We had finally arrived to the Belfast International Airport in Ireland after traveling for six and a half long hours from Atlanta Georgia. Though we had our house in America, my mom and younger sisters still considered this our true home. Our family members that we were closest to had always lived thousands of miles here and there, so we were lonely where we were. I released a sigh of relief when we finally made it to my grandmother’s house at the tip of Salisbury Avenue. There she was with a huge smile on her face and open arms,
“Hello wee darlings!” she said in pure delight and excitement, “come into the house I have the tea all set on the table for you.”
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It had been exactly five years since the last time we had traveled home to Ireland, and the sense of familiarity and comfort still lingered throughout the entire house and within the streets. My grandfather, who still managed to wake up every morning and read the newspaper, was sitting in his usual arm chair beside the television set. I immediately ran over to him and gave him a huge hug and a kiss on the cheek. His pale face instantly lit up and we all sat down at the dinner table discussing of our travels from America and what are plans were for the next six weeks of vacation.
The next couple of weeks were filled with adventure. The first place we had went to was the Belfast Castle located on the Cavehill County Park. Though we hadn’t climbed mountain of Napoleon’s Nose like I had wanted to, I stood and watched the children run up and down the hills of the castle and remembered how my grandparents would take my cousins and I there, and we would innocently pretend to be nights with plastic swords slaying monstrous beasts and dragons.
When the time was right and we had revisited stores in Castle Court, and had spent time with the other family members that lived in Belfast, we decided to take a trip down to Donegal, Ireland, where the family vacation home was sitting on top of a hill right beside Donegal Beach and overlooking Tory Island.
It was calm here in the vacation house away from the city without a computer or telephone to bother us. My grandmother was outside at the side of the house soaking up the sun in her little straw hat; the children were laughing and running through the thick grasses picking up blackberries that grew wild beside the stone fences. My grandfather sat in his usual chair beside me puffing on a tobacco pipe watching the intense session of the World Cup Series, and my mother was down the lane visiting an old family friend of ours. The rest of the week was filled with visiting Bunbeg beach where the same old shipwreck had lain for years, and going down to the small town of Meenlaragh for Catholic mass on Sunday and grabbing some fish and chips for dinner.
Before we knew it vacation time at home had ended, and it was time to return our house in Georgia. On the day we were to departure, we said our tearful goodbyes at the front the Salisbury Avenue house and placed our bags in the bag of the car. Though we were all sad that we had to leave, I reminded myself that goodbye’s don’t last forever, and that once again, someday, I would once return to the place that I loved and that I called home.
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1 Reply to “Goodbye’s Don’t Last Forever”
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Great information. I love travelling and the winter holidays are best to go out with family and friends. there are many places in India for the best winter holiday. here is the list 5 Best Winter Holiday Destinations In India
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Hi, thanks for the huge list of good ideas! I reconnected with an old childhood memory of travelling on house boats.
Wow, that’s a great list. The Free Tours By Foot sounds amazing and such a great way to explore a city. Have you guys ever tried indoor skydiving? It’s not cheap, but it’s a great activity for the whole family. Some of the centers even offer a Virtual Reality experience. With more and more tunnels popping up it’s become quite easy to find a spot nearby. For those interested check out dropzone.com/indoor/ . They’ve got a nifty tunnel finder.
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Hi There,
Thank you for putting together a list for Fall vacation. It is so informative and exciting. We love the nature! We should be planning a trip to Aspen Mountain, Colorado soon. The infographic on emergency is so well done and very handy for travelers.
visiting california is always enjoyable. thanks for sharing your feelings about california. Have traveled any other countries? I’ve been travelling for last 2 years and I would like to share some of my great experinces with you. do you accept guest post?
Everything in this blog is nice. Fabolous infographic and presentation also. I also want to go there for these types of rides which are shown in this blog.
First of all, you need to find out what type of vacation each member of your family prefers. At lunch, dinner, or watching your favorite TV show in the evening, try discussing your upcoming vacation together. Listen to suggestions from everyone, remember where you have already visited and, taking into account the interests of the child, try to choose the right direction. It should be borne in mind all the details: the possibility of excess spending, the size of the vacation budget, the presence of health problems, interests, hobbies and hobbies. If you are organizing a trip with your child, you will have a wonderful joint vacation!
NYC is a great place to celebrate Halloween, and good opportunities for celebrity sightings too!
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Thank you for sharing … I love to do a river rafting….thankyou so much for giving details about all things
Thank you for sharing the Information and images… Its very good and I am traveling soon on this place
Great post!
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The moon landing marked the culmination of America’s Cold War human spaceflight program and positioned itself as a global leader in science and technology. Apollo 11, the mission Armstrong and Aldrin flew with colleague Michael Collins, represented the U.S. accomplishing a seemingly impossible goal on a seemingly impossible timeline. Fifty years later, the world is remembering the historic mission and its impact on society and science, thanks to all these 50 COSMIC WAYS TO CELEBRATE SPACE.
I am also a collector of space memorabilia and I run a website dedicated to Space Exploration memorabilia https://www.space-collectibles.com . In fact, I leave in Paris, France. (Yes, that does mean I drink too much wine and eat too much cheese) . Since the age of 21, I became a big fan of Space Exploration as I studied in Cap Canaveral Florida, and worked with the engineers that put Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on the moon. So, this is perhaps the reason why I became a pasionate Space Collectioner of photos from the space race in the 60’s from Nasa and Soviet programs. I whish I could be in all these 50 COSMIC WAYS TO CELEBRATE SPACE
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Hey, Grandparents are the blessing of God to there kids and I am a professional travel agent of “Thia’s Travel Services” planned lots of successful tourism if you are planning or looking for more luxury trip and affordable tours with your friends and family feel free to keep in touch
Hey thanks for such a nice article, there is nothing better than getting away with the fam or group of mates into the wilderness and just relaxing while staring into those embers. I go camping regularly and I know you stated unplugged but if you dont play an instrument I highly recommend bringing along a nice loud Bluetooth speaker to jam away with all of you friends into the late night. That and beer ofcourse.
Thanks again and keep up the good work
Hershey is such a fun town to visit with so many family-friendly activities. We loved driving up to spend the weekend when we lived in Maryland.
Excellent post, Firsta! I enjoy reading about your travel experiences! Can’t wait to read your next blog post!
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Doing so saves money on your shipping costs. Most travelers are charged for gas as they are free. Tourists save money on car rentals and pay for their travels.