I'm Back!
Hard to believe nine months have passed since I last posted. Several times I’ve sat down and tried to start but didn’t follow through. It felt strange to pop in and post without explanation but every time I attempted to explain, I stopped… This time, I’m not stopping!
Explanation time… a year ago, I was diagnosed with Lupus. On a beautiful Sunday afternoon, I had my first flare-up completely out of the blue. I was in bed for several days thinking it was the flu making me achy and exhausted. After several days, I finally visited a doctor who guessed right away and ordered specific blood tests to confirm. The doctor says the onset can be the result of a traumatic experience like a divorce or death in the family… or...losing everything in a hurricane. So, it appears Hurricane Harvey is the gift that keeps giving. Since July, I have had chemotherapy treatments every four weeks in an attempt to get it into remission. The blood work is improving slowly :-)
With my brief explanation complete, let’s take a look at the past ten days! This journey is the perfect example of why I chose the name “Dueling Time Zones”! On April 23, my husband got off work at 8am in Minneapolis and our three week vacation began. Flights were pretty full for standby so we took a creative path. First flying to the west coast to meet in Seattle, we jumped on a nonstop to Paris so we could get the open first class seats. From Paris we jumped on an Aer Lingus flight to Dublin. This map depicts the crazy route!
Upon arrival, we rented a car and had my first experience driving on the “wrong” side of the road! Such a challenge! Shifting with my left hand, remembering to stay in the correct lane exiting the many roundabouts… so different!
We visited friends in the charming village of Adare, Ireland. For such a small town, it had everything! After checking into our Airbnb Bed and Breakfast, we met up with friends to deliver the wine we brought with us.
This cute village is full of restaurants, pubs and shops. The road through town is a thoroughfare between Limerick and Tralee so it is often congested. Despite this, the town has been designated as a “Heritage Town” by the Irish government.
Running through the village is the beautiful River Maigue. We took a walk down a peaceful path that ran along the river. We had gorgeous weather! More tomorrow!
