Central Park in the Fall

Flying out of NYC

Stardate 67307.7

15:25 - Our grand trip to Ireland had us flying in and out of JFK. We had the pleasure of staying in New York City on our way back from Dublin. It was only one night, but we made the most of it. We met up with Rob's family members for some Thai food and fun at his cousin's apartment on Saturday night. I must confess, Focus Foxies, that I was pooped after the long flight and train ride to get into the city. I slept for most of this fun. The next morning, we went out for some brunch on the Upper West Side at Jacob's Pickles. This restaurant specializes in the 'craft' experience, especially in the Southern craft experience. So we had chicken and waffles galore. It was a pretty snazzy place. They sat us family style with tables and benches where they could fit in a bunch of people into a small place.

After brunch, I wanted to do something touristy. We only had one day in New York City, and I did not want to sleep any longer. We decided to walk around Central Park. Focus Foxies, the rumors are true about New York City in the fall. Every where we looked in the park we saw trees in varying shades of green, yellow, and orange. We were lucky because our weekend coincided with the NYC marathon. We got to cheer on runners at mile marker 24. These were some of the over achievers. They were keeping a 10 minute mile pass and some of them didn't look like they were breaking a sweat. One day I want to go back and run this race, but for now, the electric feeling of good will from the sidelines was enough for me!

We only had a layover in New York City. We would soon be on our way home to Washington DC where we could sleep in our own beds.

The Land I Love So Well

Stardate 67302.1

20:45 - On our last day in Ireland, we drove from Killarney to Dublin. We drove along the southern coast line of Ireland because we wanted to go to Waterford. The Southern shores of Ireland seemed to be way more populated than the Northern parts we visited earlier in the trip.  So while we were technically outside of a city, we were far from being in the country.

We wanted to go to Waterford to check out the legendary crystal factory. Originating in 1783, the Waterford Crystal Factory came about because of Waterford was a large port town that could procure fine flint glass. This glass is needed to make the hand-etched crystal pieces.
The factory has changed many hands since then, but they still make crystal in Waterford as well as Slovenia, Czech Republic and Germany. Each craftsman spends years apprenticing with Waterford before they are allowed to work the line. There are not many openings for the positions in the crystal factor because turnover is so low. Rob and I got to play with one their creations, a replica of the  BCS National Championship trophy. We did not drop the crystal ball, but we came close.

We did our touring and our shopping before heading up to Dublin. We still had one crazy night left in Ireland and we made use of it. We start out at this small pub called The Brew Dock which specialized in Irish craft beers, found our way to an underground hardcore/punk show, and ended up in a hotel with a train running through it.  All the way making friends.

Connolly Station