My family was coming to the end of a three-year stay in Ireland. We had managed to see a great deal of that country and I decided it was time for the kids to go somewhere different.
The Isle of Man became the choice. If you’re not familiar with the place, it is a rather small island (33 miles long and some thirteen miles wide) in the Irish Sea more or less midway between Ireland and England. Lots of things to see and do according to the very well produced brochures. So we made reservations and paid in full in advance (use it or lose it) - a ferry trip from Dublin to the Isle and a couple of Bed & Breakfast rooms at what looked like a very charming place.
We lived near Limerick - about six hours or so by car from Dublin. The week before departure, I took the car to the dealer to be checked over. Good advance planning. And at last we were off. All went well until we reached the suburbs of Dublin at which point the car simply died.
There we are, four kids aged from under a year, 4, 8 and 10; the wife and me. With a time limit to catch that ferry coming up all too soon. I suggested the wife go knock on someone’s door and get us a taxi (no time to wait for AAA.) We would take what we could carry and get to the boat. Away she goes.
She comes back with a guy in a van who takes a very thick rope and ties one end to our front bumper and the other to his rear bumper. We hadn’t even been introduced but the wife gets back in the car and explains that the guy with the rope had agreed to tow us to the boat for only (the equivalent of) $140.00. Very soon we were once again on our way; on a rope; through downtown Dublin; buses to the left, lorries(i.e.; trucks) to the right and cars all around. I’m trying to steer a car with power steering and power brakes - and no power. And the guy doing the towing is driving like there was no one behind him.
The kids in the back seat were thrilled to be moving; they were singing. Trying to stay calm, I said, as quietly and as firmly as I could manage, that I did not want to hear a sound from anyone!
And there, all of a sudden it seemed, we were; at the boat where there was a line of cars waiting to get on; The van towing us sort of "swung" us in to near the head of the line and the I managed to stop without hitting anything. While our helper recovered his rope, I explained to a few of the boat’s officers what was happening. They told us to wait for everyone else to get on and than a few of the crew pushed our car up the ramp and into a spot.
We had made it to the ferry, now there was only a 6-hour journey across the Irish Sea (not exactly a calm piece of water) and what should have been the fun part would begin! Fortunately I had had enough sense to book a private cabin because that is where most of the family stayed for the duration. In the bunks as sick as sick they could be. I ventured out and about for a while and it was a sure thing that my little family was not the only people having issues with that crossing.
In due course we did arrive. More for something to do then any expectation of success while waiting to be pushed off the boat, I gave the ignition a try - and the car started! Feeling just about ready to join the kids in singing, off the boat we went to get into line for Customs. Where the car recovered from its temporary state of working to re-die. I pushed, the wife steered and without to many obvious chuckles heard from the sidelines, through Customs we went and into a nearby parking spot.
First things first, call a taxi; the first thing the taxi driver did was look at us - those four kids and two adults, plus luggage - and called another taxi. And then it was off to our Bed and Breakfast. That turned out to be right in the center of town; a little off to the side; near the top of a very steep hill. Entering the lobby, we found the owner in a serious disagreement with a man and his wife. They insisted that they had booked a room on the lower floor; the landlord was equally firm that they had not. I’m standing there holding the baby and trying to maintain order and find some place for all that luggage.
It soon became apparent that the room in dispute was one of mine! My bad day was not getting any better and all I wanted was for it all too just stop. I ended the argument by trading rooms. But I should have asked where the other room was! Yeah; turned out to involve a lot of steps; a fact that had eluded me until the deal was done. And it would be a lot of steps all week along with the fact that our two rooms were now on different floors. Good thing the wife and I weren’t getting along all that well anyway.
Did I mention that there were few days without rain that week? And while the calendar might say July, the average temperature was more like Fall. Not that I want to appear negative! We had some fun. There were the Care Bears live and on stage, those rides on the horse drawn trams and that ride up the mountain on that really neat Victorian railroad system. But aside from those, we really didn’t do all that much that we couldn’t have done in Galway. Of course I am the Vacation Grouch (I would much rather have invested in a large screen TV; something that would physically be around for a while) so you can safely disregard the more negative views.
What about the CAR? Oh, right; much to my surprise, it turned out there was a Fiat Dealer on that little island. They just didn’t have the alternator we needed but they did put in a new battery. So, of course, on the trip home we were almost to Limerick before the car did what? Died; of course. No real hurry at this point so we called AAA. He charged the battery and, fortunately was headed in the same direction we were; I suggested he not get too far ahead of us. It only took two more of those charges before finally getting home.
Now I know you don’t have the benefit of actually hearing me tell this story; if you could, you would know that I laughed my way through most of it. And that makes it all worthwhile. Then again, it would have been a while before you would have heard those laughs.
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