Ireland 2022...tips needed

[GhostOfTomJoad 9352]

Mrs GOTJ are planning our first trip to Ireland for next year to commemorate our 20th anniversary. It's long been a bucket list destination for both of us, and this will be our first trip across the pond so we're trying to do as much research as we can. Here's the general info:

• 10-12 night stay starting in Dublin (2-3 nights max) then getting to the west coast with a focus on natural beauty/parks (no desire to kiss the fucking Blarney stone or be herded like cattle through the Guinness brewery tour)
• we are definitely NOT taking a guided tour vacation & spending 2 weeks on a coach with 20+ strangers. We may take a small group day trip or two to certain destinations  but would prefer to self drive as much as possible
• we'll take rail out of Dublin to the west & pick up a rental car 
• leaning towards VRBOing a cottage for 5-7 nights around Galway & Connemera and then day tripping to explore the sites & hike 
• might splurge for a night or two at Ashford Castle or similar (the wife is fascinated by their falconry exhibition)
•  Doolin, Cliffs of Moher, Aran Islands and Ring of Kerry are essential sites
• plan to travel on the shoulder (April or Sept) to avoid the crowds but who knows what it will be like when travel starts opening back up again

Any experts out there on what we should and shouldn't do? We have several friends who have gone there in the past few years but they pretty much stuck with the common sights & tourist stops. 

 

[ztejas 43538]

2 minutes ago, GhostOfTomJoad said:

(no desire to kiss the fucking Blarney stone or be herded like cattle through the Guinness brewery tour)

Yeah that's more of a thing that assholes who are there for the first time do anyway. 

[4th&Five 41590]

Belfast is worth visiting if you make it up north. 

[millhouse 2617]

See if any of twilight was filmed there and be sure to hit that up.

[GhostOfTomJoad 9352]

15 minutes ago, 4th&Five said:

Belfast is worth visiting if you make it up north. 

Yeah, Giant's Causeway looks like a stunning view. She seems to want to save Northern Ireland for a follow up trip when we'll hit Scotland and other parts of the UK.

[GhostOfTomJoad 9352]

19 minutes ago, millhouse said:

See if any of twilight was filmed there and be sure to hit that up.

Come on, everyone knows it was filmed in Vancouver and BC.

But in the sake of sharing my pain, when we traveled to Washington a few years ago & spent a week in the Sequim area to tour ONP she insisted that one of our day trips was to Forks, the real town that the books took take place in. No filming was done there, and it's a total nothing town on the west coast where it was raining the bottom out (so much so that we opted not to continue to the Hoh Rainforest...still regret that). We ate a shitty lunch at a shitty restaurant & then walked a few blocks so she could go to a cheesy Twilight-based gift shop & buy a couple tee shirts. 

[4th&Five 41590]

21 minutes ago, GhostOfTomJoad said:

Yeah, Giant's Causeway looks like a stunning view. She seems to want to save Northern Ireland for a follow up trip when we'll hit Scotland and other parts of the UK.

That’s what we did. Flew into Dublin then up to Belfast and over to Scotland for most of our trip. 

[VinyVango 694]

A hike through the Gap of Dunloe would be worthwhile.  It's very close to Killarney.  The Ring of Kerry is cool, but I kind of like to drive around the peninsula that includes Dingle and Connor Pass, as there are less tour buses.  Also, I'd recommend a stop at Minard castle, between Killarney and Dingle, which is well off the beaten path and very surreal.  In Dublin, there's large multistory pub (near St. Stephen's green and the main pedestrian/shopping/busking street) called O'neill's[sp?] that has a great cafeteria on the bottom floor.  The Brazen Head in Dublin is a good spot to grab a Guinness.

[HenryJames 66171]

Go to that pub that has Guinness.

[South Austin 52607]

The Lucky Charms in Kilkenny are the best I’ve ever had.

[Ricky's one-hitter 9140]

17 hours ago, GhostOfTomJoad said:

 Doolin, Cliffs of Moher, Aran Islands and Ring of Kerry are essential sites

We honeymooned in Ireland in 2012, stayed in Doolin. Had a great cottage within view of the Aran Islands and traveled around from there (https://www.airbnb.ie/rooms/17845582). The pub in town is great, we stumbled on a few evenings of a folk music and dancing. 

