May 24, 2012 - The Green Grass of Home

We touched down in Shannon about an hour late, filed our baggage claim, and my sister was waiting patiently for us. She whisked us home to Mom's and a cup of coffee sure tasted good. I'm not going to post for the next couple of weeks; didn't even bring my camera. This is primarily a family trip for us. All the family is great; children getting much bigger, and soon the family will be expanding as my nephew's wife, Rosie, is pregnant with twins. Will post again when we get back to Oklahoma.

May 4, 2011 - The Green, Green Grass of Home

Timmy & Esther were at the airport to greet us and whisked us home in about 1 ½ hours. Ireland continues to improve the road systems and the tunnel which allows by-pass of Limerick really speeds up the trip. Mom was delighted to see us and all the family are doing great. We were pretty tired so, after some coffee and catching up, we slept for a few hours to rejuvenate. We had packed a luggage box of toys for the children and the TSA had inspected that; however, they taped it up securely and everything was just as we had packed it. Esther...

Sep 12, 2010 - Off to Old Ireland

In my working life, I used to fly in and out of DIA more times than I care to bring to memory; that long drive to Longmont or back was never fun on a snowy night. Back then, I was always driving a rental car so it was nice to have Joe & Foxy chauffer me here and give me curbside drop off. I had checked in on-line so all I had to do was check my bag and I was headed for the airline lounge for Delta. Of course, in a sprawling airport like DIA, that involved taking the inter-terminal train. My flight left right on time, which always happens...

May 5, 2010 - Spared from the Volcanic Ash

My sister and her husband were waiting at the airport when we emerged from the secure area of immigration and customs. It was a beautiful morning; in fact, the sunrise was fabulous and I wished I had the camera although I probably couldn’t have done it justice through the airplane window. It was great to see my family again. Esther whisked us to Mom’s in no time and we were both ready for coffee. Mom was delighted to see us and she looks great. After a little chit-chat, we decided to hit the bed for a couple of hours of shut-eye. After we...

May 27, 2009 - Homeward Bound

Our holiday went by all too quickly and today brings us to the end of our visit. We were up early, said good-bye to Mom, and headed for Esther's house. It was pouring rain. We usually drive Mom's car to Esther's house and then Esther returns the car to Mom later. This saves us about an hour in the morning. Esther & Timmie had us at the airport with ample time to spare. We checked in and went to the lounge to download email. Contrary to our flights to Ireland, our return trip was spot on time all the way. Delta redeemed themselves a little...

May 25, 2009 - Gardening Chores

Mom always has some chores for Joe to do around the house. We all went to the Garden Center to pick out some shrubs to replace some Mom had that weren't thriving very well. There's a lot of limestone in the soil and some heathers don't like limestone. Mom also likes shrubs that flower so Esther helped her select some nice shrubs and Joe planted them for her. The weather has been cool and wet so the shrubs should do well. Joe also sprayed the roses for black spot and green fly so Mom's garden is in good shape now.

May 23, 2009 - Dublin Parks & Shopping

Fortified by a good night’s sleep and a large continental breakfast at the hotel, we were ready to tackle the parks of Dublin. We shared a taxi to city center with another couple, who apparently didn’t speak any English; must have been fun getting around in a mostly English-speaking country. From city center, we took the bus to Phoenix Park. At more than double the size of Central Park in New York, Phoenix Park is one of the largest parks in Europe and a haven for Dubliners to get away from the hustle and bustle and smog of the big...

May 8, 2009 - Crossing the Broad Atlantic

The air travel gods smiled on us and we had a smooth and on-time departure for Ireland. Since it was 10 p.m. and we had snacked a lot all day, I didn’t want any dinner and Joe just had a salad on board. After a couple of glasses of wine, I was ready for a sleep. We touched down at Shannon about 45 minutes early…yes, you’re reading this right….early. My sister and her husband were there to greet us and they whisked us home to Mom’s in a little over an hour. We didn’t make it through much conversation, when sleep was overtaking us. We gave in...

May 25, 2008 - Mallow - Heineken Cup & Eurovision

Ireland is a nation defined by many things. It is green and clean and a firm advocate for the environment evidenced by recycling efforts. You must bring your own bags when you go grocery shopping; no plastic available here. Everything must be recycled and, to provide incentive to the populace, recycling pick-up is free while collection of non-recyclables is very expensive. It is a nation defined by Music and Dance. Traditional Pubs are in every town, village, and city. Their patronage has changed too with Ireland's strict enforcement of...

May 9, 2008 - Mallow - Relax and Unwind in Mystical Ireland

Today was family day for us. On Fridays, we usually take Mom to town to do her grocery shopping and collect her pension, Ireland's rough equivalent of Social Security. The funds are collected at the Post Office. My brother visited and we went to see his new house. It is a gorgeous 2-story home and he's done a fantastic job decorating it, with lots of consulting help from my sister. We couldn't wait to see Keira, my grandniece, so we headed off to Esther's for dinner. The rest of the family were all there too so we had a big reunion. Keira...