I actually made it in time to RDU where they confiscated a tube of body lotion from my carry on. It was 6 oz. instead of 4. What is wrong with these people? Body lotion? Give me a break. But they missed the water bottle that was in my purse. (Nope, can't bring your own drink with you. Have to participate in their racket.) Then in NYC they took the drink that I'd bought in RDU. Air travel sucks these days. All because some people in power overreacted to some nutcases. It really is true that one bad apple spoils it for everyone else. I miss the days when paranoia was not in control.

The Aer Lingus flight was only 5.5 hours (much better than the 8 that I was anticipating). I sat next to a NY firefighter who was traveling back to Ireland for a family visit in country Cork. Never got his name. So I leave the US on the 19th and arrive in Ireland on the 20th. There is a 5 hour time difference.

After landing in Shannon, I skipped breakfast but did get some coffee before picking up the car and heading out to find the B&B (bed and breakfast) that I was pre-booked for. I got lost (of course) but was able to get a pic of a sheep and her 2 lambs in Barefield (which consists of 2 pubs, a church, and the post). Finally found the B&B, Elmdale House, and was exhausted. It was only 4:30am in the US and I hadn't gotten any sleep because I forgot to ask for decaf when I got my Starbucks in NY. Oops.

So the proprietress was kind enough to let me check in early and sleep the day away. Which I did. The room is cozy and I loved the tiles in the bathroom. No, I didn't take a picture of the tiles but I wish I had. I spend some time talking with Mrs. Anne O'Halloran and getting info on where to have dinner and what I wanted to eat for breakfast and what time for breakfast. I also apologized for not being very coherent when I arrived. She graciously waved that off. Their web site can be found at http://www.elmdalehouse.com/

I went down the street (actually route N18) to have dinner at the Ballyline Pub and Restaurant. (the candle fire incident place from my first note) The food was very good but there was no music, just a telly and some regulars.

The intended destinations for day 2 are Limerick (Kings Castle), Adare (picturesque Irish town), and Killarney (national park).

I got in yesterday and was exhausted because for once I couldn't sleep on a plane. So after I finally managed to locate the B&B, name of Elmdale in the village of Barefield, in the town of Ennis, I went to sleep. I did manage to get a cute picture of a sheep and her two lambs, one white and one black before I got to the B&B. Oh yeah, I'm in the public library because it's free access here. I'll have more details tomorrow because I'll remember to put the notebook in the car. Today I'm going to go shopping in Adare and then take a trip down to the Killarney national forest. Tomorrow I'm off to see the Cliffs of Moher. After that it's a trip up the coast to Letterkenny where I'll visit the Glenveagh national park and some other sites in County Donegal. I won't be posting any pics until I get back to the states.

One small humorous note.....I ate dinner at a restaurant/pub down the street from the B&B where as I was having a lovely meal of Seafood Chowder and Bread pudding (both very tasty), I heard a crack and turned to see the candle on a table (behind and over from where I was sitting) with a really high flame and wax running across the table. I looked around to see if anyone else in the room had heard or noticed, nope, so I got up to find the waitress and one of the guys at the bar told me, 'the loos over there'. I told them I was looking for the waitress and as she heard me she came out from the kitchen and I pointed to the table. She swore in great Irish fashion and dashed over to take care of it. Then all the men at the bar decided to get involved. Quite an evening.

Well, here we are it's already February. My trip to Ireland begins in less than 2 weeks. Ah yes, my trip to Ireland. It was supposed to be a 'Pub Tour' but the company that I booked the tour with last spring has since gone out of business. They had told me to book my airfare separately so I can't change my dates. I'd only paid my deposit and will be able to get that back via the CC company. I found out they had gone out of business from a competitor. The competitor did not have any tours at that time so I am going to be driving around Ireland and staying at B&B's. It's going to be interesting. Here's a pic of someplace that I hope to see; Ballinskelligs Bay in County Kerry.

Another day another dollar......
That is probably said more often on Monday than any other day of the week. What do you think?

This past weekend I volunteered at the North Carolina Optional Judges Cup. In case you were wondering, it is a gymnastics competition. It is really great to be able to continue to be involved with gymnastics but I still prefer to do it than anything else. The best exercise and never boring!

On January 9th at approximately 1:30pm Sumo passed away. Sumo was one of my foster kittens who had developed severe congestive heart failure due to cardiomyopathy.

The left pic was taken at about 6 weeks and the one on the right about 12 weeks. He will be missed.

His web description read; "I am a kewpie doll with a big motor who is very sweet and loves human food. If you are eating food then I want some too. My foster has tried to discourage me from this but I know better. When she isn’t watching I’ll snatch the napkin just in case there might be something on it. I have beautiful eyes and wonderful fur. I prefer wet food to dry but will eat dry if it’s mixed with wet. It has to be more wet than dry though."

Looks like I've never added any items to this blog. Here's my first because I've got to get into the habit for a trip that I'm taking to Ireland next month.