This afternoon, Jim and I went to Mast General Store in town and did some shopping for our big trip to Ireland/Scotland that's coming up in a couple of months. I love that store, so it's always a treat to go in there knowing I get to purchase something...but even more than that, it was what the purchases point towards. We're going to Ireland and Scotland!
We're both incredibly excited about it, and we talk about it almost daily. We've scoured maps, travel sites, our travel books - we've talked about the sites we'd like to visit and the connections they have to history or to authors we love (CS Lewis, James Joyce, Frank McCourt, etc.). We've created a loose plan for the trip (start in Dublin for several days...then drive around the town and then up north...a few days in Belfast...ferry over to Scotland, drive to Sterling...a couple of days in Sterling/Edinburgh....back to Ireland, down to Dublin, back home). Jim even found a map on U2's website that highlights all their haunts in Dublin (and, yes, we're going to get that map and visit those places!).
I really can't wait. Ireland is the one place that I've always wanted to go. In fact, I talked about it so much in high school that my friends Brian and Kenny bought me a beautiful picture book of Ireland as a going away present when I was headed to Honduras one summer. When I look at those amazing pictures that are familiar to nearly everyone - the green, green pastures, the walk walls, the small stone buildings, the castle ruins, the Celtic crosses - I'll sometimes physically ache in my heart. I feel drawn to Ireland in a way I can't explain.
Two more months...and I'll see it for myself.
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