Starting the Blog - Planning the Trip

August 23, 2009
This first entry in the travelogue finds me still in the planning stage of the trip, though most of the plan is made. We’ve purchased plane tickets, reserved places to stay, and rented a car. We are now in the process of making lists of points of interest near the places we are staying. We won’t be constructing a strict list of activities. The list will just serve as a menu of things to choose from once we are there, and of course we will ask the people at the B&Bs for recommendations on things to see and do.

Martha and I are so excited, as are my parents. Being a geek, I have been expressing my excitement by making brochures, planning spreadsheets, a planning booklet, and this web site. Our departure is 25 days away and I get more excited the closer the day gets. It’s one in the morning, and at the moment, sleepiness is starting to win out over excitement, so I will end this first entry, publish it, and go to bed.

When planning the trip, I made these maps to represent where we would be going. The Michigan map shows that my parents will be coming to meet Martha and me in Ann Arbor, and from there we will go to the Detroit Airport to fly to Ireland.

This is a map of our major route through Ireland. We begin and end at Shannon International Airport. We’ll spend 3 days in County Limerick, then 3 days in Dingle, 3 days in Galway, a day in Donegal, a day in Belfast, and 2 days in Birr of County Offaly.