To Galway

My cousin Kim drove me to the airport early on the 28th and I flew to Cedar Rapids, IA. It was small, but I think Great Falls is still smaller. I was there for 3 hours before a flight to Chicago. To fly international you need to leave the gates and go through security again. I got through in the nick of time and then was on my way to Dublin. I knew it was a 7 hour flight, and I landed at 8 am the next day. It was my only chance for sleep. What did I do? I watched the two movies on the plane and then cat napped my way in.

I got in at 8. It took until 9:15 to get through customs and immigration. My brother was suppose to come in at 10:00, so I tried to stay awake until then. I paced around, and finally slept near a bus schedule. Scott came in at the right time and flew threw customs. He came out at a different gate than I expected so it was good he decided to look for me before he went to the main terminal. We met up and got bus tickets, took some cash out of an ATM, and boarded a bus to Galway. We were awake through the city and for about 5 minutes on the open road, then we both slept almost to Galway (approx. 3 hours).


We left the bus station, and walked a few blocks to our hostel. We checked in, took showers, and were ready to hit the town. Scott had spent the last few years in Jamaica with the Peace Corps, so he was excited to travel, but he was not about to spend money he didn't have to. Thank godness. We walked around Eyre square, and found a crepe place for lunch. We then walked through the town stopping when we saw a good photo or when it rained.

We explored the Cathedral, walked out on a pier to the lighthouse, and then up a hill and found a cemetery and St. Augustine's well. We decided to go back to the hostel for a rest and then try and go out on the town.


We were in Galway during the Galway races, much like the kentucky derby back home. The place was packed. We finally found a bar that we could sit down in, and watched part of a hurling match on TV. Another TV was turned up REALLY loud on a nature documentary and the sound of crickets was being piped through the pub at unreasonalbe volumes. A man walked over and turned the power off to the cheers of his mates, but an old man stood up and threatened to throw a punch. The old man was calm once the young guy turned the tube back on, but I was, in the back of my mind, hoping for an Irish brawl. Could you imagine, the first night and a drunk Irishman got in a fight? I don't like stereotypes, but that would have been a story.

We turned in after one or two beers.

We were tired and sore and one guiness was enough for a buzz. We slept well, despite our roomates coming in at 3:15am and talking about their mis-attempts at scoring that night. We were awake early the next morning and the hostel had a breakfast ready for us. I was disappointed because breakfast at all the hostels meant toast and jam and cereal and milk. I can't have cereal with milk, so I was stuck with toast and jam.

It was fine because it was free. We then boarded a bus and were on our way to Doolin.

Kansas

I drove to Manhattan Kansas the next day to see my friend Brandon. I met his wife to be, Lisa, and his best man as we picked up my tux. We then drove to the reception site and looked around and then to Lisa's house. I set up my tent in their back yard and they fed us a great bbq. That night we created the centerpieces and welcomed Brandon's sister in later.

The next day as all the others in the bridal party were coming in, we decorated the reception hall. It was fun. That night all of us went to Aggieville in Manhattan and danced and drank for the bachelor party. We had friends from all over the US and had a great time catching up. We drove back to the hotel and slept preparing for the big day.

On the day of the wedding we dressed at the church and took pictures before hand. The wedding was beautiful in a small Lutheran church in Wheaton. After the wedding, the bridal party boarded a bus and drove around taking pictures and relaxing. We then eventually made our way to the reception.

It was a great dance and we all had lots of fun. That night we also went swimming until about 3 am. I sweat a lot. During the dance I took off my bow tie and set it on a table. I forgot to get it, but the mother of the bride picked it up. The next day, I met up with her and she told me I dropped my bowtie in something, it was soaking wet. I told her that, no, I was sweating and it soaked the tie. She absolutely wouldn't believe that it was only sweat.

I dropped my buddy Nick off at the Kansas City airport the next day and was able to cross into Missouri to add another state to my road trip. I drove back across Kansas and only was able to get to Hays before I was ready to stop. I rented a hotel room and stayed there. The next day I drove to Aurora again, and stopped into the local library to check my email and look at my travel plans to Ireland. That night was my aunt Lillian's birthday. I went over to her house for dinner and met up with my other cousin Kim and her two kids. It was fun to see them again and play games and celebrate Lillian's birthday.
The next day, Kim drove me to the airport to leave for the emerald isle.

On to the next...

I drove to Billings on the 21st and stayed with my aunt Mary. I had seen her at the reunion but was nice to spend time with her. For dinner she had five nuns from China and a nun from New York staying with her. We ate a great stir fry and had a house full of laughter. I sat and talked with Mary about my family history and showed her some of my work on an online family tree.
I then went and visited my cousin Daniel and had a great conversation. I stayed with my aunt that night and the next morning discussed traveling in Ireland. She had been there twice before and was able to give me some ideas for site seeing.


I drove to Aurora Colorado the next day, and on the way visited with my cousin Grant in Buffalo, WY. He was working at the newspaper where he is a reporter. We ate lunch and he showed me some fun spots around the town.
I continued to Colorado and missed getting into a severe thunderstorm by a few miles. I hit some rain but missed the large wind and hail. I stopped in and stayed a night with my cousin Ronda, who I hadn't seen in 8 years. It was great catching up and sharing family stories with her. We promised to spend more time together and get the cousins on our side together more. I then was off to Kansas for a friends wedding.

