Schmidt World Tour 2006

The above picture taken at Lincoln Park is why I love West Seattle!!!!

While I enjoyed Ireland, (amazing views of the sea, sheep, cows, camping in the rain, drastic landscape and of course, Guinness), our drive around the country seemed to drag on forever. I think part of the problem was that the weather just did not cooperate. It rained most days and the few days it was sunny, we would drive all over in order to take in as much of the country as possible. As a result, we were not able to do much in the way of outdoor activities other than to walk from the car to the pub and back. I am not opposed to this but between my Guinness half-pints and cheap fried food, my girlish figure soon began to suffer.

I hate to say it but Ireland is a quaint country. There are castles, rolling hills, sea views, sheep, small pubs and tons of B&Bs. Unless you count me, (although I do not have red hair or pointy ears), we did not see any leprechauns while we were in Ireland. In addition, we did not spot pots of gold, rainbows or Keebler elves. All things promised by our tour company. Also, while I did kiss the Blarney stone, I do not believe it has made me eloquent but it has resulted in my mouth flapping a little bit more than usual.

The flight back to the States from Ireland felt like it would never end. It was a long flight…about 11 ½ hours. Unfortunately, Aer Lingus failed to provide me with the proper entertainment equipment. Basically, I did not have my own personal movie system. I was not pleased. I tried to read a bit on the flight as well as sleep but was basically pretty restless. Someone was kind enough to throw up in one of the bathroom sinks. I don’t quite understand the point of that…why not throw up in the toilet where it can be flushed down as opposed to clogging up the sink in effect letting everyone know on the plane, there’s a barfer. Whatever! Our arrival in L.A. was greeted with enough smog to blanket half the country. I am now convinced that the smog makes people in Los Angeles a little off; it is full of chemicals and the people there do enjoy plastic. Need I say more? Aside from the smog, we were greeted by my cheerful mom. As we exited the airport, Clint and I immediately recognized we were back in America. How could we not with the humungous trucks and SUVs that use up more gas in one day than some people use in a year. The excessive consumption and materialism of America really hit us hard that day. When you’ve been out of the country for eight months, it really hits you between the eyes.

My days in Southern California were spent going to a few Angels games, spending an afternoon with my friend Jenny, the future Parker James and her husband Ryan, painting my mom’s bathroom (because that’s what anyone wants to do when they come back from an eight month trip around the world), and convincing my cats and dog to forgive me for leaving them at Stonehenge and with Old Man River, respectively. Every time I go back to Orange County, it makes it that much easier for me to leave. I just can’t take it anymore…the pollution, traffic, materialism and unnecessary SUVs. Clint ditched me in Orange County 2 days after we arrived for greener pastures….finding the “Hottest Mom in America.” As a result, I got the privilege and honor to drive back to Seattle in my GTI with my mom, Sir Charles, Chloe and Dali. Yes, 2 people, 2 cats and a dog in the GTI (could make for a good Volkswagen commercial). The drive was effortless as my furry children were really quite well-behaved. Although, Sir Charles did make a point to remind me he gets car sick by barfing at least once each day he was in the car. We were all very happy to get home and my mom was quite a trooper for gutting out the car ride with me. Now I have the privilege to begin a Master’s program in law at the UW. While I am sure I could create a blog about my experience in the program (e.g., people freaking about where they sit in class during my second week of school), I shall refrain from doing so. I am sure many people will be disappointed by this fact.