Greetings from Dublin. I can't believe I'm already on day three and I've just gotten over all the travel.
So this time 'round, I'm here for a wedding. Those of you who kept up with the account of my last trip to Ireland will remember my best friend Kieran. He asked me to be his best man and organized everything to get me over here. It's a great honor and I've been figuring out what to say for the toast...part of my responsibility as the best man :)
As my loyal readers will already know, I'm kind of a nervous traveler, particularly when it comes to traveling to Ireland with connecting flights and such. So this time around, I wanted to make sure I was at the airport hours before the flight so that I could get all my stuff done and just chill out.
Linda had me at Seatac airport on Thursday morning at 8:30. My flight was at noon so that was plenty of time. I got checked in and went through the security line without any hitches and wasn't even all that anxious. Hey, this might just be a stress-free journey!
In the back of my mind, I was in fact anxious about the connecting flight. I had a window of 50 minutes before it took off. Any delay with the first plane would have me running like a turkey at Thanksgiving to the next gate. I had remembered the last time I flew over with Tara, it was half a mile to get to the international terminal.
After much waiting, the first plane arrived at the gate and was loaded up. We were leaving ten minutes later than scheduled. Crap, now I only had 40 minutes to run like said turkey to the connecting flight. Heart rate was slightly elevated.
Without further incident, the plane took off and touched down eight minutes later than scheduled. Whew, not too bad! Now I had to figure out how I was going to get to the next gate. I thought about hopping on one of those cars that drive around. You know, the ones that don't stop no matter what's in front of them. Then I figured I would just basically run.
When I disembarked, I moved swiftly past the slow pokes in the tunnel and out to the gate. I was looking for K7 and realized the gate was right there. Right in front of me. Huh? No extra layer of security? No running like a turkey? I couldn't believe my eyes so I rushed over to the two jolly bald-headed attendant guys to confirm that there wasn't another K7 on the other side of O'Hare City. Nope, they laughed at my enthusiasm when I realized I was where I needed to be. Ironically, the plane was delayed by 45 minutes but that was okay. I would use the extra time to get me a lunch of champions at MacDonald's.
After consuming a Big Mac and fries, I sat there and began the hurry up and wait routine. Original time of the flight was 6:35 and the new time was now 7:30pm. By 7:20 there was still no sign of the plane and the time got bumped to 7:50pm. By 7:45, the natives were restless and there was still no announcement as to why the plane was delayed.
Up till now, I had remained pretty calm but I was getting a little irritated and began thinking that perhaps massive engine failure would cause the flight to be canceled for the night and I would have to sleep on the hard plastic chairs with one eye open, watching my camera gear.
Finally, the plane rolled in at 7:55 and everyone was ushered on in haste. 8:10 was the new departure time. I had a window seat all the way in the back of the plane. As people continued to load, I was praying that no one would sit beside me and that I could stretch out on the empty seat beside me. My prayers were answered.
The plane eventually left the ground around 8:45 and I was relieved. I settled back and let all of my anxiety disappear. The flight was pleasant. One of the two movies they played was quite good (Win Win) and I amused myself reading and listening to music.
My parents had the forsight to check the Web before they left to pick me up because the flight was now a full two hours later than scheduled. The advantage of being at the very back of the plane is that, by the time you get out and through the passport line, there is less waiting for luggage to come out. Mine was already going around the carousel so I grabbed it and soon I was with my parents on the motorway dodging the evil killer washing machines on wheels.
Right away I was aware of the complete aggressiveness of Dublin drivers. Forget about hoping someone will slow down to let you change lanes. You have to accelerate significantly to give yourself the leeway you need to get to the next lane without risking your life.
My dad told me that he was happy to let my Mom drive although he did manage to instruct her on every turn and lane change she needed to make right up until the time we got home. Sheesh!
Instead of taking a nap, I decided to stay awake and go two days without sleep. This way, I could actually get into a proper rhythm and not be so massively sleep deprived as I was the last time. It took me a full week to get in sync with the time change previously.
We went out for the usual pint of Guinness ritual and met with my sister Deirdre and her husband Maurice and son Adam. After a couple of pints, we came home, had some dinner and I was snoring away by 8:30.
My dad, Maurice, my mom and sister Deirdre (and my first pint of Guinness).
Tomorrow I plan on going into the city early (bus is at 5:30am) and photographing for the moment. Then rent a suit for the wedding and finally have dinner at Deirdre's house with my brother Philip and his family.
Stay tuned...
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