Thank God I'm a country boy

When I returned to the farm, my aunt Veronica and uncle Bart were still around. We spent a night talking family and life. It was fun to see them. The next day I spent a day wandering around the hills in our pasture looking for rocks. I found great examples of igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary rocks. I found some interesting sandstone layers and think I may have found small fossils in the layer. I saved many rocks for hand specimens in my classroom.
The next day I stayed home as Mom and Dad went to work. I continued playing with ancestry stuff on the computer and was bored in the evening
so I walked to Antelope butte from our house. It was probably about a five mile hike or more, but I really enjoyed the walk with our dog Molly. I saw hawks, deer, rabbits, and lots of meadowlarks.
The next day I decided I was going to run to my uncle's house. It has always been a goal of mine. He lives about 12 miles away. I went to his house for lunch because I was trying to find places to stay later in my travels and our internet went down. I ate great chicken dinner from aunt Jerri and then walked out to the reservoir and our families grave site. I drove home and hydrated for my big run. At about 6:45 I took off with a camel back, two cliff bars and a powerade on my back. I ran about 4 miles and started feeling my heart beat and began to worry. I drank some water and walked for a bit, and calmed down. At 6 miles I stopped and rested for a bit. I ran 2 more miles and began getting sore. I had blisters on my feet and a sore knee. I knew I needed to keep going and luckily my uncle ran from his house to meet me and met me at about mile 9. I ran the rest of the way with him and his dog Otis. It was great. I ran the 12 miles in one hour and forty-five minutes.
The next day my knee hurt, but I played 18 holes of golf with my friends Owen and Allyn and loved my day in the sun.

I then drove to my friend Nick's baby shower at his farm. I stayed there until 1 am spending time with neighbors and friends.

On Sunday, my parents and I were going to float the river but the wind was blowing really hard. Mom decided to go to church and told Dad and I to go by ourselves.

We borrowed a kayak from my aunt Jerri and another from our neighbors. We drove up to Carter to put in and I strapped 2 water bottles to the back of my kayak. We put in and I tipped not 50 feet into the river. The man watching us would have told us to take out immediately. I floated a little farther and tipped again. I told my Dad to take my water bottles and I stayed up for almost the rest of the few hour trip. I realized the kayak was too small. I couldn't fit my knees into the boat and they were touching the whole time. It really worked my ab muscles and balancing muscles. My mom came and picked us up and we enjoyed a root beer float at the tasty freeze.

The next day, my last day at the farm, I hiked square butte with my uncle.

We left at 9:30 and got to the top at 11:30am. We walked around the top for 6 more hours, before going home. I loved the few days home and all the energy I was able to exert. I saw lots of my home town area and loved it.

Bozeman

I drove from Butte to Bozeman to visit some high school friends and see the museum of the Rockies. I had been when I was in 4th grade, but I don't remember much. The first night I was there, I stayed with my friend Taylor, who was a camp counselor with me in high school, and caught up on all our friends. I went bowling with her brother and his girlfriend, Katie, who I also counseled with.

We had a great time telling stories and laughing about the past. The next day, I went to the museum with Taylor. I remembered it being bigger, but I still enjoyed it. There were displays about the old west with Montana history and a great display of native artifacts. Then came the hall of the thunder lizards. For those of you who don't know, I love dinosaurs. I have been obsessed pretty much since 2nd grade. I loved the bones, and learning about the excavation process.

There are great displays of Triceretops, T-rex, and anklyosaurs. I was a huge fan. The next day I caught up with my buddy Matt over lunch and then drove back to the farm.

National Folk Festival

The National Folk Festival was incredible. It made the weekend better to share it with friends and family, but I would have enjoyed it regardless. It was held in Butte on a hill over many city blocks. There were 5 stages and such variety in the music. The first band I watched was "The Spirit of New York" on the main stage. The main stage is under an old mining rig. I had quite the time just people watching in the crowd and enjoying the music. My cousins and I saw Otrov
which played Baltic strings, a 16 year old madolin player named Sierra Hull and her band, and finished the night dancing to Thomas Mupfumo on the lowest stage. The lower stage is the only one with a dance floor.

The next day we came when the festival opened to do the square dancing. It was amazing to see 200 people getting swung around, from ages of 8-80, and they all had the biggest grins on their faces that you would ever see. My cousins and I joined in and enjoyed learning all the moves. That day was a mix of international music from China, Columbia, Mexico, as well as some rockin' blues and finishing the night with a amazing creole band, Beausoleil, at the dancing stage.

There are all kinds of artisans as well who use a variety of the resources of Montana in their art. We also watched a black smith for a while fashion some amazing iron work. The type of people at the event were a variety of what I call "dress like a liberal." If you weren't wearing khaki shorts and chacos, you were in the minority. It was 3 beautiful days with diversity and fun. The only downside was there was no public water spigot, you had to buy it. I walked away from the festival and stole into local shops and used their soda dispenser water spouts unoticed.

My Summer July 1-8

I left Oregon on the first of July and drove that night to Moscow Idaho to visit my friends Nick and Melissa and their new baby Henry.

It was a fun visit and chat with friends. The next day I drove to Montana. The first few days at home, I had a goal to work on family history and genealogy. I found photos and memoirs in my grandparents trunk. I worked for many hours putting together stories and photographs and updating my family tree online. A few mothers died in childbirth, great uncles were killed from Scarlett Fever, Tuberculosis, etc. Lots of children being passed around to siblings after parents died young. I was able to trace my Mom's side back to Ireland and the 1818 but no further. More time is needed.

While home I witnessed a wicked lightening storm that lasted about 45 minutes and saw some friends, as well as celebrated with neighbors their farms 100 year anniversary. We also went hiking with a neighbor who had found a dinosaur bone on her property. We spend about an hour near the spot where she found it, but came home empty handed. I left the night of the 7th of July and drove down to Butte for the National Folk Festival and a family reunion.


The Family reunion was strange in the fact that I was the oldest cousin there. On a side of the family that has 19 first cousins, I am right in the middle, but am usually on the younger side of the reunions. It was fun to hang out with my younger cousins and my aunts and uncles as well. There were stories shared, with lots of laughter and support given. I love my family, I really do.