May 21st (Tuesday) - Up Up And Away (Daily Diary)
We had no idea what 1:00 am felt like after three hours sleep. It was horrible! We did manage to get up, dress, and so some final checks. We both wanted coffee but if we did, mother nature would be calling soon after meaning we wold be in a limo or in the air. We opted not to have coffee.
We were to depart at 5:00 am and arrived at 5:00 am the next day! American Airlines flight to Charlotte NC (2125 miles) is the first leg and to Dublin (3720 Miles). That is a long time in the air!
Great and we did not bring Mary's took box!
We got on the scheduled American Airlines airplane and it was announced the flight was canceled due to an uncooperative fuel cutoff valve meaning they could not gas the plane! Curses Batman! We deboarded and wandered aimlessly to the American Airlines customer service location.
Through the Grace Of God and the wonder of computers we got re-routed and instead of going to North Carolina, we went of Jet Blue to Boston and then Aer Lingus to Dublin arriving about an hour after the canceled flight. We were able to book first class on both flights!
Half the journey was on Jet Blue
The remaining half was on Aer Lingus!
The flights worked out to be just fine and both airlines did a great job although we were worried about our baggage making the journey with us! We were greeted with sixty degree weather, oh my!
Ireland
Ireland is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the second-largest island of the British Isles, the third-largest in Europe, and the twentieth-largest in the world.
Geopolitically, the island of Ireland is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially named Ireland), an independent state covering five-sixths of the island, and Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom.
As of 2022, the population of the entire island is just over 7 million, with 5.1 million living in the Republic of Ireland and 1.9 million in Northern Ireland, ranking it the second-most populous island in Europe after Great Britain.
Arrival Was Easy!
We took our baggage to Hertz and rented a French car called a Pu-Jot which turned out to be quite nice. We got everything packed inside the car but could not make the GPS work so with Dr. Mary at the wheel, she drove on the wrong side of the street from the airport to the hotel with me provide EXCELLENT directions even though I was crying like a baby and closing my eyes at every opportunity.
