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I’ve been gone for a while, off globe trotting – er, US trotting. Here’s the whirlwind recap:

Stop 1: Palm Springs, CA for my sister’s bachelorette party!

My sisters, my sister’s BFF and me on the way to Palm Springs.

Stop 2: Halloween in Torrance, CA.

I was Rosie the Riveter! Too bad I left Chris’s coveralls in Georgia.

Stop 3: Coronado, CA because I love the area.

No words needed here.

We also played around at the Del – so pretty! Someday we will stay there… but this was the not time.

I met up with Kelsey and Elizabeth for lunch too! And by the way, at Stacked –the restaurant we ate at– you order your food on an iPad at your table! It’s pretty amazing. We had such a good time and it made me start harassing Chris to get orders to SD again. (Yeah, that’s not going to happen.)

Stop 4: Long Beach, CA for my sister’s wedding

I inadvertently made Chris look like a Hogwarts student. We called him Ron Weasley all morning… haha!

Isn’t my sister pretty? And you can’t tell in this picture, but her husband is actually over a foot taller than her!

Stop 5: Hollywood, CA to play tourist because Chris had never been before.

The Beatles (Minus Paul, who doesn’t have a star for some reason)

Gene Rodenberry – 10 points if you know who this guy is!

Stop 6: Back in Augusta for a day, then we packed up the dogs and headed to Nashville to explore…


We laughed at this sign for a while so I took a picture. Church street this way, Gay street the other way. (Yeah, I’m a little odd…)

Stop 7: Then off to my MIL’s house in Louisville for pre-Thanksgiving Thanksgiving and Veterans Day.

Applebee’s had a POW/MIA table set up. I thought it was such a thoughtful gesture, and I was glad to see all the non-military affiliated people stopping to read what it symbolized.

It’s been a busy busy month, so you can see why I haven’t been around much! But now we’re back in Georgia and I’m super glad I told Chris that I just want to stay here for Christmas and not go anywhere

Dublin Pictures! (Finally!)

We flew overnight to get to Ireland and were a little disoriented when we finally arrived. A charming Irish man at the tourism desk at the airport gave us guides and directed us to a bus that would drop us off across from our hotel.

The street tells you which way to look, which is nice because I look the wrong way every time without exception.

We didn’t much the first day except wander around the Temple Bar area, which was conveniently located across the street from our hotel. We stopped for lunch and had our first Irish beverages: Bulmer’s for me and Murphy’s for Chris (because they didn’t have Guinness on tap).

Then I plotted our next few days – we spent the whole time in Dublin because we like to really see everything, but we already have plans to go back in a few years and drive around the country

The Catholic in me likes to see Cathedrals. This was my favorite: St Patrick’s Cathedral.

Then we took a little break from serious sightseeing to visit Dublinia and learn about vikings. And dress up as vikings.

And then… dun dun dun. Guinness Brewery! I loved the Guinness Brewery. You get two samples in the course of your tour – one small glass (the picture with Chris) and a full pint (my picture). I’m not normally a big Guinness person, but who am I to say no to free beer? Guinness is so much better in Ireland than in the US. It’s way smoother and somehow less bitter.

On the way back to our hotel, we stopped into a pub that advertised lunch specials and I got to eat my fish and chips while watching the Ireland/Italy rugby match. It was fantastic… but I was so hungry that I forgot to take pictures.

The next day was the day I woke up with plague, so we went to some museums, did some sight seeing, and explored but I forbade any pictures of me. So here are some doors in Dublin that I took a picture of.

Continuing on to the next day! We started off the day at the Jameson Distillery. Fantastic.

I considered stealing one of these barrels, but I wouldn’t have been able to fit it in my purse. Did you know that Jameson is stored in barrels they buy from Jim Beam? Now you do.

Everyone gets a free sample at the end – either straight up, with Coke, cranberry, or ginger ale. I chose with Coke. My brother told me that’s sacrilege and I should have drunk it straight up. In my defense, it was noon and I spent the previous afternoon and half the night throwing up, so I think it’s amazing I drank any at all. But again… who am I to turn down free whiskey? Chris volunteered for the special tasting, so in addition to his free sample (with ginger ale), he got to taste Jameson straight up, Jack, and some kind of Scotch. He is now a certified whiskey taster.

Then we walked down to catch the rail up to Malahide and see a real live castle. It was gorgeous.

Then we meandered back and wandered some more around City Centre, took in some dinner at the Hard Rock, and kicked back for our last night in Dublin.

Then there was the drama with the passport the next morning. Chris denies that it happens the way I told it, but since his brain isn’t fully functional until about half an hour after he’s woken up and I am fully alert when I wake up, I assure you that it did. And no, we did not ever find it! He reported it stolen/lost though and has an application in for a new one. I think.

I can’t wait to go back and see the country…

**Note: Even though it looks like Chris didn’t ever change his clothes, he did. You just can’t see the sweaters he’s wearing under his pea coat.