We’ve been having a grand old time whooping it up in Dublin.  We decided to stop here for a few days to visit our friend Derek.  An extra plus is we got to also meet his parents, who are lovely, fun people (and now whooping it up on their own vacation).

The weather is unusually warm and sunny, so we spent a lot of time walking around in St Stephens park, Temple Bar area, Trinity campus, etc.

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We also got to visit The Irish Whiskey Museum on Grafton street (thanks to Derek’s suggestion) and loved it.  I’m not a whiskey fan, but I do love a good story mixed in with some history.  And, a few good laughs as well as some booze tasting (got to swirl some whiskey, sniff and attempt to like it) always work.  It’s worth a stop if you find yourself in the area.

We also got to tour the area Derek grew up in and the lovely university he earned his drinking badges and degrees in.

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And, today we got to take a Viking tour — something we wanted to do the last time we were here, but couldn’t fit it in.  They restore WW2 amphibian vehicles and take you on a tour through Dublin streets and for a bit of a float on the Dublin bay — plus give you the chance to scare the shit out of pedestrians with the group Viking roar.

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We also got to do a bit of this (imagine that!)…

So, it’s been a fun couple of days.  We’ve got to stay sober and crash early tonight because tomorrow we take off in the wee hours of the morning for our big adventure in the Dominican Republic.  I can’t wait to see the folk we’ll run into there — and get some quality pool and beach time.

God Bless summer vacay!