Instead of hitting the cliffs through the visitor center, you can take a trail up the edge from town, which was unbelievable. Starts here: https://goo.gl/maps/SWirt5QRYNENTyxa7 

We're going back in a few years with my wife's family. Just leave a day or two to get lost.

 

[msbesq 387]

Roscommon is a very nice town with good restaurants. Donegal and the Atlantic Way have beautiful scenery. Watch a short Youtube video or two on how to drive the roundabouts. They are far more numerous in Ireland than England. Go to the Jameson Distillery on Bow Street in Dublin. Try to get advance tickets to the prison. Sligo is very nice and scenic town. Belfast is nice, but getting very dicey now.

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

The Dublin south around the coast up to Shannon is a great 7-9 day trip

Renting a car is the way to go, and driving is  not an issue 

Do the national museum in Dublin to see bog mummies, gold artifacts, and cool Viking shit

Do Newgrange north of Dublin. An amazing  Neolithic site make sure you can get on a site tour the day you go, as they sometime limit the number of people at the actual site.

Hang in every pub you can 

Stay at Caharan (spelling ?) house in Killarney and do the ring of Kerry do the tour bus thing for that), cliffs of mohr

Hang in every pub you can 

And know that every time you go to a pub, John Denvers country road will be played, and every Irishman will stand and sing it like a friggin  national anthem, any pub, any city or hamlet across the country.

There is history  every where you go. And the people are very friendly. I'd move there in a heart beat

 

Edited April 14, 2021 by Onboard 2.0

[HornOnTheBayou 8946]

The wife and I did almost that exact same trip you're describing several years ago. When you rent a car, make sure to get the smallest car possible. Those country roads are narrow with hedges running along the side.

[GhostOfTomJoad 9352]

Great tips, keep em coming. I've also been told that driving around the country counter clockwise can help with avoiding some of the tour bus traffic.

Love the idea about the smallest car possible. It's just the two of us so that should be easy. Trying to pack for almost 2 weeks in a couple carry ons might be the biggest challenge.

[closetojumping 62870]

My wife's half-Irish, so we go visit family in Galway about every other year when we fly over for a trip. You can find excellent AirBNBs right in the harbor and walking distance to the restaurants, pastry and bread shops, bars, etc. It's not big enough to be a tourist trap and it's too little to be heavily trafficked in a general sense, so I've always thought it was a fun visit. 

Tripping to the Aran Islands is a good choice. Ride the bikes. There's a pub at the end of the biking to the other side of the island and they make the best fucking Irish stew I've ever had in my life, hands down.

Cliffs of Moher are amazing. We've been when it was raining and I assume it's almost always raining there. It felt like we were on another planet. Good day trip from Galway. 

Dublin's great and there's so much history there that you could choose a walking tour of all kinds of shit and find recommended paths for many subjects online, be it authors, politics, riots, general city/area history, religious stuff. We had fun with it. 

In between drives to and from places like Dublin and Galway, there are numerous historic sites/markers/ruins that are highlighted and can be visited. Save time for a few of those because all of that shit is like 200-1600 years old when you stop and check it out, and its usually cool and not crowded.

[Neonmoon 38130]

On 4/13/2021 at 4:29 PM, GhostOfTomJoad said:

(no desire to kiss the fucking Blarney stone or be herded like cattle through the Guinness brewery tour)

Others have already covered the main things, but two things regarding this sentence. Agree, don’t go the Blarney Stone, the locals piss on it at night. Second, while 99% of the Guinness tour is mostly tourist bullshit and miserable, the last 1% is worth the trip. They pour you a Guinness and the views of the city on the top of the Brewery are some of the best. 

[midtown 3348]

I spent a week in Ireland while my then wife was doing her emba and did Dublin for their trip.    Ill try to keep it short.  I wish I had some pictures. 

I flew into Dublin and spent a day/morning touring Dublin and the Guiness etc etc.  

Guinness brewery is awesome.   There is bar below the main deck the go up to the main bar and let people who don't like Guiness give you their free drinks.

[Telegraph_it 3359]

On 4/14/2021 at 9:50 AM, Onboard 2.0 said:

Stay at Caharan (spelling ?) house in Killarney and do the ring of Kerry do the tour bus thing for that), cliffs of mohr

Second this. 
 

