It's finally here - after 6 months of planning, cutting and pasting jewels of wisdom from all of your posts, investigating and finally settling on the perfect B & Bs, nailing down our itinerary, obsessing over what to pack, perusing travel guides, dining with friends and relatives who have been to Ireland, and avoiding thinking about the challenge of left-sided driving...we leave Thursday from Boston.

The last time I flew from Boston it was to England just after September 11th...my husband-to-be took a shot of me (not at me!) going through security with camo-uniformed National Guardsmen, visible weapons and all, in the background. This time around, we chose Boston over Newark as the big dig was finally completed, I90 would run pretty much from our door right into the airport (2 1/2 or 3 hours later, that is), and all would be simple. Simple, I say. Six months later, two tunnels have collapsed (dropped their ceilings, whatever...), troops have one again been deployed to Logan Airport, random trunk checks are being conducted, and I can't bring lip gloss! We live 3 hours tops from the airport, and what with taking a shuttle in, the potential for random checks on the way, detour traffic, and delays in the airport, we plan to leave 8 hours before departure. Whew!

Seriously...nothing will put a damper on our enthusiasm for this trip. I'm exhausted and still have the heavy packing to do, tomorrow...but for now, I'm going to take a moment to feel the energy rise. Two weeks in one glorious country, visiting relatives and seeing so many amazing things. I can only imagine the adventures that await...

Thank you to Michelle and all the wonderful participants this and other forums who have contributed so much to make our trip as special as I know it will be. I would name names, but you know who you are, and I know I'd leave someone out. Here we go!