Trading Sunsets for Sunrises

For the loyal readers of Coastal BS that might not yet know, I have moved from beautiful San Diego, CA to historic Cambridge, MA to attend graduate school at Harvard Kennedy School of Government. The family spent a great week in San Diego for our collective "sendoff" to that great city, which LDL has faithfully reported on. It was great to be together and see P and L enjoy some new territory.

Those who know me well know I do not enjoy packing or being in between places. I've traveled a lot so you'd thing I get over that, but alas, I have not. A 3500 mile trip in a car across the country arriving just a few days before orientation did not make me happy. But CMD graciously "volunteered" to ride shotgun with me across the American West (and mid-west, and great lakes, and northeast) which he comically and form-fittingly blogged about earlier. We made the best of it as you have read.

I've been here for about a month, experienced orientation and two full weeks of classes. I will send up another report about school shortly, but for now suffice to say everything is going very well, I am learning my new city, and I have met some people very enjoyable to be around.

Oh, and I'm still not unpacked.

Ireland: Part Two

On to part two of our Irish Adventure! I am not exaggerating ;with the use of the word "adventure". Every day was some new kind of excitement, be it a vista, excursion, an awesome meal, or just a run-in with an exceptionally helpful Irish man. 

Days two and three were most days of travel, but when you're in Ireland even that can be spectacular. A major player in this story that is NOT included in the blog author list is our Irish driver Matthew. He proved to be an excellent source of information (though he admitted later that his tips helped his family business). So Day Two we traveled from Dublin to Lahinch via motorcoach. CMD might be a little annoyed at my posting of this particular picture, but given the reference to rock stars in the previous post, it deserves a mention. Not many people can take a nap in the back of a moving vehicle as well as he can. CMD is our resident rock star. This stretch of travel was relatively boring. Incredible vistas from the vehicle, but jet lag was starting to wear on us and the guys were running late for a tee time. 

Once we arrive in Lahinch and dropped off our bags, Matthew took us (LTD and me) to a great seaside inn called Vaughn Anchor Inn. We had incredibly fresh seafood chowder, a crab martini, and a giant BLT. Way too much food. Still, we needed to be full in case our adventure led us well into the evening. Next stop: The Cliffs of Moher!

I know I am going to keep saying this throughout the Ireland series that pictures will not do this country justice. This is especially true of the Cliffs of Moher. Located in the Burren region of County Clare, the cliffs tower 214km over the Atlantic Ocean and span 8 kilometers - anchored by O'Brian's tower. During our visit, we made our way through the entire experience, beginning with a lesson in the geology of rock formations and how changing weather patters (climate change) is affecting the region. Pretty interesting stuff. While in the visitor centre (built into the hilly landscape) LTD and I watched a video from the viewpoint of the cliff nesting birds -- apparently one of the largest colonies of its type in Ireland. Matthew also made sure we knew that people sometimes took their life at the cliffs. LTD and I laughed (in a non-humorous way) at the complete lack of safety precautions. I think since she is a mom she was a bit more worried about a disastrous misstep than I. 

I probably should have been more careful. At one point, we walked on a path that was no more than 3 feet wide, balancing a barbed wire fence (and cows) on one side and the cliffs on the other. Plus the scores of other people walking in the other direction. My mom is the best mom. We finished the day off with an excellent meal at the Atlantic Bar and (naturally) a post-dinner pint at The Nineteenth. CMD and I are starting to understand the whole 8, 9, or 10 pint a night thing.

Day Three was a longer travel day that involved the motor-coach being right-on-time for a ferry across the River Shannon (aptly named the Shannon Breeze). We bought some pretty sweet coasters with the Dalton coat-of-arms but hustled back onto the motor-coach pretty quickly. Stories of a member of our party being left at the dock did not sit well with us. After dropping the golfers off to play Ballybunion, LTD and I continued into Killarney where we were treated to one of the best views I have ever seen in my life. From the hilltop we could see middle, upper, and lower lakes, and into the Killarney National Park. 

