I appreciate having spare time in airports. St. Louis will not afford such luxuries. I arrived, thankfully, 20 minutes ahead of schedule. Luckily, I made it to the gate five minutes before boarding. It took the 20 minutes just to get to the gate�even with the uber-fun moving sidewalks. Those are great, very George Jetson.

Second time at this airport, the first being last month flying to Cleveland. It�s very long, the airport, that is. Somehow, my connecting flights always end up being at opposite ends of the airport.

No one interesting to watch, although I did fantasize about meeting Sheryl Crow on the moving sidewalk.

5/14 4:15 p.m. New York City

New York just doesn�t look like New York City. At least JFK International Airport looks nothing like New York. I�m not quite sure what I was expecting, but it certainly wasn�t this. Perception is interesting.

I have frequent flyer miles now. It�s so adult.

There�s a lady wearing a llama. Really. I wish I had time to drag out my camera and take a picture. Thank god there are interesting people here. It makes the time pass by a little more quickly.

Its gonna be a long night.

5/14 9:06 p.m. CST Atlantic Ocean

I�m nowhere. Really nowhere. On the upside, the radio/headphone thing is tres bien. It�ll keep me occupied until I nod off.

The French guy next to me is playing Tetris on an old school lime green Gameboy. It�s really clunky, circa 11th grade. I�d love to whip out my Gameboy Advance, but then it would be too much like penis envy and I don�t think I can handle that right now.

Had a glass of red wine with dinner, my first alcoholic beverage on a plane�as well as the first on this trip. Very exciting.

The Duty Free is very funny. Buy cigs and alcohol and not pay taxes! Yay! How very weird.

5/15 10:32 a.m. London

There is a celebrity among us! Mary & Peach from The Amazing Race 2 are on the plane with us to Dublin. I�m going to stalk them and take their photo later.

We�re all starting to smell. Badly. I want a shower.

Alex Michael of The Bachelor was on the flight with us to London. It�s a reality show bonanza! Also noticed that first class people are messier than hell. Getting out of the plane, it looked like a tornado ripped through first class. Nope, just rich people with too much money to burn.

A thought: What if Mary & Peach are in our hotel?

Oh dear god, we�re all starting to go delirious.

5/16 10:10 a.m. Dublin

Someone should tell these people that they�re using spare tires for their cars. Really. They�re little as all get out. I�m afraid to see what they�re actually using for spare tires. I have a feeling it could be bike tires.

The only thing more disarming than the little tires is seeing a six year-old on the left side of the car.

We�re in The HUB�the student union at Dublin City University (DCU). It�s much more intrinsically nice than the Arkansas Union. There is color and art.

Beer is good. My old friend. The Porterhouse (my first Irish pub) had a great wiezen last night. Plus, the blues band (traditional Irish music, my foot!) had a rotating seat�a different person every song!

5/17 8:47 a.m. Dublin

Mark a few things off of my to-do list:
o Have a pint of Guinness (or two)
o Sing a song at an Irish pub
o Close an Irish pub
o Get told to "piss off"

Dublin is rainy today. It�s that stereotypical weather I expected everything to be like 365. I was totally shocked when we got here and there was some sun and warmth!

My electric razor is officially dead. I�m stuck with a SPAR (like a Stop-n-Go) bought Gillette.

Dublin City University was nice. They gave us free beer in their student pub. Gotta love it.

Drink Count: IIIII I

5/17 8:59 a.m. Still Dublin

Thoughts from The Auld Dubliner (a pub):
o Guy who hit on Suzanne: "He�s foucked!" Thumbs up!
o Guy who has to "piss" but won�t go up three floors to pee. Not only did he hit on my roommate but almost peed in a cup.
o Kelley later asked the guy if he had pissed yet.
o Girls poo.
o Boys crap.
o Vision with a purpose.

5/19 8:48 a.m. Donal�s bus

Missed writing on Saturday, just too much to do to take the time to focus on writing on a little piece of paper. Lots of catching up to do because of that.

Friday, went to the Dublin Institute of Technology & Trinity College. DIT was slow but thankfully Trinity made up for it. The campus is gorgeous! It rained all day. Everyone was soggy and smelly as we toured Trinity. Saw the Book of Kells as well as one of the most beautiful and archaic libraries I�ve ever seen.

