Saturday, August 20, 2022 was a day we’ve long been waiting for, a return to Ireland. We had one week here in 2009 and it wasn’t enough. Our day began early, with a 5:00 a.m. ride to the Sacramento International Airport. Too bad the International aspect doesn’t go to the places we want to go. We quickly checked in and checked our carryon sized bags. We didn’t want to have to drag them around during our 9 hour layover in San Francisco. When we arrived at security we noticed that our boarding passes didn’t show that we have TSA precheck. It didn’t take long to get through the regular line, but we had to remove our shoes and other inconveniences that we usually avoid. Our short flight to SFO was uneventful and we were picked up by my cousins who live nearby. Why hang out at the airport when we can have a fun day with them? We went out for a delicious breakfast and then discussed what we should do next.

The decision was to go get a close up look at our great Grandmother’s house. Who knows how many times I’ve passed it without knowing, but on a visit with Peri & James a few months ago we were looking through our great aunt’s journal from a trip she made through the Panama Canal in the 1930’s. In the journal she had letters she had mailed to her mother, who we called Gaga. Gaga died when I was about 4 years old. Jim checked out the address on Google Earth. A little later we left their house in Sunnyvale and headed north to see a friend in Marin County, requiring a drive across the Golden Gate Bridge. Hwy 101 becomes a city street as you drive through SF, and as we we stopped at a red light Jim happened to glance to the right and saw Gaga’s house. Wow! It’s at the corner of California & Funston. In the short time since then we’ve happened to drive by several more times.

The building manager came out and after Peri and I explained our connection to the building he invited us in. The lobby was beautiful and there was a nice little garden in the back.

Next up, Baker Beach! The view from there of the Golden Gate Bridge is usually stunning, but this is San Francisco in August. That means fog is common. Even so, a couple of hours on the beach is always nice.

It was time to return to the airport. Security wasn’t bad and we had plenty of time to kill while we waited for our Aer Lingus flight. The trip wasn’t bad and for the first time I actually got some sleep on the plane.

We arrived in Dublin around noon on August 21, quickly got through passport control, picked up our luggage which interestingly came out from the conveyor belt together, got a taxi and arrived at our hotel in just over an hour. Our wonderful friends, Marie & Jim (aka JD), had already arrived because we weren’t traveling together. We were allowed to check in early so we settled into the room and then set off to see some of Dublin. We ended up walking to the Temple Bar area, where we found a restaurant with outside seating. After an early dinner we walked back to the hotel, had a nightcap at the hotel bar and called it a night. We were all exhausted. I fell to sleep quickly. Sadly it didn’t last more than 4 hours and now I’m awake. Oh well.

I’m not sure why my photos aren’t posting. I’ll try to figure that out.