There and Back Again, A Father's Tale

July 12, 2022

I just got home from my first trip abroad in too many years. Rhys and I were blessed with a chance to

travel with some friends of mine to Scotland and Ireland. Karen willingly stayed behind to let us have a

boy’s trip, and I couldn’t have been more thankful, looking back.

You see, my first trip oversees, back in the dim recesses of the misty past (1988), was to England,

Ireland, and Scotland. I went with my two closest friends, among many others. It was an incredible

experience, creating memories that have lasted us our lifetimes. To this day stories of ambushing friends

in the closes and wynds of Edinburgh, or stuffing almost the entire student contingent of the trip into a

single sleeper compartment on the way to Scotland, will bring a smile to my face.

But, for many reasons, the place that made the strongest impression on me, by far, was Ireland. The

rolling hills, the countless shades of green, the distant ruins of ancient churches, forts, and manors, are

always just a moment’s thought away. I feel … different, somehow, when I’m in Ireland. I’ve returned

several times, before this latest trip, and every time, I have an eerie sense of coming home.

If anything were to ever convince me that reincarnation and past-lives are real, it would be that feeling I

get every time I return to Ireland.

This time, with Rhys, was no different.

Edinburgh, Scotland remains, after all these years, one of my favorite cities in the world.

Stirling Castle still conjures up every description of a castle from every fantasy novel I’ve ever read.

This was my first visit to the Highlands, including the road to the coast through Glen Coe, and they took

my breath away, literally.

But none of that could compare to the old, familiar jolt when I stepped off the ferry and set foot in

Belfast.

Admittedly, the vast majority of my time in Ireland has been spent in the south, in the Republic of

Ireland, but the sod of Northern Ireland gave me that same feeling of coming home.

The Titanic Museum was amazing. Seeing the back-lot view of King’s Landing and Winterfell at the

Titanic Studios lot, complete with the giant blue screen (dragons and armies of wights sold separately),

was great.

But the Giant’s Causeway was what struck me the hardest. Such beautiful views, and the ability to climb

all over those rock formations made Rhys’s entire vacation! Rather than stick to the established water-

level paths, he insisted we climb the 162 steps (and countless additional feet of path) to the top of the

cliff, and the views there more than justified the effort. I had no problem imagining the vessels of the

Spanish Armada sweeping past us, or pirate ships, or fantastical elven or dwarven or orc vessels sailing

into that harbor.

Every moment in Ireland, in addition to somehow making me feel like I’m where I belong, also fires my

imagination like no other place on the planet.

I loved every moment of my vacation with Rhys, seeing all of these things for the first time, again,

through his eyes. I would encourage anyone with children to travel with them. Show them the world.

Show them the parts of it that are special to you, or discover new special places with them. Open their

view of reality, and share with them what an amazing world we live in.

And speaking of travel, one such opportunity, particularly if you’re an American Civil War history buff,

might be our upcoming Geek Nation Tours Signature Battlefield Series tour: Battlefields of the Civil War,

featuring Gettysburg and the great 4 th of July reenactment! Group travel at its best, with a party of like-

minded folks who share your passions and excitement, experiencing some of the most dramatic

battlefields from America’s history!

If this sounds interesting to you, please check out our TourStarterinfo page.

We are in the process of planning the entire trip, and with TourStarter, YOU can participate in that work!

Hope to see you there!

Until next time, remember: Don’t aspire to BE something, aspire to DO something.

~Craig