[midtown 3348]

We took a train to Westport.   Then took bikes from Westport to Kong.  THen Kong to Lenanne.  Those two days of bike riding in the middle of Ireland were amazing.  Then a bus to Galway.  The we rented a right drive standard to the Cliffs of Moher. then to Shannon.   And lots of crap in between

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

48 minutes ago, Telegraph_it said:

Second this. 
 

It's a place to stay for 2 nights if possible, and explore the grounds, enjoy the pub. Have all your meals there during your stay.

Its back yard is literally the Ring of kerry national park . You're having a cocktail and a cigar with that amazing view

Edited April 16, 2021 by Onboard 2.0

[6th Street 6508]

Another vote for Cahernane House in Killarney. Stayed there in Aug 2019 at the suggestion of this board. 
 

 

 

[MAUFRAIS 6636]

recommend the merrion in dublin.

i liked ireland.  got drunker'n fuck.

[Bernard 879]

Went with GF seven years ago this week. Had no reservations other than a rental car and a hotel in Dublin the first night. Hit some Dublin pubs the first night. Jumped in the car the next morning and headed west, then the big southern loop back to Dublin. Nine days total.  Looks like you are on the same route. We were literally just winging it seeing sights by day and pub crawling at night. When it got late in the day, we’d pick a town to stop in. Find a hotel as centrally located as possible. There was always a half dozen or more pubs within walking distance. We got our first choice of lodging every single night but one by just walking in the door and saying we needed a room for the night. Great fun. Beautiful countryside. Very friendly people. It’s hard to go wrong really.

I did kiss the Blarney Stone. Fuck the haters.

Bernard

[PencilPusher 454]

On 4/13/2021 at 4:29 PM, GhostOfTomJoad said:

Mrs GOTJ are planning our first trip to Ireland for next year to commemorate our 20th anniversary. It's long been a bucket list destination for both of us, and this will be our first trip across the pond so we're trying to do as much research as we can. Here's the general info:

• 10-12 night stay starting in Dublin (2-3 nights max) then getting to the west coast with a focus on natural beauty/parks (no desire to kiss the fucking Blarney stone or be herded like cattle through the Guinness brewery tour)
• we are definitely NOT taking a guided tour vacation & spending 2 weeks on a coach with 20+ strangers. We may take a small group day trip or two to certain destinations  but would prefer to self drive as much as possible
• we'll take rail out of Dublin to the west & pick up a rental car 
• leaning towards VRBOing a cottage for 5-7 nights around Galway & Connemera and then day tripping to explore the sites & hike 
• might splurge for a night or two at Ashford Castle or similar (the wife is fascinated by their falconry exhibition)
•  Doolin, Cliffs of Moher, Aran Islands and Ring of Kerry are essential sites
• plan to travel on the shoulder (April or Sept) to avoid the crowds but who knows what it will be like when travel starts opening back up again

Any experts out there on what we should and shouldn't do? We have several friends who have gone there in the past few years but they pretty much stuck with the common sights & tourist stops. 

 

Used to have a client in Galway & Dublin so tripped to Ireland a fair amount then also took my dad there a few years back for his 70th. Based on your planned itinerary, some other suggestions

In Dublin, someone upthread recommended the Merrion - great Victorian hotel and if you are there in shoulder season, should have really good rates. Around the corner from the Merrion is O'Donoghues which is a good pub known for having impromptu trad sessions from time to time. Also the Merrion has a bar that stays open 24/7 for people who are staying at the hotel. You never know when you need an irish whiskey at 4 am...  Also, the revamped Jameson tour is good and I would also recommend the literary pub crawl if you are into Irish lit (or lit in general). Dublin is also a great city just to walk around in, get lost, and duck into a random pub in the middle of the day.

Galway is awesome - i call it the Austin of the Emerald Isle (pre-California invasion of course). Great base to explore both the Burren, Connemara, and Aran Islands. The downtown area around the quays is always hopping at night and you can easily catch some trad sessions at some of the bars. I have found the West of Ireland to be the best if you are searching for more traditional Irish music as there are much more Gaeltacht speaking regions in the West. Dunguaire Castle in Kinvarra is worth a look as you transit between Galway and the Burren/Cliffs of Moher/Doolin. The drive into the Connemara is spectacular. I'd head out to Kylemore Abbey and then trip back through Cong on the way back to Galway.

