The Night Before

So, it is the night before I leave for Ireland.  I have been spending the past few weeks trying to get ready for the trip and enjoy time with my family.  There are a few things I hadn't really thought about before dealing with the details of an international trip.  Everyone knows that you need a passport, which is a reasonably straight forward procedure.  Just make sure you get it well before your trip.  I didn't expect to have to find travel insurance.  Some no cost insurance is leaving a copy of my passport and cards with my parents incase I lose them.  I didn't expect to have to renew my driver's license because it would expire while I was gone (good thing I noticed).  I didn't expect to lose my camera.  I suppose there will be other things that come up that I am not expecting.  I hope those things are as easy to negotiate as the issues I've come across so far.

I did take the time to play tourist in D.C. on Sunday.  I visited some of my favorite places along the Capital Mall.  I visited the U.S. Botanic Gardens.  They are beautiful this time of year.  It had been so long since I had visited them while the outdoor gardens were in bloom.  Absolutely gorgeous!  I love the serenity found in gardens.  Surrounded by things to which time has precious little meaning.  Plants won't notice if you are an hour late.  The butterflies don't care if you stay all day reading and drinking tea or if you have to run after a few minutes.  It is so peaceful.  I always try to get a visit in while I'm in the area.  I also walked through the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History.  That's the one with the elephant in the entrance.  They have now completed the section about the oceans.  It is very impressive.  HUGE whale hovering over the whole thing.  It is a different style than the rest of the building, but very nice.  I also discovered a fabulous place to eat off the beaten tourist path.  The food court inside the Old Post Office, a block behind the Museum of Natural History, was delightfully uncongested.  I grabbed a gyro and found a table quickly and easily, with plenty of time to ride the metro back to my family for the afternoon.

The nerves are finally starting to hit me.  I am getting on an airplane for ten hours.  I am going to a foreign country.  I am going to have to learn a foreign currency.  I am going to have to navigate a country of which I only have vague cartographic knowledge.  To say that I am not facing tomorrow with a certain amount of trepidation.  But I am also looking forward to it.  I am enough of a homebody to want to stay in areas that I know, but there is definitely value in exploring other cultures.  I am especially interested in Ireland.  I've grown up learning snippets about the Irish who came to the United States.  Bits and pieces of their culture have become common here in the U.S. shamrocks and rainbows meaning good luck and of course, St. Patrick's Day, though I'm certain we have altered these things.  Suffice it to say I am facing tomorrow with mixed feelings.