Friday night took a Ghost Tour of Dublin. Highlights include going to a graveyard in the pouring rain. It was so cold and wet. It made everyone smell so bad on the bus.

Saturday was a free day. We went back to Trinity (it was a much nicer, clear day) and then headed to the National Museum and National Gallery. It�s an art explosion for me! Lunch was at a "mod" (Chad�s word, not mine) Chinese food. Thank you, Wagamama�s!

Later, took a tour of the Guinness factory. It smelled in there. Very odd smell. Again, at least it was a sunny day. Had close to three pints at the Gravity Bar. I had to finish off people�s beers when they wouldn�t finish them!

Went to Ireland�s oldest pub last night, The Brazen Head. It had an open patio. It was very similar to the kinds of bars we have in Fayetteville on Dickson Street. Small world.

Brooks hit up two guys from Spain with the oddest conversation. They didn�t speak much English:

Spanish guy 1: All Americans eat turkey.
Brooks: McManaman!
Spanish guy 2: All Americans are yankees.
Brooks: McManaman!

Thankfully, Sara speaks Spanish and was able to make some sense out of the conversation.

Today we�re leaving Dublin for Cork. Dublin has 1/3 the total population of the country. I was just getting used to the town and finding my way around.

Oh! Good news! I�m officially proficient at crossing the street now. Just about got ran over the first three or four times I tried to cross the street. More from Cork.

5/19 2:27 p.m. Cashel

Still on the way to Cork. We took a detour at the Rock of Cashel. It�s not so much a rock as much as an old cathedral/castle.

The tour was very rainy and cold. Not a lot of fun to stand in a cemetery in a freezing drizzle. Thankfully, the rain and cold stopped just as soon as the outdoor tour was over.

Now we�re watching Lord of the Dance on video. I find it very garish.

At least the mountains are amazing. Water is shooting out of some of the precipices. Beautiful.

Drink count: IIIII IIIII II

5/20 10:29 a.m. Cork

We are all settled in at Cork and are lucky enough to not deal with rain today. Skies are blue, the air is crisp and there are limitless possibilities!

Went to Cobh (pronounced Cove) last night for dinner. The coast was awesome�Cobh was the final port for The Titanic. There is a restaurant designed to look like the 1st Class area of the ship�thankfully without DiCaprio.

Rather rested and energetic today. One week left in Ireland and then we�re on to London and New York!

5/20 7:04 p.m. Cork

Long day so far. Woke up bright and early to go to the University College of Cork to check email. I ended up on the radio! They interviewed myself, Dawn and Dr. Gohn on 94.7 FM. Very cool.

Went to Blarney. Oh dear lord! I need that place to play in back home. The stairs, paths and halls are amazing. You�ll note that I�m more glib after kissing the Blarney Stone. I did it twice by necessity. You have to lie down over a 30-ft. drop to do it. Then, there was a really cool cave we all crawled around in. Very dark, we used digital cameras to take a shot and figure out where to crawl next.

Managed to blow 100 Euro on crap for everyone back home! Woo hooo!

5/21 9:04 a.m. Cork

Well, that�s it for Cork. Now we�re on a bus headed for the Ring of Kerry. I really liked Cork. It was big but not massive like Dublin.

Had a lot of Murphy�s Irish Stout here as Cork is where the brewery is. UCC�s student union has a great pub. Listened to music and drank a bit last night there. It was a good ending after a great dinner. Jason and I kept hiding things in Brook�s giant bag of "cocks." Too funny. Plus, Jason was kind enough to alert the wait staff that Brooks may have been trying to smuggle stuff out of the restaurant.

Julie shaved my neck. Help us all.

Now it�s a seven-hour bus ride. Oh my. Really, help us all.

5/21 11:14 a.m. Near Killarney

Wow. Three shots of whiskey before noon. Had some "Irish coffee" at a little pub on the way to Killarney. Very strong. Very, very strong. There�s a drink a lot like it at Common Grounds. It�s still too early in the morning to be drinking. Sylvia took one in a to-go cup for the bus!

Weird how the locals were there drinking so early in the morning.

Still raining cats and dogs. It is leaving a nice mist over the very green, lush mountains. Lots of cows and sheep.

I suppose we should be nearing the Ring of Kerry.

Drink Count: IIIII IIIII IIIII IIII

5/21 3:20 p.m. Ring of Kerry

Dinty Moore Beef Stew is lamb. I know it. I just had it for lunch. Now my stomach hurts.

