The Game's Afoot

Our very good friends, Peter and Emily celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary this summer. Way back in January, Peter told me he wanted to do something special for their 25th: He wanted to take Emily somewhere she'd never been before, and he wanted me and my wife Christal to come along. Peter suggested Ireland. I suggested adding a few days in Scotland.

We agreed to announce the trip as a surprise to the ladies on St. Patrick's Day. In the meantime, after an initial few study sessions with published travel guides, we divided up the planning: Ireland for Peter and Scotland for me.

On St. Paddy's Day, we gathered for drinks at Peter & Emily's house and Peter announced the trip. Emily and Christal were delighted, and it all went off winningly. Planning continued in earnest.

Jumping off date was Thursday 7 August -- a 6:30 p.m. flight from Chicago to Dublin. I spent most of the summer working long hours for the Experimental Aircraft Association's (EAA's) Government Affairs office and the last week of July working full time during the annual EAA fly-in at Oshkosh. (an outstanding event -- see www.airventure.org). I always come off that stint a bit shell-shocked, and the few days between AirVenture and Ireland are lost in fog. But somehow I got packed and ready and we were off: Drive to Milwaukee, bus to O'Hare, an eight-hour flight to Dublin, and a 50-minute flight to Shannon, arriving mid-morning local time.

The Irish drive on the wrong side of the road. (It might have something to do with their whisky.) And most of their roads seem to be about three feet wide. Our rental car was a "crossover" van/SUV about half again as wide as the average traffic lane, but our first driving adventure, from Shannon, west along the Dingle Peninsula, and across Connor Pass to Dingle, was accomplished without any misadventures.

In western Ireland, the driving lanes are, at most, eight feet wide, sometimes a bit less. Away from the few major highways, roads have no shoulder to speak of. They are mostly bordered by ancient, mortarless stone walls, overgrown with hedges. The effect is that of driving down a very narrow lane between hedgerows that come to the edge of the pavement. We didn't hit anything but we trimmed a lot of hedges.
Driving (and riding) on the left was interesting, accompanied by lots of loud noises from the ladies in the back seat.

We had lunch in Adare Village, at an open-air cafe across the street from the Trinitarian Abbey, built by Fitzgerald Clan for the Trinitarian order of monks in the early 13th century.
Up on Connor Pass, the weather was overcast and misting but still offered spectacular views.
The road over Connor Pass is winding and narrow, even by Irish standards. Some stretches are just one lane, with an occasional "layby" for passing vehicles. Trucks are rare, though buses are not. Courtesy prevails and we quickly picked up the formal and informal rules of the road.From the crest of Connor Pass, 1,300 feet above Sea Level, we got our first glimpse of Dingle town, where we would spend our first three nights in Ireland.
Next: The Ring of Dingle . . .

Cheers,
--David

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