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<h1 id="day-1-072710">Day 1: 07/27/10</h1>
<div class="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge"><div class="highlight"><pre class="highlight"><code>Melon... *scatter*
</code></pre></div></div>
<p>Today is travel day! Heading out right now towards JFK, then a 5 hour lay-over
there, then finally taking off towards the Emerald Isle! I’m both excited and
anxious, but surprisingly calm. I think it’s to the point where I’m ready to get
things moving.</p>
<p>This flight will be rather uneventful: short 55 minute hop to JFK. I’m looking
forward to the longer flight. The time will give me opportunity to read, relax
and think… something I haven’t done enough of in the past week.</p>
<h1 id="day-2-072810">Day 2: 07/28/10</h1>
<div class="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge"><div class="highlight"><pre class="highlight"><code>Left is safe!
</code></pre></div></div>
<p>Today we finally arrived in Ireland, first in Dublin and then Shannon. The trip
over was a bit of a challenge: a lack of sleep combined with an atmosphere
trying to promote one, all wrapped in the situation of no comfortable way to
actually get sleep helped to contribute to me not sleeping more than 30 minutes
tops. On the plus side, I did get to watch Dorian Grey and Percy Jackson on the
way over. Also, they served a very delicious beef stew for dinner; I was
pleasantly surprised.</p>
<p>Upon arrival, we immediately set out to retrieve our luggage, which arrived
mostly unmolested. Then, as we proceeded out of the terminal, we finally found
our 4th member, Suf, waiting eagerly for our arrival; he had arrived a day
earlier, and had many a story to share about his adventures in Limerick (our
eventual destination for the day). We got our car, forgot our GPS, recovered our
GPS, and began driving toward Limerick from Shannon Airport. We quickly
discovered that, given our American driving-habits, we thought every car driving
on the “wrong side of the road” was going to kill us. I think twice we all
panicked for fear of our lives. But, once we adjusted (or at least, once Suf
did… Cary is still a bit iffy) the drive was relatively quick and painless. We
arrived not more than 30 minutes later in Limerick, and made for the City Center
to explore on foot the many shops and eateries that the city had to offer, as
well as pay a visit to “The Bitter End” Pub, where Suf had visited on the
previous night. We explored for a bit, had lunch at The Bitter End, visited a
shop so Cary could purchase a couple shilelagh (spelling), wander to a tourist
booth for information and, with said acquired directions, made for our first B&amp;B
of the trip: Coonagh Lodge. We relaxed and napped a bit at the Lodge, enough to
recouperate for a voyage back to Limerick, and made for some dinner and
adventure. We explored around, eventually stopping in at a place called
“Wokking” for some authentic Irish Chinese food, which turned out to be very
tasty and filling. We then explored for a pub, stopping at “Charlie St.
George’s” pub for a quick pint and some people-watching. Then, we explored a bit
more, and wound up back at The Bitter End to enjoy an evening cup of tea and
some relaxing time. After this, we made back to the B&amp;B, where I discovered that
my power brick likes to make a weird noise as it charges my laptop. I account it
to the different voltage, and pray that it doesn’t explode and kill us all.</p>
<p>Of most important note, Suf decided to enlighten us with some of his arab cab
driving slang, most notable of which is “Why for you fuck my road?” An important
question, to be sure, and one to be answered in the days to come. A very steady
lean into this adventure, which I prefer to the alternative “kick-in-the-door”
style. Hopefully I can figure out some way to get my computer to connect to WPA2
connections so I can have internet more readily. At least for tonight, I
probably won’t get back on (unfortunate news for my KoL desires. Too many
adventures will be wasted after I waste the NS… Oh well…)</p>
<h1 id="day-3-072910">Day 3: 07/29/10</h1>
<div class="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge"><div class="highlight"><pre class="highlight"><code>"Ya know, you keep that shirt on much longer, you gonna get jungle rot" - Biff McBodyspray
</code></pre></div></div>
<p>Today was our first big travel day. We left Limerick around 11:00 am and made
for Galway. Along the way we stopped in at the Cliffs of Moher, and then