Another cool splurge if you don't want to do Ashford Castle in Dromoland Castle which is pretty close to Shannon Airport/Co Clare. Good stopoff point between Galway and Killarney area for a night or 2. Been there twice and it is superb. Hotel bar had a nice selection of Irish whiskey if memory serves.

Ireland is one of my favorites places in the world. Hope you enjoy it!

 

[Pokoloco 1282]

My brother and our wives are going in May, we already booked a trip over to the Cliffs of Moher and that area.  My dad's family is from Limerick, mom's is from Waterford.  I'd like to see both, but haven't seen anyone mention them.  Is the train system a good way to get around the country? 

[MAUFRAIS 6636]

Don’t know. We rented a car and liked the experience. That’s my recommendation.

[closetojumping 62870]

6 hours ago, Pokoloco said:

My brother and our wives are going in May, we already booked a trip over to the Cliffs of Moher and that area.  My dad's family is from Limerick, mom's is from Waterford.  I'd like to see both, but haven't seen anyone mention them.  Is the train system a good way to get around the country? 

Just one man's opinion, but I prefer having a car. Until you get to the really small townships, the roads are very new and traffic is very light. You can get to Galway from Dublin, or vice versa, in 3 hours. The first few times I visited, over a decade ago, the freeways weren't there so that trip was probably better by train. 

Regarding Limerick, I spent a day there once. I mean this in a positive way when I say that it's not crazy different than say Cork or Galway or various other decent-sized towns. They all have character, nice folks, some great landmarks, and a bunch of pubs. They all have a few nice restaurants. So, you can't lose, but I wouldn't worry a whole bunch about visiting too many of those towns, because there's also a ton of unique stuff to do in between them. 

[MAUFRAIS 6636]

I watched the Arkansas Texas Bowl in Limerick. I fuckin’ hate that town.

[MAUFRAIS 6636]

Had dinner here. Thought it was a good omen.

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

8 hours ago, Pokoloco said:

My brother and our wives are going in May, we already booked a trip over to the Cliffs of Moher and that area.  My dad's family is from Limerick, mom's is from Waterford.  I'd like to see both, but haven't seen anyone mention them.  Is the train system a good way to get around the country? 

Rent a car.  It's the best way to maximize your time so you're not waiting around on a platform waiting for a train.  

I'd try to do the ring of Kerry if possible, take one of the bus tours because the guides know their shit, and you get a great look into 19th c. Ireland, and the potato famine.

Edited January 5, 2022 by Onboard 2.0

[TXSG8R 3362]

Yup, rent a car.  We drove from Dublin to Doolin, then Dingle, then the ring before closing out in Galway and rented B&Bs as we chose destinations for the day. When we go back we will spend the entire time on the west side of the isle.  I loved Dingle and plan on spending more time there and Galway/Connemara.  Outside of the museums Dublin was the least enjoyable part of the trip.  

[TXSG8R 3362]

I should probably add, rent a small car, especially if you’re going to roam the west coast areas around Doolin and Dingle. We had a Mercedes C class and at times we were scraping the mirrors on the hedges and walls. Next trip I’ll be getting a Mini Cooper or something comparable. 

[NOMAAA 1696]

for my 40th a few years back my dad and i went to the british open in portrush.  Flew into shannon, took train to dublin/belfast/portrush.  made it back to dublin after the tournament and drove to waterford, killarney, galway and back to shannon.  car is definitely the way to go if you want to cover a lot of ground and see a lot of the country.  that said, the train system is pretty solid as well and most of the towns along our trip were walkable.  but get a car. 

[NOMAAA 1696]

27 minutes ago, TXSG8R said:

I should probably add, rent a small car, especially if you’re going to roam the west coast areas around Doolin and Dingle. We had a Mercedes C class and at times we were scraping the mirrors on the hedges and walls. Next trip I’ll be getting a Mini Cooper or something comparable. 

what he said.  we had a big bmw station wagon that was fantastic on the freeways, but small roads and garages were tough.

[Mango4 189]

Headed to the UK and Ireland in 6ish weeks. Already rented a car to drive through Ireland. Plan on hitting Giants Causeway, staying a few nights outside Limerick, driving the Dingle Peninsula and going to the Cliffs. Any recommendations in that area is greatly appreciated. Also spending a few days in Dublin.