From here we checked into the Killarney Park Hotel; this might be the greatest hotel I have ever stayed in my entire life. Most definitely in recent memory - very deserving of its "leading hotels of the world" listing. And we needed it desperately. The beds were so comfortable and inviting. The housekeeping staff actually put a fresh bottle of water next to the bed every night. I lost my sunglasses and the front desk staff not only found them, but arranged to put them in my room! Killarney was beginning to look a lot like heaven. Thank goodness, because it was also home to our most adventurous adventures. Until next time. . .  

Ireland: Part One

Garth Brooks once told me that "Mother Earth is breathing with every wave that finds the shore" and after having spent 8 days touring the emerald isle, I believe him. Pictures cannot do this country justice. It is one of the most beautiful and hospitable places I have ever visited. While the main purpose of our visit was to watch the United States Naval Academy Midshipmen battle the Notre Dame Fighting Irish (GO Wargoats), our clan managed to take advantage of most of what Ireland had to offer. Our route took us from Dublin over to the Southwest portion of the island. Missing Galway, Cork, Kilkenny etc just gives us reason to go back. I think it is fair to say that we missed family members BML, LDL, P, l, and RBDIII too much to do it without them.

Day One - Arrival and Sightseeing
We arrived in Dublin at 8:30am local time after having slept (sort of) on the flight over. The flight was non descript - too little leg-room, over salted airplane dinner, hard to regulate temperatures - just about normal. But when you're traveling to Ireland for the first time ever there is very little to complain about. We took taxis over to The Clarence House in the Temple Bar area of Dublin. Two interesting facts that came from the driver were (1) the hotel is owned by U2 members Bono and The Edge, and (2) he (driver) can only drink 8, 9, or 10 pints of Guinness a night before it gets too filling and he has to switch to something else. In short, we were surrounded by rock stars. CMD and RBDII left immediately to go hit the links. LTD and I jumped on the City Sightseeing Tour Bus and made our way across Dublin.

First Stop: Christ Church Cathedral

LTD and I definitely used the "hop-on, hop-off" function of the bus ride - sometimes embarrassingly so since the Cathedral was just a few blocks from where we picked up the bus. We were a bit disappointed in the lack of narration but it could have been that we just didn't hear. Every seat was taken. Later we learned that over 30,000 Americans had arrived in Dublin over the last few days to watch the football game. Anyway, I've included pictures of the Cathedral because I am always amazed at the complexities of building these structures without any of the modern tools engineers use today. I know. Nerd Alert. Just go read Pillars of the Earth and you'll be impressed too.


Stop Two: Guinness Storehouse

Poetry in a pint of Guinness

Since we felt ridiculous for jumping on the tour bus to go about 3 blocks, we decided to walk to the Guinness Storehouse (get some exercise in search of beer). It was a little further than anticipated and the crosswalks/sidewalks were interesting to navigate. Still, LTD and I learned our way fast enough and made it to Guinness just before the big crowd. It was still incredibly crowded but at least we didn't have to wait in line around the building.

LTD uses all 5 senses to taste

This was a super interesting adventure -- the storehouse is shaped like a giant pint of Guinness! With 5 floors offering a very different look at the Guinness brand (advertising history, how to brew, how to pour, how to taste, a cafeteria, and a rooftop bar) we could have spent all day here.

Stop Three: Just Keep Riding
Okay, we never exited the bus after getting on at Guinness in a rain shower. We were exhausted and lines were circling buildings (remember the 30,000 Americans? There were also 1 million internationals hanging around Dublin for the Tall Ships and Irish Football Championship events). So we missed seeing the inside of Trinity College and the Book of Kells. We figure it gives us a reason to at least fly into Dublin for a night on a return trip. Still, even on the bus, we heard great commentary on Phoenix Park, Grafton Street, St. Stephens Green, and the Kilmainham Gaol (jail).

LTD with her two Charles'

That night we met back up with the men of our group for dinner at Unicorn. Unbelievable. we arrived to see Liam & Simon, incredibly interesting and smart representatives for Jameson, waiting, having already ensured that each place setting had 4 glasses of the Irish Whiskey. A tasting! We were so impressed with the whole thing. Although we were completely exhausted, some of us (the "kids") took our hosts up on their offer to show us Dublin nightlife. This included an upscale bar called the Residence and a trendy nightclub called 37. 37 was strange. We were there for a nanosecond. Breakfast of Fish and Chips at the hotel bar at 3:30am. CMD and I are off to a raging start.

