Great Bryan, good for you!!! I’m glad you made it. I’m also glad that it isn’t all sun& roses (shamrocks?) or you might decide to stay there!. You need not worry about the language problem it should go over OK as long as it has that Irish Brogue and pixy attitude..
Here We Are Now Entertain Us Glad you are having fun and meeting the locals. I giggled about gin and tonic being the fave drink of elderly women. You must have gotten a couple of interesting looks from the barkeep.
Hindsight Hey there Bryan - For f**k's sake, you will look back on all those misadventures with fondness and nostalgia once your trip is over. So enjoy it all now - as I'm sure you are doing. I am so jealous of your impending bike touring!! (Note for Christy, Alla, Scarlet and all the other hotdogs - "HELLO!!") Sorry for blog-jacking!
Thanks for the Comments Thanks for all the great comments. It is a real moral booster. It snowed today and tomorrow I am off to cork for St. Pat's Day.
Bryan, I can't wait!! Seriously, you had a hell of a time, but reading it made me giggle. Sorry! This is what gives your journey the flavor though. There has to be honey AND vinegar to make the dressing, right? The frustrations make it all worthwhile, and to be honest, having Been There, Done That, those very frustrations are also what picking up local flavor is all about. You're getting it all: the good, the bad, the ugly (and the gorgeous, I'm sure). As you settle in, you'll have fewer and fewer frustrations and as you get to know the people, you'll be absorbed into the community for the lovable Irishman that you are. I love it that you're doing this for yourself. You deserve it. Enjoy it all. Even the hard parts. Know that there are people the world over who are chomping at the bit to hear your next tale. Love you, Bry. Take good care of yourself and resist the Guinness!! ;) Have a great day on Friday! Slaince! (well, the best I can do with my keyboard!) Love, SP and co. xoxox
Welcome to a piece of your history! Are you proud of yourself for making it that far? Wanna come for dinner on Sunday? Ha! I miss you Bryan. I will put a plate on the table for you. -Love, Alla
Your sweet mom Your mom and dad stayed at our vacation rental cottage here in Prescott when they first came down from Alaska. They were delightful people and we loved having them stay here. I was so sad to see that your mother had passed. I just want yor family to know what a pleasure it was to know her, if only very briefly. Blessings, Katie Baird
WoooHoooo! Can you see me waving to you from across the USA and Atlantic? Very glad you have arrived at your initial overseas destination. I liked your writing reflecting on the climbing stones in the Canyon. Looking forward to photographs from Ireland.
Hooray! You're over the pond! I'm glad you made it here safely, Bryan. Your travels so far have provided wonderful photos and commentary. I can't wait to hear more, this time about the homeland. So, did you bring Spring with you?? Have a great time on this next part of your adventure. Love, SP
Congrats from Scarlet Nice job making it out of the country. Scarlet says wahoo and a kiss to the blarney stone. She is wildly jealous, you being in "the old country" and all. She wishes she could kiss (or wildly lick) the blarney stone with you. Rest and be well from your travels and we are all excited to be adventuring with you from afar. Big kiss.
Have a great trip Thanks for visiting my family. Wish I could have been there. They enjoyed your visit. Sorry Uncle Jim is sick. Maybe everyone should pray for him to get well. Enjoy your Ireland adventure and keep the news coming.
Photos Your photos are great as usual...though the computer screen doesn't do them justice, I suspect. Gotta go with Antelope Canyon as a favorite, with the intimacy and softness portrayed in rock....but you also got a great perspective on the horizon with the Canyon 4 shot. Glad to hear you've had enjoyable stays with family, and good luck on your next leg!
Getting to Know You Brian, I am so grateful to be getting to know you through your photographs. They are beautiful by the way. I really love it when your face appears in a photo from time to time (like in Chicago). I continue to live vicariously through you and love living in an age when I can follow you, complete with images and commentary. It's inspiring. It has helped me imagine a life in harmony with nature (a yurt perhaps, organic gardening, zen meditation?) complete with wireless access so I can write textbooks for funding. I'm not kidding. You are inspiring the dreamer in me. I miss you and am glad to have you where you are.
