Travel Day - Wexford to Waterford to Cork
I'm really grateful that I took up jogging this past winter. It served me well today.
The backpack that I have is, I estimate, at least five times my weight. No, I may be overestimating, sorry, it just feels that way - more like one third of my weight, perhaps one half. The backpack is of pretty good quality, so the weight is distributed quite evenly, and there are no sharp poky bits jabbing into unfortunate places or anything.
Today I learned that I can run with it.
It's not that bad - I don't have anything hanging off of it that can serve as an annoying counter-weight or anything.
Anyway, the story goes that we have a bus to catch at 9:25 this morning. No big deal, the bus station is 10 minutes walk away, get up at 8:00, have a leisurely breakfast, etc. Besides, Erin told me, the busses to Waterford leave every hour, so if we miss this one, it's not too much of a hardship to get the next one. Still, I wanted to leave on the earlier one so we could have a leisurely lunch in Waterford, seeing the sights, before continuing on to Cork later that afternoon. I packed the night before, as I am wont to do, folding the next day's clothing on top, and leaving only my toiletries out. But the breakfast dragged on (several of the others wanted scrambled eggs), and Chad faffed around a little bit (he hadn't packed up his stuff yet), so we left the hostel late - at 9:15 or so.
Optimistically, I didn't push Erin to give me the bus ticket (which was good for all day), thinking that we would stay together. Sara and I forged ahead, at a quick pace, hoping to catch the bus driver and hold the bus for the others, who were struggling with their bags (one had hers on rollers, which is no good when you're running over cobblestones in a hurry). Sara and I arrived in time to catch the bus... but only because the driver was already running four minutes late. He couldn't wait, but he did for a few minutes, because we swore that the others were right around the corner... But they weren't. I think that they took a wrong turn or something.
Oh, and apparently the next bus to Waterford didn't leave for another three hours - not one hour. So, making a split decision, Sara and I paid the 8 euro fare and hopped on this bus: without the other three.
It turned out fine - we had a lovely day puttering about Waterford, admiring carved crystal, peering into Reginald's Tower and taking photographs of their many churches. Also, having a lovely morning tea at a place called the Granary.
The others ended up instead taking a bus directly to Cork at like 12:30. They got no lunch, and suffered a four hour bus ride with no break. Sara and I had a lovely, relaxing day, broken up by two more unmanageably-long bus rides.
Lesson learned, other guys: have breakfast on the run, make sure you know where the station is, and make sure you plan your time. Sara and I had already learned this lesson, and now the others will too (maybe they'll be more inclined to listen to our nagging! ;) ).
Also, always be prepared to be able to run with half your weight in supplies on your back, as a general survival skill. It might just come in handy.
(I should also mention that I'm very "GLEE!" today because Kevin Spaans, the boss of the era supervisors at Fort Edmonton, e-mailed me today, asking me if I was free to work some shifts as a costumed historical interpreter, probably to replace someone going on vacation. I wrote him back that I would LOVE to, but I suspect that "early- to mid-June" means that I won't be back in time to do it. But he thought of me immediately as someone to hire as a replacement! <3 Maybe there would be more shifts to come! <3 This is a good sign!)
The backpack that I have is, I estimate, at least five times my weight. No, I may be overestimating, sorry, it just feels that way - more like one third of my weight, perhaps one half. The backpack is of pretty good quality, so the weight is distributed quite evenly, and there are no sharp poky bits jabbing into unfortunate places or anything.
Today I learned that I can run with it.
It's not that bad - I don't have anything hanging off of it that can serve as an annoying counter-weight or anything.
Anyway, the story goes that we have a bus to catch at 9:25 this morning. No big deal, the bus station is 10 minutes walk away, get up at 8:00, have a leisurely breakfast, etc. Besides, Erin told me, the busses to Waterford leave every hour, so if we miss this one, it's not too much of a hardship to get the next one. Still, I wanted to leave on the earlier one so we could have a leisurely lunch in Waterford, seeing the sights, before continuing on to Cork later that afternoon. I packed the night before, as I am wont to do, folding the next day's clothing on top, and leaving only my toiletries out. But the breakfast dragged on (several of the others wanted scrambled eggs), and Chad faffed around a little bit (he hadn't packed up his stuff yet), so we left the hostel late - at 9:15 or so.
Optimistically, I didn't push Erin to give me the bus ticket (which was good for all day), thinking that we would stay together. Sara and I forged ahead, at a quick pace, hoping to catch the bus driver and hold the bus for the others, who were struggling with their bags (one had hers on rollers, which is no good when you're running over cobblestones in a hurry). Sara and I arrived in time to catch the bus... but only because the driver was already running four minutes late. He couldn't wait, but he did for a few minutes, because we swore that the others were right around the corner... But they weren't. I think that they took a wrong turn or something.
Oh, and apparently the next bus to Waterford didn't leave for another three hours - not one hour. So, making a split decision, Sara and I paid the 8 euro fare and hopped on this bus: without the other three.
It turned out fine - we had a lovely day puttering about Waterford, admiring carved crystal, peering into Reginald's Tower and taking photographs of their many churches. Also, having a lovely morning tea at a place called the Granary.
The others ended up instead taking a bus directly to Cork at like 12:30. They got no lunch, and suffered a four hour bus ride with no break. Sara and I had a lovely, relaxing day, broken up by two more unmanageably-long bus rides.
Lesson learned, other guys: have breakfast on the run, make sure you know where the station is, and make sure you plan your time. Sara and I had already learned this lesson, and now the others will too (maybe they'll be more inclined to listen to our nagging! ;) ).
Also, always be prepared to be able to run with half your weight in supplies on your back, as a general survival skill. It might just come in handy.
(I should also mention that I'm very "GLEE!" today because Kevin Spaans, the boss of the era supervisors at Fort Edmonton, e-mailed me today, asking me if I was free to work some shifts as a costumed historical interpreter, probably to replace someone going on vacation. I wrote him back that I would LOVE to, but I suspect that "early- to mid-June" means that I won't be back in time to do it. But he thought of me immediately as someone to hire as a replacement! <3 Maybe there would be more shifts to come! <3 This is a good sign!)