Dublin

Must admit have lost track between the journal the blog and facebook. I will definitley have to devote some more time and effort to the narrative when i start to sort through pics.
So Dublin has been nice. It has pissed down rain in us both days however.
Yesterday we arrived in Dublin. We got our tix for the hop on hop off bus and headed out. We werent down the road very far and it started to rain.  Our gameplan was to ride the whole trip and see what there was to see.
We didnt really follow that gameplan.
We got off near Temple Bar to check out Dubkin Castle, Christ Chruch and St Patrciks. From there we headed to Guinness.
A sensory overloead type of place.
I think I enjoyed the fuided tour at Miller better. But the exhibits here were cool and a bit over the top.
By the time we got to Gravity Bar the view was bright sunny and a good distance. Could see Croke Park the Dublin Wheel and Aviva Park in the distance.
Our hotel near the goal has not been condusive to going out into nihtlifd but I wont co.plain for two free nights stay.
Today we rode to OConnell Street and did the writers music and walked around. From there we went to Jameson
AND THEN GOT REALLY LOST TRYING TO REFIND ST PATRICKS CATHEDRAL
Have to say that the chapels we found in Waterford and Wexford were a bit more awe inspiring.
Tonight we grabbed a bit for dinner.
Tomorrow we will go over to the goal and art musueum before heading over towards Galway and Doolin
Sorry for the crazu handsrt typing

Funniest sight so far.

We drove into Dublin on Sunday after 2 daya in and around Wexford. I thought the 2 days would give us enoigh time in Waterford and then Wexford. Maybe all that time wasnt necessary. Havent quite decided yet.
The good news with the planning is that we would arrive in Dublin on a Sunday so the traffic would be at a minimum for this unfamiliar left hand driver.
HAH who knee at that time - surely not me - that some 85,000 people would be merging in on Dublin for the GAA National Hurling Championship on Sunday.
It was over the top. So we sat in traffic of the devoted fans travelling into Croke Park.
And in the traffic we saw this man fall out of a charter bus. He fell out the back of the bus along with a garbage bag filled with empty cans. He picked himself up not the garbage. Crossed two lanes of traffic. Stood in the center median and started to pee. At this point he was 3 cars ahead of us. But he was still peeing as we slowly drove by because of the traffic not to gawk.  He eventually finished and sprinted back up to the bus and got back on. What a laugh.

No dancing tonight.

We went downstairs for cocktails around 3pm. A couple of glasses of wine later - we had peanuts, we hap crisps, I gave someone my map to Kinsale and along the coast. And now I have eaten bangers and mash, drank some water, brushed my teeth and have the hiccups.  Oh joy!
Tomorrows drive to Cashel should take 90 minutes and aboug a 3 hhour tour of the rock
Another 90 minute drive will bding us to Wafefrod where we have had an odd roo.upgrade
You may not hear from us over the ne t few days
Honestly the disconnect will be nice
We have missed this eveing line dancing

Oh well
I astill have those hiccups

Blarney Castle, House and Gardens

Today was an easy day. We turned off the alarms last night - shoot in tryin gto figure out the power switches I even turned off our room clock.  And tried to sleep in. I made it as late as half seven. At 8 I got up threw on some clothes and went downstairs for some coffee. This was an unusual habit as noted by the reaction of the girls in the restaurant.
We had a leisurely breakfast - pouched eggs over bacon and spinach and potatoes.
From there - off to Blarney Castle. Our objective was to get there before the tour buses and I would say we succeeded.
Thankfully the line to the top of the castle was minimal. The many spiral stairs in the narrow passage made for a good adrenaline rush. Made that walk to the top of Gibbs Hill in May seem like childs play.
We did not kiss the stone. It was more of a germ thing than the hanging upside down and backwards over the wall.
From there we walked over to the house and took a tour. The house is lived in so that made for a very interesting perspective of the living quarters as living quarters.
And then it was a walk around the grounds - poisonous garden, fern garden, horse cemetery, lime kiln, border garden, rock close. And vanilla cake with raspberry and cream filling and earl grey tea.
A very active day.
Tonight the hotel has dancers. We leave early for Cashel. So may not make it to the danced pefformance.

