Travel Memories:
The Blasket Islands in Dingle, Ireland

Sometimes joy and fun in an experience is directly proportionate to how difficult it is…
…the short hike to the lookout point for the Blasket Islands in southern Ireland is one of those circumstances. It was cold and windy for my driving/hiking adventure and with the ever-present misting Irish rain a constant companion every time I stepped out of the car.
Slea Head Drive rings the Dingle Peninsula and takes half a day to drive if you’re like me and stop for pictures, hike a little, see a few …

I’ll tell you right up front the point of this blog post if you haven’t extrapolated an inkling of a notion from the title – for those who approach me with yearnings to hit the road and recite a litany of reasons they can’t do so: figure out the solution, it exists.

A common refrain I hear when I tell people I travel the world is “wow, I wish I could too.” And of course I tell them they can. And I talk about traveling is cheaper than most people assume. …

There’s a secret spot in Ireland. And the locals don’t want you to know it exits.
I found it by chance – though I recommend renting a car in Ireland that means a good deal of alone-time for solo travelers. Time spent following the directions of lonely brown heritage signs, standing as sentinels of history on  the side of the road. In you go, into the overgrown grassy fields filled with sheep and in the search of elusive ruins. Sometimes it’s just a rock in the ground. Old to be sure, …

Travel Memories:
Traditional Irish Thatched House

The thatch roofed houses peppering the sea of emerald grass fields seems so oddly reminiscent of another era but yet are actually still found in areas all Ireland. Landing on the Aran Islands off of the west coast of Ireland is like taking a full leap into a small and traditional pocket of intensely Irish culture; Irish is their first language and the traditional Irish céilidh on the weekends counts among the best Irish music jam sessions I have ever heard…although some of it is done for …

In an effort to add some regularity here, I’d like to start a weekly post called “A Little Travel Memory.” A photo and mini story from current or past travels…perhaps a neat person I’ve met along the way, or a photo that has a bit of a story but not enough for a full blog post…or perhaps just a random memory.
Travel Memories:
The Sheep of Connemara, Ireland

Ireland is one of those countries that I just can’t help describing melodramatically; the country just speaks to my soul. On the …

It’s the peat. Ireland just has this certain something that makes the country feel incredibly unique; a something that I couldn’t quite identify for the first three weeks I spent in the country.
I’ve concluded that if Leprechauns, fairies and the such exist, then surely they all congregate in Ireland’s “Wild West.” From Galway City I drove through hours of brown-speckled hills weakly lit with the few and tiny bits of sunshine able to wrestle from behind gray rain clouds and drove into the heart Connemara.
And just for the record, …

Affectionately referred to as “Irish mothers’ milk” by some and “the pint that drinks like a meal” by others, Guinness is a cultural right of passage on a visit to Ireland…and as a fiercely Irish yank (although to be clear, I’m not actually a yank…but in Ireland, if you’re American, they call you a yank no matter where in the states you call home) the Guinness Factory Tour was tops on my “must-see” list.
Just Dying to Know How they Pull a Pint of Guinness?

Now, before you wrinkle your nose and …

The heart and sole of Ireland lives in the country’s pubs – and I don’t mean because of the Guinness, although let me assure you that plays a role. But it’s the country’s music and warm enthusiasm that keeps the yanks like myself enthralled with Ireland’s  rich history and amazing music.
I have to admit, my fondest memories from Ireland include a cold pint of Bulmers Irish cider and the bundled warmth of crowded bodies packed around the live Irish music filling the small space while a friendly local started the …