The Adventure Has Begun!

Family & Friends!

We have arrived safely in Ireland and are settling in well! We have been a bit disconnected from the world given our slightly remoted location and the lack of a Wi-Fi connection.

That being said, we are figuring things out and taking one day at a time. We are very lucky to have landed in a place that loves to help pathetic and desperate people. :-)

The start of our journey was an interesting one… just before arriving at the airport, I got a text that our flight to Washington DC was cancelled due to air traffic control. It sounds like there were some security concerns at Dulles and they closed the airport to incoming flights. We quickly rearranged travel, connecting through Toronto. The girls were beside themselves with excitement waiting for the plane to arrive. Once it did, we were a bit surprised… a 20 seater propeller plane, decked out with a big green leaf painted on the side, was going to be their first airplane experience. Needless to say, without a point of reference, they didn’t bat an eye as they walked out onto the tarmac and up the stairs of the plane. It was a smooth ride and they just giggled the whole time. :-)

Upon arrival in Toronto, we had a bit of a layover. It was getting late, but the girls were troopers and even made friends with two twin girls (Mary and Eva (11)) returning back to Ireland from their holiday in New York Annelyse and Loralye asked if they could just go to Ireland with them… pretty sure they would have ditched us all together had we let them. We were happy to find that both of the seats next to us were empty, so the girls were able to spread out and sleep for most of the flight over the ocean. Six seats for the price of 4…that was truly a blessing!!

Arrival into Dublin and through customs was pretty painless. We arrived at our apartment and the girls couldn’t wait to get into the harbor, which is very cold, but full of activity!! The girls got a big kick out of the sea lions sunning themselves on some rocks. Shortly after the relocation people and landlord left, we realized we had no bed linens or pillows… With no car and no Wi-Fi signal (not to mention no idea where a store that sold those kinds of things was to be found) we made the best of the situation and camped out with lots of cushions and travel pillows for the night.   Hard to be uncomfortable or unhappy in this place!

Saturday we took a taxi, (which the girls were thrilled about since they don’t have to ride in car seats) to a local store to get some stuff for the house. Finding a hairdryer turned out to be an expedition fit for Indiana Jones. In the end, we have a coffee pot, hair dryer, toaster, pillows, blankets and some food… life is good!  The picture below is of the girls taking a 'selfie' in the taxi...I can only imagiane what's to come!

Sunday, we ventured out again, this time taking the DART (train)… Another fun ride for the girls. They especially loved going through the tunnels which were pitch black, again giggling the entire time. Loralye kept saying “we are going on an adventure!!”

I made it into work Monday, which allowed us to connect to the world again. Of course my first morning commute was in true Irish style with a severe downpour. Luckily Russ had gotten me a great raincoat and umbrella which made the torrential rains much more bearable. For only being here 5 days, it feels like we have been here for a month. We have quickly learned how little we need and really how simple life can be if we don’t overcomplicate things. It has definitely been an adjustment and I am sure there are still lots of things to discover, but we are doing well and I think making the best of our adventure as Lo would say.

Our shipment is being delivered tomorrow, so after that we should be all ready for company.  :-)

Thank you for all the well wishes, emails and texts! We hope to better about (and capable of) responding to them shortly!

Hope all is well with you all!

Take care & love, Lyndsey, Russ, Annelyse & Loralye

.