Here's to Maverick and Goose

Ralph takes the driver's seat

A lot of people say that traveling with a significant other is a great test of the relationship. But relaxing, hanging out, enjoying the sights that don’t include a computer or work… those are really fun and pretty easy things to do together. It’s the navigation of those roads that gives you a real pulse.

Even though I grew up in the ‘burbs and love visiting our national and state park system, I’m more of a city girl day-to-day. Not in cars much. And especially ones I’m responsible for.

I should probably stop here for a moment and tell you that my dad was a professional navigator in the United States Air Force for tankers carrying a large amount of fuel… they really trusted that guy. And I should also tell you that they barely let me on base [remember that time in high school, family? So much fun :)]… his kids, that Air Force trusted notsomuch.

Being the budget travelers we are, on a recent trip to Ireland we decided the rental car (no buses!) was a plush enough splurge without adding a GPS system or automatic transmission. I got in on the left side of the car, and with trepidation and a sense of responsibility, I took on the position of Navigator.

And we were off!... motoring up the highway to meet one of my oldest and loveliest friends Leslie and her boyfriend Colin. We picked them up and headed to the Aran Islands on one of the most gorgeous days Ireland has ever seen. No big stories on the way there, but on the way home (coming off of two red-eyes!)… Leslie and Colin turned from friends to witnesses as we drove around the medieval streets of Galway. I lived there without a car… how am I supposed to know which streets are one way and in which direction?!?

Ralph, my determined-to-stay-calm driver, offered this nugget: “Just keep me off the cobblestoned pedestrian streets and we’ll be good.”

We’re good.

Cheers! Ralph, me, Leslie and Colin love us some Jameson!

Early Majority This: TripIt

I’m not exactly what you’d call an early adopter when it comes to technology. My phone is not smart and actually looks a lot like Limited Too dressed up a clamshell. But I have big trips coming up and I need to be organized - especially since I’m now planning for two… my boyfriend Ralph is not exactly known for paying attention to details like flight times or even days.

By way of two red-eyes, Ralph and I will arrive in Ireland in late August for one of my best-friend-forever’s weddings (!!!!). Because I studied abroad in Galway and it will be Ralph’s first visit to one of the most festive, friendly and green countries we've got, we’re going to be making some serious moves in a short amount of time so he can soak it all in.

I recently sat down to start planning, and immediately felt overwhelmed: how am I going to catalogue our reservations, sights to see and bars to booze at without spending hours formatting a Word or Excel document?! And like a gift from God I heard in my head “TripIt.”

I knew of the website, but had never actually checked it out. TripIt, in short, is like my mom planning a Moynihan Family Vacation, but on steroids. Thorough, sharp, accurate, free, and with an inspirational picture included.

What is TripIt? The long answer according to their website, “TripIt turns chaos into order.” The site streamlines all of your separate bookings into one easy-to-read document. All a traveler has to do is “forward their travel confirmation emails to plans@tripit.com. TripIt processes these emails and automatically creates a master itinerary with travel plans, daily weather, local maps, restaurant reservations, city guides and more. With TripIt, travelers can print, access and share their travel plans online, from a mobile device or even in their personal calendar.”

Like every new toy, I’m pretty excited about the service but also don’t yet know its full potential (or experienced its drawbacks). All I know for certain is it felt like magic when I pressed send to their email address and all of my reservation details appeared in perfect order. I also very much liked the fact that you can manually input the address for a random B&B and the site automatically spits out directions to and fro the destination. The Google maps and directions are one of my favorite features so far… since you know, my clamshell doesn’t have GPS.

Check it out! http://www.tripit.com/

Hello, and Céad míle fáilte

When I was a kid I could just look at a car the wrong way and puke. And lots of times it would be on my brother, sister, every childhood friend I had and/or any of their personal belongings. We said goodbye to too many blankeys in those days.

Trying to find a clever name for my blog out of so many clichés that kept popping into my head (Rambling Woman, Life Cruising, Making Moves with Megan), I went to my usual spot: Thesaurus.com. I found myself looking at synonyms for “voyage” and saw the brief description was a journey, often by water. Per the opening paragraph, my relationship with transportation is tenuous at best, and sea travel requires heavy drugs that aren't sold in the U.S.

So I’ll mostly be having a conversation with you about land (and air) adventures.

...Although I did go on a boating trip once with Carnival Cruise Lines. We called it the Ship of Slop. On the first day we met a guy who only had one eyebrow since a buddy of his had shaved it off the night before. A girl on our trip hooked up with him all week. Sexy time on the high seas!