The 9:15 with Dramamine

Sandra, Mallory, and Molly in front of the Clontarf Castle
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There is nothing better than waking up to a hot shower and a box full of breakfast (consisting of yogurt, a bagel, cereal, milk, juice, and a croissant) your fridge, and that is exactly what we started with today. Full of pep and the desire for a new country, we left our hotel for our 9:15 train to Holyhead. The entire group boarded rather uneventfully, considering the past difficulties the group has had traveling. The train took us at a rapid pace through the English countryside. We whisked along the bright green countryside of Britain, past gently rolling hills, grazing sheep, and along large bodies of water that were a beautiful turquoise color. For a while it was like we were hovering across the water instead of the train tracks.

We made it to Holyhead in a couple hours and had time to grab a bite to eat before we needed to board the ferry. Kim, Stacy, Jace, and I went to a nice little bar and talked to the waitress who had us sit down and get ready to order. We decided on our respective meals and went to the bar to order them. As we told the waitress what we wanted the chef came and told us that they were out of food. At first it seemed like he was pulling our leg, and we all shared a laugh…..until he repeated it and said that they didn’t get enough food in yet. Disappointed and starving, we went to another café and tried to order the chicken, but they were out of that too! We did manage to rustle up some grub eventually and we made it back to the ferry security line on time.

Our adventure was just beginning, because whenever you have a person like Kim around(who’s mere presence causes the malfunction of any electronics in sight)nothing is ever simple or easy. Our group made it to the beginning of the security line and the agent started printing off our boarding passes. This went well for all the other passengers, but Kim saw to it that we would not have such an easy time. The printer jammed (probably printing her name) and after he stopped and restarted the printer it still didn’t work. She has a gift!

The ferry itself was gigantic, and full of buses, semis, cars and people. Everyone was a little nervous about getting sea sick, but lucky for us the boat was bigger than I had anticipated. As we left the dock we saw a helicopter hovering over the water, and many ships passing by. We headed out to open water and sailed on to Ireland. This was the first time I have ever been on such an open body of water, and I truly experienced the “roll” of the sea. The horizon went up and down as the ship cut through the waves, and walking around the ship took quite a bit of getting used to. You almost had to walk side to side to stay upright. It made me a little more nervous about getting sea sick but the whole group made it to dry land without any problems.

Once we arrived we hopped a train to Clontarf road and made it to our new home, the Clontarf Castle. It was originally built in 1172 as an inner circle of defense. It was recently refurbished at the cost of 10 million Euros in 2006. It is a beautiful modern building on the inside, with an ancient feel on the outside. It is decorated with knight’s armor on the inside, and is complete with three different bar and restaurant areas.

That night we all convened on the second floor for a group meeting on Ireland and the health care system. Plans were made for the next day and everyone discussed ideas of things to do while in Dublin. It was very nice to be at our destination after a long day of travel, and best of all we arrived safe and sound. Dublin promises to be an exciting city!

Obadiah