider running away or at least drink heavily. It is clearly the same the world over. We started Tuesday morning by enjoying a few hours sorting ourselves and then breakfast at our Hotel. It being Halloween, the Highland children had a scheduled dental appointment this morning. Excellent timing. We drove our Renault into Sligo, found the parking lot and joined them at a local pub for lunch. We, being still full from our breakfast, restricted ourselves to a half pint of Guiness and cider to accompany our soup and bread. The family chose chicken nuggets for the kids and split a soup and crostini for the adults. Next we walked along the riverfront in downtown Sligo, stopping for a gelato as dessert. 

Next back home for the kids to prep for the evening, while we returned to the hotel for a rest before heading over for the great walkabout. We were greeted by a witch, Wonder Woman, and a would be magician who refused to wear a costume. Garth had stayed in Sligo for a late appointment so the rest of us settled in for some chicken Parma over rice. Following dinner,  Deb and Zoë  accompanied the monsters on their rounds and Mark stayed behind to pass out the loot to the neighboring visitors. After a 40 minute walkabout, they returned all excited and promptly dumped their loot on the kitchen floor to sort and check. Sugar was consumed in quantities.

Garth had returned to watch the carnage and then wrestled Arthur into bed, the girls stayed up for a while to apply some more sugar to their newly cleaned teeth and then eventually went down. Did we mention that this week is a school holiday so the kids are off and so are the teachers, which is a civilized way to control Halloween week. We finished our wine and returned to the hotel to end the evening quietly.

Wednesday we awaken to sunshine and went down to a late breakfast as Zoë and the girls were to join us at the hotel after dropping Arthur at the sitter’s for the day. Although a bit behind schedule they did arrive for a second breakfast, ala Hobbits. After an inspection of our room (always important to kids for some reason) we loaded into Zoë’s Prius for a sightseeing tour. The skies promptly opened up to the heaviest rain we have encountered on this trip.

We drove north past Sligo and up into the mountains, around the beaches and gazed at the Atlantic. We forget how much of this island is coast and how important the sea is to the Irish. Zoë reports that they visit the beach and walk along the sand most every week, sunshine or rain. the kids seem to love it.

We, however, did not get out in this rain to stand on the beach.We headed back south to Grange and then to an establishment - “Five for Fun.” This is a total kids experience with indoor climbing equipment, slides and tunnels in the huge building that, to Deb and Mark resembled a former auto display area. The fee was 10.00 Euro for each child, but adults were in for free! By the time we settled in with coffee, some cake and a sandwich plus nuggets and chips for the kids (after running around for an hour or so,) we were probably some 50-60 Euro in, quite a business model! The place was packed with kids running and screaming. We only endured one breakdown, Esmè  suffered a scrape on her wrist, but after a little first aid and a bandaid for support, we were back to normal.

Next we went to Smitty’s Toy Superstore. Esmè had birthday money to spend and Iris had saved up a bit to spend; they were flabbergasted that they got both the Fun Room AND the toy store. A great day if you are a kid. We headed back to Tubbercurry and the hotel for a rest up. Next back to the homestead for a dinner of roast chicken, pesto pasta and salad. Garth returned from work and we enjoyed a quiet meal as the kids were either in bed or passed out from all the excitement in front of the TV.

We were back in the hotel by 9:00. We watched a bit of television ourselves and then were down for the count. We are definitely out of condition for this parenting gig. It is for youngsters, not old folk.