Try to catch up

I have a lot more noted for the blog when i start to make sense of all the pictures when i get back. But lets see.
Today was the shortest drive of all the drives to date.
We have had a nice restful afternoon in Blarney. We did a wonderful walking tour that actually turned out to be a driven tour of Kinsale. I made the reservations in Kinsale for the food connection. But we learned so much more today.
We drove out to Charles Fort and looked back at the town. We learned about the navy and coast guard patrolling the coast for drug running. We learned about the 10foot depth change with the tidal change and the 2knot running current during the tidal change. And the tide changes 10miles up river. Just amazing.
From there we learned about a battle - oh right up my mom's alley. It had to do with the Spanish Armada, the British and the Clans. It was truly hard to tell if the outcome was good or bad. The Clans fought with the Spanish and they lost. But in the long run is that OK? I think it might be.
We took a ride out to the battle field as well.
There were cows. My mom made an "eat more chicken" Chic Fil A joke. I had to remind her the others did not see the similarity to the cows.
From the tour we walked up or should I say UP to the Carmelite Friary and down to Desmond Castle and the Wine Museum. It was some trekking.
A good day.
There is live music tonight. Just not sure will make it to half nine to see/hear the music.

Way too much food.

Not enough cardio.
We are off to walk around Blarney.
I doubt it will burn off all I have eaten.
Today's chicken burger was more of a kick ass version of a Chic Fil A sandwich with carmelized onions, lettuce, tomatoe and mayo. And the fries were reminiscent if old school Wendys fat girl fries.
Off to walk!

Greetings from Kinsale

I will try to recap as succinctly as possible.
Friday- 3 hour delay from Newark. Sleep minimal.  Thank you woman behind me that kept my seat from declining. Listening to Mumford and Sons and Florence helped. Wasnt keen on the whole Adele cd.
Saturday - coffee and yogurt at airport az waited for rental car. AaH left is right.  Arrived at Adare a little beofre lunch. Checked in and walked to town for lunch. Qucik shower and off to tour of manor house. Nap before dinner - mussels, monk fish and bread pudding.
Sunday - Aroumd the ring of kerry. Beautiful views. Sorry to the car in Milltwon(sp) that was me that clipped your u mirror with my own. The sites were great. I am sure the pics wont do it justice.  Arrived late in the day at Killarney. Had thought would have wanted to cover more of Killarney when planning. Think I would encourage that to others. Do the sites inKillarney.
Aa for beautiful drives...
Monday - we did not stop as often on this drive but the ride along the coast to Kinsale was amazing. Hills, mountains, oceans, palm trees, water, boats... well worth it.
We spent the late afternoon walking around Kinsale. Will spend majority of tomorrow here as well. Then off to Cork and Blarney.
Thx for reading.

And here we go...

Little guy is at the "resort".  He seemed happy for the car ride and ultimate visit with him friends.  They all seem to like him.  Makes me feel good to be able to leave him and know he will be looked after.  He comes home earlier than me but will hang with other friends then.
Have figured out the world phone.  Not sure I will have figured out world dialing when I get to the destination.
Have figured out wifi on the DROID so that will be traveling with me.  I know many of our locales will have wifi access so think I will be blogging from there.  My mom is more about facebooking.  I dont think I will be on the bandwagon but we shall see.
I also figured out the Kindle on the DROID.  So I have downloaded the last of the Millenium series - I know who would think I wouldnt be done with this already.  It was last year this time that I was reading the Dragon Tatoo book.  I have only found hard copy of Hornets Nest so have not been keen on purchasing it.  But as of last night I know own in Kindle version.
Lastly - I was laughed at earlier this week when I mentioned how the Gulf Stream circles up and around to Ireland...  as of the this morning the NOAA the very far right hand of the Irene forecast was showing the Ring of Kerry.  If Irene follows us that would just be par for the course.  At least for me.
Reminds me of Colin last year.
http://bermudafuldream.blogspot.com/
Well will probably write more at some point today.  Although I have purchased the old standby staple of the written journal... always a great way to purge the brain and people watch when traveling.

earthquake

yes, i did feel the earthquake today...
i thought that someone had moved/walked/bumped into the cubicle walls...
was startled to find that no one else was around
realising i had no idea why the desk was moving this afternoon...
wasnt until i heard on the radio that they were evacuating the pentagon that i realised  -  hmmm, earthquake...

pickled eggs

in following up on a previous conversation...
the jar of pickled eggs on the counter should have been a sign...
gagging just thinking about it

work late

the problem with leaving the country for 2 weeks is you have to make sure all the lose ends are tied up before leaving... i made great progress today at work... and i wanted to work later BUT with a house guest with a quest for dinner EVERY night that does not work... also when you use part of the ingredients for dinner as lunch the past 2 days, you have to go to the grocery so they can eat...
I can only hope to be as productive tomorrow...
as for what dinner will entail tomorrow - just dont know...
No run this evening as I need to pay bills - one of those loose ends I dont look forward to - especially since the bike and rental car hit at the same time...
Gonna pick through the closet again to determine if I have everything I need to pack...

itinerary...

and because a few have asked...
shannon, adare/adare manor, ring of kerry, killarney/friars glen, south road trip - kenmare, bantry, glengarriff ending in Kinsale/Trident, Cork, Blarney, Blarney Castle, Rock of Cashel, Waterford, Wexford, Wicklow, Dublin, Doolin, Aran Islands, Shannon...
I will expand upon my return.  I think I will be posting pictures out this way...