[MAUFRAIS 6636]

Liked the merrion hotel in Dublin.

The 40 foot was like an Irish cousin of Barton springs.

[6th Street 6508]

On 1/5/2022 at 7:56 AM, NOMAAA said:

what he said.  we had a big bmw station wagon that was fantastic on the freeways, but small roads and garages were tough.

Same. We had a VW minivan and I white knuckled it in parts of the Ring of Kerry and thru some of the small towns. Especially stressful when a big truck or tractor is barreling at you full speed and you are already hugging the wall.

[grazinhorn 472]

Lots of good advice on this thread.  One suggestion I don't think I've seen - travelling around Easter and doing your couple of days in Dublin, say, Saturday-Monday and then head west.  Monday after Easter is a holiday, so banks and other businesses are closed but pubs and a lot of tourist things worth visiting are open.  Parking and overall getting around is so much easier than on a normal weekday.  Also, there are usually a number of things going on remembering the Easter Rising.  One of the best things we did was go to Glasnevin cemetery where they had special tours specifically focusing on the history of the Easter Rising - it was very well done.   In our case it was somewhat accidental that we had that schedule, but having done it I would definitely go it again.  You are generally ahead of the peak season and despite it being a holiday weekend crowds shouldn't be too bad.

I am not going to repeat a bunch of other things already said - just one: Newgrange.  Go and get there early enough to make sure you get a ticket (we were among the last to get them for that day).  That stuff is old by any standard, even after seeing tons of very old stuff (by our standards). 

Edited February 23, 2022 by grazinhorn

[royiv 9357]

9 hours ago, MAUFRAIS said:

Liked the merrion hotel in Dublin.
 

The Merrion is awesome. We stayed in a suite there during the trip where I proposes to my now wife and everything there, especially the staff, were incredible. Also highly recommended from that same trip is Ashford Castle on the other side of Ireland in County Mayo. It was another incredible experience and is where I actually proposed.

For those that have driven in Ireland, I salute you. There's no way I would drive on those narrow country roads. We had a driver and I felt like that was the way to go. No worries about playing chicken with tour busses and no worries about having a couple of drinks at lunch everyday.

[grazinhorn 472]

1 hour ago, royiv said:

For those that have driven in Ireland, I salute you. 

I didn't mind it so much, but I sure was glad I had an automatic when dealing with super narrow roads with two way traffic.  Just a little too much to worry about, shifting opposite hand and all.

[GottaB 595]

We are staying in Roscrea (middle of the island) this week. It’s our first time here. We have driven to all the common places. These roads are narrow and I’ve white knuckled a lot of the back roads. Thankfully there isn’t a lot of traffic.


Birr Castle


Cliffs of Moher


Guineas Storehouse tour

We also did Blarney. Limmerick tomorrow.

[MAUFRAIS 6636]

Sharpen your boot, and bludgeon your eye

[midtown 3348]

On 2/23/2022 at 9:39 AM, grazinhorn said:

I didn't mind it so much, but I sure was glad I had an automatic when dealing with super narrow roads with two way traffic.  Just a little too much to worry about, shifting opposite hand and all.

Driving the standard wasn't bad at all.   The only hard part was around the cliffs with those tiny ass roads and giant fucking tour busses.  As the driver I felt like I was in the ditch half the time and my passenger must have felt like they were in a head on collision the entire time.

Edited April 5, 2022 by midtown

[Pokoloco 1282]

On 4/5/2022 at 2:56 PM, GottaB said:

We are staying in Roscrea (middle of the island) this week. It’s our first time here. We have driven to all the common places. These roads are narrow and I’ve white knuckled a lot of the back roads. Thankfully there isn’t a lot of traffic.


Birr Castle


Cliffs of Moher


Guineas Storehouse tour

We also did Blarney. Limmerick tomorrow.

We're going over on the 19th.  Let me know the do/do not do's. 

[GottaB 595]

I dunno. I don’t travel often so my meter of what to avoid isn’t great.

Guinness storehouse tour was good. The museum of
Modern art right down the road was closed on Monday.

There are a lot of castles, don’t feel like you have to drive clear across the island to see Blarney. It’s a castle.

The back roads are narrow. If you rent a car, get the insurance.

