Otherwise Known as Jen's Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Excellent Day
A week ago today, we woke up at an inn located in Westport, Ireland, feeling a combination of excitement and a little bit of dread. We had a three-hour (no doubt stretching into four-hour) drive ahead of us, as we made our way north to Arranmore Island, which is to the west of Northern Ireland's Derry, but still in the Republic of Ireland. Driving in Ireland is at once exhilaratingly beautiful and stomach-in-throat, hands furiously grabbing at the door, the window, the Oh-Crum-Handle... anything one can grab onto except of course the driver... because around any blind curve (and there were many blind curves!!!) you could be met with an oncoming car.
We were never met with an oncoming car.
At least not one close enough to cause damage to our rental, but Jesus Christ!!!
I have to give credit to Irish drivers... my husband (K) and I did not see a single accident while we were in Ireland. The country lanes are just enough room for a single car, and many times we pulled over to let the oncoming car pass, and vice versa. Many times during our trip my car window brushed the vegetation growing on ancient stone walls lining the road. And then I would try not to behave in the aforementioned fashion, but most of the time... I did.
Anyway, we showered, dressed, and went downstairs for breakfast. After breakkie, we set off for Arranmore. I was excited. Readers may have seen the news story regarding certain islands in Ireland who were looking for people from the US and Australia who have jobs working remotely to move to Ireland, renovate a vacant property, and continue to work in said remote job.
I do not work remotely. But K, my handsome, software engineer of a husband, does. Mostly.
We both know it's a fantasy to completely pick up and move to Ireland, even for just a couple of years... But it's a fantasy nonetheless. And we wanted to see what Arranmore was actually like... so I had booked us a room at one of the inns on the island. The inn had a restaurant/pub the ground floor, so I thought even if we were tired from the drive, we could at least have a meal and chat with the locals to get a feel for the island.
The day was well organized. It was going to be good. The journey would be fine.
The drive actually was pretty smooth. The roads were wide by Irish standards, and there wasn't a lot of traffic. Our GPS guided us right to the ferry, and I strode into the office to get our tickets.
Is this your first time on the island?
Yes, it is.
After handing me a pamphlet about the island, she asked, Will you be returning today or tomorrow?
Tomorrow. We're really excited to experience a night on the island.
We arranged the return trip, and she took a few additional details.
Where are you from?
The States-- FL.
Oh, lovely! Have fun! If your plans change, here is the number you can call.
The nice woman in the ferry office gave me a placard to place on the rearview mirror that had the company's number at the bottom. The 3pm ferry was leaving in just a few minutes. I hurried back to our car, and the ferry workers guided K onto the ferry, having K drive onto the ferry in reverse. We were the only car on the boat. Everything was so incredibly smooth it was like it was meant to be. Sigh.
***
A few minutes later...
We took our seats on the ferry, and K was looking through the pamphlet about Arranmore. Jen, what is the name of the inn where we're staying tonight?
I gave him the name and then I typed it into Google Maps on my phone. Jen, I don't see that place in this brochure.
I felt the ferry begin to pull away from the dock... and I felt my stomach in my throat when Google confirmed what K suspected.
Nooooooooo......
I did rent a room. In an inn. With a pub on the first floor. On. The. Mainland. (Insert scream emoji infinity.)
(In my defense, it was a listing that came up when I put Arranmore Island into Booking.com. I had had trouble finding Arranmore on Hotels.com and even booking directly through the Arranmore tourism website, so I went to Booking.com and magically everything was okay! To be clear, I do NOT blame the website, only that I did not confirm that the inn was actually in Dungloe, not on Arranmore Island.)
Can you imagine being on a boat, with your rented car that you're really not supposed to take off the mainland, knowing that you are going AWAY from the place where you have a room reserved, cognizant of the fact that you completely and totally screwed up your plan for the evening?
Oh. My. Goodness.
I am a planner. I really try to be flexible (I want to be flexible!!!), but my strength is in the planning.
