Summer U.S. Trip 2014 - Part 1

A month ago, we took our annual summer vacation to the U.S.  We flew to JFK and then Nashville.  The girls enjoyed the extensive selection of Disney TV and movies on the plane, and I was able to catch up as well - finally saw Frozen and Brave.  (Shame on LBJ for watching regular movies rather than the Lego Movie.)

The kids did pretty well, or at least I have forgotten any bad behavior.  Although I got slightly lost trying to find the car rental place in Nashville, we recovered by getting a ride there in a golf cart like thingie (like you see inside the airports).  The kids quite liked that.

We made it to our nearby hotel and promptly went to bed.  The kids woke up early and often, as they usually do in the first couple of days of a U.S. trip.  Fortunately, the hotel pool opened at 6am even though it was a Sunday.  So the girls and I spent 30+ minutes there while LBJ got a little extra sleep.

Then we drove to Knoxville, met up a with a future co-author of mine (part of the reason for TN was to discuss research ideas - we've agreed on a couple to start), and then made our way "up the mountain" to Gatlinburg.  Oh my, the traffic on the main road into Gatlinburg was horrible.  Eventually we started to play the license plate game - ended the trip with 40+ plates, including Alaska.  The girls were amused by the tacky tourist traps (look kids, an upside-down house;  is that the Titanic?).  The rain didn't help.

Still, we managed to find the rental house without too much difficulty, although some of the roads were quite steep.  This car was not so lucky - Japanese tourists that got lost in the middle of night:

Should have taken the right turn at Albuquerque?

This was next door to us - took this picture shortly before we left.

Anyway, we get there, and I can't find the list of directions with the code to the keybox.  I attempt to text JS& CS, the couple with whom we shared the house (with their girls, SS and CS2), but I couldn't receive their replies on my Irish phone.  And it's raining.  But then I suddenly remember that I saved the instructions (as a PDF file) on my computer, so we only wait a couple of minutes in the car in the rain.

The house was great.  JS & CS brought tons of food with them from Kentucky, so we ate in the first night.  We were far too tired (as well as being afraid of getting lost) to go "down the mountain" again that evening.  It was great to catch up, even though we were tired and went to bed early.

My apologies to JS & CS, though, as our girls woke up quite early and thus woke up their girls (and them).  By the last day or two, it was better.  (It didn't help that SS is a late riser generally, whereas FABJ is an early riser, even without jet lag.)  Still, I think everyone had a good time.

Happy to be on vacation!

The girls acted as if they had been apart for 2 weeks rather than two years:

4 happy girls (even without all their front teeth)

What did we actually do in Great Smoky Mountain National Park?  Stay tuned.

Whiskey School, Part 1

Shortly before we headed off to the U.S. for vacation, I had to go back to school for a couple of days. Whiskey school.  So I found myself in beautiful (but far away) Dingle in late June.

Scenic hike along Dingle Bay

I got there around 5pm the day before, so I went for a nice hike.  I attempted to go a local seafood restaurant, but they claimed to be full.  So after looking around for a while, I settled on a nice creperie for an enjoyable dinner (crepe and salad, followed by a dessert crepe, with a bit of cider to wash it all down).

After some ice cream (I just couldn't resist), I thought I'd stumbled into a local pub for some Irish music.  But there was no music, only a couple of people watching a World Cup match.  So I watched, too.  (The touristy pubs with not very Irish music didn't look that appealing.)

The next day was the start of my two-day whiskey school.  It started at an Irish 9am, or so the general manager told me earlier in the week.  But it was closer to 10 by the time we started.  It was so warm that "class" was held outside.  There were about 14 of us, divided roughly into two groups - potential whiskey makers and people who like whiskey.

The distillery (the barrels are empty, of course)

It was quite interesting, although there was quite a bit of waiting around.  In essence, the idea was to follow, in real time, the process from when the grains are added to the water until it is put into casks.  The first day is when the "beer" is made.  It was all very pleasant.  The master distiller joined us halfway through day 1.  He is Scottish and has been in the business for 50+ years.  After decades working for various distillers, he now consults with distilleries such as this one.

The first step on the journey to whiskey

The distillery (obviously)

One clever marketing tool used by the distillery is the idea of a "founding father".  Since they can't legally sell whiskey until it has aged for at least 3 years, the distillery could use some income in the near term.  So they have offered to sell the first 500 casks to "founding fathers."  Well, what can I say?  I liked the idea of owning a cask of whiskey.  So I've convinced some friends that they want to own some whiskey, too (and I used some of Aunt Reta's inheritance - I think she'd be proud).