We bussed into Dublin from where we stayed instead of driving. So we don’t have to worry about driving/parking in the city which was fine but we spent a lot of time in cold windy weather waiting for the return bus home. If I had to do it over again, I’d probably drive.

Other than that, i don’t have strong recs one way or another.

Enjoy.

[midtown 3348]

11 hours ago, GottaB said:

There are a lot of castles, don’t feel like you have to drive clear across the island to see Blarney. It’s a castle.

I would agree with this as well

[Orale 1087]

I didn't mind it so much, but I sure was glad I had an automatic when dealing with super narrow roads with two way traffic.  Just a little too much to worry about, shifting opposite hand and all.

This. I was doing a semester abroad in Paris and did a week trip driving around Ireland on Fall break in November 2007. I rented a small standard car, but the kind lady there said I could have their automatic small car at no additional cost.

Bless her for that kindness because the roads are often very narrow and there are tons of round abouts. As others have said, driving on the wrong side of the road is unusual enough. Don't add driving stick backwards to it. I ended up having to pay to replace the hubcaps because I scraped the shit out of them on the narrow roads.

If your schedule is flexible, going in November was really nice because there was not a single tourist bus the entire trip. I had most of the popular sights to myself and still with all the scenic beauty of the fall leaves everywhere. It was sometimes balls cold, but not uncomfortably so. I suspect there will still be a lot of crowds in September and still fairly warm. At the very least I'd suggest mid October. But you really can't go wrong whenever you go. Enjoy!

Sent from my moto g(7) power using Tapatalk

[HookEm 2468]

Just went on a golf trip for a week to Ireland with friends.  Amazing trip.  I will say that the Dublin airport is an absolute shit shoe.  Took us 2 HOURS to get our luggage on arrival.  Then when we were leaving, they said "get to the airport 4 hours early".  Seemed absurd to me, but whatever.  It ended up taking every bit of the 4 hours.  I would estimate that the line to get through security was over a mile long. No exaggeration. It was the longest I have ever seen by a considerable stretch - and I travel all the time.

We ended up playing Old Head, Ballybunion, Tralee, Dooks, Heritage and Castlegregory - and drank in more pubs than I can remember.  Probably enjoyed Dingle the most of all the small towns.  Just one great pub after another.  Stayed at a decent hotel in Tralee and used it as our base.  Not the best town, but the location was great for our needs.

 

[ocugolf 1214]

On 5/23/2022 at 10:32 AM, HookEm said:

Just went on a golf trip for a week to Ireland with friends.  Amazing trip.  I will say that the Dublin airport is an absolute shit shoe.  Took us 2 HOURS to get our luggage on arrival.  Then when we were leaving, they said "get to the airport 4 hours early".  Seemed absurd to me, but whatever.  It ended up taking every bit of the 4 hours.  I would estimate that the line to get through security was over a mile long. No exaggeration. It was the longest I have ever seen by a considerable stretch - and I travel all the time.

We ended up playing Old Head, Ballybunion, Tralee, Dooks, Heritage and Castlegregory - and drank in more pubs than I can remember.  Probably enjoyed Dingle the most of all the small towns.  Just one great pub after another.  Stayed at a decent hotel in Tralee and used it as our base.  Not the best town, but the location was great for our needs.

 

Just got back from an amazingly similar trip.  Lahinch, Ballybunion, Waterville, Old Head, Tralee, and Dooks.  Our Dublin airport experience was much smoother.  However, be prepared for a Covid test 24 hours before you depart.  DO NOT use the testing site at the airport.  The line and wait times were impossibly long.  Cliffs of Moher were amazing.  We loved Killarney.  Just go to pubs and talk with the locals.  Take off your hat when you go in pubs.  You stick out like a sore thumb as an American if you don't.  Got to pour a pint of Guiness at the Nineteenth Pub in Lahinch.  Watched a hurling game at J. Reidy's in Killarney with the locals. Strange sport that is kind of a cross between field hockey, lacrosse, and rugby.  Drove through a bunch of Pikey's playing Irish Road Bowling on the way to Limerick.  THAT was interesting.  Locals mostly keep to themselves unless you make an effort to engage with them.  If you do, they are some of the most kind and loving people on the planet.  We had an amazing driver.  Because of our tee times and ambitious itinerary, he was a godsend.  Allowed us to decompress and enjoy the travel.