Maybe, Our Last Great Family Vacation ☹

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This year has featured the Highest of Highs and the Lowest of Lows in our household, and we could not have been more ready to escape from it all as a family.

The purpose of this trip was to celebrate Zach's graduation from the University of Pittsburgh.

Zach had the unfortunate loss of his High School Graduation due to Covid, and this was going to be a super makeup trip with the whole family, but the passing of Scott a few weeks before traveling to Ireland certainly put a pall over the upcoming trip, and many last minute adjustments for Joan, Connor, Zach and I to make before departing to the Land of Guinness and Jameson, and the most amazing people you can encounter while traveling.

Part 1 Ireland​
​On this trip, we packed 12 days of Ireland into just 7 days (Not Recommended), but due to the time available and Parts 2 and 3 of this adventure, we made it work!

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Day 1: Delays, Bags, Dublin
Joan Zach and I left from Newark on United and Connor Departed from Pittsburgh on Delta. Due to flight delays, our arrival before Connor turned into a two-hour delay in getting to Dublin. No worries, it worked out great. Connor Arrived 15 minutes before us and was waiting in Baggage Claim when we arrived.
After collecting our bags, we had our first drama, and the beginning of a funny theme that lasted the entirety of the trip. Joan, Zach, and I packed Light; Connor, on the other hand, arrived with 3 bags, one as large as can be checked. Needless to say, the abuse Connor had endured over the next 3 weeks was unmerciful. I know I will never let him live it down ☺️

We did an express trip to the Dublin area, and our first stop was Howth and the fantastic Cliff Walk overlooking Dublin Harbor. After a few hours of exploring, we headed to our hotel to check-in. We then were off to Guinness to enjoy the Guinness experience and enjoy our first Pints. From Guinness we headed to the Temple Bar area, exploring Dublin.

The real treat was dinner this evening at Sole, Zach's College roommate's uncle's outstanding restaurant, The Seafood tower was incredible.

After our fantastic dinner, we continued to explore Dublin before Joan tapped out due to exhaustion. After dropping Joan off at the hotel, the boys and I headed to Temple Bar for a whiskey-tasting bar we had seen earlier in the day. By this time, Temple Bar was hopping and crowded, so we decided to head back towards the hotel in search of a Pub, and we found the perfect welcome to Dublin pub O'Connell's Bar. We entered, pulled up a stool at the bar, and had a round of Guinness. Seated next to me was a true Regular at the bar, Robbie. Robbie couldn't have been more excellent. His curiosity about our trip and kindness was a treat and added to our enjoyment of the evening. After the Guinness, we gave Power's Irish Whiskey a try on Robbie's recommendation and were happy we did.

After this round, Robbie bid us farewell, and our bartender introduced us to our new favorite sport, Hurling. His excitement about the regional final happening the next night had us consider extending our stay or returning before heading to Galway. More on this later.
In the downstairs area of O'connell's, Karaoke was starting, and the cute waitress convinced Connor he needed to have a go. After another round or two, Zach also said he would partake in the fun, so downstairs we went. This was not 5-star Karaoke, but it was the best kind of simple fun. Both boys provided memorable renditions, and we don't think Connor had ever sung or thought about singing his choice before singing. It was such a great experience to have with your twentysomething sons. The only thing missing was the very sleepy Joan.

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