Day Two: Navy vs. Notre Dame Football Game

March On

Just an FYI to readers in case you are like me and thought the old "hair of the dog" trick was ridiculous and that they best way to get over a wild night out was to practically drown yourself in water. It works. At least, a Guinness works. This stout might be magic. Our dear friends had mentioned to us that their contacts at Jameson had a hand in getting tickets. We assumed we'd be just like every other event attendee. Nope. John handed us each a flask that was already full of Whiskey and a package that included our game ticket and access to the VIP Quarterback Suite. Whaaaaat? It was incredible - seats on the 50 yard line. Access to lunch, snacks, drinks - pretty much whatever we wanted. Navy always represents themselves incredibly well and the games march on did not disappoint. Notre Dame fans were respectful for about 5 seconds. That's 5 seconds longer than I expected. The score was disappointing, but the experience was a once in a lifetime. We especially enjoyed teaching our new Irish friends the rules of the game. I think they were a little bored -- too many pauses in action. In Irish football, people never stop moving. There is always action, even away from the ball.

This wraps up days one and two. Next post will move on to travel day to Lahinch & the Cliffs of Moher! Stay Tuned. . .

Coast to Coast

The Dalton/Loflin clan descended upon San Diego to celebrate it's greatness with RBD3 one last time, or for the last time in a long time, as he is beginning a new journey at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard.  No big deal.  A journey must have a beginning, and this beginning involves me riding shotgun 3500+ miles en route from San Diego to Cambridge.  It's pretty much as far as you can drive in the continental United States.  And there is plenty to see along the way.  We did our best to see as much as we could because, we had both driven across the country before, but taken routes that were, well, less scenic.  Neither one of us wanted to just see dust for the majority of the drive.

Day One: San Diego to St. George, UT.

Most road trips begin with that giddy, "this is going to be awesome" feeling as you get going.  We hit traffic 2 miles from the house.  Not a good start.  Between SD and St. George, there isn't too much to see.  Except Vegas.  Kidding, well, Vegas is on the way, but this time we would just be passing through.  The one thing we did see just past Vegas was "The Valley of Fire." I have to imagine not too many people see this as, like I said, it is just outside of Vegas.  Just imagine rocks on fire.  Every shade of red, orange, and yellow were displayed as the sun beat down on the earth, setting it ablaze.  Unfortunately, after that, there weren't many visually stimulating vistas the rest of the day.  But our journey had begun, and we were 9 hours closer, so that was good.  While we were weary from the road, that didn't stop us from watching "The Lion King", a movie we agreed was the best that Disney had ever put out, which is saying a lot.


Day Two: St. George to Jackson, WY.

Our second day is scheduled to be a long one, so we get an early start.  Fueled by a Hampton Inn breakfast (and their inexplicably terrible coffee) we cue up NPR's Morning Edition and watch the sun peek through the mountains as we head into Bryce Canyon and Zion National Park.  Zion is a pretty cool place.  The road was winding through the mountains providing more than enough to look at to take the focus off the daunting task ahead.  There were these crazy cool tunnels we had to drive through that were so winding and long, that you couldn't see the light at the end of the tunnel.  No man-made lights either.  Just darkness.  And headlights of course.  But, it was pretty neat.  Passing through cool areas makes the drive much (well, some) more bearable.  If there weren't times where we were able to be distracted, it would have been more painful.  We pulled over a number of times so the Silver Fox could be documented with cool backgrounds.  One pullout we used happened to be (or maybe by RBD3's design - I usually got semi-delirious 2/3 through each day) was the Lander Cut-Off of the Oregon Trail.  I joke that I think I've gotten dysentery here before and had to stop for a few weeks.  Little "Oregon Trail: the game" humor for you.  Onward.  It feels like we are so close, but there are still a few hours ahead of us.  We soon find an old friend in The Snake River.  The Fox takes us down to the bank for it's close up, but gets a little over anxious and runs into a boulder behind us.  She's very rugged, so it's cool.  We got the shot.

