Back in the Emerald Isle

All too soon my weeks of vacation in the US were done and we had to fly back to Ireland.  Steve was certainly happy as he had come back earlier for work, as were two furry pups. 

Rugby the Big Red Lapdog, and Chloe pines for attention!

Adventures with Pat and June

Took a trip down the Mississippi with June and Pat on their fishing boat!  We went down to Galena by boat and stopped at a pub for beer and snacks.  We had a lovely time and even got to see some river wildlife!

Back in Dubuque!

We stayed at Jack and Sharon's place in Shawandossee.  It was lovely to be around my siblings and to have so much free time to hang out and relax.  Connor and Haley came up for Labor Day weekend, as did Sohpie Finerty - my other daughter!  We had a really good time and got out on the boat and also saw some other Schlueter relatives who were in town and it was fabulous!  The only one missing for me was my sister, Jane, who wasn't able to get away at the start of the school year.  It was a bummer - and we missed her tremendously.  It was great to see Dick and Lisa and their boys too!  Really had a very good time, which is obvious from the lack of photos - who had time to take photos?!  I was much too busy enjoying my time back home!

Love Dubuque and my family so so much!  Though Ireland is also fab, it's not the same without the people who know me so well and can make me laugh so much!

This was down at the River Museum with David.  We texted a photo to Connie for the fun of it and giggled like children...Not a great picture of me, but worth it since the shot of David is priceless!

Jack and Sharon's pooches!

This is Alys (sp?) trying to  asphyxiate herself, apparenlty...

Of course that's Fincel's Corn!

Back in the USA!!!!

The month of August was a big trip to the US for our whole family.  We flew to Chicago, stayed there for 2 weeks to fit in doctor appointments and to see friends we haven't been able to hug in a year!  A big salute to our great friend Kim Burby for letting Zach, Steve and I stay with her while in the Chicago area!  We had a lovely time and got to see lots of people.  Another big salute to great friends Bobby and Morna Gaylor who still have our stuff in "storage" at their shop and who are always ready to get together!

Haley stayed with her friend Felicia and the Menon family, and Connor stayed with Kay and her family so it all worked out quite well.  We had a good time and visited with a lot of people, but the time really flew by and then it was time to head off to Iowa City to get Connor and Haley settled in at the University.

I did NOT take enough pictures on this trip back home!  

Dinner at El Puerto's with Bobby, Morna and Auggie!

Steve's rental car - the Dodge Charger!

In Kim's driveway, saying good-bye and gearing up for the drive to Iowa City.

We had a great time in Ingleside, and it was hard to say good-bye to people.  Hopefully we will get some visitors to Ireland this year!!

Once in Iowa City, we got Haley moved into her dorm room and then she had a lot of Orientation stuff to do.  We again managed to see a lot of friends while we were there, and even got to go out with Holly and Darryl Blanchette when they were in town dropping off Tom. We had a great time!   They also provided space in a U-Haul for some of Connor's things and that worked out quite well for us - woohoo!

There were Herky statues all over campus.  This one, Captain Herky, was out near our hotel.

This one is made with corn.  ANF stands for "America Needs Farmers"  and I think this one was my favorite!! 

These are the Blaum Brothers.  They are cousins to Collin Custis, who is married to our niece, Jewel.  They have this distillery in Galena, but they were on site at a liquor store in Iowa City, so we stopped by to meet them before meeting up with Joe and Moe and their family for dinner at the Iowa River and Power Company.

After getting Connor and Haley settled in Iowa City, we headed to the Quad Cities to see Dick and Connie and Satchel.  From there we headed on to Dubuque for 2 more weeks of vacation!

Odds and Ends

Then it was time to say good-bye to Dad and Sharla.  It was hard to let them go!  Still we had had a lovely summer and we still had adventures ahead of us!

Lots of other things this summer:

This is how Connor watches a Gaelic Football Match at the rails - such a gymnast!

On the last Saturday in July, we invited the families of Haley's closest school friends over for a BBQ.  It was a lovely evening.  We did chicken on the grill using just seasoned salt and hamburgers.  We made a pasta salad with veggies, italian dressing, and bacon bits (which they thought was American bacon but I just cooked the bejeebers out of regular Irish rashers) and we made the Cheesy hash brown potatoes - using real diced potatoes as they don't sell them here frozen - not unless it's chips (fries).   I also made two cookie cakes and did both flags!  (I had to make my own cookie dough because, again, there isn't any frozen or refrigerated cookie dough here.)

On the following weekend, Haley's friends threw a surprise party for her.  It was, of course, in a pub and then they took a bus to a club in Carrick on Shannon.  Zach and Connor went with as well. 

These are the hydrangeas in our front garden.  The colors are amazing!  On our trip south, we actually saw some that were truly bright red!

This was just a surprise to me!  St. Mel's is the local Cathedral in Longford and it is a boys school as well.  Now they apparently also have a brewing company!  Ha!

At the end of July we had to get Haley ready to move back to the States.  She made a lot of really good friends in Ireland.  On the morning that we had to leave, Stephanie and Shannon Brady (twins who went to Haley's school but who also live in our neighborhood - which is actually how they got to know each other) came over to the house in the early morning hours to say good-bye.  I did not get a picture of them and for that I am truly sorry.  They are lovely friends!  At the airport, Haley's four closest school chums showed up just to say good-bye to her!

I think living in Ireland was a great experience for Haley.  I think she can do well wherever she goes!

 Sinead, Caiomhe, Laura, and Lorraine at the airport with Haley.

Adare

We had finished our fabulous trip and it was time to head back up North.  We took the opportunity to stop in Adare in County Limerick for lunch.  Adare is an adorable town.  Steve and I had stayed at Adare Manor last October, but didn't get a chance to traipse through the town.  We had a very nice stroll and a lovely lunch.   Lots of thatched roof cottages and several little shops here!

I include all three of the following pictures because Haley's expressions are funny.  Acting sad, laughing, then trying to be good and take a nice picture.

I won't tell you whose feet these are...but I did crack myself up taking the photo!

After dessert, it was time to head home.

Boat Tour

Once we crossed the little stone bridge, we headed to Lord Brandon's Cottage for lunch.  There was a sign that said no dogs, but there must have been 3 dogs running around the picnic tables that are the available seating.  I'm pretty sure one of the dogs actually lives there.  The Cottage is an outdoor restaurant/eating space.  While we were there, the weather actually warmed up a bit.

As you can see in the picture above, Connor has a hard time keeping his hands to himself, although, Haley can be fairly mouthy!  I had another shot of the walkway from the Cottage but Haley was flipping me off so...

Then we were off to wait for our boat.

The starting point is on Upper Lake, which then has some narrow passage-ways to Lough Leane and to Muckross Lake.  It wends it's way through Killarney National Park.  For our trip, we went to Lough Leane (the lake our hotel sits on) around Ross Island, and ended our trip at Ross Castle.  If you look at the route on a map, it is a fairly long stretch of narrow waterway from Upper Lake to Lough Leane, and as you can see from Steve's pictures, it is absolutely gorgeous!  The weather continued to clear up for the most part, so that was another bonus!

With as narrow as the passage can be, you have to have an experienced boat captain I am sure!

 That is another hotel on the Lake - not ours.

The magnificent Ross Castle.  Built in the 15th Century by O'Donoghue Mor, it is famed as the last stronghold in Munster to hold out against Cromwell, eventually being taken in 1652.  Legend has it that every seventh year on the First of May, O'Donoghue rises from his slumber in Lough Leane to ride his magnificent white horse around the lake.  If you happen to see him on this journey, you will have good fortune for the rest of your life.