Two weeks and counting before our next adventure begins!  

Tom retired on Friday, August 29, 2014 -- yesterday. For the past 10 1/2 years, he has worked at a job that he loved. He looked forward to going to work every morning. He often said that the morning he woke up, looked at himself in the mirror, and wondered why he was going to work, would be the day he would retire. I am not sure that day ever came, but he also had his 65th birthday a couple of weeks ago. Sooooo -----The next phase of our life's journey begins. Tom's office threw a little lunchtime retirement party for him a few days ago and presented him with a Rick Steves travel bag that converts to a backpack when necessary. He told the crowd that his parents have crossed the Atlantic 23 times and the Pacific five times. We have a long way to go to catch up, and probably never will because we are getting a much later start, but we hope to take one BIG trip each year until our health dictates otherwise. 

In two weeks, we will leave for a month, traveling to Ireland and France. According to family tradition, my Irish ancestor was born in County Kilkenny in 1755 and immigrated to Maine in 1769. That is ALL we know about his life before landing in Maine. I have searched records at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, UT, and I have searched records on www.ancestry.com -- all to no avail. My hope and prayer is that I might find something in Ireland -- a person with the same last name, perhaps, who might have other information. I might, possibly, locate a gravestone or a church with records that date to the 18th century. 

After traversing across Ireland -- on the wrong side of the road with me driving! -- for a little over two weeks, we will take the overnight ferry to Normandy, France. My interest level with war is waaaaaaaaay down on my bucket list, but I do have an interest in seeing the beaches and the cemeteries. Tom plans to take a day long tour of the beaches to learn all he can about WWII and the Normandy invasion. As he was planning our trip, I asked him to find me a wine tour on that day. Do you realize that Normandy is the ONLY province in France that does NOT make wine? Dang! So, I will find other things to do -- tour yet another cathedral, visit a museum about the Normandy area, sit at a sidewalk cafe and people watch. I might even practice the 10 words of French I know. :)

We have lots to do over the next two weeks. We have housesitters arranged who will take care of our home, give lots of loves to our dog and cat, and, possibly, remember to water the plants. Check in periodically to see where our adventure is taking us! We would love comments!