Finally, we reach Jackson, which is an underrated city.  Or, maybe it's not- but I like it.  The girl at the front desk recommends the restaurant next door.  We were a little skeptical that it was somehow tied into the hotel.  It wasn't.  What it was, however, was delicious.  I had the spicy pork belly salad and pork adobado.  The salad was delicious, and I found the waiters warning of the spice particularly funny.  He has to give a warning, because people weren't paying attention to the menu, then had their mouth on fire.  I did not expect to eat this well on the road.

Day Three: Jackson to Rapid City, SD.

Another long day planned.  I forgot to mention that we (RBD3) received a free annual pass to all the national parks.  Initially, it was believed that because he was traveling on orders, we would be granted passage through the parks free of charge.  However, we were informed that unless it was absolutely necessary to drive through the park, as in, the base was just on the other side, then no such passage would be granted.  The ranger went on to inform us, that while the orders did us no good, all active duty military personel could obtain an annual park pass free of charge.  Why we had to talk to the guy for ten minutes to get to that point is beyond me.  But, alas, the parks would be seen- fo free.

The Grand Tetons.  I feel like not many people are aware of the Tetons, or Teton National Park, but we are.  We travelers.  We explorers.

I'm struggling to find words to describe the Teton National Park, because it was in the morning, and I was still in the "don't talk to me" portion of my day.  I know I enjoyed looking at all the nature, the mountains, the green.  I know we listened to Jack Johnson's discography.  Those things seemed to go together nicely.  It was pleasant.

We had been to and through Yellowstone a number of times before, but not the way we would be traveling today.  It's certainly not the quickest drive, but the scenery certainly makes up for any "lost" time.  We saw a Bison/Buffalo grazing by the water and got out to take a cautiously closer look.  Until tourists showed up.  How dare they, and their RVs, encroach on us.  On our journey?  This is our experience.  Get out of our park, our nature.

Shortly thereafter, we had another encounter with Buffalo.  This time they were blocking the road.  We stopped for a moment to look and let them cross.  Let them go about their day.  One jabroni from NY decided his time was more important and squeezed by two lanes of traffic and two Buffalo.  We passed him later.  What a chump.

We passed through Casper, WY, or as you might (or might not) (probably not) know it as, "the rodeo capital of the world." Who decides that stuff by the way? Is there a committee?  Who sits on it? Elections? Anyway, they had this old western town set up, which was cool, but would have been more cool if we didn't read that is was not actually the old town, just buildings "of the time."  Though they did claim to have a house that Butch Cassidy stayed in.  We did, then, enter the country that the Hole-in-the-Wall gang roamed and we're pretty sure we saw their hideout.  Or at least it should have been.

Next up, Mount Rushmore.  It's sorta a long ways a away.  It's close to right on the way.  But a little out of the way.  Should we go? It's getting late, and dark.  But it's right there.  We've been in the car so long.  When are we going to be in South Dakota again?  Probably never.  We should do it.  Let's do it.  We're doing it.

Wow, this is awesome.

I'm not sure why you would ever be in the Rapid City area.  But, if you are, you should make the short trek to Mount Rushmore.  My expectations weren't that high, but it really exceeded them.  We got there at dusk, and there was a lighting ceremony at dark preceded by a presentation.  The presentation was fairly informative, but just the memorial itself was incredible.  They welcomed past and present service men and women to come on stage.  RBD3 didn't go.  I tried to make him.  We left.

Day 4:  Rapid City to Cedar Rapids, IA.

To be honest, I wasn't really that pumped about the badlands.  And at first glance- for good reason.  From the highway, you see the badlands, sort of, for about a quarter of a mile.  Thats it?  I took a picture because, well, just because.  Then we find the loop.  The loop is the long way, but you drive through the badlands and see everything they have to offer.  We were windows down on a dirt and gravel road, with no other cars.  Looking up at the raised ground, then eventually down at the valleys.  The Native Americans used the land to see when enemies were approaching, and to see where the herd was moving.  Even they knew there was something there before them.  That, at some point, the whole area used to be under water.  Also, there were about one million prairie dogs.  One million.  I think this was my favorite part of the drive.  On a dirt road, windows down, music playing, and history around us.

And then, corn.


Day 5:  Cedar Rapids to Erie, PA.

Is this heaven?
    No, this is Iowa.

Highway. Corn.  Highway.  Corn.
             Mississippi River.
                        Corn.
Great lakes.

