St. Patty's Day

 
     The Gang's all here. Who would've thought the entire Jamison crew would end up celebrating St. Patricks day in Dublin, Ireland? It's crazy, but it sure was fun. With only 4 hours of sleep, a bit of last minute packing and a bowl of cereal I was off to the bus station. Getting up in plenty of time, I'm not sure how I let myself leave the apartment so late. Running to the bus station, with my heavy backpack and cute boots on was not getting me anywhere fast. Switching to my running shoes, I began my "sprint", not much of a sprint as I felt like a camel with a large heap of belongings loaded on my back. My concern hit overload when I realized the bus was leaving in a matter of minutes and the station was no where in site. This was a five-year-old-separated-from-his-mother-in-the-grocery-store sheer panic feeling. Sweating, sprinting in anguish I made the bus by literally seconds. Let's just say it was an experience I don't ever want to repeat.
     Arriving at the airport Mom, Dad and Katie were easy to find and off we went. Renting our car, everyone was thankful to have an SUV, as I had explained earlier, cars here are just tiny. Villy is not even able to fit a guitar in the back of his car. How exactly was luggage for 4 going to fit in a car like that? Quite simply, it wasn't. Therefore the SUV was clearly our best option. What a comical sight watching Dad try to figure out how to drive. Flipping on windshield wipers, nearly killing us in the roundabout, misunderstanding the GPS. If only my video camera would have worked at the time. It would have made for some great footage.
    At last we arrived at Dunaoibhinn, our cute little B&B just outside of Dublin. Katie and I share a room as well as our own private bathroom. It's nice and tidy, with incredibly friendly hosts. Mary and Ernest are just brilliant!

So cute!

Seeing as though everyone is more than a bit tired, we were slow getting settled in. This meant missing the train, so Ernest got the car and told us to pile in! Giving detailed directions Ernest made sure to get us there on time, he is just grand.

The Dart train saved us a lot of chaotic travel in the car.

   Before leaving downtown Mom brought in a little gift from the Mobergs. Chocolate! You can't ever go wrong giving a girl chocolate, not to mention a Reeses peanut butter Easter egg. This was one request I forgot to ask my parents to bring over with them, needless to say I was delighted to find it in my gift. In addition to the yummy chocolate was also a great question: How does the cross affect your daily life? A great question to be answered each morning. It was a great reminder of home and my wonderful church family Thank you Mobergs!

    Off we went to the Dublin St. Patrick's Day Parade. Each year it's themed based upon a book. This years was Brilliant by Roddy Doyle. Decked in green gear and drinking shamrock shakes we celebrated St. Patty's day in style

     Even the youngest members were joining in the celebration.

Brightly painted faces lined Dublin's streets as spectators waited in anticipation of the parade.

Amazing colors and flashy outfits worn by parade members created quite the sight as they danced and sang their way along the parade route.

     It has been a long day with many sights and sounds around the city. Mom and I have an early morning run planned and plenty more sights to see with the family downtown Dublin. Goodnight!

With Love from Dublin