Phoenix Sister Cities Delegation Visit to Ennis Ireland

John and I love to travel, and at the risk of being repetitive, I’ll explain that we have a promise to each other that each year we will go to a country neither one of us has visited. We started this practice in 1998 and have been going strong for 14 years. This year we will have our 15th anniversary New-to-You-Country-Trip with Sweden in August. We’ll be going to Denmark too but I’ve been there so it doesn’t count towards our promise.

1998 Venezuela
1999 China
2001 Belize
2002 Scotland/Ireland
2003 Costa Rica
2004 Honduras
2005 Argentina
2006 St Lucia
2007 Korea/Thailand
2008 Turks and Caicos
2009 Spain
2010 Peru
2011 Portugal
2012 Tanzania
2013 Denmark/Sweden

But let me tell you something about our trips. With the exception of Buenos Aires, we tend to plan very active vacations that require lots of gear so we usually show up at the airport looking like college kids/ hippies/ vagabonds. That has made preparations for today’s trip a bit challenging. We are required, for once, to Pack Like Grown-Ups.

Packing Like Grown-Ups

Why the requirement? We’re headed to Ennis Ireland as part of the 25th Anniversary Delegation for the Phoenix Sister Cities. John sits on their board, and we will be representing the good ole US of A at such events as:

• Ennis Town Council Mayoral Welcome and Reception
• Tour of the Microsemi Corporation Semi-Conductor Plant
• Mass at Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral
• 5 Mile Run at the Cliffs of Moher
• Ceile at Cois na hAbhna
• St. Patrick’s Day Parade at the Ennis Courthouse
• The Official opening of Anon is Anall Contemporary Audio-Visual Exhibition
• Delegation 25^th Anniversary Reception/Dinner at Cloister
• Farewell Dinner at Old Ground Hotel hosted by the Mayor of Ennis

What does one wear for dinner with the Mayor? I sure have no idea, so I had to pack several choices. I’ll be updating the blog with plenty of pics so you can see if I succeeded.