Surprise!

Well I pulled off the surprise. Flew home early for Logan's (niece) Baptism and with the strategic help of my brother in law and a my buddy Nate, was able to show up in a suit at the baptism to surprise everyone. The reactions were great; some tears, some shocked looks, but lots of smiles. The baptism went great except we had to stand up in front of the entire parish, but it was a good time and it was great to see both sides of the family there.

So I decided to come home Tuesday or Wednesday this last week, so I spent a couple days in Galway and then took the train to Kilkenny to spend two nights there before I went to the airport on Saturday. Last couple days were a little uneventful and I was kind of tired from traveling so much, and a couple relaxed nights were very welcomed.

The flight home was pretty brutal. Bus from Kilkenny to Dublin was late...of course, so I got through the airport security and to my gate at 11:55. Luckily they did not close the gate exactly at 11:45 like they were supposed to otherwise I would have been up the creek. When we finally boarded at about 12:45, I was excited to see that the entire row next to me was empty, so the flight leaving at 1:00 would be very nice. At about 1:10, the captain notified us that we were waiting for a connecting flight that had passengers to board our flight...so of course my row became occupied with two fat people and their baby....great. Recipe for disaster no doubt.

We finally took off at 2:00 (Dublin time) with the baby next to me already making noise and the mom nudging me in the side with the 3,000 toys she brought. Anyway it was a long sleepless flight and I was glad to finally arrive at Chicago. Unfortunately, I had to wait for over an hour to get my damn bags which is the last thing you want to do after a long flight. Luckily my brother in law Eric was patient and waited for me to take me back to Chicago. Awesome guy.

That night I stayed at my friend Nate's house and he was good enough to let me borrow his suit and shoes so I would look presentable at the baptism. Super generous guy and was happy to help me  out with a place to stay and clothes.

I'll definitely miss Ireland and I can't wait to go back, but I'm also glad I came home. Living out of a pack and traveling ever other day does get pretty exhausting anyway, and it's nice to be back at home in my normal routine. It was an amazing trip and I can't believe I was lucky enough to go; see the things I saw, meet the people I met, and live the way I did. If anyone is thinking about going to Ireland, I strongly suggest it. Once you get out of Dublin it's an amazing place with tons of great people and creamy smooth Guinness that goes great with conversation.

I want to thank everyone for following my blog, as of today I've had 1,614 page views! I hope everyone enjoyed reading it; I really had a great time writing in it...just wish I would have done more so I could have written more. I will be back in Ireland, hopefully sooner than later, and I look to write a blog again...I'm thinking bike trip around the country? Until then, remember to enjoy family, friends, and a good smooth pint every once in awhile.