a chara...: The Man and the Mountain

Three years, three summers, three CA trips but this time with three people. My annual Summer three week pilgrimage to five-five-four-three was all the more special in 2015 because I got to show baby Méabh the other spot of this planet she can call home. And predictably she liked it.

No more traveling light!

Wait, dada, I'm also from California? What's that like? Are you taking me there?

The transformation was note-worthy. From innocent, humble Irish girl above to the image-conscious, shopaholic, SoCal party animal below. Thankfully, she was too young for the valley girl accent to catch on!

Outfit on point, now which way to the beach?

She got to meet lots of new people too.

This one feels more familiar - almost European?!

Dada, I'm bigger than this one! Can she come visit in Ireland?

The three sisters embracing motherhood

This one is really pretty

So much family I never knew I had

Dada, can I stay?

This one likes to dance

Are these people American or Swedish dada?

This trip also brought about another third - three attempts at Gibraltar Road. For those of you unfamiliar with my history with the mountain you can find the accounts of my first and second attempts here:

Attempt 1 (The not so bad one - 2013)

Attempt 2 (The bad one - 2014)

The third ascent was a resounding success (if you ignore the fact that I got beaten by my wife). I felt strong, fit, able to both dissipate body heat and contain the contents of my stomach, and I beat Jon and Heather. I summited in decent time. For once I thought I had the measure of the mountain.

I should never have underestimated the will of the mountain to crush me.

Here is an excerpt from a newspaper article this year regarding Gibraltar:

Rising more than 3,000 feet in just under seven miles, the road is a strenuous climb. The fastest ascent on record is 29 minutes, said Dave Lettieri of Fastrack Bicycles, but it’s the going down that may be tougher. “It definitely tests your skills on the way down. It’s a little dangerous to try to grind corners with potholes,” he said. “I hope people still pay attention when it’s smooth.”

Just yards from the truck, hitting about 30 mph - BOOM! Over the handle bars, rolled over 3 times, coming to a stop on the side of the road not feeling as bad as I thought I would. I was lucky. No helmet and not a ding on the old noggin'! I surveyed myself. Apart from the blood there was only one obvious injury:

I'm no expert, but it looked a little more bendy then normal

Hmm, this confirmed my suspicions regarding the bendiness.
In the end my wrist ended up being a far bigger problem than the
broken bone. Notice the end of my Ulna is oddly located.
Knowing the US, this X-ray probably cost my insurance company
$100,000

Vicodin can make the best of any situation. Thanks Jon for hanging
with me in the ER that night!

It wasn't all about thirds though. There were a few firsts for me:

First doughnut breakfast at Erin's first job.
Maple with bacon. Only in America :)

My first 4th parade! You don't have to ask an Irishman twice to celebrate
independence won from the Brits!

Poor Uncle Kel! Organises the whole thing and still gets shouted at by everyone.

Méabhs first time home

My first American hospitalisation, my first broken bone, my first 18 holes of golf, my first time in a golf cart! What a trip!

Returning home wasn't as fun. Here is my after
my 6 hour surgery. As you can see by my arm hoist
there are no expenses spared on the NHS :)

A lifetime reminder of Gibraltar etched onto my body

I tried to go back to work but I was pretty useless.
Thanks for the shirt Jon. I needed it!

4 weeks post-op and my arm disappeared

My new metalwork

Oh how good it was when my girlies finally
returned to me!

My folks, ever the legends, surprised us by painting our sitting room
while we were in CA

Those hormones in the American food
have caused a growth spurt and she has
suddenly grown out of everything

Avril bought us some outdoor furniture - optimistic but I enjoyed this 30 second
spell of sunshine

Being a dada is a little more difficult now

Last weekend we went to Portrush for mama to play in a beach volleyball tournament. Mama did us proud and made it to the final but lost. She has still got it! The next weekend she entered another, more competitive one in Dublin and won it! What a legend! We were so proud.