Hard To Describe - My Stop in Maybeury, WV

(Joanna and I in 1995)

(Johnny, Joanna and I today)

(Junetta and I today)

When I was 15 years old I was fortunate to be a part of a group from Trinity United Methodist in Sumter that traveled to Northfork, WV for a weeklong mission trip with Mustard Seeds and Mountains. Up until that point in my life, I was just a kid and a teenager doing kid and teenager things. Sleepovers, playing sports, going to school, etc. Little did I know that that week in southern West Virginia would set me on the path that leads me to where I am today.

That week my group worked on the house of Johnny, his wife Junetta and their three kids Andrea, Johnny and Joanna. Repairing their home and building a front porch was good experience for me. It taught me how to be selfless and give of myself to help another human. It was also great for me to learn how to work with my hands.  I enjoy building and repairing things, and I can’t help but wonder if that week helped spark that for me.

However, it was the relationships that were built with the family that really changed my life. I remember talking with Junetta for what seemed like hours on end about her life and sharing mine. It was an incredible connection that I never forgot. I remember Joanna, who was around 5 at the time, following me around the job site. I remember Johnny Sr. helping us with the porch. I remember playing with Johnny Jr. and Andrea. The time with the family was truly amazing. That week FLEW by and it was that week that showed me being of service to others was something I wanted for the rest of my life. I can't thank Mark and the rest of the adults from Trinity that made that trip happen.

I never forgot about the family. It was around 4 years ago that I went to Google and found a phone number that seemed like it might be Junetta and Johnny's number. I called it. And much to my surprise, Junetta answered. As I fumbled with my words to explain who I was she cut me off and said, "I remember you, Brian. I've never forgotten about you." We talked for a long time as she caught me up on life in WV and how her family was doing.....the highs and the lows. I ended the conversation telling her that I hoped to make it to WV one day again and when I did, I would stop by.

That day was today. Joanna and Johnny have grown up. Joanna's amazingly cute kids were running around the porch, Johnny stopped by with his girlfriend.....and then there was Junetta.....sweet Junetta was there to welcome me like it was just another day on the job site. Except this visit was 23 years after our first meeting.

I really can't describe how it felt being with this family again. I'm feeling so many emotions right now including joy, sadness, contentment, thankfulness. What a rich experience it was to be in the presence of this wonderfully loving family. We sat and talked for a couple of hours as I heard about family updates and I updated them on my life. We talked about real things: addiction, regrets, letting go, fears and more. I could have talked for hours and hours. As I got up to leave Junetta said, "Can we tie you to this bench? I don't want you to leave." I didn't want to leave either. Seeing Johnny and Joanna as beautiful 28 year olds absolutely blew me away. What a wonderful testament to the work of Johnny and Junetta. They have raised great kids. I hate I missed Andrea. Maybe one day I'll see her again. Johnny Sr., I'll see you sometime soon I hope my man.

Junetta and family, this won't be the last time I see you guys. I love each of you very much and, as always, only want the best for you. It was so wonderful to be around your family. I can't thank you enough for allowing me into your home and into your life again. I'm so thankful to have seen all of you. This won't be the last time I assure you. You always have a friend in SC and know that I'm you're biggest fan. I'll always answer when you call.

Trudy and Nate of Mustard Seeds and Mountains, thank you for your care and hospitality. You have provided me an avenue to re-light my service fire that was lit back in 1995. Thank you so much for providing this experience for me. God is doing some wonderful things here through your work.

When I look back on my life it's really incredible to see the experiences I've had. I'm in a thankful spot right now.

Europalooza 2018 - So Ends Another One....Or Is It A Beginning?

(I wrote most of this typed text on the flight home yesterday.....the handwritten portion was from this morning)

Mom and I are flying back from Shannon to Philadelphia at the moment.  We'll catch our connecting flight to Charlotte soon after landing and so will end another wonderful time of travel for me.  

