My trip is silly so far. I have gone from USA > UK> Africa> UK>Ireland> UK> Ireland> UK (where I am currently in Scotland). I was driving to Northern Ireland to visit a friend of mine I had met in New Zealand. This would be the second NZ friend I have met in Europe. I now have friends all over the world. Its wicked. It was a long drive to her house
. And I never went through another town since I left Galway. I was in the middle of nowhere Ireland. There is no border patrol. Didn’t even know I was back in the UK until I tried to pay for my chocolate milk in Euros and the cashier looked at me silly. “Oh..you want a pound.” My friend lives in the middle of nowhere. I drove about a half hour off the main road through farms until Siri said my destination was on the left. I tried calling Rose to let her know I’m nearby because I wasn’t entirely sure which house was her’s. No service. I aimlessy walked around utill I found reception. I had dropped my car off at the fish and chips shop. I was in the right area. Siri told me I had arrived about 30 seconds to late. Rose was impressed. She said she will now tell her other local friends that they have no excuse if they can’t find her house. The American girl found it. She had another friend over (Cardessia…I know I didn’t spell that right). Long story short there was a lady who had been sick. The doctors didn’t really have an answer for her as to why she was sick. Cardessia had a relic of a powerful Saint someone had lent to her. Her and Rose were going to lady’s house to say a few prayers and bless her with the relic. My next observation about Ireland was that it was very religious, but the Irish also like to party and have fun. I had come to that conclusion before I arrived at Rose’s. I hadn’t seen so many catherdrals and churches in such a small area. But I haven’t been to Italy yet. We went to the lady’s house. On our way there we saw a wake was going on at her neighbors. Rose asked the guys standing out front who had passed away, and if they new where house Mcgholin was. They knew. Small town. Frances was a lovely women. Bless her. She made us tea, brought out crackers. We chated for a bit. Turns out she used to take Cardessia’s Granny to mass when she was wee. The girls wanted to make sure I wasn’t feeling uncomfotable. I said not at all. I was getting a local Irish experience I would remember for the rest of my life. Some stories were told. Tales exchanged. We said some prayers and blessed Frances. I’m not quite sure how it happened, but my sister Fraine came to surface and some tears were shed and more prayers were exchanged. God works in mysterious ways. And we all agreed he doesn’t take those who aren’t ready, and have served their time on earth. It’s still tough because she didn’t need to serve long. We went back to Rose’s house and ordered some take out. Since it was Valentine’s Weekend most of the restaurants were fully booked up. Rose and I were going out that night with another friend of her’s named Ciara. I said my goodbyes to Cardessia. We went to a little bit bigger of a town. Kind of like going from Gridley to Chico, expect the big town is Gridley. And Gridley has about one street full of pubs. We drank, we danced, we chated. I had a blast. We got back into Rose’s house late. My drive was shorter the following day, but it had been a long week. I was made a traditional Irish breakfast which was brillant. Rose showed me around a few more highlights in her town which included some cottages, the lake they live near, and the chapel. This is how I know I wasn’t possesed back in Killarney. I walked into the chapel and even spoke with a Father. No spirit would have been able to do that. I said my goodbyes to Rose, but they were only temporary. Turns out she has a friend in Glasgow, and will be visiting her the same time I’m in Glasgow. What are the chances. I drove to Dublin, and walked around. I checked out the Temple District. The whole week I had been listening to Irish radio, and all they talked about was a shooting in Dublin. The gang problem in Dublin. How violence had risen, and the cops were scared of the mob. I was a little hesitant to be walking around Dublin on my own at night, so I made sure to stay in crowded areas. There was an awesome band playing a free show on the street. It started snowing. Lots of couples since it was actual Valentine’s Day. Dublin was okay. I didn’t get to see lots of the usual sights because I ran out of time. That was my last night in Ireland. I made it to the airport. Returned the car okay, and faced no problems coming back into England. Actually I didn’t even go through immigration. Go figure.
Adventures and Life with Keelie 