continued on to our destination in Kinvara.</p>
<p>The Cliffs of Moher are quite the site to see. Set along the Atlantic Ocean is a
couple-mile stretch of sheer cliffs, topped with walkways and occasional watch
towers, or at least ruins of them. We walked the Cliffs for about an hour, just
exploring the different angles and particulars of the cliffs themselves: the
numerous outcroppings, the way the waves would collide with the rock, the caves
and small inlets that the water had born away. All these details helped to
complete one heck of a view! I also enjoyed the visitor center, which was built
into the hillsides near the cliffs.</p>
<p>After the cliffs, we make our way to Kinvara. We stop briefly at the Burren, a
barren area of rocks and not much else. Once we arrive, we check into our B&amp;B
and decide to hold off on Galway until tomorrow night. This leaves us with
plenty of time to explore Kinvara proper. We relax for a bit and make to town
for some dinner and adventures. We decided to stop in at an Italian place called
‘The Full Tide Inn’, and while waiting for our food, had quite the heated
philosophical discussion. It really put into perspective for me just how
unprepared I am to defend my own view/the Stoic view of topics. After dinner, we
walked out to Dunguaire Castle, which was unfortunately closed, but we still
were able to explore the surrounding grounds. We learned a bit of background
from a fellow tourist, and then made our way back into town to buy a few snacks
before heading back to our B&amp;B. That night, despite our best laid plans, we
weren’t able to get to Scion. However, luckily for me, the internet access at
the B&amp;B was unprotected and therefore I could hop onto KoL and finish up my
ascension! I bought the trophie available to me (the one regarding food
recipies) and clammered through the astral gash to return once more to my life
of adventuring. I ascended as a Sauceror, holding onto Pastamancy so I can
really start to rack up the bonus adventures from my cooking. A few adventures
gone, I manage to get to level 2 the first day, and am very excited to really
get this sauce boiling.</p>
<h1 id="day-4-073010">Day 4: 07/30/10</h1>
<div class="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge"><div class="highlight"><pre class="highlight"><code>Be-buh-buh-day, be-buh-buh-day, E-DAY-OH, E-DAY-OH, THAT'S OK!
</code></pre></div></div>
<p>Holy crap, today seemed like an entire month’s worth of exploration and
adventure. After a delicious traditional Irish breakfast, we made for Galway.</p>
<p>In Galway we parked and set out for our busiest and most fun day yet. I can tell
you now that my feet are none to happy about the amount of walking we achieved,
but if nothing else this is a good reminder to properly prepare next time: make
sure my shoes are comfortable enough to walk around in almost constantly. So, we
park and make towards the city center. Galway is situated along the coast of
Galway Bay (go figure…) and has a river running through the center of town. We
head down the busy pedestrian walkway and hit up a few shops. Chris, Suf and
Cary all check out a couple tattoo parlours, and me being less interested make
for some good people watching and relax a bit. We continue our walk through the
busy crowds, and eventually make our way to the river. Exploring it for a bit,
Cary and I decide to stop off at a river-side restaurant called ‘Mustard’, where
I get one of the most delicious pulled-pork sandwiches I’ve ever enjoyed.
Afterwards, we met back up with Chris and Suf, and walked out towards the bay a
bit. As we voyaged further away from the city, we met with a couple of fellow
travelers, and discovered a great bar to stop at in town, known as ‘E Brun’ or
‘The Bridge.’ At the bar we met Bill, a local of Galway, who told us of many
great sites and happenings around town. An important detail of our stay in
Galway is that the Galway Races were going on. Evidently, they’re a big deal.</p>
<p>So, after our stop in the pub and a delicious Guiness, we make to explore and
find ‘The Crane,’ where Shela’s son will be playing live music later in the
evening. We find it, and gather from another local (and rather attractive) girl
the location of a couple of good niteclube. After finding the Crane we decide to
hunt our a place to eat, and eventually wander back to ‘Kelly’s’, which helps to
bring back nostalgic memories of Geneseo and our own Kelly’s. We enjoy a
deliciously filling meal there, compliments of Chris, and find out that later in