Officially now I have traveled to 12 countries.  This trip added 5 more countries to this list:

Ireland (2009 and 2018)

Scotland (2009 and 2018)

England (2009 and 2015)

France (2009)

Spain (2009 and 2017)

Cuba (2017)

Switzerland (2018)

Wales (2015)

Germany(2018)

Austria (2018)

Poland (2018)

Czech Republic (2018)

There were so many highlights from this trip.  Here are a few that pop to mind.  Most, if not all of these, have individual posts associated with them so I'll be brief here:

- That first night in Copenhagen was so much fun.  I could have hopped back on the plane the next day and considered this a full trip.   It contained so many things that I look for when I travel and in life in general.  Things like:  Discovering a new place.  Challenging myself with navigating public transportation in a new place.  Meeting and talking with locals.  Meeting fellow travelers.  Enjoying local food and drink.  Deep conversation.....thank you Frederick and Frederick for talking with me.  So awesome. It also included dancing....something I usually shy away from.  I was able to enjoy the moment....there were many to enjoy that day and night.  Such great, clean fun.

- The Friday night in Prague was epic.  It was a true local experience as I got to do things tourists normally don't get to experience.  Robert, you're the man.  Thank you for your kindness and hospitality.  

- Auschwitz was incredible.  I'm glad I got to see it.  I thought Wally was right:  that I'd only want to see it once.  Honestly I would be open to going back after talking with Mom and telling her about it.  She has a desire to see it.  Plus after seeing the Documentation Centre in Munich I see that there is so, so much more to learn about the atrocities committed by the Nazis. 

- Seeing the scenery and experiencing the people of Germany and Austria was quite nice.  As referenced several times before, Michaela was awesome in Lindau.  Seeing the Alps and going to the top of the Zugspitze was a really fun experience.  It was also hilarious that I thought I was in Germany when I was really in Austria at one point.  Oops.

- Driving on the Autobahn was fantastic and exhilarating.  I'll leave it at that. 

- Walking the Highline 179 was really cool.  I'm very glad I did that.  

- FaceTiming with Alexandra while driving through Austria was a real treat!

- Experiencing the scenery in Garmisch-Partenkirchen was so peaceful.  

- Meeting Mom as she got off the plane in Edinburgh was hilarious and awesome.  Hearing her say, "We're in Scotland.  Can you believe it," instantly melted any amount of fear and anxiety I had about that part of the trip not being enjoyable for her.  

- Driving on the left side of the road was a real challenge and I ended up loving it.  Early on it was stressful.  Thankfully no pedestrians, cars, bicycles, motorcycles or sheep were injured as a result of my driving. Huge apologies to the cone I hit in Edinburgh.  

- Playing Turnberry was a dream come true. Flat out amazing. It was also my first experience with being in a place across the globe that I had been before.  The emotions that arose within me were unexpectedly and welcome. 

- The ferry ride from Cainryn to Belfast was a high level experience.  

- Landing and driving a few hours in Ireland that first day was really fun.  It cracks me up that the first meal we had in Ireland was Subway!  At least the guy working was wearing a green shirt. 

- Stopping in Tralee and seeing Stephen at Castle Hostel was a real treat. 

- Dingle, the Connor Pass and the Slea Head Drive were all beautiful.  Seeing Fungi the Dolphin and taking that boat ride was a great way to start our second and last day on the Dingle Peninsula. 

- Seeing places my Dad and Brother saw in Ireland like Ballybunion and Lahinch was neat.  Their trip to Ireland was almost 30 years ago.  

- Stepping back into McDermott's Pub was another flood of emotions in Doolin as that was one of the first places I visited outside of the US back in 2009.  It was yet another place that I learned that God will take care of me. 

- And last but not least:  The conversations with Mom(that I'm not going to post here) around all sorts of topics including family history, memories of my childhood and much more were a real blessing and I can't thank her enough for being willing to travel together and for her showing up in a real way during this trip.  The time I had with her was something that was needed and something that I will never forget. 

And for a few more logistics:

Things Mom and I Did:

- Picked up the rental car from Scott the friendly Scotsman at Easirent. 

- Walked through Edinburgh stopping in St. Mary's Cathedral.  Walked around the base of Edinburgh Castle and through the gardens there.  

- Drove to Inverness stopping in the roadside rest area.

- Tour of Isle of Skye from Inverness during he first full day Mom was here.  Walked through Donan Eilan Castle on this tour.  Saw Loch Ness.  

- Drove to Turnberry and Mom followed along as I played the Ailsa Course there. 

