High pitched birdsong mixed with the soft hoots of the woodland pigeon; it is the comforting sounds that woke me from my much-needed sleep this morning at 5:30 a.m. I am back in the simple yellow and red stone cottage up the road from the River Blackwater and the Youghal Bay, curled up on the big, overstuffed, blue couch with its various array of throw pillows and snuggled up within the thick wool blanket that lays upon it. Other than the birdsong, pigeon hoots and the occasional sounds of rustling sheets as the girls move about trying to attain a little more sleep, it is silent. I am back where the color of green, in its endless shades, grows rampant across rolling fields, stone walls are there to meet me around every corner, and peace fills my soul with each breath I take. I am back in the land of magic and fairytales, endless possibilities, wonder and amazement, and history and legend. I am, simply put, back in Ireland.

Our journey began on Monday when my sister Kati picked up Kevin, myself, and the girls from my brother’s house to take us to the airport in Detroit. Thankfully, our flight out of Detroit left without delays and we had an easy journey to our second stop in Iceland. We then carried on after a very short layover, to Dublin where we began the three-hour car ride southwest to the cottage. In many ways, the journey here was much easier than last year and in others, more difficult. We were without any delays and detours to Texas, spared the process of rebooking new flights and seats multiple times; no searching for a hotel at three in the morning, or arriving a day later than planned. Despite the lack of last year’s excitement, we did encounter a few new challenges.

Our planned dinner at Outback Steakhouse in Detroit hit a snag and without complaining too much I will just say that a copious amount of honey mustard sauce was involved as was my carry-on bag and no one was able to eat much of the food that was ordered for a variety of reasons. It was a bit disappointing but not the end of the world. The airport in Iceland was nice and very easy to navigate and had the most amazing bathrooms Audra and I have ever seen. Pretty sure she took a video of them because each bathroom stall was like its own mini bathroom complete with a toilet and sink station and had a full closure door. Perhaps we are easily amused but we found the setup extremely awesome. As it was our first time flying into Dublin, we struggled with locating the car rental service. Despite the logical assumption of following the signs to said location, this assumption was very wrong. After two hours of walking around, following signs, asking for directions and following those, backtracking repeatedly, while lugging around 3 checked bags, 4 carry-ons, and a personal bag, we finally hopped a shuttle bus to the parking area where our rental car was waiting for us. The car is a bit smaller than last year’s rental, so it took a few rounds of “load/unload/reload” to get everything to fit. We made a quick fast food stop at the local McDonalds as we had not eaten anything since our limited dinner at Outback Monday evening before the initial flight out and got on the road. Last year we flew into Cork which was only about a forty-five minute car ride to the cottage, which after limited overnight plane sleep, is much preferable to 3 hours from Dublin but, we were excited to see an area of Ireland we had not seen much before.

Exhaustion set in around the half-way mark but after a quick stop for snacks, drinks, and a small walk in the fresh air, we resumed the cramped car ride southwest. The last 20 minutes of the car ride took a challenging turn as one of the girls got sick. I think the lack of quality food, sleep, and Dramamine all played a role in this delightful turn of events, but we handled it like pros, rolled up to the cottage and got down to business cleaning. Kevin unloaded bags, while I helped the girls clean up and get unpacked. Due to the rental car delay in Dublin, we arrived at the cottage much later than anticipated so after a quick organization of our belongings, we headed out to what is, hands down, my most favorite restaurant in Ireland, The Old Thatch. Both Audra and Ellery ate light; Audra opting for her eagerly anticipated bowl of seafood chowder and brown bread and Ellery, Cajun chicken pasta; a new and adventurous selection for her. Kevin and I both chose the soup and fish of the day which was the best mushroom soup of my life and salmon with mash and veg. Ells barely got through her meal as she was falling asleep at the table, and I am pretty sure I dozed off while we waited on our food. We made a quick stop at our local Tesco to grab breakfast supplies and tea, got back to the cottage and went to bed. There will be time for our normal evenings of games, tea and biscuits, and a re-living of the day’s events some other time. Last night, everyone was just too tired, and we crashed.

We are back. We are back and it feels like home. Bridie, the caretaker for the cottage, left a beautiful vase of flowers to greet us on arrival and it sits pretty on the dining room table for us to enjoy. The wildflowers that surround the doors and windows smell divine, and we are eagerly waiting to see our cow friends. From the looks of the pasture next to the kitchen window, I suspect we will see them soon. Audra is up now, despite needing more sleep, due to Ellery’s snoring, which thankfully only happens when she is exhausted and should cease once she is not so sleep deprived. After a quick good morning hug and a blank stare for 20 minutes, she went back to her room. I am hoping she is going to try to get some more sleep. We have much to do and see today and will get to it, all in good time, but only after I finish my cup of tea.