Glo's Graduation trip to Ireland--Day One

Can we all just take a moment and appreciate that Glo chose to go to Ireland for her graduation trip?  I could hardly believe it when she told me, but it's been seven years since she was last in Ireland.  She wanted to bring Gordon to someplace in Europe, but that was a pretty easy European experience (language, jet lag, cultural differences).  I left it up to her which part of Ireland she wanted to visit, and she chose Northern Ireland, a staple of her childhood adventures.

We flew Delta.  After our last experience of flying Aer Lingus, I swore never again, and boy oh boy, did it make all the difference flying Delta out of Detroit.  Such a great flight.  Tons of room, even sitting in the second last row after Delta somehow messed up our reservation.  Good food.  And I think I've finally mastered the jet lag issue--my Bcozzy neck pillow and an Ambien ensure that I'm ready to go when we land.

Even the rental car experience was top notch.  Enterprise had us go straight to the rental car lot where a concierge took us directly to our car and made sure all was in order.

We drove to Hillview House, a family-owned B&B 20 minutes north of the airport, but it was too early to check-in so I made the decision to drive to Skerries, a town just a few minutes away.  Being in Ireland brings out the best (sometimes) in John as he started reading the Gaelic signs right away, and he came across "Na Skerrie" which turned into "It's na skerrie driving with Aris" ;-)

We found a nice bakery, Rock Bakery, where we got some hot chocolates (with homemade marshmallows) and croissants.  The weather is still summer-like, so we sat outside.

Knowing we are right on the eastern shore of the Island, it was a four-minute drive to a beach.  At first, John, Glo and Gordon headed out to skip rocks, but when they tired of that, John went running, and I suggested the rest of us take a little break on the grassy embankment.  An hour later....we woke up, and discovered John close by, nursing an aching shoulder and the left side of his body, covered in sand.  Forgetting that he's nearing 60 years old, he decided to climb rocks on the shore.  It was a little piece of heaven for me, feeling the sun on my face, a breeze blowing around me, and hearing the ocean waves.

John always finds me little love tokens <3

Our B&B is beautiful--a family room with beds for six all in one room.  In true Irish fashion, we can open the windows and hear the birds.  Glo went running and pooped her pants.  We are still laughing about that.

For dinner, we went to Man O' War pub and restaurant.  At this point of the day, the men were losing it.  Gordon was exhausted (his first experience with real jet lag), and John was hangry.  Despite the excellent reviews, our food took forever to get to us, and it was "B" food.  The conversation wasn't great either.

We came home and got ready for bed.  Hannie called, and it was so good to hear the voice of my travel buddy who understands some of the angst I experience traveling with other people.

About an hour after we had fallen asleep, John ran into the bathroom.  I assumed it was just his normal first-time-getting-up-in-the-night moment, but a minute later, I heard a huge THUD.  I flew out of bed, and John was passed out on the floor between the bathroom and the bedroom.  He was unconscious and sweaty.  After what felt like a minute but was probably just seconds, he came to, confused and asking what had happened.  He kept repeating that he was trying to turn the light on...and didn't know what had happened.  His pants were around his ankles.

After laying there for a minute or two, we got him up and back on the toilet.  He then came to bed with a huge gash on his forehead.  I had texted Hannah, and she told me what to look for with a concussion and to be mindful of him through the night.  John thinks he had food poisoning.

Needless to say, I didn't sleep at all well.  Between the buzzing mosquito who had slipped in after John opened the window, and the blankets being too heavy, and my young women texting about the lack of teacher for a lesson the next day (and the most responsible YW telling me personally that the YW president and I need to get our act together), and worrying about John, all of my efforts to get ahead of jet leg were lost.  (To be fair, I felt like Pahoran and Moroni, calling each other out for not reacting but not really understanding what is going on behind the scenes.)

Anyway, I rolled out of bed this morning, asking Hannah to pray for me that I can stay coherent and positive today after such a hellish night.