Monday - the day to run

I seem to consistently find the motivation to run on Mondays.  This week it was a quick run after dinner and before Eureka.
One of the observations of running after work - ahhh, the neighborhood is usually a buzz with people and that can be distracting.  I did not do my normal loop to avoid the gaggle of kids riding bikes in the one part of the neighborhood.
Going to continue with the evening runs this week...  It just looks to work best with the other items on the list of things to do...
Morning meeting today.
Car service tomorrow morning.
Thursday - just trying to get as much done as possible before the holiday.
I also need to verify some financial stuffs before I leave. And print the last of the maps.  And make sure I have everything I need for packing.... 

Saturday morning

Kind of bummed the Endomondo created a drunken staggering effect on my morning workout.  Forgot to post the Garmin piece after I looked at it.  I am getting better. I KNOW that if I were more consistent I would see greater results.
I did not do the race this morning. Just let myself off the hook on this one. I did see my old trainer when I picked up my race packet yesterday.  She was excited about my bike purchase.  She is pretty active in town with races and has always been more of a cheerleader for me than a crazy mean trainer.  Made me miss the Y and the option to train with her.
I am putting my thoughts together for training once thr holiday is complete.
Today I am doing laundry. Picking out items for the trip etc etc. Also need to do a Target run for toiletries and such.
Rifht now the rest of the house is napping.

Endomondo Running Workout

Endomondo Running Workout: was out running 3.17 miles in 34m:54s using Endomondo.

this is so wrong... will have to post the garmin stats too...

endomondo

still tinkering with the endomondo app to see how it is working...  interesting how it tracks where you are...  but it looks like it hits a little off...
other observations that i need to remember...
that long hot bath last night did wonders to provide me with some quiet and relaxation and make me sleepy - first night in a week or so that i slept through the entire night
another observation - just because others make it a norm to have cocktails with dinner each night - it is not part of my norm - and it interupts my general approach to things...
why do i forget these things? why do i find myself slipping into the habits of others?  probably a much longer answer than i have time for

chuckle chuckle

this is me being harsh on myself...  i actually got myself up at what i perceive to be my good waking hour... you know the 530ish time frame...  i only walked for about 10 minutes at most.. and that was with the little guy...  so no major calorie burn or heart rate increase...  but given the past week's overall shall we say malaise... we will give myself a high 5 for just pulling out a little motivation...
today is a later afternoon meeting at a client 2+ hours away... i suspect my evening home arrival will be later than i was thinking...  i suspect that some of this is why i struggle with a stated schedule

Mental Map

I have worked really hard over the years to work on a glass is half full perception. Recently it seems that the glass is being kicked and shattered on the ground. Not much there when it comes to the positive self talk. So i took a little inventory of the situation over the past 24 to 48 hours. I am glad i did. It may not have helped to put it all in perspective but it did help me weed some things out.  Really pick oved all that has besn building up and find the silver lining in them. 
I figure i will pick over it some more to get back on track.
But first the one thing i know always helps and cannot be overlooked is a good night sleep.

overwhelmed

was asked by a good friend yesterday why i am feeling overwhelmed...  i gave a short answer and then i spewed on about a large answer...  it was good to get everything out of my head... but i was surprised to realise how much was actually residing up there...
going to work on shaking some of that off in the near future and let some of that go...
race on saturday morning at 730 - have decided it is going to be a d gets ready for holiday solo day... 
we shall see

routine

just blown right out of the water...  i really thought with my mom's visit i would hold my own and get up in the morning and walk and go to the gym after work and train...  but it is not happening...
not sleeping well,,,, not feeling productive at work...  constantly feeling distracted...
the fridge has lots of stuff in it but nothing that i can use and pack for light lunches and snacks...
and i not even motivated to get the gym bag packed
i should probably just pack the bag and do something...  even if it is just to clear my head...
humph