Sept 21

Woke up today and looked forward to a day of adventure. I skipped the shower, packed my bags for our trek home, and barely caught the tail end of breakfast.

We packed the bus and headed to the Tralee Museum. This was interesting and once again reminded me of dad. I rushed through the town simulation part and walked out to see the gardens in the park out front.


The roses outside the park looked lush and healthy. I looked at them in disgust and envied their ability to maintain them. I tried all summer at Cretin and never got a rose to look that nice.

Ros Muc Castle was our next destination. I just realized this is the same place our ancestors are from and Dad’s not gonna be excited to hear I didn’t put that together until after we left the area. (Oops) The guide walked us through the wonderfully restored castle and told us about the building techniques, defense mechanisms, and people of the time. She ended the informative tour by saying, “In the 1970s, a group of 5 American businessmen bought this place to turn it into a money-making commercialized theme park.” We all looked down in shame and wished we hadn’t told her we were Americans at the beginign of the tour. Then she smiled and said one of the great Americans bought the other 4 out, restored the castle to its fullest potential, and donated it back to the people of Ireland under the condition it never be used for commercial use. We all looked up, patted ourselves on the back, and marched out of the place with a little pride and maybe a hint of arrogance.

We drove the rest of the day to getting to Galway around 7 to buy some groceries for the week. We went to Aldi’s super store and spent €26 on a week’s worth of food for 5 guys. (CHEAP!) By 9 we were home at our cottage. I talked to Jinette and my parents and hit they hay around 1a.m. While talking to them all I felt homesick, but while laying down to sleep I felt much better.