Ireland, 1995

My friend Tracy offered her backpack and off I went for 10 days in Ireland. I had no plan but to arrive in Dublin on May 24 with a place to stay and a return trip to St. Louis on June 3. I was hoping to get to my grandmother’s home village, but armed with only the Lonely Planet Ireland Guide and no other resources, it was limited in how much knowledge I had to even get to Sligo, the closest city in remote Donegal. Instead I was a tourist in Dublin, Dun Laoghaire, Galway, Ring of Kerry, and Limerick, until I finally ended up back in Dublin for my flight home.

What did I learn on this trip? I love travel. It is a verb and a noun, and it opens up a whole world that I know now how to navigate.

I still have my journal from that trip and photos. I learned that my grandmother resides somewhere within me, restless, nudging, pushing me to come back to Ireland. So go I will.