End of Day Two – First Night in Ireland

It’s about 10:15 PM local time – it’s just starting to get dark out. Everyone has been asleep in their bunks for the last hour or so and I don’t think they’ll be getting up to go down to the pub. As I posted earlier on the shared blog, the best laid plans of mice and men are often thrown into disarray. If we had arrived on the green isle when we were supposed to, I think we would have had the energy and time to do most of what was scheduled today, but that was not to be.
The flights from Tulsa to DFW and from DFW to JFK were basically uneventful, but once we arrived at JFK we knew we were in trouble. JFK has nine completely separate terminals, each with their own security check points, usually multiple points. We had to get our baggage from American Airlines, which took quite a bit of time, and then work our way around JFK to another terminal where we would check in with Delta for the international flight. Once we got to the other terminal, we had to pass through traffic several times, working our way around construction zones and NYC cab drivers, ending with a difficult trek up a hill and a broken escalator to end up at a scene of absolute bedlam which was the Delta terminal. Whatever strides were made when Giuliani was mayor of NYC in teaching the citizens to be polite is lost in three hour long lines to check baggage! We got in to the International Departure area and had to work our way through lines to self-serve kiosks to get our boarding passes. I was the only one successful at that because I was only one with an e-ticket. The other three had paper tickets and had to go through another line. A much harried Delta employee took mercy on us due to Kim’s wonderful nature (ignoring literally dozens of screaming New Yorkers) and pulled us through all the lines so the three of them could get checked in and baggage loaded. They got their seat assignments two minutes before the computer system would’ve have locked them out. We rushed through security without any difficulties, made the short trek to our gate and then verified what I had already been told by the computer system when I checked in – our 7 PM flight was delayed until 11 PM due to weather and technical problems. This gave us the opportunity to sit down and have a leisurely dinner before boarding – most of us were operating on little more than a muffin and cup of coffee gulped down at the Tulsa airport at 8 AM. It also gave us the opportunity to learn that JFK’s Wi-Fi access is not as universal as we were lead to believe.
The flight from JFK to Dublin went about as well as could be expected – cramped, uncomfortable, and full of grumpy people whose schedules had been thrown into complete disarray. Once we set down in Dublin, though, everything was better! Efficiency and politeness abounded. Luggage was coming off the carousel by the time we passed through passport control and customs consisted of two smiling Irishmen waving us through the “Nothing to Declare” line. We got our Dublin Passes, found ATM machines and exchanged currency, and boarded the bus for the short ride into Dublin proper. The streets of Dublin are even more of a maze than the maps would suggest! We disembarked from the bus into a light drizzle that turned into full down pour by the time I led us on our first wrong turn. I quickly realized we were going in the wrong direction and after asking for a little help from bystanders (wisely standing out of the rain in store fronts) we found our way to the hotel. One of the O’Neill brothers popped out of the kitchen, let us into the guest house, and had us checked into our room with 10 minutes (after the initial shock of four adults staying in the “family room”).
The only real mistake of the day was activating the Dublin Pass when boarding the bus to get into the City Center. It’s a two calendar day pass and we did nothing on the pass today but ride the bus. Bea had suggested that we just pay for the bus and get two full days out of the passes, but that suggestion was lost in the heat of the moment and now we have to get everything we can out of the passes tomorrow. Still, I think we can make them pay for themselves. Tomorrow will just be a very busy day!