MidTexHorn

Just got back to Midland from our trip to Ireland. Had a great time, drank way too much, etc. Had surprisingly warm weather for the entire trip, only really rained once while in Galway. We were actually slightly disappointed the weather wasn't a bit more typical since we were really looking forward to avoiding the Texas heat, but it's hard to complain about 75 and sunny even if the pubs are a bit stuffy at that temp. A few deviations from the itinerary that I posted up above, including spending first night south of Dublin in the Glendalough region which was really cool. Some favorite moments and recommendations below, as well as a few things that weren't quite what we hoped. 1) Galway was an absolute blast. What a fun town. My favorite night of the trip was the night it rained as we were wandering around down by the river so we ran over to the Crane pub and found an unbelievable trad music session upstairs with about 15 locals playing. Not touristy, just the real deal. We stayed in an apartment a block away from all of the action. 2) Probably a tie for our favorite night was seeing LCD Soundsystem at Malahide Castle north of Dublin. Took the DART train from the city center (very easy), stopped in Malahide (which is a cute little town) for some nice seafood before the show, then walked over to the castle grounds. Weather was gloriously sunny, upper 60s with a light cool breeze, grass was green and comfortable, shitters were clean and well maintained, they had people patrolling the grounds picking up trash. If ACL Fest was like this, I'd go more often. Just an all around perfect evening with, as James Murphy said, "the longest fucking sunset I've ever seen." 3) Driving was an experience. Took me 24 hours to get used to it, but was fine after that. The roads are shockingly narrow when out in the countryside and in the older parts of the cities. Driving in Cork on many streets that were two way but were narrower than any one way street I've seen in the States was interesting to say the least, but I figured it out and grew to enjoy it. My wife was stressed out with the roads though and she really didn't enjoy our driving days. Traffic jams in the middle of nowhere due to tractors and sheep crossing are a real thing. 4) Stayed at an AirBNB above the Dame Tavern in Dublin (right across the lane from the more famous Stags Head Pub) and really enjoyed that experience. The Dame wasn't too touristy, more of a locals old man pub, which we all loved. There was a large balcony/patio overlooking the Stags Head and the street below which was great for late night drinking as the pubs shut down. On summer weekends they have street concerts right out front which would be a lot of fun. Showers in the place were Irish "quirky" to say the least, but overall a fantastic stay. 5) Our biggest splurge stay of the trip was at the Pax Guest House in Dingle. Check out the pics and reviews on Tripadvisor, they're 100% accurate. Place is unbelievable, view is mindblowing, and the breakfasts can't be beat. Very impressive operation. 6) Dingle on the whole was a bit of a let down for me. We all enjoyed it, but it just felt overwhelmingly touristy to me and I just wanted to get away from all of the Americans by the time we left. I think I'd enjoy it more in the off season. That said, there are some really cool old pubs and great seafood here and we did have some good times. One of the best meals of the trip was a pretty pricey bowl of amazing seafood stew at Doyle's. 7) Favorite meal of the trip was probably a tie between the aforementioned seafood stew at Doyle's in Dingle and a ridiculous seafood feast at Klaw in Dublin. Klaw is a total hole in the wall, maybe 15 seats total. We crammed into a small table that was literally half hanging into the kitchen. You walk through the kitchen, barely skirting a very hot stove, grill and various boiling pots of seafood, to get to the bathroom (no way they could get away with this in the States). Their Dublin Bay prawns cracked in half and lightly grilled in some butter were mindblowing - one of the best things I've ever eaten. 😎 Made a fairly last minute decision to spend first night in Glendalough rather than Dublin and glad we did. It was a beautiful leisurely drive there through the Sally Gap on Old Military Road which helped me get my left-side driving legs under me and we enjoyed hiking around the national park. 9) Cliffs of Moher are indeed spectacular, but I could've done without the stop. It's one of those have to see it things, but after 15 minutes it's just some really impressive cliffs and we were ready to move on. Happy to answer any questions that folks have. I may update this post with pics if I ever get around to uploading them.

I'm not proud, but I will at least be watching. Hate to admit it, but didn't even check the calendar when I booked the flight.

I’ll be watching at some bar in the Charlotte airport. Really wasn’t thinking we’d make the final when I booked this flight 6 months ago.

FYI for anyone heading that way this summer, Balmorhea is CLOSED for a while due to some structural problems with part of the pool. Hate to see anyone drive all the way there for nothing. It really is an awesome spot, hope they get it fixed up soon. https://tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/balmorhea

also in glorious 4K on Directive Ch. 106

ACL Fest

Herman and CDC want it, so that's good enough for me. Expect it to happen in the next couple of years.

