Yesterday Eck and I headed to the Aran Islands! It was amazing. I don't know who's link that is to, but I actually hung over a cliff too! We headed on bikes across the island which was so much fun... it was hilarious to see Eck back on a bike when it had been years, I wasn't sure if she was going to make it or not! But all was well and we made it to the famous fort and took deadly pictures and wondered to some tidepools. A very good day. I could have done without the ferry ride over there! The wind was blowing so hard the boat was flying over 10 foot waves! Blah... and I'm not too hot with the motion sickness thing.
It was definately worth the trip and you have to rent the bikes and venture over the hilly back paths... we had to walk our bikes up hills worse than Pasole, but the loose gravel and steep declines was one hell of a ride you just can't miss! You could even hear me sing the Indianna Jones theme song I'm sure from across the island. Good times! Headed to Cork next, hopefully the Blarney Stone is ready to pucker up! :o)
So here is an email that I sent to Heidi for the program they are having at the club titled "Where in the World is Tricia."
How was your flight...how long was your flight?
the flight was loooooong, but not too long. i think i had a worse flight coming across the states with the layover in Atlanta, GA. the flight from boston took only about 6 hours. i think linds has a 12 hour flight back to LA from dublin when she leaves in december... poor thing!
What cities or towns or villages have you visited??
we flew into shannon and headed south west. we stopped very quickly in limmerick where i got a lame picture of the city because i had to take it from the bus stop. from there we headed to dingle to see fungi, the magical dolphin... yah, i know. linds calls hom the national icon. we took a boat out and actually saw him do tricks and swim with the boat. yah, i have to admitt, it was kinds cute. he was just so friendly. hes been swimming for over 20 years there! from there we headed to killarney and saw the national park and the ring of kerry. it was pretty out there. the hsotile we stayed at was huge and full of people, even the english roommates that we had beck in dingle! ah... the cute english boy... anyway, from there we headed to cork... not such the best idea to head there on this weekend. one it is a bank holiday, kinda like our labor day? everyone is out and about, two it was the jazz festival and attracts 40,000 people into town, and third, we didnt have a reservation! so we ended up jumping back on the bus to galway to lindsey's flat. she has a really nice place. too cute, youd like it!
What is your means of transportation??
means of transportation have been buses. they are the natioally run buses, but are like greyhound buses. very nice. we always try to sit in the last row where there are five seats in a row and we can all be together. the only other vechicale i have been on was that boat to see the dolphin. havent had to be carried out of a pub or anything... yet.
How's the weather??
the weather has been very nice. i think it has only rained once since we have been here and we were on a bus, so we missed being out in it. this last weekend though there were huge storms in dublin. the temperature i would have to guess has been in the 50-60s. we can see our breathe and were a few layers of clothing, but nothing too bad to say the least.
What kind of animals are in Ireland?
oh baby, the wild life consists of sheep, cows, random dogs that follow you into the bus station (you have to tell them to find another stupid american because im not going to give it food), some cats (one VERY cute kitten that we named sage and almost took home as our personal suviner, lots of birds (dont know what exactly, and deer which we havent seen as of yet.
What is the primary language??
everyone that we have ran into has spoken english with an irish accent. too cute when you hear the 6 year olds talking! I want one of those too! they do also speak gaelic which they call irish.
Linds told me how to spell definitely... which i still dont think is right, so please direct all comments toward her... so I know that link won't work... Alex? Some help here? :o)
Well we arrived safely in Ireland and I'm having a great old time with these nail biter friends of mine. So far we have made quite a bit of distance on the west coast... Dingle and the Pennisuila, Kilarnney, and an attempt at Cork (damn Jazz festival... reservations? Who needs em? Well apparently we did), and now we are safely in Galway, home of the infamous Lindsey. :o) The town is supposedly full of craic (pronnounced crack, meaning fun) and you can just imagine all the jokes that can be centered around that one.
We've met a few other travelers. People in general have been super nice. That's all I have time to write today, the other two are getting a little anxious and are now flicking each other in the computer lab.
Well can't write much because I'm headed out the door to have a little more fun in New Hampshire! Two nights ago I had an amazing time in Boston that I will have to share more of later! We'll just leave it at this... Eck and I had a completely free night because a group of microsoft men and our natural charm!
Walls for the wind,
And a roof for the rain,
And drinks beside the fire -
Laughter to cheer you
And those you love near you,
And all that your heart may desire!
You'll be in my thoughts and beside me in my adventures.
Don't know when I'll be back again... la la la la la la la laaaaaaaaaaa...
So kiss me and smile for me... tell me that you'll wait for me.
You all are just SO lucky you can't actually HEAR the songs I sing in my head. Well, I'm pretty much packed... ok, not really, but all my clothing is rolled and in the backpack. Now I have to put all the finishing touches together and wam bam thank ya mam I am ready to roll. Thanks for all the emails and travel wishes. I wish that I had enough room in my bag to hide you all in. Just think about that... all of us hitting Ireland in a storm of fury! Maybe next time!
1 days left until I leave for Boston
6 days until I land in Ireland!
So last night as I was falling asleep it finally hit me hit me that I was leaving in a few days! I don't know if it was panic or excitement that ran through me. I am totally excited to be gone for 6 weeks, but none of it is really planned besides the flight. Talk about an adventure! :o) Half of me likes not having plans and wandering around on a whim... but the other perfectionist side of me is having a hard time letting go. I think we'll be ok... I've learned to work well with my major procratination for 24 years now!
3 days left until I leave for Boston
8 days until I land in Ireland!
I hope you all enjoy the new look... a little count down to my leaving...