the evening we can enjoy Crane for some authentic (and rather good) Irish jazz
(which sounds not much different from any other type of jazz…). Thus far,
although I’ve been able to explain our day in only a few short paragraphs, we’ve
experienced to us what has felt like a lifetime worth of exploration. But, the
fun is only just about to start.</p>
<p>10:20pm, and we just left The Crane Bar to head back to the B&amp;B for some
kick-ass Scion action. Along the way, we overhear a few clubs, but nothing
really catches our ear until we get to Kelly’s. We can hear the beats from
outside, we can feel our feet aching but wanting to join in, so we head upstairs
and find (!!!)… a bunch of people standing around as a DJ mixes. What a let
down! Well, Suf wouldn’t have any of this, and neither would the rest of us, so
after settling into our comfortable corner, Suf finally finds a song that he’ll
groove to. And groove he does. Following quickly in suite, we join him on the
floor and find ourselves almost alone dancing. The 4 American tourists are the
only ones dancing in the Irish Niteclub. Almost poetic, mostly pathetic. Well,
this quickly changes, as more people flock to the dance floor after seeing our
amazing example. And by no means am I exaggerating! We literally started the
dance party at a niteclub. We groove it and move it for a good couple of hours
before we take off for new adventures. After a bit of exploring, and a lot of
drunk people, we decide to split up: Chris and Suf head back to Kelly’s for some
more dancing, Cary wanders the street talking to people, and I, the lamest of
the group, head back to the car to call it a night. Before long, we all
reconvene, load up the GPS and make our way back to the B&amp;B. This night has been
legendary, and no degree of detailed description can truly capture just how epic
the night was.</p>
<p>Simply put: Galway was unforgetable.</p>
<h1 id="day-5-073110">Day 5: 07/31/10</h1>
<div class="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge"><div class="highlight"><pre class="highlight"><code>"Where are we heading again? Ballerina?" "BALLINA!"
</code></pre></div></div>
<p>After the unbelievable adventure of Galway, we head out for our next stop in
Northwest Ireland: Ballina.</p>
<p>We set off after saying goodbye to our thus-far favorite B&amp;B and host Shiela,
and head north. As we’re driving, we spot a few turn offs and decide to stop at
one of them to explore a bit of the countryside. We find our way onto a
mountain, scale the smaller hills leading up to it, and eventually make our way
back to the car to continue walking. As we’re driving, we happen across one of
the more epic scenes of our voyage: the carved out “seat” of a mountain, which
we refer to afterwards as ‘The God Seat.’ Surely, the scene of epic Scion games
to come.</p>
<p>As we continue along our voyage, we stop off at Kylemore Abbey, the most
stunning scene I’ve seen in my life thus far. Imagine a white and grey castle,
then make it less war-oriented and more beautiful, then set it on a gorgeous
lake, at the base of a very impressive mountain. That’s Kylemore Abbey. We park
and explore a bit, and I get several good pictures. Further, I manage to spot a
statue of something half way up the mountain, made of white stone. Whoever made
this statue certainly had a lot of determination!</p>
<p>We leave the Abbey and finish our journey to our B&amp;B for the evening. We relax,
settle in, and finally get to playing some Scion. Cary volunteered to run
first, so we play through the first half of his one shot: saving a ‘shie’ from
an Irish scion and his giant lackies. My character, a defensive tank named
Derrick Nasher, does quite well. We finish up the session, spend our exp (making
us even more boss), and crash for a relatively early night.</p>
<p>This B&amp;B also has an encrypted internet, so at first I’m out of luck. However,
on a whim I try out the Chromium build I brought along (thanks Hexxeh!!), and
manage to easily set up a connection through that! I can’t upload any files or
pictures very well, but I can still play some KoL and post a few updates to my
social sites. Also, Google Voice has proven to be a godsend! Being able to text
from a website has been my primary means of keeping in contact with the family
back at home.</p>
<h1 id="day-6-080110">Day 6: 08/01/10</h1>
<div class="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge"><div class="highlight"><pre class="highlight"><code>"...just chillax..."
"Woah... I never expected to hear 'chillax' outside of the states!"