Actually pretty nice weather this weekend in Lubbock and not much wind. It's been a pretty shitty spring with all of the dust storms, so it's nice to get a decent weekend for a change.

Almost guarantee Metallica will be Friday. They’ve been booking the rap/EDM stuff on Saturdays more the last few years as that day has the biggest crowds of kids, so Gambino gets Saturday and that leaves only Friday for Metallica.

This

Can you pack me in your suitcase?

I was going to say this or Ireland since you're in New York to start with. Flights wouldn't be much worse than traveling to the west coast.

I'm going to the Midland event and went to similar events in the past with Mack Brown and Charlie Strong. It's just a big meet and greet with short speeches by the AD and coaches. I want to hear from Herman and CDC, so I'm looking forward to it.

Lifelong Republican voter here. Voted Libertarian in last presidential election. Voted in the Republican primary this year because not really any point to voting in the Democratic primary in Midland. I will be supporting and voting for Beto in the Fall. In fact, I will likely vote a Democratic slate because I am so sick of the Republicans for whoring themselves out to Trump. They’ve shown their true colors, and have likely lost me for life.

Shockingly bad, soggy, nasty, worthless crust that totally ruins the otherwise fine ingredients. I've stopped ordering the pizza. That said, I love ABGB for the beer and the hanging out factor and frequent it often when I'm in Austin. But that pizza SUCKS and I wish it didn't because I love pizza.

Yes, I think we did talk about it on the old board. Really looking forward to some of those pubs in Dingle, they sound awesome.

I'll horn in on OP's thread, although I don't have any advice since I've only been to Dublin for a long weekend on one occasion. We're taking our adult kids on an 11 day graduation trip at the end of May with a somewhat similar route to OP's. We have a rental car reserved for a week of the trip and already have the Airbnbs and B&Bs booked. Other than getting the lodging reserved, I've tried to keep the schedule open to do whatever we want whenever we want. Here's a breakdown of the planned schedule: Day 1 - Leave Austin Day 2 - Arrive Dublin, stay at Kelly's Hotel near Temple Bar Will probably just wander town, hit the Guinness Storehouse and multiple pubs Day 3 - Leave Dublin, drive to Kenmare, stay at Airbnb across the river from town Plan to stop at Glendalough and Rock of Cashel en route. This will be a long drive day Day 4 - Kenmare May golf or drive parts of Beara Peninsula. Girls may do spa at Park Hotel Kenmare Day 5 - Leave Kenmare, drive to Dingle, stay at Pax Guest House Plan is to stop in Killarney and take the boat ride through the lakes and then bike the Gap of Dunloe Pub crawl in Dingle Day 6 - Dingle If weather is nice, will probably take boat to Blasket Islands with hope of seeing whales/basking sharks If weather isn't nice, will probably take Slea Head drive More pubs at night Day 6 - Leave Dingle, drive to Galway, stay at Airbnb near docks Day 7 & 8 -Galway No real plans here other than to eat and drink well. Ireland/US friendly will be going on in Dublin one night, so plan to hit a pub to watch that. Day 9 - Train to Dublin, stay at Airbnb upstairs of the Dame Tavern Suspect my liver will be hurting by now. No specific plans other than to wander town Day 10 - Dublin Maybe golf in morning LCD Soundsystem show at Malahide Castle on our final night in Ireland Day 11 - Fly back to Midland I'm really fired up about this trip!

Went there once when they first opened and it was decent, but I always forget about it and haven't been back. Is it still open?

Fuck yeah! This is fun!

I just gave her a shrug. Then I farted. She'd better make sure she doesn't decide she needs to see what's going on in here and get all nosy. I smell like death.

My secretary gave me a look

I'm intrigued by this new place, but not surprised by your comment. I love smoked meats, but the smoke only allows so much room for creativity. Asian cuisine is much more wide ranging in flavor profiles and potential ingredients. Also agree that Tyson Cole is a badass.

Took the wife to Sachet for lunch a few days back. Really nice place, big emphasis on vegetables and Mediterranean style meats. They make their own bread in their pizza oven. Porchetta sandwich was fatty deliciousness and probably had more fat/calories than the rest of the lunch combined.

Don't believe they've announced the schedule yet. It's the last weekend in July. Always a good time.

Went over Christmas break. Got there around 8:50, line was down the street and around the corner. They told me I had no shot at getting in, so I left.