5 days until I leave for Boston
10 days until I arrive in Ireland!
Well the birthday festivities were good! Friday at work the kids all sang happy birthday to me. It was way cute! My mom and Nikki took me shopping that afternoon. I got two new sweaters and two new shirts. :o) Yay for new clothes. Don't worry, I didn't get any new pairs of shoes this weekend... After shopping we had lunch at California Pizza Kitchen. Yum!
That night Crystal, Jen, Elise, Liz and I went out to dinner at the Cheesecake Factory and then we met up with Jamie and Carrie for drinks and fun at Sing Sing. None of us had ever been to Sing Sing before. Basically it is a piano bar where a bunch of random old songs are played and the point is for people to get so drunk they sing along and get up and dance. Well, not all the songs are that old... watching the whitest white guy play on the piano and sing Baby Got Back was the highlight! I do have to say though the clientele was very mixed... but I was super grateful... Older men are really nice when it comes to buying you drinks. :o)
Let's see... I bet I can remember everything I drank... a nasty Sea Breeze with some sort of grapefruit juice in it, three of those test tube shot things that reminds you of spring break (one red vodka based one and two green madori based ones) thanks to my gentlemen friends at the bar, a shot of tequila, a malibu and pineapple which we found a piece of grass frozen into an ice cube resulting in my next free drink, a double malibu and pineapple (and three other free drinks for the girls, damn... I'm going to start bringing my own frozen grass everywhere!), two blow job shots courtesy of the gentlemen at the bar and the bar tender... I think they were just more interested in seeing Liz take her two more!, and a Heifenisen (spelling? basically a wheat beer), but I don't think it was... wrong color, but it was tasty and free none the less!
After all this we headed to the Yard House for a few more. It was a good night and I was SOOO glad the girls could make it out. I think Liz and Crystal have formed a new bond! I wouldn't expect anything less though from those two! *HUGS* Don't forget what I told you!
Last night the family went out to dinner for Michael (my brother-in-law) and my birthday. We headed to PF Chang's at Fashion Island. My first time there. Not too too impressed by the place, but I did like the setting. After dinner, the kids went out. Yup, a little bit of good ole family bonding. Michael, me, Nikki, and Jenny all headed to Balboa Island for a little bit of extended fun. We started off with Mai Tais at the Oyster Bar and then to the fun zone for some ski ball and air hockey! It was a good night. Nice to all hang out once in a while. Makes me feel like we have some sort of social relationship with each other. The night ended with another drink and some birthday cake back at the house. Yay us! :o)
So thank you all out there for the birthday wishes, phone calls, and scary internet cards! You all rock!
Happy birthday, happy birthday. Happy, happy, birthday to me. CLAP CLAP! Put another candle on the birthday cake, the birthday cake, the birthday cake. Put another candle on the birthday cake, I'm another year old today, happy birthday to me...
well, well, well. Almost made the 3am date with Linds, but again, it ended prematurely! :o) But it's all good because we got to talk for 81 minutes. I know this because my little phone card said so when I first called her. Another reason though that the 3am date wasn't perfect was she didn't have her red sleeping bag and I wasn't wearing my pink bra! For all of you missing out, Lindsey is my friend that is in Ireland at the moment (also known as Mama Tex to the very lucky ones!) I am headed there, let's see... holy moly, well in 10 days I leave for Boston and then on the 21st we are on our adventure! :o) Yay! I'm getting more and more excited daily!
I must admit though I am a worrier... last night I had a nightmare... one, that I forgot my backpack on the way to the airport, not only that, but I had never packed in the first place, and two (look Linds, I remembered the 2nd part!) I ended up missing my first flight and there would be no one on the other end in Boston to pick me up! Yah, I'm a lame ass! None of that's going to happen because one, I can't forget ALL my stuff, and two, (look I remembered it AGAIN!) Eck is definately going to be on the other side to greet me!
Any requests out there of something you want? Or suggestions on what to bring? Just let me know... time is rapidly approaching! CRAZY! :o)
Well... my birthday is slowly, yet rapidly approaching! People keep asking me everyday what I am going to do. So I thought I should address it. You know me... decisions? HA! Well there was an idea suggested that we go to the Queen Mary for the Shipwreck Haunt thing. Anyone out there ever been to it? It's like $26 a person and you can get coupons for 5 bucks off. The thing runs from 6:30-12pm. Sound good? Eh, HELP! :o)
I'm thinking dinner might just be cool... if you are in the area, call me! Friday night most likely. Be my friend!
So what do you get when you put Tricia + free wine together? Well I'll have to let you know later today! Going to work a wine festival at 1pm today. I am helping out with check in. I remember back in the day at Sonoma, the girls going off to work other wine festivals and coming back a little toasted and loving every minute of it! The event is a fundraiser for the club, so I will have to be on my best behavior none the less!
So the wine festival went really well. It was a pretty good turn out, well better than last year. I tried a variety of wines, mostly red. I had one glass of wine to make a certain someone happy! Didn't get too tipsy, I was on the clock until 4:30pm. :o)
The best philosopy I've heard in a really long time put so simply...
You gotta go through the lows of life to really appriciate the highs.
I know that it is such the clique, but how honest can those little words be? How many times have we looked back on something and miss it with all our hearts? Almost like we would give anything for a moment. That fleeting moment grabs our existance and pushes us with strength.
Don't really know where this all came from today... it's so weird, I'm so hopeful and excited about so many things, yet I have that lump in my throat back... "my stress lump." Suggestions? Thoughts?
Cause its the first long kiss on a second date...