Hello Sligo

I have been putting this off for so long.
I don't want to finish my blog because once the writing is done I have to face up to the fact that I am no longer tripping all over the world.

We begin...

Thursday August 27th

On the flight to Knock the plane was almost totally full of young men and woman who were flying into town for a wedding. I was sitting next to the bride and groom. I didn't talk to them but I liked being close to their radiant excitement.
I arrive at the airport and it is very tiny. There are pictures of famous Irish men and women on the walls, images of Pope John Paul II's visit, etc.

I was meant to meet my distant cousin Brendan at the airport. We had never met, I have never seen a picture. I figured he'd probably spot me though. I was the only 20 something dressed all in black, with giant sunglasses, a backpack the size of a small toddler, a giant bright blue rolling duffel bag and a fabulously large brown leather purse from Paris. I could only be his cousin from NYC.

Brendan knew me right away.
I guess I sort of stuck out like a sore thumb. We decided to have a cup of coffee at the little pub in the airport. We chatted a bit and headed out to the car. The air was unmistakable. I was back in Ireland. Only here it was cleaner and brisker than in Dublin. All you could see was green and hills and mountains. It was grey but I felt like I was about the be in heaven.

I made the silly mistake of trying to get into the drivers side. I forget about driving on the opposite side sometimes.

I thought we would go straight home but instead we just drove and drove and drove we saw the lake from all sides. I was stunned by the beauty of the place. Sligo is amazing and it's where my family is from. It was magic to be there.
After seeing a nice part of the country side we headed into Sligo town to pick up Eileen, Brendan's wife, from the bank where she worked.
We got there a bit early so we had a walk around the city. It was small and sweet with a surprising amount of shopping!

We get Eileen and headed to Una's (Brendan's mom) house. Una was not there but Tim (her husband) and Tina (her daughter) were. They have the most glorious view of Benbulben mountain from their home! We had coffee, chatted watched a bit of TV and then finally went to Brendan and Eileen's. Their house is stunning! It is this wonderfully homey, well kept, happy place. Big and yet somehow cozy. It felt like a very posh cottage. Eileen cooked us a lovely dinner. I had so many potatoes! I also met Brendan and Eileen's adorable son Cian. he is 12 and smart and cute and silly and I love him! It was so nice to be around a kid again!
Jamie, Brendan's brother came for dinner. He was so nice and funny! I had heard so many stories an Jamie and Hazel (his wife) and Brendan and Eileen and Cian and Una and Tim and Tina, it was amazing to finally meet all of them! After dinner Una popped in and so did Pat, their neighbor. I was so overwhelmed by all of these new and lovely relatives. I didn't quite know what to do with myself.

Brendan and Pat invited me to the pub but I was too exhausted. I curled up in the coziest bed I had since the Dylan in Dublin and slept the sleep of the guiltless.