- A conversation between Kim and Chris
</code></pre></div></div>
<p>Day 2 of our stay in Ballina. We eat an early breakfast and make for Killary
Adventure for some archery!</p>
<p>We arrive in Killary around noon, and enjoy an hour of arching with our
instructor Kim and another instructor named Dugal. I managed to shoot 2
bullseyes! It’s amazing that if you actually hold the weapon properly and keep
proper form, you can actually aim with it. Never would have thought otherwise…
(/sarcasm). We joked, tried out some trick shooting, played a HORSE-style game,
and all-in-all came out of the adventure feeling really great. Plus, we all got
some wicked “battle wounds” from the bow on our forearms.</p>
<p>After the archery, we decide to head to Westport, on advice from Kim, for some
shopping and to get lunch. We immediately (perhaps fatefully) stumble upon a
place called ‘The Asgard’ and decide that there’s no better place to eat in town
than here. I enjoy some Bangers and Mash - Asgard Style - and feel the wonderful
feeling of fulness once more. This trip has been a wonderful venture in
delicious foods. The traditional Irish breakfast (Egg, real bacon, sausages,
black and white pudding, half a tomatoe, toast, tea and juice) is so filling
that most of the time we feel no need to eat before dinner. Today, though, was a
glaring exception; that, and we had a different breakfast of pancakes and
poached eggs. After the Bangers and Mash, we split up: I head off to explore the
riverway and the port, while the others go shopping. I manage to snap quite a
few nice pictures, and figure out some more features on the camera, before we
meet back up and head back to Ballina, and then onwards to Enniscrone, the
birthplace of Cary’s ancestors, the Grimes.</p>
<p>We arrive in Enniscrone around 4:00 in the afternoon, to a beautiful sunny day
and warm weather. Enniscrone in a beach town, so we split up once again, with me
heading out towards the beach and the others once more hitting up the shops. I
walk along the Atlantic Ocean, soaking in the waves and the rays, and eventually
make my way back to the car to relax for a bit. We head back to the B&amp;B, rest
for a bit, and decide that heading back to Enniscrone for some delicious,
authentic Irish-Chinese food would be best. And best it was: we discovered the
awesomness and addictivness that is puffed-rice prawn crisps. Dinner was good,
too.</p>
<p>We head back to the B&amp;B and finish up Cary’s session of Scion. Chris set his
crab-tank relic for self-destruct and took care of all the giants for us, while
I managed to manipulate our crazy Irish scion friend Brian that he forgot how to
fight, which led to his untimely demise (or at least him falling
unconscious…). We saved the ‘shie’, secured the relic protected inside it, and
got Brian’s birthrights for ourselves. A success, and a good start to our Scion
adventures yet to come. Cary hands the GM torch over to Chris, and we begin his
session tonight: we get tasked by Brigid (one of the Tuatha) to help out one of
her daughters. We manage to find her just in time for the night to expire, and
so we call it there. In KoL, I’ve managed to get to level 4, half-way towards 5,
before I call it a night. I haven’t yet played all my available turns, but I’m
making decent progress. With a bit more practice I can probably get getting to
level 6 a 2-day process, which will help to speed through the slower part of the
game.</p>
<h1 id="day-7-080210">Day 7: 08/02/10</h1>
<div class="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge"><div class="highlight"><pre class="highlight"><code>Worst. Bank. Holiday. Ever.
</code></pre></div></div>
<p>After a restful evening, and another delicious breakfast of pancakes and poached
eggs, we enjoy a quick chat with John, our host, before heading off on our
“driving day from hell.” Our course will take us through the middle of Ireland,
stopping off at Athlone to see the oldest bar in Ireland (and perhaps the world)
and eventually into Tipperary for the evening</p>
<p>Our first stop of the day is in Athlone, a city smack-dab in the middle of
Ireland. The drive to Athlone was a bit long, but still strikingly beautiful. It
seems like Ireland, despite it’s rather small size, is still host to some of the
most grandiouse and beautiful scenes I’ve ever seen. We arrive in Athlone around
noon, and wander around a bit. Suf, Cary and I all stop in at ‘The Snug’ for a
quick pint, before we take off across the bridge in the middle of town to hit up
some shopping. We stop off in Athlone Castle along the way for some great
pictures, and run into Chris, who had wandered off to find some shops, after we
cross the bridge. Chris and I decide to backtrack to the Castle, then wander
around before we head back to Sean’s. Sean’s is the oldest bar in Ireland,
dating back towards 900AD, and quite possible the oldest bar in the world.
