I am far from what I consider being a world traveler. But I have had – or I should say, I have taken or made – the opportunity to do some traveling abroad. All within the last 8 years. I can now destination-drop a few places making me sound much more cultured and snobbish. Until some follow-up questions inevitably come my travel resume is starting to look a bit more impressive. And I love it! My most recent trip was a week long group excursion to one of my ancestral homes: Ireland.

Although a quick disclaimer about that last claim, while I grew up saying I was “mostly Irish” thanks to DNA and a more comprehensive family tree, I can only claim to be a “wee bit Irish.” But I’ll take it.

In the past, I have documented my travels a bit more earnestly.

In 2017, I chronicled my first overseas trip with not one but FIVE posts. It all starts with My Europe Road Trip: Part I – The Trip Begins. I also shared lots of pictures on my blog’s Facebook page (ck’s days).

In 2019, I wrote about my Italy trip in FOUR posts. Little Me in Italy: Part I kicks off that adventure. I also shared lots of photos on my personal Facebook page and created a compilation video.

In 2022, I downsized my posts to just ONE and made a long entry about the UK trip I finally got to take. Plus, photos on Facebook. I say technically one on that trip but really it was covered in two posts. The first post explained why my 2020 trip didn’t happen until 2022 (The 2020 Trip). SPOILER ALERT: It was because of the COVID panic of 2020 which shut everything down a week before I was to leave.

In 2023, I wasn’t going to go anywhere. I knew this Ireland trip was coming so I thought it would be wise to stay home and save money. I did not do that. Instead, I went to Mongolia. Again, while I only did one technical post about my trip in That time I went to Mongolia, I did mention it a couple of other times. Around the world in 12 days and Lessons Learned both reflect my time in Mongolia.

Maybe it is due in part to laziness, I was just too tired to keep up on my journal writing during the trip. Or maybe I just thought there wasn’t a real need to do so because even I rarely read my old blog posts all the way through. But, in order to sound a bit more grounded, I’m going to claim it was so I could be “more present” in the moment. While I say that last one, even I roll my eyes. It really is the first reason I listed. I’m lazy. More to the point, I’m old and tired.

To cut to the chase, there is no long blog entry detailing the movements of my trip. Just a long one explaining why there is not a long one.

That being said, I’m not neglecting this trip altogether. While I didn’t write the particulars, I did write down some feelings and impressions. All of which will be shared the next several Wednesdays on my poetry day. I even attempted some Irish forms of poetry and I stress the word attempt strongly.

It seemed fitting. This is the country with a harp as its national emblem. Which was pointed out a few times it is the only country in the world with a musical instrument as its emblem. Not only that, but the country is proud of its artistic heritage. Writers like Joyce and Yeats were mentioned several times. I attended three dinner shows that showcased Irish music and dancing. So, I felt this would be a fitting remembrance of my time on the Emerald Isle.

Hopefully, when I’m old with only my memories of these places I have visited I will be able to look back on these next posts and still recall the time I went to Ireland.