One last glimpse of the Green Isle . . .

(January 9th - 11th) After taking the ferry from Holyhead over to Dublin, we spent our last few nights hanging with Rob and Carl and saying goodbye to the home we’d enjoyed so very much. We went to the Jameson distillery and tasted some of the finest whiskey I’ve ever had cross my lips, and we went to the carvery where Rob took us the very first night we landed in Dublin for one last Irish meal. We made sure to get any last minute presents and pack and repack the suitcases, and we made tacos for Rob and Carl for one last time. Walking around Dublin, being in Ireland, I felt at home. I will never look at Ireland the same way again. It will always be a second home to me now and I’ll never forget all the people who took me in and accepted me as one of their own. Thank you Ireland, thank you Galway. Thank you for giving us a home. Thank you to all the people who made this trip possible. Thank you Cheryl for your ever-present Cher-Star skills, your laughter, and your target goodies. Thank you Mom and Dad and Chrissy for your support in helping keep this dream alive for so many years. Thank you Fay and Tom for being there for both of us throughout the journey. Thank you Rob for being a wonderful friend all these years, and thank you and Carl for putting us up and taking care of us and all of our friends who came to visit. Thank you Katie, Jason, Shelley, Mom, Chrissy, Cheryl, DangerBob, Cory, and Matt for coming to visit. It meant the world that you all would travel so far just to spend a little more time with us. Thank you Katie and Jason for your Gnome away from Home. Thank you Shelley for rockin’ the shirts with me, for scooping peanut butter into a smaller jar, and for your . . . ahem . . gift ;) Thank you Kevin for your beautiful songs and your beautiful friendship. Thank you Jimmy for your laughter, humor, and your accepting of us so quickly into the local clan of the Pucan. Thank you Mike, Eric, and Paul for giving us jobs. We’re eternally grateful. Thank you Celine for you amazing cooking and Rik for your long-lasting friendship and your sense of humor that kept us laughing throughout Holland. Thank you Eitam for saving us in Budapest and taking us in. Brian still talks about you and I’m grateful to have such a dear friend. Thank you Nicole for letting us stay with you and showing us new sides of London. You are one of the sweetest people I know, and what you said to me is still in my heart. Thank you most of all to the love of my life. Every second will forever be in my mind because of you. And even though we went over there on a whim, you didn’t doubt and only encouraged my dream and made it yours too. For that I am eternally grateful. Thank you to all of you who read our story and wrote kind words of encouragement as well as sympathetic and humorous words as we went through our ups and downs in each country. So to Ireland, and to all of you who made this possible, one last toast:
Here’s to those that I love
Here’s to those that love me
Here’s to those that love those that I love
And here’s to those that love those that love me.

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