Obviously, I enjoy a pint of Guiness before we head back to the car and continue
along our day’s journey.</p>
<p>We decide to stop off at Clanmocnoise Abbey, a ruined abbey just south of
Athlone, before heading out to Tipperary. The sites there are truely amazing,
and the ruined Abbey is quite cool as well. The conservation attempts have, thus
far, done a good job of maintaining what was salvageable, but the Abbey itself
is beyond repair. After some cool pictures, we continue on our way to Tipperary.</p>
<p>We finally arrive at our destination for the evening. Tipperary is a small town,
with a good amount of shops and a very comfortable atmosphere. Unfortunately,
and unknown to us, due to the Bank Holiday most of the food shops are closed. We
settle for a fast-food place called “American Stars” and apologize to our
digestive tracks before heading back to our B&amp;B for some Scion action.</p>
<p>Scion has us defending Nikki from a couple of Fenrir, which we succeed in doing,
and then finding out our target was, in fact, a doppleganger. We discover this a
bit too late, though, and end our session assaulting ‘The God Seat’ and a Norse
Scion, who claims that “the ginger bitch has got to go.” Well, Derrick’ll be
damned if he let’s a potential future employer die that easily. The stage is set
as both Derrick and the Norse Scion enter their Collosus Armor, Cary’s Scion
enters his Warpspasm, and Suf’s Scion prepares to make pincushins out of the
Frost Giants. After Scion comes KoL, which sees my progression to level 5 and
acquisition of Advanced Sausecrafting. I adventure for a bit more, before
fatigue wins and I succumb to sleep.</p>
<h1 id="day-8-080310">Day 8: 08/03/10</h1>
<div class="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge"><div class="highlight"><pre class="highlight"><code>"There any bars... excuse me... pubs around here?"
"Welcome to Ireland, lad!"
- A conversation between me and a bouncer
</code></pre></div></div>
<p>Today we headed back to the Rock of Cashel to get a great tour around the castle
grounds. I took lots of pictures, bought a few things for myself and a great
sweater for my mom, fall down a few steps while wandering the castle grounds
(resulting in a beautiful leg-bruise to match my archery-provided battle wound
on my forearm), and we wrap up Tipperary and head to Cork.</p>
<p>We arrive in Cork and are immediately thrust into the realization that Cork is
quite the large, industrial city. After a bit of confusion finding our way to
our B&amp;B for the night, we decide to take some naps to recover some energy and
mana, and head out to find dinner and some nighttime entertainment. On the
generocity of our very funny and cheery innkeep, we head to a place called
Zak’s, and are pleasantly surprised in the meal; I had a delicious Irish-beef
burger, some awesome garlic bread, and a Murphy’s to wash it all down (Murphy’s
is brewed in Cork; Guiness is not very welcomed here). We finish dinner, and
head out to find some clubs for the night.</p>
<p>We start our evening off wandering the neighborhood around Zak’s. We find a
place, rather populated and playing somewhat good music, but quickly discover
it’s overpopulated with Binfo for the night. We pass this pub, and ask the
bouncer for any suggestions, and get pointed towards a place called “Sober
Lane.” Ignoring the odd name, we head off in the appropriate direction and run
into a metal pub along the way, so I insist we stop in and enjoy a drink. We get
a pint, enjoy the music, and move on. ‘Sober Lane’ turns out to be a much
younger-oriented pub, which doesn’t dissappoint us, but it really pulls through
when Chris discovers the dart board in the back corner. We quickly take it over,
playing darts until the pub closes (oddly early, for our expectations), and
Chris and I head out to relax outside. Cary and Suf, being the charmers that
they are, end up chatting it with two girls local to the area, who invite all of
us back to a place called ‘Cruscien Lar’ (which we all continually misunderstand
as crusifixion). We follow them through the streets of Cork, and eventually wind
up at the closed pub. They hit the secret side enterence, and convince the owner
and co. to let us in.</p>
<p>Cruscien Lar (which I’m sure I’m spelling wrong), ended up being the undeniable
high point of Cork. Once we got a bit more comfortable and began chatting with
everyone, we really ended up enjoying ourselves! And then, we met Alan. Alan is
a veritable world travelling musician. He has been pretty much everywhere,
including state side, with his band ‘The Jordans’ and he had many tales to share
with us. He mentioned that the prices for alcohol (and women (…and drugs))
were best in Slovakia, that you’ll never see anything more beautiful than the
Southeastern Asian countries, and that Russia really isn’t that bad a place.
