Hello Friends!! I’m so excited to see so many of you following my crazy journey! It’s day two of my adventure and I already feel like I’ve been gone forever! At my age – new experiences make your brain very tired – so I’m exhausted!

I haven’t mentioned before, but the first 13 days of my trip are with my Mother! We left Dallas with a lay-over in Philadelphia – leaving the USA at night – so arrived in Dublin Ireland bright and early yesterday morning! I had the bright idea to drive Ireland – figured if I couldn’t figure it out – I would make a u-turn and return the car.

Let’s just say – my brain hurts. I am learning how much stress is placed on my body every single day navigating the city traffic. Having to learn to drive from the right side of the car – on the left side of the road – has taught me that my brain is working much harder than I give it credit for and that I am certainly not doing enough to let it relax and download in a day! Not to mention the ROUND-ABOUTS!

And driving without a GPS? Wow! My Mom pulled out her old map reading skills and got us to towns I was sure we would never see! I remember traveling as a child and she would be in the passenger seat with the map directing Dad to all of the amazing destinations!

We left Dublin  and drove North the Giants Causeway and the Carrick-a-red rope bridge (a 66′ wide rope and wood plank bridge over a 98′ deep plunge)!  The roads are very narrow and not an inch to spare on the sides!  The next morning we visited St Patrick’s Cathedral and Dublin Castle before driving to the West of the island to the Cliffs of Moher and the little town of Doolin!  The sunset was amazing as we arrived just in time to see it set on the cliffs.  Friday morning we drove the Ring of Kerry – 115 miles of the most beautiful country you’ll ever see!  At the little town of Cahirciveen, we caught a ferry across to Valencia island, entering back on the mainland at Portmagee.  We stayed at a wonderful B&B where Patricia, our gracious host, introduced us to our first Full English Breakfast with black pudding.  Hint:  It’s not pudding!  Our tour of Ireland was complete when we drove to Blarney, toured the Blarney Castle and KISSED THE STONE!

Total miles driven – 1,538!   In Shannon Ireland – catching a flight to:

LONDON ENGLAND!!