I should be in bed.  I should REALLY be in bed. I know better than to stay up so late the night before. But.....

Usually I'm still packing at this hour. Still trying to decide whether to take more long sleeved shirts, less short sleeved shirts, do I take the sandals (NO!) or the guidebooks (ok, just one!)....you get the drift here? A little scattered when it comes to packing. But I DO have the little mini bottles of Baileys and Irish Mist stashed away that we always open in the airport parking lot, shout Slainte! as loud and we can and toast the land and the people and the karma we're going to encounter. I DO have my priorities straight on that one.

Laura just came in asked for some Tums. AhhhhHaaaa! She said she wasn't nervous about this great adventure!  She's excited and can't sleep--I'm her mother and I know this! This will be a great adventure for her and probably for me to see her experience this.  I'm glad to call her my friend now, too.

I wish I'd had more time to research places to go, pubs to visit, shrines to see, etcetera etcetera etcetera......but, alas, as it always goes, Thelma and Louise usually stumble (figuratively) upon some of the most amazing sites that couldn't even begin to be described aptly in any guidebook.  I bet Rick Steves and Arthur Frommer don't know where Muckanaghederdauhaulia is.....and Thelma and Louise sure do! We can't say it, but we can get you there!

So tomorrow we depart from O'Hare to Dublin. Looks like the inflight entertainment will be seeing how long it takes for Laura to sit still and Thelma to fall asleep because the inflight movies are supposed to be "Yes Sir" and "Horton Hears a Who".....are you kidding me?  Seriously?  Horton Hears a Who?  And you wanna bet there's no one under the age of 12 on this flight? Ok...so I have a good book to read, the best friend in the world and the most amazing daughter in the universe beside me.....what more could I ask for? Perfect!

So, to all you Irish Abroaders out there.....thanks for your kind thoughts and wishes regarding our trip....we'll raise a pint (or 2) for all of you, knowing you are here in spirit! Slainte!

P.S. For the record, I finished packing today at 3pm!  WoooHooo! That's a first!