- Drove through Stranraer and saw The Old Manse where I stayed back in 2009.  Grabbed sandwiches at Morrison's grocery store on the way to the ferry.  Was asked if we had a loyalty card and promptly responded with a polite "no."

- Ferried from Cainryn, Scotland to Belfast, Ireland.  

- Drove to Nenagh, Ireland. Had Subway on the way.  

- Stopped in Adare, Ireland on the way to Dingle. 

- Stopped for lunch in Tralee and also to talk with Stephen at Castle Hostel where I stayed back in 2009.  Also walked through the rose garden in Tralee and stopped at a sporting goods store. 

- Drove the Connor Pass to Dingle stopping along the way for pictures and I took a brief hike up one of the hills. Saw sheep up close for the first time. 

- Listened to Traditional Irish Music in Dingle at O'Sullivan's.

- Fungi Dolphin Tour in Dingle.

- Slea Head Drive stopping for pictures and a picnic with really good Egg Salad sandwiches and crisps.  Fed the sheep and pony along the way.  Swung through the Blasket Island Visitor Center briefly.  This drive started and ended in Dingle. 

- Stayed in Ballybunion.  Walked across the golf course to the ocean.  Ate at McGann's Pub which was really good after quite a wait. 

- Visited Bromore Cliffs outside of Ballybunion.  Petted Bart the horse here. 

- Stopped in Targert at Swanky's Pub.  Then ferried across on our way to Doolin.  20 minute ferry ride. 

- Arrived in rainy Doolin and had dinner and listened to Irish Music At O'Connor's Pub. 

- Visited The Cliffs of Moher Visitor's Center outside of Doolin.

- Took a boat ride out to the Cliffs of Moher and lived to tell about it.  

- Drove to Shannon and stayed near the airport.

- Rode to the airport with Bob the taxi driver. 

- Duty Free Shop in Shannon airport. 

- Airport Lounge in Shannon airport. 

And here are my thoughts from this morning.  I was flooded with a huge amount of gratitude when I wrote this morning.  I wanted to place it here:

Readers, thanks so much for following along throughout this journey.  It's been a real pleasure to share with you(and me for my memory's sake) the thoughts, feelings and experiences from Europalooza 2018. 

And here's a map of locations visited:

Cliff

I'm reminded that one of the MAJOR things I love about travel is meeting new people and having the most fun conversations with people.

Tonight's reminder is Cliff. Cliff works for Easirent which is a European rental car company. If one Googles Easirent one would find negative reviews galore. However my experience with Easirent both in Edinburgh and here in Shannon was amazing.

Cliff was hilarious to me. From the moment I called him when I couldn't locate the office (correct. I couldn't find the Easirent office....more on that in a moment) to the moments he said the following:

"We're actually in the Shannon Springs Hotel."
"So you're close eh?"
"I'll be out in the back in a pink shirt."
"No. It's a salmon shirt." (This was the line that cracked me up the most. Once he said this, I knew I had found a like-minded Irishman)

.....Cliff was, as I said, hilarious.

He was mesmerized by the Volvo we had been driving:

"Did you get the R Design because of the specs or the performance? This is nice. I haven't seen one of these yet." (If you're keeping score at home: I needed whatever car was an automatic. It turns out the Volvo was super sleek and cool. And fast.)

So, straight up, the Easirent office was in the hotel. And not just an office in the hotel....an old room in the hotel converted to "an office." No pictures of this beauty, I'm afraid.

Cliff offered to give me a ride back to the hotel which was really cool of him. He mentioned earlier that he drove a Fiat after I told him I drove a pickup.

When it came time to take me back(after a thorough 18 second check of the vehicle and a 19 second check out process) he decided to take me back in the Volvo. My only regret is that the hotel wasn't further away....only a half mile.

He shared that he used to work with autistic children but needed to do something different. He is from Limerick and been in Shannon for five weeks. He likes working at Easirent because the people are nice and he gets to drive a bunch of different vehicles.

It was just a fun conversation with a cool Irishman that looked more like a grunge era American.

Final Night Blues

I've been in Europe since June 27, 2018.  Today is July 15, 2018.  This marks the longest I've ever been away from my home.  