Really a lot of what we talked about fell into those topics, and it was a
conversation which I enjoyed thoroughly. Alan taught me that being a world
traveller doesn’t take gobs of money and resources. All it takes is a desire to
explore, and a willingness to step outside your comfortable little box.</p>
<p>Throughout the night we talked with Alan, and his friends Marie and Ger (the
girls which Cary and Suf connected with), about not only their travels, but also
their taste in music (which was gloriously metal-oriented), their careers, their
adventures and their aspirations. As the night wound down, we all said our
farewells, and left through the side door. Our night was almost at an end! As we
wandered back to the B&amp;B, we stumbled across a rather rowdy bunch, and Suf,
being the social butterfly that he is, decided to hop on board. We eventually
were introduced to Nollagh and her friends, who were travelling in our direction
to a supposed party. Considering we’re still young, as was the night, we tagged
along and were eager to arrive at another Irish party. Sadly, the party was a
bit of a bust, and seeing as we were so close to home, we decided to just call
it a night. An awesome night, almost so much to as to rival our crazy adventures
in Galway.</p>
<h1 id="day-9-080410">Day 9: 08/04/10</h1>
<div class="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge"><div class="highlight"><pre class="highlight"><code>My father's name is Merry Merry Mack!
</code></pre></div></div>
<p>After a rather enjoyable rest, we departed from Cork on our way to our final
“big city” stop: Killarney. Killarney has a very homey feel about it. There are
plenty of tourist shops, plenty of sites and sounds to experience, and the night
life is absolutely amazing, but more on that in a bit.</p>
<p>We arrived at our B&amp;B to find that the owner had stepped out for a bit, so we
decided to just park and wander into town. We quickly found some great shops,
restaurants, pubs, and other such attractions. Chris and I wandered around a few
places, and I ended up finding a few good gifts for the family: a corkscrew and
wine stopper for dad, both made of pewter; and a hat for Eric, which I think
will suit him quite nicely. After a bit more wandering, we headed back to the
B&amp;B to relax and recover before we hit the town.</p>
<p>I think the most memorable part of Killarney for me was all the festivities
going on at night in the city. Almost every pub had live music, there were
people out walking and having a great time. There were lights, and food, and
music, and drinks… it just felt like a fun place to be! We started our night
wandering around a bit, and found ourselves at an outside banquet of sorts, with
life music. Suf and I, exemplifying our boistrious nature, led the singing of
the chorus (see the quote), and made our mark early in the Killarney
perspective. After our job was done there, we found our way to a pub called
‘Scruffy’s’, near an amazing hotel. The band playing there had some great
traditional music as well, which we joined in on. Had a pint, made some friends,
moved on down the road to our final destination for the evening: McSorley’s.
McSorley’s is appropriately named because my feet at the end of the night were
very McSore. To say the least, McSorely’s is about 50% enough to keep me in
Ireland. The drinks were great, the atmosphere was amazing, and, the best part
of all, the music was fantastic. This particular evening we were treated to a
performance by a ground called “Zoot Allures”, a cover band. They played an
AMAZING set, with so many great songs, and such great energy, that it made me
really wish American clubs would pull their heads out of their asses and
actually play good music. Anyways, amazing music was played, several videos
were filmed, more-than-several beverages were consumed, and at the end of the
night, the lead singer from the group gave me a great, big bear hug. Naturally,
I returned the favor.</p>
<p>Well, Zoot Allures wasn’t the end of the night for us, as McSorely’s has a
secret back room dance club, so we obviously had to make use of that. We danced
for a good while, then Chris, Cary and I decided to take off and get back to the
B&amp;B to sleep. We left a window open for Suf. Once again, to say the least,
Killarney is absolutely amazing!</p>
<h1 id="day-10-080510">Day 10: 08/05/10</h1>
<div class="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge"><div class="highlight"><pre class="highlight"><code>The room fell silent, as the man lowered his microphone to the crowd. A single
bewildered bystander asked, "Yeah?" The man only nodded, a knowning nod. The
bystander tipped his head back, and breathed deep the pub air, and finally, as
the tension grew to an unberable level, cried out: "THUNDERSTRUCK!!!"
</code></pre></div></div>
<p>I thought the first night was amazing. Holy crap this town just keeps getting
better and better!</p>
<p>So, day 2. After some great, great sleep (which, of the 4 of us, I’m the only
one to wake up in time for breakfast), I clean myself up and head to town.