The town of Huron to the right.  Great lakes to the left.  Why are they called lakes and not seas?  Is that Huron or Erie?  Huron.  Gotta be.  We just passed through Huron, the town.  Huron.

Cleveland.  Almost there.  Kinda.

Finally.

Erie in all its glory.

One king bed.
       Whatever.
              Sleep.


Day 6: Erie to Cambridge, MA.

This is it.  The last day.  Another decision.  Do we do Niagara?  It's definitely not on the way.  But, probably never be close enough to do it in the future.  It adds a couple hours of the trip.  I just want to be done driving.  We should probably do it.  It's just a couple hours.  It's a couple of hours.  We do it.

Parking flags.  Attendants tricking us.  We don't want to pay the trickster.  We'll pay more to not pay the trickster.  We do not condone tricking potential parkers.  It's immoral.  The park doesn't take credit card.  Their reader is down.  The trickster has an ATM in his lot.  We pay the trickster.

The whole place is very touristy.  We walk in, walk to the rail.  That is a lot of water.  Could you kayak to safety before falling to your death?  I could. Sure.  What about from that eddy?  Tougher, but yeah. I kinda thought it'd be a farther drop.  Farther?  Further?  Longer?  Bigger?  I don't know.  I could do that in a barrel.  The mist is deceiving in pictures.  In pictures you can't see the bottom.  It's supposed to be bottomless.  I can see the bottom.

We're glad we didn't go to Canada.  Border crossings would be wasting our time.  Our travel time.  Adventure time.  Should we do Maid of the Mist?  We'll walk down there.  How do we get down there?  We can't get down there.  There are so many people.  We've seen it.  We've taken the picture.

We've hit the road.

The drive through upstate NY is like a victory lap.  A victory lap that we want to be over.  I'm embarrassed I kinda didn't realize that Massachusetts was as north as it was.  Or that it was spelled like it is.  I mean, look at that.  Can't be right.  It is.  I mean, I knew it was up there, but, it's way up there.

Massachusetts.  Traffic.  60 miles left.  Is it going to be like this all the way in?  Well, it's 5PM on a Friday.

Re-calculating.
      Back roads.
               Close.
Charles River.
      We're here.
               We've made it.
Kennedy School on our right.
               47 Langdon.
                        Parked.
                               This is nice.
                                          It's pink.
                                                We'll paint it.
                                                              It's nice.
                                                                    We're here.

                                                              The journey continues.

Waiting for my real life to begin....

Who says you need an incredible vacation to have something to blog about!? Not me! As Aunt T (FTD) likes to say, P man's whole life is one big vacation.  So true.  His people are out of town currently and so he has only me, his dad, and his sister to keep him entertained - tough life.  He runs around the house saying "where T go? where yay yay go? where uncle mack go? where grandad go?" He seems to have grasped that Uncle RBDIII is in Massachusetts and not California and so now he sits on the New England States on his rug map when he wants RBDIII.  Pretty cute.

At any rate, summer is officially over and our family has started SCHOOL!!!!  Ok, so, not real school, just pre-school two days a week.  But, I drive CARPOOL.  Ok, carpool only with P and L - but still, I drop him off and pick him up! Can you believe it? I'm such a great mom.  Also, I go to meetings.  Meetings....plural.  As in, I just found out I have another one on Thursday and I am supposed to bring breakfast.  Which is awesome, because I can hardly get my family of 4 fed before we have to get out the door so I'll keep you posted on how that goes.  I know you can't wait.

Nothing else to say here, just waiting for our adventurers to get back so we can celebrate sweet L's first birthday!  Shoot me an email if you need our new address to send gifts.  She shares all of her brothers everything, so I wonder what she wants!?  Just kidding about the address...its the same as it has been for nearly 30 years....my parents.  Anyone out there want to sell us a house?  I read an article in the NY Times this weekend about a family who all shared one home, decided they liked it, so they pooled together to pay off the mortgage and are now adding a downstairs wheelchair access wing for when the grandparents get older.  What do you think LTD, RBD Jr. and BML?  Could we make it!??

Enjoy the punctuation on this one.  And, while you're at it, if you have toddlers, or know one, and are on twitter you should follow @honesttoddler.  Hysterical.

Here we are! P man's first day of school.