Charlotte to Dublin and on to Glenbeigh

This blog back on the air. Believe it or not, there are still places in the world that don't have internet service. The last two nights were two examples. OK, in one of them they had internet, but it wasn't working. So, thanks for your patience. We are having a blast. Updates follow in this post and others....


People who can sleep on overnight flights miss out on a lot. On our flight to Dublin, those people who were asleep missed out on a meal of chicken pieces on rice, free Diet Coke, and two third run movies. While they slept, the rest of us got to read and do crossword puzzles until our eyes got blurry.

That’s right. I can’t sleep on an overnight flight. And, as it turns out, neither can John or Marty.

Other than that, our flight from CLT to DUB was uneventful. And we arrived 45 minutes early, at around 6:00 am. From there, we cruised through customs, picked up the car, and were on the road by 7:00. Four hours later, we were on the other side of the country, in Killarney. We stopped in Killarney to find an ATM and lunch. Then we were on to Glenbeigh, a small village on the north side of the Iveragh peninsula, and where our hike will start tomorrow.

When we got to our B&B the innkeeper told us that she couldn’t have us stay there tonight, since the night before a guest broke off a  handle in the shower and she’d had to turn the water off until a plumber could fix it. But, no problem for us. She had already made arrangements for us to stay at another B&B two doors down.

John, the Innkeeper at Oak Tree Lodge, greeted us, and showed us to our rooms. He made a point of showing each of us how to turn on the electric blankets.  It was either Marty or John that pointed out the significance of this. Sure enough, the heat wasn’t turned on in our rooms.

But lack of heat didn’t matter, in spite of 50 degree temperatures outside. After an early dinner at the Tower Hotel and Pub in town, and our first Guinesses of the trip, we were back in our rooms, ready to fall in bed for our first sleep in more than a day and a half.

(It's a long way to) Itinerary

 It's been a busy week for professors at UNC Charlotte. Finals, grading, portfolio reviews, graduation, etc, etc. But in spite of that, John's put together some pretty nifty summaries of our plans. Here's our itinerary for the hike, with each day's segment, and where we're spending the nights.

John's now working on a similar version that includes the locations and opening hours of all pubs along the way.  

Oh, Kerry.

It's been over seven months now since Marty Szabo and I went hiking in Ireland. Last September we spent eight days hiking the Dingle Way in the Southwest part of the country, and early this year we (we, being all of us Breakfast Club hiking buddies) started discussing where to go next. We started with a long list of possibilities, including Spain, France, Italy, England, Scotland, and, well, Ireland again. It didn't take a lot of discussion between Marty and me for both of us to recognize that our first choice would be to go back to the Emerald Isle. The people we met were wonderful, the country beautiful, the hiking terrific, and Marty and I are still looking for the perfect pour. And this time, John Nelson is going with us. 

(I might change my name for the trip so that the three of us going could be Abraham, Martin and John.) 

We're leaving Sunday for Dublin (so John can bolt after posting the final grades for his architecture students), and on to Glenbeigh, to hike the Kerry Way. The Kerry Way circles the Iveragh peninsula in southwest Ireland, just south of the Dingle Peninsula and the Dingle Way. Once again, Deirdre O'Sulllivan at Tailor Made tours  (www.tailor-madetours.com) has organized the trip. Once again, we're doing eight days hiking with seven nights in B&B's, and evenings in villages soaking up the local color. We're not doing the entire loop of the Kerry Way, which would take a couple more days. We're going to start in Glenbeigh in the northern part of the peninsula, and end in Killarney.

After the hike, we've got a couple of stops in southern Ireland planned, then return to Dublin.  When we get back to Dublin, things get complicated. Wives. Pat and Donna are flying to Dublin to meet us. We were hoping Debi could come as well, but someone has to keep the home fires burning.

From Dublin, our itineraries separate. John comes home, Marty and Donna head to Lisbon, and Pat and I go to London. Then Marty, Donna, Pat, and I come back to Dublin for some more time in Ireland.

I told you it got complicated. You'll have to follow the blog to see what really happens.