A Quick Visit to Dublin, Ireland

We made it to Dublin! After our GREAT stay with our cousins in Norway, we took a short flight on SAS from Oslo to Dublin. We stayed at Clontarf Castle hotel(where they served Guinness) on the North Side of the ciy. We walked all over our area. Everyone walks in Europe...did I mention that! We were near a park and the Bay of Dublin, so we did a lot of walking there, too. And we got one more item checked off the Bucket List: Golf in Ireland. We played 18 wonderful holes with some of the all time oldest rental clubs in our experience. Deer Park Golf

Course, in Howth, was where we had the pleasure of testing our skills against an Irish course. It was great fun, as was the Guinness in the Clubhouse after the round.

Dublin is a GREAT little city, with so much rich history. We almost didn't know where to start, but we began with public transportation into the City Center, and we walked and walked and walked. Except when we had lunch in Fitzgerald's Pub, with Guinness.

We felt so lucky to have seen Trinity College, The Book of Kells, Oscar Wilde's birthplace, the Bank of Ireland, the Temple Bar area, the River Liffy, O'Connell Street, Dublin Bay...just to name a few of the things we experienced. And we ate new foods, too: Black Pudding, White Pudding, Brown bread, lamb stew.

Did I mention: we drank Guinness?

It was an awesome trip. We want to go back.

The Seniors Do Norway

WEDNESDAY, THURSDAY, FRIDAY & SATURDAY IN NORWAY.

Driving through Oslo with my cousin Sue at the wheel, leaving the airport gratefully behind, we were at once struck by two facts: 1: Norwegians all drive small, fuel efficient cars. 2. All signs were in Norwegian.

We were impressed with the squeaky cleanliness of Norway, the length of the tunnels we drove through on the way North to our cousins' house, and the totally uncountable number of sailboats in every harbor on the way! Also impressive, and scary, are the innumberable 'turn-a-rounds in Oslo. Not a lot of traffic lights, just traffic circles. Our cousins had no trouble negotiating these at lightning speed. We were glad they were driving.

The rest of our afternoon was spent getting acquainted with our new surroundings and with our cousins. The views from the deck of our cousins' home were breathtaking. We were on a rocky hill, overlooking Oslo fjord. It was magnificent. After a great dinner of (what else?) Swedish meatballs (!), some wine and some GREAT conversation, it was time for the weary travellers to crash out. And we did.

Dawn on the deck of our cousin's house was amazing.

After a walk down to the beach, where my cousin Sue ACTUALLY WENT SWIMMING IN THE ICE COLD WATERS OF THE FJORD, we logged many wonderful, memorable experiences.

Here are just a few:

Walking in Norway: There is NO flat land. Up and down hills. Does wonders for the body tone. No wonder Norwegians are thin! Pick and eat wild lingonberries, blueberries, rose hips.

Sights to See: Kon Tiki Museum, Downtown Oslo, Gadeland Glassverk, Oslo Harbor.

Things to Do: Sail the Norway Fjord in the Cousins' Sailboat, fish the fjord. Watch Glass Blowing at Hadeland Glassverk.

Try New Foods: Whale Beef, Dried Cod, Norwegian chocolate (wow!); Norwegian Coffee (wow!)

Have a Rural Experience: Farm stands, barns, Norwegian corn on the cob

Watch the birds: Magpies everywhere! Variety of gulls. Wild swans.

Watch the people: bicycles and walkers everywhere!

That's all for today. We'll write more and post more pictures soon.

Spring Break for Seniors

Driving 4,500 miles across from Illinois to the West, we shared windshield time, driving duties, map perusals, GPS setting, and other things that are unmentionable. We are still married. Seniors are resilient.

From Illinois, through Missouri. From Tucumcari, NM to Tucson, AZ to Williams, AZ and the Grand Canyon, and on to Winslow (and THE CORNER); to Roswell, NM, and Longview TX, and home through Little Rock, AR, we hiked and golfed and toured our way around those GREAT areas. We are still married.

We met great people, laughed, talked, learned about every area we went to. We shopped, frugally, and we ate. Frugally. Rachel Ray, we decided, has nothing on us! Forty dollars a day is, like, extravagant! Seniors know how to squeeze value out of dining out during a trip!

Rich and Phyl's Handy Travel Eating Tips (for road trips):

Tip #1: Take it with you, for heaven's sake! Pack a cooler, and bring along those water bottles, juices, pop cans, purchased at your local grocery store (preferably with coupons!). Bring enough for the trip, and buy a variety of flavors. Look at what those drinks cost at a gas station stop!

Bring non-perishables, too, like crackers, peanut butter, nuts, trail mix, and energy bars. You know...the ones you bought on sale in your grocery store (preferably with coupons!).

If you start to run low, stop a local grocery store to re-stock. And enjoy wandering the local grocery store...some of them are really very interesting!

Tip #2: Stay at moderately priced motels with FREE BREAKFAST! (Be sure your motel chain of choice offers 'perqs' to you for a certain number of stays, or points for other good 'stuff'. (That's as good as coupons!).

Eat a good breakfast! It's good FOR you! And, you can survive nicely through lunch on the goodies you packed at home. Or take a bagel from the Breakfast Bar. With Cream Cheese. But not too often. Don't be a piggy.

Tip #3: Eating dinners out within a budget is really quite easy. If there is no famous restaurant in the area, choose an interesting restaurant. Skip the chains. Be adventurous! If the motel recommends a place, try it! The Diner down the street with the cow on the roof could be a great place for local, fresh food. You are out to have a vacation, don't be a stick in the mud!