Yesterday I had seen an “internet cafe,” and figured it would be similar to what
we call internet cafes in America (I was wrong), so I made my way there to get
my KoL fix, and check up on the tubes. Well, the internet cafe was a
pay-per-use computer room, so I threw my cash at the front desk and got a couple
hours of hardcore internet access. KoL Update: beat the boss bat, the Goblin
King, and the first part of my Nemesis quest. Not bad, I guess, but I think it’s
safe to say that juggling an acension with travelling abroad is a bit difficult,
unless you know what you’re doing. I don’t, for the most part.</p>
<p>After lunch at a (surprise!) Chinese food place, we decided to take the
afternoon off and head back to the B&amp;B to play some more Scion, before
McSorley’s opened up again. We did some great stuff, saved the freckled Scion,
then I made the decision to let her die (which ended up coinciding with some
major character development, so that’s nice), and then Cary’s character died
defending her. So, all in all, we failed our mission, but succeeded at Scion.
Huh.</p>
<p>Anyways, McSorley’s opened up shortly after the game, so we hit up dinner (more
Chinese), and I spent some time wandering around getting pictures of the pubs we
had visited. It’s funny: my dad complimented me on all the pictures of the
beautiful scenary and what not, but he asked a very important questions: where
are all the pubs?? So I tried to rectify that our last night in Killarney,
snapping a picture of a few placed before winding my way back to McSorley’s for
the evening. Round 2… FIGHT!</p>
<p>The cover band at McSorley’s tonight was not as good as the other band, which is
the equivalent as saying that the 200000 Candle-Power flashlight isn’t as bright
as the 300000 Candle-power one: they’re both way brighter (or, awesomer in this
case) than the required flashlight (or, typical American cover band, in this
case). Tonight’s show was by Revenge, who paid tribute to some of the older
songs, including quite a bit of ACDC. We rocked out hard core, really supporting
the band out front by dancing and singing along. Then the moment happened, the
moment that Chris has claimed is the most epic moment of the trip. The quote
says it all, but in short: the band was playing Thunderstruck by ACDC, and the
lead singer lowered the mic to me to scream “THUNDERSTRUCK!!” into, and it was
amazing timing. I do have to say, sometimes my timing is spectacular. Anyways,
that memory will stick with me forever, and I think with Chris, Suf and Cary as
well, so I consider this night an unbelievable success.</p>
<p>Once more, we invaded the back room, only this time we stayed until close. We
danced our way into another dance party, because evidently we’re all Lords of
the Dance, and met some new friends: May, a French girl there with friends. We
danced with them, we danced with total strangers, and we danced until we
couldn’t dance any more! I literally understood what it meant to be out of mana
that night. I had barely the energy to return home, before I just passed out on
my bed.</p>
<p>Killarney is the city I would most enjoy in Ireland. Of all the places we’ve
gone, it’s the city which feels the most alive. It has the loudest pulse, the
brightest flash, the sweetest music; it’s the type of environment I want to live
in. While I don’t think Ireland is quite the island for me, if I did decide to
live here, Killarney would be my final destination.</p>
<h1 id="day-11-080610">Day 11: 08/06/10</h1>
<div class="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge"><div class="highlight"><pre class="highlight"><code>Wow, this place is nice. I don't think we belong here.
</code></pre></div></div>
<p>Today we all are taking a bit of a down day. After the past 2 nights, I’m
exhausted, and ready to just sit around a do nothing for a bit. Well,
conveniently Cary is getting his tattoo today, so I got my wish. We check out of
our B&amp;B, pack up the car, park in town and go exploring a bit more. After I
stop at the Tourist Information, I learn of a free Wi-Fi pub nearby, and relax
there for a couple of hours, enjoying some tea and playing some KoL. I don’t
really achieve anything of any worth in game, and Suf, Cary and Chris show up
just in time for us to work on our Scion characters a bit and head to dinner. We
go to the Chinese food place we hit up last night for lunch, and then Cary must
depart for his tattoo. Chris, Suf and I all decide to wander back into the pub
for a bit, where I finish up my KoL for the day, enjoy some more Scion, check
the email, and generally just chillax.</p>
<p>We leave Killarney around 5:30 and arrive at our second-to-last destination,
Ballyseede Castle Hotel. Since we have nothing to do until later, we settle in,
relax for a bit and get to playing some more Scion. That’s right: WE ROLEPLAYED
IN A CASTLE.</p>
<p>After the session, we split up: Cary, Suf and Chris all head back to Killarney
(a whopping 15 minute drive) to hit up McSorley’s again, and I lame out and take
the night off. Whilst waiting for sleep to drift in, I enjoy some good ol’
American past-time and watch a bit o’ telly: ‘Analyze That’ was on. I watched
‘Analyze That’ in a castle. Today is just full of achievements!</p>
<h1 id="day-12-080710">Day 12: 08/07/10</h1>
<div class="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge"><div class="highlight"><pre class="highlight"><code>"Ma'am? A quick question. We named the dogs: this one is named Roger the Mighty,
and this one is named George the Stout. How close were we?"
