Kissing the Blarney Stone

You may have noticed that I have had more eloquence recently. That is a result of having kissed the Blarney Stone in Ireland.

Jokingly, I often have said that I had never been out of Missouri. Some have believed me when I said that, but others knew that I often went to Fort Scott and reminded me that I had been to Kansas.

Many readers have done a great amount of traveling, but I have not done that much. When TeamBank announced that they were going to sponsor a trip to Ireland, Marylyn and I decided that we would like to go. This is the first time that we had ever taken an intercontinental trip of this kind and it provided a new enriching experience for us.

Our oldest granddaughter, Heather, had won a trip to Ireland as a result of her participation in a group history day presentation. The trip was taken during spring break with her parents Greg and René going with her. Another teammate and her parents also went. They had a fantastic trip. Her sister, Christie, was disappointed that she did not get to go.

After we announced we were going, Greg called and asked if they could send Christie with us. We were happy that our 14-year-old granddaughter could go with us. Greg told her that she would have to look after Papa and Grandma. The group enjoyed her and she often had to take some kidding, but she also enjoyed the group.

There were a total of about 17 that went on the trip from Team Bank. We joined others at Shannon airport in Ireland. The tour was arranged by and conducted by Collette Vacations. We were fortunate to have a great tour manager, Jennifer Stahlbaurn, from California. Altogether there were 46 of us traveling on the bus in Ireland.

We had flown from Kansas City to Atlanta to take the Intercontinental Flight. It is amazing that they can transport so many people in such a manner. There were many planes taking off from the Atlanta airport. The flight from Atlanta to Shannon, Ireland, was an overnight flight.

One of the first things we noticed when getting to Ireland is that they drive on the left side of the street and the driver sits on the right side of the car. It seemed odd to see a passenger, not the driver, getting out of a car on the left side. I really think that I would have a crash the first thing with everyone driving on the wrong side.

One of the first things that we noticed is that they do not have any restrooms in Ireland -- they are toilets.

It was a surprise to observe so many tourists in the country. They not only come from America, but from many other countries, including Japan and other European countries. There is a debate within the country as to whether they derive most of their income from agriculture or industry. However, the tourist industry comes in third.

The weather was pleasant and cool -- not the high 90's we are now experiencing. It rained nearly every day, usually for a short period. It has been said that things are green in Ireland -- it really is -- it was beautiful. They have a great amount of flowers and they were always beautiful. There was a lot of beautiful scenery in the country.

I had a previous misconception of castles. I always thought they were big and fancy. Many of they are not large at all. They were constructed to keep the family safe. There are a large number in Ireland and some are available to be toured. Others are on private property and are not available to the public -- they also have liability issues.

The ones that are standing were made of stone and you wonder how they did it -- the labor was cheap. I tried to imagine living in them with their stairs that they had to climb. I am certain they did not take a shower every day. I never did find out how they handled their sewage.

Many of the fields we saw were small. In certain places, there were a lot of stones and the fences were made of stone. The beef are pasture fed, not grain fed as we generally do here in our country. There was a large number of sheep. There were also many dairy farms. While in Ireland, they often had poultry and pork to eat, but you never saw poultry or swine as we drove around in the country -- they are kept inside. The farm land sells for 20 thousand Euros an acre -- I wondered how they could make it profitable.

Our money is not worth much, it takes $1.42 of our money to make a Euro. Things were high even when they were in their money and when converting our money to their money -- it was really high.

Ireland is known for their pubs and they have them in every town. The word pub means public housing. It is a place where entire families gather for interaction and socialization.

Nearly all of the homes are small and that is a good reason for them to all go to the public housing. The food at pubs, including items such as soup and sandwiches, are good and usually cost less than some of the other eating places.

Some of the pubs have live music, often beginning at about 9 o'clock or later. It is enjoyable to listen to the Irish music.

The trip to Ireland was an experience of a lifetime. We took many tours and saw many special places of interest.

There is more that needs to be said. To be continued. . . .