Can you feel me? :-)
Anyway, immediately I was out of my seat asking the kind ferry operator, who sees hundreds of tourists each week, Um... when does the last ferry depart the island?
He didn't miss a beat. Half seven.
OK--thanks.
I slunk back to my seat. Honey.... I am really, really sorry. I feel like an idiot. I did. I felt like the biggest fool. This was one of the most colossal errors I've ever made. Truly.
K looked at me... Jen. It's okay. We'll try to get a room on the island, and if we can't, we'll just take the ferry back and stay in the room that's already booked.
I felt so ridiculous. K went outside to enjoy the fresh air on the deck. I stayed inside staring at my phone's confirmation of my mistake, trying to talk myself through feeling better about the situation.
Once we got to the island, we spent about an hour attempting to find accommodation, and ultimately called the ferry company and booked the 7:30 passage back to the mainland, admitting defeat. I was near tears. The weather was windy/rainy/sunny. (Every five minutes the weather changes in Ireland.) After parking and walking around for a bit, we settled on a pub called Early's for a late lunch.
The entire island was inside, watching an Irish football game. (At least, the rest of the island that wasn't inside the first pub we tried to go to...)
K and I ordered, and went outside to find a table. Everything was wet from the recent rain. I walked back inside to ask for a tea towel to dry our table off. We had an ocean view, and I started to feel a little better.
After we talked for a bit, sipping on our Smithwicks, K went inside to check on our food. There was a family nearby with an adorable small brown dog. I started a conversation with them-- they were visiting for the day, as their teenage daughter was attending the Irish language camp on Arranmore for three weeks. She had never been away from home. Wow! She's never been away from home, and going to summer camp for three weeks? That's the deep end of the pool.
The family laughed and nodded, and they told me that after a difficult first couple of days, their daughter settled in and made friends. I told them about my blunder, and how K had been so understanding, and the dad looked at me... Someday, it will come back.
Someday it might. But not today, and for that, I was grateful.
The family left as we ate our food. I had a perfectly cooked burger-- the chips (fries) were good too. Early on in our vacation I had ordered a burger and it was overcooked and dry. I chalked it up to being in a tourist area. (Not every meal is going to be the best you've ever had in your life... sometimes you just need to eat and move on to the next adventure.) We went inside to have one more pint and I made eye contact with the manager. I want you to know, my burger was really juicy and delicious.
Well... you come from the land of burgers, so that means a lot. I will certainly pass it on to the kitchen staff. Where are you from?
And we told him, as well as why we had visited, and the blunder I had made. I was trying to laugh about it, but I still felt like such a stupid tourist. He looked at us and smiled. Have you been up to the lighthouse yet?
We had not. He gave us directions and a bit of history and we were off! We got back to the car and started winding up, up, up the road, until we arrived at our destination-- an old lighthouse and incredibly breathtaking views of cliffs with ocean waves crashing below. We took pictures, hugged, and smiled.
Jen, this is why we are here. He knows how to sell his island. K was right.
As we drove back down to the town, a rainbow appeared on the horizon. Again, we paused for a few photos, and felt so much better. This was our pot of gold.
Afterward, we treated ourselves to ice cream, chatting with a woman who was also waiting for the ferry. We rode the boat back, disembarked, and drove to the inn I had booked in Dungloe, just a few minutes from the dock, the Midway. After checking in and getting settled, we went down to the pub, chatted with fellow travelers, (all from Scotland!) and after a bit retired to our room, tired, and content from the full day full of ups and downs and then ups again.
The day hadn't been what I planned, but it was just what it was supposed to be. Every vacation has its blunders, and our Arranmore stay had certainly been mine this trip... but that's okay. As I told the family I was talking with outside Early's, I know that eventually it will be a great memory that we can laugh about, but right now it stings a bit.
And now, a week later (can't believe it's only been a week!!!) I can tell this story with fondness and humility. And I will keep dreaming of Arranmore.
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