</code></pre></div></div>
<p>After a wonderful night’s rest in the castle, we pack up our things, enjoy a
delicious breakfast, explore the castle grounds a bit more, and head off to our
final B&amp;B, just outside of Shannon.</p>
<p>As we approached our destination, we decided to stop by Limerick for
lunch/dinner and just explore our initial landing grounds one last time. We
wander to ‘The Bitter End’, take some pictures, and find our way to a Chinese
food place (big surprise) and an outdoor pub. Since we couldn’t decide on which
one to go to, I suggested we go to both. This decision was met with much
happiness. After we finished our Chinese food (quite delicious), we headed next
door, and was met with delicious desserts and beautiful women. Our waitress let
slip it was her birthday, so in true, boistrious American style, we sang her
‘Happy Birthday!’ (Hope it was a good one, Sam!). Apparently she got in trouble
for that… Oops…</p>
<p>Anyways, we hit up our B&amp;B to drop stuff off, and repack our bags for tomorrow’s
trip, and finish up our Scion campaign. We hopped out to ‘Durty Nelly’s’ for a
quick dinner (and sadly, our waitress Una already had her birthday a month ago)
of traditional Fish and Chips, then back to the B&amp;B to finish up our night
rolling the dice. With the campaign finished, we hit the hay in preparation for
tomorrow’s voyage. Hopefully none of my loot get’s wrecked!</p>
<h1 id="day-13-080810">Day 13: 08/08/10</h1>
<div class="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge"><div class="highlight"><pre class="highlight"><code>"Do I really have to be the asshole to say that we travelled back in time in
that hot tub?" - Hot Tub Time Machine
</code></pre></div></div>
<p>And just as quickly as it began, our whirlwind tour comes to an end. We left the
B&amp;B early this morning to get to the airport, returned the car without a fuss,
checked in our baggage, shuffled through customs and passport checks, and
eventually found our way to the gate. The airport in Shannon has free Wi-Fi,
which is epic, so I whiddle away at my turn-count in KoL, achieving little but
still enjoying the game. Shoot off a text to mom letting her know things are on
time, and eventually board my first of three flights for the day.</p>
<p>The flight is rather uneventful. We’re seated next to a kid flying back from a
wedding, so it was fun to chat with him for a bit. Then, onto the free movies:
Iron Man 2 (pretty boss), Hot Tub Time Machine (really, quite the unknown
comedy. Hilarious!) and Repo Men (meh, not really my bowl of soup…) round out
the trip. We land soundly in JFK, disembark, and find our next flight delayed,
so Chris, Suf and I, after bidding farewell to Cary at the Terminal, head to
‘NYC Sports Grill’, right outside our arrival gate from the beginning of the
voyage, and enjoy some good ol’ fashion American burgers before our flight to
Boston.</p>
<p>The flight to Boston is painless, despite the Logan Airport’s best attempt at
being the worst air port ever (I just really don’t like it). We land safe and
sound back home, and I eagerly make my way to baggage claim to make sure
everything is safe there. I get my bags (w00t), find everything in one piece and
accounted for (w00t x2), and bid Chris and Lindsay farewell as my parents drive
up in the van.</p>
<p>Thus, our voyage ends. A successful first trip overseas, and a more-or-less
successful first attempt at travel blogging too. Methinks I’ll have to try this
again sometime. Farewell, and as they say on the Emerald Isle: CHEERS!</p>
<div class="author_info">
Bill Niblock
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