After returning in September from the trip of a lifetime to Counties Cork, Kerry and Clare in Ireland along with 23 wonderful people who became dear friends, I wrote the following letter to the group.
Dear Wild Irish Rose Women and Men,
I'm struggling with returning to reality. Listening to the music in particular still seems otherworldly, like it was all a beautiful dream. What a priceless journey it was, as we discovered we were in the best of hands with John, Tom and Paddy. Thanks to you three fine men for immersing us so completely in the history and people, land and sea, culture, music and cuisine. Our senses were fully engaged in all things Ireland! There was nothing lacking and we could not ask for more. In contrast, it exceeded expectations in every way. You are dearly loved by 21 grateful new friends.
I have made a slideshow, trying to capture my impressions of Ireland. I set it to John Spillane's All The Ways You Wander which seemed fitting. The final weekend I spent in County Meath is included at the end. It shows the Longwood church and cemetery of my ancestors as well as a wonderful family who helped me find my way to the old Hewson (Huston) farm nearby. As best as we could determine, the current owner and I located the original farm and he showed me a house that was 300 years old and could have belonged to my family at one time. I felt the strongest connection at the church as I knew I was standing in the footsteps of my ancestors. The portrait that I brought along shows my great great grandfather, John Huston, seated to the right, with my great grandmother, Sarah Jane, standing behind him, her hands on his shoulders. I was alone in the church the entire time, bought a rosary there, lit candles for the family and said prayers amid tears. I was so very moved by the experience. You'll also see Annemarie, my friend from Switzerland, who flew into Dublin to meet me for the first time, having only emailed each other prior to that. Finally, you'll see the last glimpse from my plane of the Irish landscape below, disappearing beneath the white clouds. A bittersweet moment.
Up until now, I was still riding the high but today I am grieving the loss of leaving it all behind. It was like no other experience I've ever known before in my life. Though each of us can try to share what it meant, only those of us who were there together will ever truly feel how deep it runs. Whether we return or not, we'll always remember the finest place on earth and when people ask and we find ourselves at a loss for words, we can just remember what Tom told us. He said simply tell them what we Irish say, and that would be, "It was grand!".
With Much Love,
Jane
All the ways you wander,
all the ways you roam
All across great oceans,
all across the foam
Through the faraway houses,
through the sunsets on fire
Searching for the island
of your heart's desire
Where the sun is always shining
and the oranges grow on the trees
You only have to wait two seconds there
for every thing you please
In a garden of daisies,
in a circle of light
Searching for the island
of your heart's delight
I'll wait for you, like a true friend
I'll wait for you, till the very end
And if you take the long way,
if you take the long way home
Down where the magicians
and the dreamers roam
Through the mountains of morning,
through the valleys of night
Searching for the island of your hearts delight
I'll wait for you, like a true friend
I'll wait for you, till the very end
All the ways you wander,
all the ways you roam
All across great oceans,
all across the foam
Through the faraway houses,
through the sunsets on fire
Searching for the island
of your heart's desire
While in Milwaukee for Thanksgiving with my dad and Jay, we made a special trip to the County Clare Inn, located downtown and just off of Lake Michigan. It's an authentic Irish Pub and Inn featuring 30 guest suites with double whirlpools and four poster beds. We only had time to look around and take some pictures but it was very worthwhile to stop in if only to see the beautiful stained glass windows. You will recognize on them the names of places we visited.
