Joe Montana and the Bloody Weather

 There used to be a commercial after major sporting events that would say something like, “Joe Montana, you have just won the Super Bowl for the San Francisco 49ers, what are you going to do next?”  And Joe, like so man big winners, would say, “I’m going to Disney World!”  I think it’s fair to say that I have absolutely nothing in common with Joe Montana, but in the last month, and particularly the last seven days, I, like Joe, have been asked a similar question, because I am now officially retired. 

I can’t tell you how many people have recently asked me, “You’re retiring? What are you going to do?”  I didn’t feel the need to outline for them my short-and-long term plans on how best to fill my days or to remind them that “retirement” usually means cutting back on work and relaxing more. Instead, I just told them, “I’m going to Ireland!” And thus, my one and only similarity with Joe Montana— we provided others interested in our future with a short response that  seemed to say it all.   Except he got paid to say it. Now however, upon reflection, because I gave that response so many times to so many people, I may have given the impression that I’m moving there!  

I am not.

And so, my sister and I, for the second year in a row, are headed to the west coast of Ireland, to spend time together at her family’s home, do a bit of sightseeing,  shop, visit with friends and drink wine….not from Ireland.

Last year, we had no problem getting to Dublin—our weather issues began  upon our arrival.  It was rainy and cold everyday we were there, except of course, the day we were driving back to Dublin to head home.  This time our weather woes are the opposite.  While the week’s weather for Ireland’s west coast looks cold, everyday should be either partly sunny or just cloudy—a weather “coup” for that neck of the woods at this time of year.  

So far, our weather-related problems have been on this side of the pond.  For two years, the northeast has experienced no snow.  Of course, that all changed the night before our trip. Because we now have 24/7 “Accu-Weather,” my sister and I began fretting early in the week, particularly since she had to drive 5 1/2 hours in order to get to the airport. Plus, she had two route options, and both of them were awful, as both required driving through the mountains. 

My brother-in-law, a science guy,  looked into the altitudes of each route and came up with the hypothesis that as the snowfall was about the same for both trips (terrible) it would be best to take the shortest route.  My sister and I, NOT science guys, took a different approach.  All week, we tried to think of the name of any little town we had passed over the years on these two routes, looked them up on our respective weather Apps, saw their weather reports and hoped for the best.  While no science was involved, she arrived at our house before we had to leave for the airport.  

Unfortunately, upon her arrival, she told me that one of her friends in Ireland had just called to tell her that they had a terrible storm last night (which was not mentioned on our respective Weather Apps) and that the house currently did not have power, heat or internet. 

Who knows? The next blog may be written from an Internet cafe!