Keep it up! You know there is a point in life when you start getting just a tad older and you find that sitting up all night is not the way to go!! I’m glad to see that you got some skiing in and I am surprised that Bobby even let you look at his Porsche, what with your mechanical record in Alaska and your police (Ranger) record in Arizona! Keep having a good time and enjoy yourself!!!
Fabulous pictures, including antelope canyon which could hang in our office here as a "Spirituality" masterpiece. sounds like you had some in that nirvana, eh?!
glad its healing to be both on an adventure and in nature. who needs to go to asia to have all that fun and danger, huh baby?
p.s. given your looking for a warm body in the sleeping bag ... please don't say your new bumper sticker on the tent trailer now says: "mountain goats make better lovers."
Hey Bryan - Great photographs and stories. My favorite on the blog is the Antelope Canyon photo. Wow. Is this your first time to the Grand Canyon? I went once in 100+ degree heat, and really, from your experiences and my own, I can't decide if it is best to freeze your ass off in the Grand Canyon or be toasted to leather in the Grand Canyon. As for the loneliness, remind me to play you Bebel Ghiberto's song "Lonely" sometime. You will always remember this trip, and so will all of us, which means you were alone, but not entirely alone. I did have a warm body with me in the Grand Canyon when I went, and he got incredibly sick and we had to go to the hospital. So, make of that story what you wish. Love, Kitty
Hey its good to hear from you again. I've always loved those pop up campers too. they retain the best aspects of tents, but lend more comfort and a sense of more security against snakes. In campgrounds I always feel some worry that a car is going to run over my tent with me in it. So.. it sounds like you are becoming well aquainted with lonliness. I guess its part of the package when we take off on these adventures. but after feeling the longing for companionship and closeness, I recenter to the 'It's all ok and it's just me in a new environment with these different challenges to putz with". When I get to that place, I am comforted. One thing I've noticed about traveling is that the lonliness makes you really appreciate the kindness of strangers. The significance of those little connections really are magnified. A pleasant encounter with a waitress becomes crystalized in my memory, so that I can recall her kindness and grace years later. Well nuff rambling from me.. Good journey dear heart.
Traveling with you! Hi Bryan:
I love traveling vicariously with you on your travel blog. Your photos are stunning; I have never been to the Grand Canyon (yes, poor me, only to the Swiss Alps), so I'm enjoying your photos and the colors of the canyon. And I am a confirmed hiking snob, too!
And thanks for the photo of your mom; I imagine you will carry her with you too as you travel. I'm glad you could spend that time with Doug and your mom and family.
I have that same friend, loneliness!! We've spent quite a bit of time together. May you meet fun people along the way and have some valuable time alone also; both are essential. And watch out for crazed Vice Presidents with shotguns!!
Blessings,
Corina
Beautiful photos Amazing shots, as usual. I can understand the lonliness factor...I personally don't have the courage to travel by myself for extended trips. Too many years as an only child, perhaps? Thanks for continuing to share with us even when we can't join you!
Beauty & Loneliness I think we've all been there, Bryan. The loneliness and wanting to share, especially when something is beautiful and/or moving. But then we meet someone along the way and share an adventure or two - and we're fueled for some more time alone. Hang in there - we're traveling with you. Can't supply the warm bodies, but we sure can appreciate the beauty you convey in your photos.
Combining three 'must do before I die' imperatives I will be taking a 5 month sabbatical in 2006. Staying in a destination long enough to learn the texture of daily life, long distance bike touring, and a personal photo sojourn in Ireland all mix to make this my mid-life crisis (some thought I would go for the red sports car). For two months I will travel by bike and Amtrak across the US to visit family, friends, and the great outdoors. Then it is off to Ireland for three months for the sole purpose of making all of you jealous. All this without eating wheat, rye, barley, oats, dairy, or s... full info
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Bryan, good for you!!! I’m glad you made it. I’m also glad that it isn’t all sun& roses (shamrocks?) or you might decide to stay there!. You need not worry about the language problem it should go over OK as long as it has that Irish Brogue and pixy attitude..