Sunday, August 29, 2010

20th Year of Teaching

It has been a crazy two weeks since I returned home. I brought back a wicked "head cold" from Ireland and had to return to work the next day. A shout-out goes to Mackenzie and Mason for being so understanding and fending for themselves as I went to bed early for an entire week trying to get well and adjust to our time zone.

Darin and I celebrated our 22nd wedding anniversary on Friday, August 20th. He was still out of town and I had such a busy day that I totally forgot it was our anniversary until I checked the mailbox and found a card from my mother-in-law, thank you Carolyn!

I started my 20th year of teaching on Monday. It has made stop and think about August 1990 when I stepped into my first 6th grade Geography classroom at a computer magnet school in downtown Fort Lauderdale. I often smile when I think of those veteran teachers who became my mentors. By now, I am sure most of them have retired from teaching. I vividly remember the awesome travel posters I had hung in the classroom. At the time, I would never have thought that I would get the chance to visit some of those countries such as Switzerland, England, France, Italy, and Ireland. Thanks to a wonderful husband who enjoys traveling overseas as much as I do. Especially, a great big thank you to Grandpa and Nana who always encourage us to visit as many countries as possible and stay as long as we can even though they are the ones watching the kids. Another shout-out goes to Grandpa who can hand draw maps of cities, places to visit, and places to eat after it been years since he visited.

Speaking of smiles, I have had quite a few this week. Darin returned home on Sunday. Mackenzie and Mason had a great week as they entered 7th and 3rd grades. A parent email thanking me for an act of kindness that I showed to her daughter in class. Getting a hug from a old friend who's son just enrolled in my school. A potluck dinner with fellow technology teachers and the main course was Shepard's pie (just as good as found in Ireland). An unexpected wedding invitation for the entire family. Watching Mason's eyes "light up" with the thought of getting to wear his suit again to another wedding. This makes our third wedding in 2010 Check out the invitation below, very creative!


Saturday, August 21, 2010

Driving in Ireland

Driving in Ireland has truly been a unique experience - and not just because they drive on the left side. But you just never know what you might see. Like...























Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Windswept in Ireland

Today we golfed at the famed Old Head course in the town of Kinsale in southern Ireland. The wind was howling, up to 30 to 40 mph. Apparently the winds are calm at this course just 12 days PER YEAR. The scenery was breathtaking, but our scores suffered at the hands of the Irish winds!












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Golfing

Three golf courses under our belt. First we played the Killeen course at Killarney, where they had the Irish Open a few weeks ago. We saw some deer (at top of pic).



Then we played Waterville. It was windy, rainy, and cool, and I loved it! This was Payne Stewart's favorite course, and they have a statue of him.


Yesterday it was Tralee. It is a beautiful course on the sea around some Irish ruins.







Sunday, August 15, 2010

Shannon

We enjoyed one last Irish breakfast at our B&B before heading out for the airport so I could make my noon flight out of Shannon. I am heading home while Darin is staying another week for a guy's golf trip around courses in Ireland.


Saturday, August 14, 2010

Doolin

We rode a ferry across the Shannon River in order to reach the town of Doolin.



We checked in to our B&B which has a view of the Cliffs of Moher from our bedroom window.




When we arrived we were served Bailey's Irish coffee.


We were able to see the Cliffs of Moher from land and from the sea (note: it's better by land from the top).





We ate dinner at the most famous pub in town. A group of cyclist were winding down from a long ride and decided to jump into my picture.




Friday, August 13, 2010

Dingle

We started our morning with a nice leisurely breakfast at our B&B. Because we are spending two nights in Dingle we didn't feel the need to rush off and begin our day's events. Each morning Darin has opted for the traditional Irish breakfast which consists of eggs, bacon, tomatoes, mushrooms and blood pudding. I, instead, chose the more American breakfast which was pancakes.






Dingle is fishing town. The town's mascot is a dolphin named Fungi who has lived here for 28 years and does tricks for the local fishermen. There have been a number of books written about Fungi. We were able to see Fungi from our patio as he swam with the fishing boats.


We toured Slea Head today which is a 47 k loop around the Dingle peninsula.






Slea Head boasts the western most point of Europe as seen below in the picture.


Welcome

We are the NaplesMorgans and we have a dog (Wagner) who is 7, and he is a Chinese Crested Powder Puff, not the hairless but the double coated kind. Mason is 13, and he is a big fan of basketball and football. I work as a technology teacher at a local elementary school. Darin has his own business called Ascendant Wealth Management. Mackenzie is 16, and she loves to spend her time practicing for drumline and watching movies.

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