Don't order a cocktail. Alcohol drives up the price of the dinner. If you are over 55, ask for a Senior Discount. There is no point in being shy if it saves you money! And there's no point in trying to fool the waitstaff about how young you are; they are all 16 and think you are a dinosaur anyway. So fess up!

Chances are, one of you is probably overweight anyway, so order an appetizer as the main course, especially if the menu is a pricey one! Salad and an appetizer is a good evening meal. You can dine at the plushest of restaurants this way, and spend next to nothing (we had dinner for two in some great places for about $10.00 each). And take your leftovers! You can use them for lunch on the road tomorrow!

Happy travelling!

Trip Trolls

Just the simple voicing of a scheduled vacation, however softly spoken, can be heard by the Trip Trolls. Surely, you all know about these scheming creatures of the natural order. Every household in the world has one...and the very wealthy have two or more, we have heard. We aren't the only ones subjected to their perverted sense of humor. We aren't...aren't we?

Trip Trolls are activated, as I mentioned, by almost the thought of you planning a getaway. They leap into gear with the first choice of your dates, and plan outrageous ways to keep you at home. Landscape trucks falling into y0ur septic tank; yellow jacket wasps in the garden; the furnace that quits for good the night before you leave a frigid clime for the warm states. The more sensational their roadblock to your much deserved and desired vacation, the more elevated the status of your particular Trip Troll. Our Trip Troll, we estimate, has achieved High Con Troll.

A quick review of my personal Troll's most memorable effort.

1962: The Hawaiian Vacation

It was a family dream vacation: my mother, me, my grandparents. All off to Hawaii, with a stop-over first in San Francisco, then two weeks in Honolulu, then a stop in Los Angeles on the way back. We were going with a Travel Group called 'Happiness Tours'. In the days before jets, this was a BIG DEAL for an ordinary family, and we were beyond excited. My grandparents and I had never even been on an airplane before!

At Midway Airport, the Trip Troll struck for the first time. Our little band of merry travellers had boarded our plane, climbing the stairs out on the tarmac, and our Tour Guide cheerfully greeted each and every one of us. We took our seats, listened diligently to the Stewardess explain about the seat belts and floatation devices, and watched my grandmother dig into her cache of jelly beans to calm her nerves. The plane taxied off onto the runway. The plane stopped on the runway. The plane turned around on the runway. The plane taxied back to the boarding area. Our intrepid tour guide announced to us all that due to some mechanical problems with the plane, we would be housed, FREE OF CHARGE, in a motel near the Airport while the plane was repaired overnight. We would take off in the morning for San Francisco.

Did I mention that this was before jet travel was common? Did I mention that our aircraft was a big prop?

At least four people left the Happiness Tour Group that night. We stayed, and, with the rest of Happiness Tours boarded the repaired plane the next morning. Our aircraft actually took off! To celebrate, my mother had a few cocktails, and grandma had a LOT of jellybeans. I think grandpa was just stoic. Or terrified. Not sure.

San Francisco was great fun. Our short stay over, the dapper Tour Guide for Happiness Tours assembled us all at the hotel, and we were shuttled to the Airport for the flight to Hawaii. Over water. In our big, propeller driven silver tube. And the Troll was ready!

Once again, the plane taxied out onto the runway. Once again, the plane stopped; the pilot turned the plane around and taxied back to the boarding area. Once again, our guide, looking just a wee bit less dapper, informed us , with stout-hearded rhetoric, that we would be put up FREE OF CHARGE back in the hotel while the plane was repaired overnight. We would be taking off the next day for Honolulu...over the ocean. Lots of water.In a prop. Sharks. Amelia.

Well, we lost about 10 people that night from Happiness Tours. Our guide was now referring to our group as Agony Tours. My Mom had a few more cocktails before bed. Grandma bought more jellybeans, and grandpa hit the beer.

We were assembled in the morning, a more subdued version of the jolly group that had met at Midway Airport.

Miraculously, the plane arrived, was boarded, and actually took off. The Tour Guide had champagne. In fact, there was free champagne for EVERYBODY! Even for me and the new girl from Jersey that I had struck up a friendship with. Did I mention that I was 16? After a few champagne drinks, someone in the group christened our plane 'The Flying Titanic'. We all thought that was hilarious!

Our giggly group landed in Honolulu without further incident, and most of the adult Happiness Tour members were very happy indeed; at the reception that was held for us, where they got happier on the rum drinks that were served. My girlfriend and I were, however, served cokes. Sigh.

Our Hawaiian stay of two weeks flew by. On the appointed departure day, we all assembled in the lobby of our lovely hotel to shuttle to the airport. The Troll was among us. Our Tour Guide looked us over quietly, as we stood with tanned faces and hastily packed suitcases. He said in a monotone that spoke volumes:

"They seem to have lost our aircraft temporarily."

He went on to say that - guess what? - we would be put up FREE OF CHARGE in the hotel until our aircraft, or another suitable plane, was found to take us to Los Angeles. Oh, heck...another week in Paradise? FREE! That was SO difficult to accept!

Now, I think the Travel Troll make a BIG mistake here. Leaving us in Paradise for seven more days was NOT a serious inconvenience. Those with jobs had some finagling to do with their workplaces, but this was 1962! Undertandings were reached.

The rest of the tour was uneventlful, and I am sure it was because the Troll tripped up on his last glitch. We all enjoyed Los Angeles, and the flight home to Chicago on the Flying Titanic was totally smooth all the way. No one even lost luggage, an angle the Troll did not play on this vacation (later, however....but that's another story).

Now, we are all packed and getting ready to head out in the morning for Arizona. Hmmmm.......