Someday, my name will be up there, too

At the end of day one, we enjoyed gin & tonics outside, as the distillery also makes boutique gin.  I was able to talk my way into taking a bottle home, so LBJ at least got something in return for my 2 and 1/2 day absence.

Then, they drove us "over the pass" (the road is pretty narrow on the other side - one lane for much of the way down) to a neighboring village for dinner.  The view was amazing, even though it had started to rain by then.  Dinner was very tasty as well (salmon and veggies, with apple crisp for dessert).

View from the pass

View the other way (with some tourist in the way)

The only disappointing part of the day was the pint of the local lager, which I tried while waiting for dinner - the worst pint of Irish beer I've had since arriving here over two years ago,  (It was drinkable, just tasteless - Carlsberg would have been better.)

Got back to my room after 9, so I stayed in and did a bit of work.

More tall ships

A few weeks back (ok, I guess it's been a month by now), there was another tall ship festival in Dublin.  After writing a monstrous check for the house, we need some relief (and cheap entertainment).

It was quite crowded in parts, as the quays are pretty narrow and there were a lot of people.  But we all had a good time.  There were a few performers (not sure how to describe the show - was it pantomime?  I don't think so).  Some acrobatics and silly stuff.

But the main highlight was the ships.

The Liffey from a tall ship

The girls even channeled their inner pirates.

Don't mess with this crew!

There was some entertainment on the Liffey as well.  First, the tugboats were doing some races of sorts, showing off their steering skills.  Later, there was a battle reenactment, complete with cannon fire.

Tugboat racing

I suspect the best part of the day for the girls was the ice cream we got.  99s for all (a 99 is basically a soft-serve ice cream cone with a chocolate flake on top.  Fruit syrup is optional).

Believe it or not, that's a smile by FABJ

House owners international, part 2

Here are some photos upstairs (what I'll call the second floor, as opposed to the ground / first floor).

guest room

As you can see here (and in the last posting), new closets are needed.  We'll see if we can get by with the floors for a while.

ensuite master bedroom

ORBJ's room (with FABJ's in the background)

We'll get someone to paint the closet doors and install IKEA closet inserts - nothing is too good for ORBJ!

FABJ's room

FABJ was very excited to get a sink in her room (again, we'll replace it with something from IKEA).  When I asked ORBJ about her room, she asked hopefully if she would get a sink, too.  She was sad when I said no.

home office

I am a bit embarrassed to say how excited I am by the prospect of a home office.  Our current rental has an extra room configured as an office, but it is very cold and doesn't have access to the wireless.  So it won't take much for this office to be a vast improvement.  Hoping to work from home one day a week (except for fall semester, when I teach every day).

House owners international, part 1

Sorry for the delay in blog posts.  At the end of May, we finally became home owners in Dublin.

I'd show you all a picture of the house, but I discovered to my amazement that I did not take a picture of the front.  So you will have to wait.  Instead, here are a few pics of the inside.

view out the back

As you can see, it has a nice view (this is from the master bedroom).  Although it is in the city (with a suburban feel, I admit, perhaps like Rogers Park in Chicago without the crime), we can only see a couple of house out the back (excluding our neighbors, that is).

Back of the house

We have dreams of removing the pebble dash, but that's expensive.  Plus, no one on the block has done that, so our house would stick out.  A few years from now, we have dreams of installing external installation and talking the neighbors into doing likewise.  That way, the house would be more energy efficient and less ugly from the outside.

future TV room

The room above faces the back of the house (more or less south facing), whereas the room below faces the back.  They are connected with pocket doors that are pretty good shape.  For both of these rooms, the plan is to get new curtains, fix up the fireplaces (cheaply), and put in new hardwood floors (with some insulation underneath).

current living room

The main renovation downstairs is to knock out the wall between the kitchen and dining room to combine the spaces.  We also hope to convert the tiny bathroom under the stairs, while putting in a new bathroom in what is currently the garage.  Part of the garage will also be converted into a walk-in pantry.  A small portion at the front of the garage will remain, as storage for our bikes and a few other things.

Cutie and Patootie in the master bedroom

Less work is planned for the second floor (called the first floor in Europe - the ground floor doesn't get a number) - mainly new closets and an enlarged utility room with washer / dryer.

More pictures and information in the next posting...