Welcome to Ireland! Too Fast Planes, Too Small Cars and Reclaiming the Gold!

 Our flight to the West Coast of Ireland was wonderfully uneventful.  As soon as I had my dinner, I placed my complimentary eye mask on and went to sleep. Before I knew it, Bob woke me up to tell me to put my seat “in the upright position” because we would be landing soon.  Whether it was the trade winds or a pilot who was putting his peddle to the metal (or whatever pilots do to go faster), we arrived nearly an hour early.  The small hiccup was that our early arrival meant that the flight attendants had no time to serve breakfast…or coffee!  When you’ve had to wake up after sleeping in an airline seat for two hours before 5 am local time, it is cruel not to hand out a cups of coffee to each passenger as they leave the plane!

Our next hiccup was waiting for us at the Hertz counter.  A few months before we left, Mark was responsible for renting the car for the trip and as the two men were staying extra days in Ireland to golf, the big quandary was whether they should send their golf clubs directly to their first golfing location or rent a bigger car and carry the clubs with us throughout the first portion of the trip while traveling with Judy and me. I had quite a strong opinion on the matter and said in a group chat, “This has Yorkshire written all over it!”  Three years ago, the four of us traveled around Yorkshire, England and sadly under-estimated both the amount of luggage we brought with us and the size of the car we rented. This resulted in Judy and I having to sit in the back seat for the entire trip with the removable trunk cover on our laps! After that planning debacle, there was no way in hell that I was driving all through Ireland sharing the backseat with a bunch of 9 Irons! Unfortunately, it was one of the few times in our marriages that Judy and I got the Silver Medals because the men ( winning the Gold) decided that it was better to have the clubs with them and just get a bigger car. 

Their victory was short-lived once they discussed with the Hertz agent the amount of luggage/golf paraphernalia we had versus the size of the car Mark rented and were told, “Ooh, itta be a bit tight!” 

The men sheepishly came back to Judy and me (as we stood minding  all our many bags) and said they had decided to rent a bigger car. I think we could argue that the Gold should now come to us! 

After adjusting our minds to drive on the opposite side of the road, we mistakenly looped twice around the airport for good measure and after living through some confusing “roundabouts” we were finally headed to our first destination, Dromoland Castle. 

I’m not going to lie, unless it’s haunted, any name with the word “castle” in it is likely to be lovely, and this one is just that. The castle, besides its fascinating history, has loads of activities including golf (surprise, surprise), hiking, archery, falconry (thanks, but no thanks!) and a beautiful walled garden to explore. The thing that gets me is that it describes itself as providing its guests with “lighthearted luxury.” What does that even mean?! With no coffee, minimal sleep, and our recent weightlifting work to secure all the luggage in the bigger car, no one would have described us as “lighthearted,” although by the time we arrived, we appreciated any luxury that was coming our way! The men played golf, Judy and I hiked and went on a tour of the garden.  After a lovely dinner, we could barely hold our eyes open…but we rallied once our waitress told us that she was bringing over complimentary mini-desserts.

Tomorrow, all our winter gear will be worn as we head north to the Cliffs of Moher and then west to the Aran Islands! 


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