Cheers!

At least, that is what the Irish say a few times a meal to the tune of glasses clanking.  And it so happens to be what we are saying to our new adventure's start.  Cheers!

(By the way, it's me Austin blogging.   It seems to help our readers to know who the culprit of current writing is :)

Clouds over Ireland.  Today it was sunny, and these fluffy beauts were putting on a major show (complete with rainbows!).

As I write to you now, rain is thundering down on the conservatory wing of our WWOOF host's place (it's the closest room in proximity to our mobile home that gets WiFi).  What, a mobile home?!  Yes, indeed, that is no typo, but rather our home in Ennistymon, Ireland for the next month, and it actually pretty rad.  We have a shower, bed, kitchen, living room, heating, and a good amount of space.  Kindra is napping it right now, the jet lag is still running its merry way out of her system (though we did sleep in until 11 AM, and that was amazing).

Our "mobile" home :)

View from the inside out.

Our hosts, Mark and Tina, who actually originate from the UK (two ex-pats in a row for WWOOF hosts!) are incredibly kind and accommodating.  Mark runs his own high tech car engine business from home, and is an absolute handyman at anything with an engine.  We met them at the raining bus station last night (you better get used to it, for the next month rain will be a regular on this blog) and they promptly helped us load up our luggage and get to their place, where we were greeted by an unusually affectionate cat and three ferociously friendly dogs.  The rest of the animals residing here didn't make their appearance known until this morning, starting with the brontosaurus like call of the donkeys feet away from our bedroom's window.  Chickens, ducks, and quacky geese added to the melody somewhere around noon. 

Kindra went out to pet the donkeys, and I followed suit, with camera in hand.  Except maybe the brown donkey didn't like cameras, or me, because when I put my hand out for a sniff over I got a bite to the thumb knuckle :(  Not even a flesh wound, just a little sore but I can still type fine just in case you readers were worrying for lack of future blogs :)

The culprit!  Still, can't say no to that sweet face.

Now, you're probably wondering, how was the trip over?  To answer you, pretty brutal, as far as a ten hour flight, intense UK customs, waiting for security check round two (think one hundred people and like three TSA peeps to get us through), and another short flight to Dublin can go.  Customs wanted us to prove how $$$ we had before we could get through, and repeatedly threatened to send us back (I mean, we did have a one way ticket, I get that, and I guess being American isn't a golden ticket to go anywhere without a good reason).  Eventually, customs, tiring of our attempts to connect to the internet to prove our bank accounts had more than five bucks in them finally let us through (thank you Jesus!).   What an adventure.

Oh, P.S., picture super jet lagged Kindra trying to explain to a disgruntled (likely overworked, underpaid and under appreciated) customs agent that her current occupation is "traveler."  We both laugh about it now.

Kindra, not jet lagged yet.

Once arriving in Dublin, we stayed at the nicest hostel Kindra and I have ever stepped in (thank Isaac's Hostel!), and then explored Dublin for a bit.  No, leprechauns and pints of Guinness do not dance and leap into your arms at every corner.  There are some green park patches which are pretty, but most it is smog and cars. 

Our cool hostel.

So here we are in rainy, green, beautiful Ireland!  We start our WWOOF duties within the next few days.  One note I have to add is a big, big thank you to our families and friends we saw in the last weeks in the states!!  I can't even begin to express how blessed and supported we felt.  We couldn't do this trip without you guys.

Until next blog!!

A link to our photos in Ireland: https://picasaweb.google.com/117860913937238604610/Ireland

That's us, world travellers!