I fly back to the United States tomorrow with mixed emotions.  I've come to expect a mixture of sadness, excitement, fear, joy and thankfulness to come to the surface around the time a trip is ending.  To date, the strongest feelings I had were when I was sitting in the Havana airport last June.  Maybe I'll post that link here by the time I finish writing this.  (Incase you're wondering, I typically type these out using the Notes app on an iPhone......thanks Steve Jobs)

Tonight is different.  When I look back on this trip, I think back to the absolutely fun and challenging times I had in Copenhagen, Prague, Zurich, Austria and Germany by myself.  Those times are hugely important and valuable to me as I try to grow to be better everyday and put myself in situations that are challenging and a little risky and DEFINITELY outside of my comfort zone(which is fairly small on my worst days). 

I also think back to meeting my mother in Edinburgh one week ago today.  First of all, I can't believe that it's been 7 days since she arrived.  Time didn't stand still, it didn't go fast, it just simply didn't exist while we toured Scotland and Ireland together.  

The conversations we had, the laughs we shared, the sites we saw, the people we met, the food we ate, and the experiences we went through were other-worldly.  I truly can't put into words how I feel about the time we got to share, so right now I'm simply going to feel it in my body and enjoy it.  Maybe I can write more about it later.  

I'm hoping I'll do one final write up on this trip, but I wanted to get a few thoughts out on paper as I wait on our food at the hotel in Shannon.  It's just really hard to believe this trip is almost over.  

I'm terribly thankful to have been able to experience the things I've been able to experience the last 20 days or so.  

Oh and here's that post-Cuba link:  http://roseoverexposed.blogspot.com/2017/06/thank-you.html?m=0

Pictured are some Irish Cattle hanging out outside of Doolin today.  Truly, this is as beautiful as any town square in Europe to me.

The Cliffs of Moher

....are always great to see. It was quite a misty day out there but these are not worth missing on a trip to Ireland in my opinion. Yes. It is touristy. But I really don't care. It's quite beautiful.

Ferry From Tarbert, Google You Sly Dog You, Music In Doolin!

We took the ferry from Tarbert today as we headed north along the western coast of Ireland.  The ferry saved us a good amount of driving and provided us with a cool(literally!) 20 minute ride.  

Once we got across the water I decided to follow Google Maps directions to Doolin and, boy, I must have checked the "Narrowest Roads Possible" setting, but I tell you what, it provided us with some amazing scenery. 

And no trip to Ireland would be complete without some Irish music!  Doolin is the spot where I spent my first night abroad back in 2009 so being back here is a bit surreal.  The town has grown for sure and the hostel I stayed in is now a hotel.  

But, back to the Google Maps thing again for a second, we drove in on the road that I stumbled upon back in 2009 so that was really cool.  Here's that post for those keeping score at home:  http://roseoverexposed.blogspot.com/2009/07/another-mistake.html?m=0

My Guy

We stopped at Bromore Cliffs on the way out of Ballybunion and made a new friend. The Cliffs themselves are gorgeous and very cheap to see. 5 euro per car and Mike the caretaker was wonderful telling us where to go and what to do. He pointed out seals to us and really loved what he did.

Bart was the highlight for me. He let Mom and I let him a bunch and I just really took my time petting him. Majestic and beautiful animal.

He was really looking for food from us early but I think he really got to where he enjoyed being petted.

I might need to get a horse too.

One Way To Do It

There's more than one way to dry a mop

Sometimes You Just Gotta Do Laundry

....outside the Supervalu.

We did not do laundry. Just thought this was interesting placement for laundry facilities!

Ballybunion

We've landed in Ballybunion for the night. The golf course is open for members only tomorrow but that didn't stop Mom and I from walking around the course a little. Beautiful golf course.

Aw shucks....guess I'll have to come back to Ireland AGAIN to play this one.

In the Footsteps of the Greats....

.....like Matt LeBlanc.

Noticed this picture while I was getting an afternoon latte. Right before this picture was taken an Irishmen turned to me and said, "This is as close as we get to Dunkin' Donuts over here!"

This picture taken was at our gas station stop before taking the Slea Road Drive.

Which, by the way, petrol stations here are amazingly clean and bright.

Slea Head Drive #2

This is from stops 2-987(it feels like). This road and the scenery is incredible

Slea Head Drive

Stop #1: Ring Fort and Sheep Petting. My trip is complete....I fed and petted some sheep. BONUS: and I petted goats and a pony!