"A Pact Fulfilled" a Ireland Travel Page by cmboothe

When I was twelve years old I met my best friend, Claire Cooney at play auditions for "Robin Hood." From the first moment of mutual admiration we have been kindred spirits in all things, with just enough differences to make life interesting. I don't remember when we first started thinking about Ireland, I only know that it has been a pact of long standing that we visit it together. Originally we thought that the first time we would see the Emerald Isle would be together, but first she went with her family and then I went with mine.

And then, I am accepted to Limerick University and my absolute gem of a father says that he would sponser us for a week of travel. Imagine our surprise and elation. Finally, after all these years!

It was amazing, absolutely amazing, and I will tell you more in the future, meanwhile, there are pictures to see and stories to read, as soon as I upload them.

I hope you enjoy them!

We began our trip in Phoenix, AZ in high form, saying goodbye to Miriam was the hardest to do. I watched her drive away in my beloved white Dakota and turned my thoughts Eastward.

The original plan was to have a stop in Atlanta, hop the plane to Paris for a 12 hour layover and then on to Dublin where we would stay the night at a posh hotel, pick up a car, and head off to Limerick.

Yeah right.

The most important thing I can say right now is that when you are travelling, you must, absolutely MUST remain flexible. Instead of Paris, hurricane Francis decided to delay us for over 24 hours in Atlantic City, GA. Now, I have nothing against Georgia, I actually have lived in the south, but it's just not Paris. Ah well, c'est la vie.

We finally get on the plane to Dublin, which has the benefit of being a direct flight to... Shannon. We are a day late, but just happy to be on the plane. I am actually surprised at how fast the trip seemed to go, and I didn't sleep much, I think that anticipation actually shortened the subjective time of the journey. It is ironic that we landed in Shannon, then went to Dublin, only to pick up a car and drive straight back to co. Limerick.

I drove on the left hand side of the road, for the first time, in the rain, across the country. Talk about a trial by fire, but I cam through with flaming colors, and the knots are finally leaving my shoulders.