October 2: 2023: This is my first blog post in years, I typically only do videos or photos, but I like writing better. Perhaps I’ll do more soon on the website, but I tend to write so many articles and other things that I get tapped out by the time it comes to update the website. Anyway, my wife, Marlene, likes Europe. I don’t really care for it, as they restrict or outlaw everything I find cool and interesting. Marlene pointed out how much I have spent, er invested, in hunting over the years, and insisted we do something different for a change. So here we are, now in Europe. We just finished up a tour of Ireland, which was interesting. Last night we flew into France, and then took a ride to our AirBnB in Paris. I had ordered two taxis, but our flight was delayed, and despite my pre-paying for an extra hour of waiting, the one taxi flew the coop. So when we arrived, there was only one taxi, which was basically a mini-van. The taxi driver finally relented, and just told everyone to jump in. For his sake, I’m glad we weren’t pulled over, it is probably a crime worthy of capitol punishment here. We finally found our apartment, and checked in with ease.
Everyone is smelling a bit strong, as our last place in Ireland had a lousy, tiny little clothes washer, that wasn’t very frisky. As a result, we didn’t wash our clothes, and we only have carry ons. I have enough clothes for three days. My socks I have worn for four days straight now, and everyone is whining about how bad they smell. But thankfully, now we have an ok (not great) washer and dryer at our Paris AirBnB.
There were a few light hearted moments in the trip, thus far. Marlene attempted to order “Root Beer” in Galway, Ireland, and was sternly informed they don’t serve alcohol. They don’t know what iced tea is either. The coffee is excellent, but served in tiny little cups. You need to order two or three cups just to get anything worth talking about. We have given up on trying to stay on top of the currency, so far we have dealt with pounds and Euros. We have started just swiping our credit card, or handing over stacks of funny looking bills.
Yesterday we toured the Titanic Museum in Belfast, where the Titanic was actually built. Later today we head to the Eiffel Tower. Tomorrow we head to Normandy beach, where the D-Day invasion occurred. Then in a few days we go to Switzerland, then eventually Italy, and then, Lord Willing, the fruited plains of Alaska.
Stay tuned for updates! And if you want to see lots and lots of photos and videos, check out the video gallery, which you need a website membership to view. This costs $9.99 a year, and rest assured we aren’t making any profit on it, after doing trips like this. Consider it a cheap ticket to tour Europe with us.
The Snader family, minus Shane (who got married and stayed home) plus Zoey Weaver (who agreed to help corral children)