Today’s been a good day to just take it slow.  I have no plans and the weather isn’t all that great, so I’ve just been going out for few short walks around Limerick city every few hours.  I guess I’m really tired out from all the moving around I’ve been doing the past couple of days.  But I’m still really enjoying myself because there’s so much to see around here.

A bit earlier while I was out walking around, a stranger came up to me and asked if I could take a picture of him.  He was pretty excited that I was willing to do it.  I’m glad I took it because I kinda like how it ended up coming out.  He was with a bunch of people who were drinking beer near the Treaty Stone along the River Shannon.  I think they may have been homeless.

As the bus left the Cliffs of Moher we headed down towards the city of Limerick where Troop 3 unloaded their luggage into the Jury’s Inn Hotel and I made my way to the George Boutique Hotel just a few blocks  over on O’Connell Street.

Around 7:30 PM we all loaded onto another bus and took a trip to a meetinghouse north of Limerick in Meelick where the Troop 3 Scouts had a cookout with the scouts from Meelick.  It was great watching everyone slowly begin to interact with each other.  The kids were shy at first, but we all expected that.  It reminded me of an 8th grade dance where the boys are on one side of the hall and the girls are on another.  But Mike Ryan, the leader or the Meelick scouts, started up a few games and a campfire and once everyone was singing songs the kids all seemed to feel comfortable together.

As we left I heard one of the girls from the Meelick group tell one of the Troop 3 scouts to send her back a box of Lucky Charms – a sure sign that the American scouts had interacted with the Irish ones.

This night was special for me because I got to see a lot of people that I met during my first trip over to Ireland back in 1999 that i haven’t seen since, such as Mike Ryan, his wife, his daughters Hazel and Rachel, and quite a few others.  Mike pointed out to the scouts that I was the first exchange scout to say that I’d come back and then actually do it. 

At night a bunch of the leaders from both troops met at the bar in the Jury’s Inn.  I went for a bit, then headed out to a bar called Molly’s with Rachael and a few of her friends.

The bus driver for Troop 3 was nice enough to let me hitch a ride with them despite insurance concerns, so I was able to take an incredible tour of The Burren and the Cliffs of Moher.  It was great getting a bit of history  from the tour guide while seeing all the sights.  It was also kind of cool driving past the area I have pictured on the top of this website.  My brother and Randy seemed to recognize it. 

We spent a good hour at the Cliffs of Moher.  They’ve finally completed all the construction so it was much more pleasing to see than it was the last time I came.  It was great to have my brother Kevin see all the places that I love so much.  I swear this part of the country is heaven on earth.  You couldn’t believe how incredible it looks until you’ve seen it with your own eyes.

I woke up around 8, had some toast and orange juice for breakfast at the hostel, then parted ways with my friends from the night before.  I headed down towards Galway bay to snap a few pictures.  There’s a beautiful beach with a walkway similar to what I had near my old apartment back in Black Rock, only they have a stunning view of the clean Atlantic Ocean in front of them and large mountains off in the distance.  It’s far better.

After my walk I met up with Kevin and the scouts from Troop 3 in Eyre Square, the park in the center of Galway.  We went out for lunch at Supermacs and then jumped on their tour-bus.  Next on the itinerary is a tour of The Burren and a cookout with the scout group from Limerick/Meelick.

I’m taking a quick break in Galway right now.  I’m currently sitting in coffeehouse named Mocha Beans.  I’ve only got a few minutes of internet access, so I’ll have to hold off on the full update until later tonight when I head back to Limerick.  But here’s a few pictures from the past 24 hours.

This last shot is in Galway.  These are some of the people I met.  The two guys are from Germany and the girl, whose name is Laura, is from nearby Liverpool, England.