Driving day. Day 3 involved the longest bit of driving of the trip and so required a departure from Waterford at a reasonable hour. We also had plans to stop at Blarney castle outside of Cork to kiss a stone along the way (more on that later). Ireland is not a very large country. East to West, the greatest distance is perhaps 200 miles. Nevertheless, such a trip can easily take 5-6 hours because Ireland has very few motorways (aka limited-access highways). For those of us who did not grow up in an era where single-lane highways with the occasional passing [View Full Entry]

---

---

As expected, getting up on our first full day in Ireland was not difficult. No alarm clock required! By 6 am we were wide awake…as if we had just taken a long afternoon siesta… On the docket for day 2 was a visit of Cashel, another one of Ireland’s must-see sites. And you guessed it…it was more ruins! For those who don’t know, Ireland has four provinces which are made up of 5-6 or more counties: Connaught, Ulster, Leinster and Munster. Until the 12c when Anglo-Norman influence caused their power to wane, Kings ruled each province and one of these kings [View Full Entry]

---

---

Laurie was in charge of travel arrangements. Axel was in charge of lodging, food and proposing a touring itinerary. You’d think we’ve done this before… The Emerald Isle came into view in the early dawn of the 16th in that last 20 minutes of grogginess before touchdown. The flight was completely uneventful and the landing smooth as silk in the still morning air. While we had prepared ourselves mentally for the fact that the weather this time of year would be less than ideal we have thus far been pleasantly surprised by the lack of precipitation and the amount of sunshi [View Full Entry]

---

---

Someday when he has time, Axel will write beautiful prose about our second trip to France including: Christmas shopping The Nutcracker at the Opera New Years at the Crazy Horse Versailles Food, Food, Cheese, Wine, Food. Family. [View Full Entry]

---

---

Hello, Axel here! Laurie and I went to Bar Harbor, Maine last weekend for a quick getaway. I had never been to Maine before, but heard from my friend Dave that Bar Harbor was an amazingly beautiful place and definitely worth the trip. So, based on such good advice, I made a reservation at a Bed & Breakfast right in the center of Bar Harbor for Friday and Saturday night (12-14 October). I was able to sneak out of school a little earlier than usual on Friday and headed straight for Boston to pick Laurie up from work. Theoretically, Newport to [View Full Entry]

---

---

Ok, so here's the thing..... In true Laurie and Axel fashion, we decided to take the Point Judith Ferry to Block Island and got lost on the way. The ferry ride was cool and lovely. Upon arrival on Block Island, we rented bicycles to tour around on. Axel promised that there were hardly any hills and this would in no way be strenuous. He lied. There were lots of hills. At one point an octogenarian actually passed me on one of the steeper hills. Complaining aside, it was fantastic. We had a great seaside lunch at the Oar House. The picture [View Full Entry]

---

---

For those of you who don't know this, Newport, Rhode Island is the sailing capital of the United States...and for good reason! On any given day, but especially between Memorial Day and Labor Day, Narragansett Bay is filled with sailboats of all sizes. It is the birthplace of the legendary American J-class boats and one of the few places in the world that these mighty America's Cup sloops from the 1930s can still be sighted. With their enormous sail area, they are easy to spot gliding majestically across the bay. Labor Day weekend, we went sailing in the Bay with our [View Full Entry]

---

---

Chicago is one of the most amazing cities I have ever had the privilege to visit. We went to the windy city for the wedding of our close friends Adam and Ashlyn and made a whole weekend of the trip. We arrived early Friday morning and spent the day exploring the city by foot - primarily Michigan Avenue. We drove in via Lake Shore Drive and it was absolutely beautiful. I have never really given my Chicago pals credit for the beachy atmosphere of the lake, but it is pretty big. Still not an ocean - but I will give it [View Full Entry]

---

---

Yay Greensboro, NC. First off I must mention the irony in that it took us only 3.5 hours to travel the nearly 300 miles to Greensboro while it usually takes almost 4 hours to travel the 130 miles to the beach. I wish we had a private helicopter to fly us to the beach because if only we could drive across the bay where we are in VA it would only be a 45 minute drive. But alas, no bridge there... So, North Carolina. We went and stayed with Phil and Melissa and had a blast hanging out with them, Brian [View Full Entry]

---

---

Saturday we went down to Richmond to visit Axel's friend Jon and it was a blast. I never really knew how much Richmond has to offer. We picked him up at his house and went downtown to a cute french bistro with nice outdoor seating. It was HOT, but fun no less. This is where we ate: http://www.visit.richmond.com/visitors/listingdetail.aspx?address_id=12069&Guide_ID=42 I highly reccommend Can Can! Next we went to an amazing park. It is part of an estate of some sort that was donated to the city. There is a zoo and waterfalls and all sorts of cool stuf. It's called Maymont and [View Full Entry]

---

---