Arrived at O’Hare at 12:45 p.m. Aer Lingus check-in went smooth. Got Shannon a wheel chair and guide. He took us to the front of the Security line where we took off our shoes, emptied our pockets, placed our carry-on on the conveyor and then went through the body scan. Entire time was 30 minutes. Went to our gate area and charged our devices. Mom, Shannon, Tracy went to get something to eat. I stayed at Gate M5 and watched the family jewels. After about an hour, Corey and Mike left to get food. At 3:00 p.m. we boarded (Row 19, seats A, C, D, E, F, G, H.). We had “wheels up” at 4:17 p.m.

Very smooth flight. Saw the coast of Ireland at 4:17 a.m. (Ireland tiime; 11:17 p.m. Michigan time). Recognized Westport and/or Sligo as we crossed the coast. Wheels down on runway of Dublin International Airport at 4: 37 a.m. which was 1/2 hour earlier than projected. Total flight time 7 1/2 hours. Went through customs in 10 mins; converted our $420 dollars to 297.30 Euros. We are now sitting in a cafeteria at Dublin International Airport waiting for our Irish Tour Guide, Geoffrey, to pick us up.Geoffrey arrived at “exactly” 7:30 a.m.just as he said he would. After a ten minute discussion of the day’s itinerary we were off to Clonmacnoise, a 6th century, There is both truth and fiction surrounding monasteries of this time period. While the monasteries were the centers for the preservation, research, and teaching of religion  they were not a collection of priests or pius friars living a life of seclusion. They were closer to tribes or small clanns lving in groups of about 100-150 people. The leader of the tribe/clann was more like a chiefain who carried out religious duties as well as that of warrior. The chief lived in a small round silo-like castle with his immediate family. In exchange for land on which to grow their crops, the peasants lived in small stick=built huts on the chiefs land and tended to the chiefs crops and animals.  One of the walls of the monastery is called the “whispering wall”. If a person stands in one corner of the wall and “whispers” some words, a person standing all the way at the opposite end of the same wall can hear what they are saying.  Accoustic engineers from across Europe have studied the phenomenon.

After leaving Clonmacnoise we returned to Athlone for a brief nap and then headed to our Viking ship for a 1 1/2 hour cruise down the Shannon River.  The Shannon (the Irish river our Shannon was named after) is Irelnd’s longest river and the second longest in Europe, nearly 200 miles. Historically Ireland’s unique geography prevented invaders from entering the country by land. The only access to the midlands of Ireland was by the waterways. Athlone, then, became both an important military defensive position as well as an economic trading post by nature of its location on the Shannon River.

After our Shannon River cruise we stopped at Sean’s Bar, Ireland’s oldest pub at nearly 200 years of age. Michael and I  bought Sean’s Bar t-shirts and we left for dinner at “The Lock” Just a couple of doors down the street. The Lock restaurant was a two story church for several centuries before becoming a restaurant. It had been Catholic, Church of Ireland, Church of England, Anglican Church, and finally a Presbyterian Church before becoming a restaurant. Michael and I had pork bellies as our main course while Corey had lamb. Everyone felt this was the best meal they had ever eaten.

After dinner it was time for a night’s rest.