This winding road is simply amazing. Not only is it a great view, if taken at high enough speeds, it could easily double as a roller coaster. Glad I�m not prone to motion sickness.

Sheep and lambs are neat. I�ve been eating them for dinner a lot.

Cows are neat, too.

5/21 10:32 p.m. Killarney

We�re settled in, fed, napped and my stomach has finally settled after that horrible lunch. If I have any more lamb, I�ll scream!

Went to a very touristy pub and watched a band: The Irish Weavers. They were very traditional and fun. The violinist rocked.

The news lady on the BBC just used the term "squirly showers." That�s what that�s been. Squirly showers. Duh. It was a very wet and extremely windy day. At one stop, I swear, there were senior citizens flying around.

Tonight I�m catching up on my sleep. It�s much needed.

5/22 9:42 a.m. Donal�s bus, near Mallow

Back on the bus for another disgustingly long drive. Yesterday was seven hours. Today is worse, nine hours.

Bought a package of Bertie Bott�s Every Flavor Beans last night and just tried them. Not too bad, but its hard to tell what you�re eating. It might be gross; it might not be gross. They all taste like candy to me.

The mood is rather subdued today. Terrorist threats abound back in the US. It�s a pretty scare thing hearing about it knowing that we�re so far removed from it all.

Other sad news today. Candice Harp, who was going to be with us on this trip, has passed away. Very weird.

Just found an ATM machine. They rule.

5/22 4:26 p.m. Cliffs of Moher

Went to Bunratty Castle this morning. Certainly not quite as impressive as Blarney. It was a recreated castle, so there was a lot of fabrication and alteration to history.

Ate lunch outside at the original Durty Nelly�s! This is the place that inspired that wonderful bar on the River Walk in San Antonio. I love it!

Spent an hour at the Cliffs of Moher. Breathtaking doesn�t do this place justice. We jumped the fence and went the wrong way. Luckily, it had quit raining and was a beautiful afternoon. It was windy and walking on the end of a 300-foot drop was quite the adrenaline rush. Dayna and I were quite the daredevils and kept teetering on the edge of it all. We even found a few ledges to dangle our feet off of. It was just too much for Dr. Gohn, Dawn and Michelle.

It�s raining again. Go figure.

5/23 9:42 a.m. Galway

As usual, Galway is rainy. Went to a fun Italian joint last night, Scoosi�s. We played Two Truths and a Lie and eventually invited our waiter, Adam, to play with us. His were: 1. He is working in Ireland illegally (he�s from Seattle). 2. He wrecked his best friend�s car. 3. He got caught drinking illegally at 18. The lie? Number one.

Closed another pub last night, The King�s Head. There was a rock band playing covers of 80s and 90s hair band songs. Rather disarming to hear Guns n Roses� Paradise City in a pub.

Drink Count: IIIII IIIII IIIII IIIII IIIII II

I�ve officially lost count of the days. Not only am I not sure of the date, but also I have no concept of the day of the week. It�s beyond me.

5/24 9:12 a.m. Galway

Drink Count: IIIII IIIII IIIII IIIII IIIII IIIII III

Took a tour of the local college last night.

Shopped some.

Checked email.

Drank a lot.

Dinner was the most amazing yet: Roast duckling with orange and grape stuffing. Oh my dear god. And the desserts. Amazing.

Today we�re going to The Burrens, a limestone geographical area known for its flora and fauna. This is our last full day in Ireland.

5/24 12:39 p.m. Burrens

The Burrens is Irish for hell. Yes, it would be fun to explore 10,000-year-old rocks in gale-force wind, pouring rain, freezing temperatures and sitting in cow poop.

We went to look at another Cashel. It�s basically a round, stone fort. Nice in concept, hell in execution.

Lots of rock, moss, lichen, cows, poop, mud and rain. Fun was had by all.

5/24 8:36 p.m. Burrens

Heading back to the hotel in Galway for one last night. Then we head back to Dublin and leave Ireland.

Drove along the shore for a while�AMAZING! The surf was rough and the crashing waves were huge. Mist and water was everywhere. I can�t even begin to describe the way the water cascaded off of the jagged rocks, leaving a trail of moisture in the air. Its like the water hung in the air, the rain adding to the feeling, the mist thicker than the mud on the ground.

I can�t think of a more beautiful way to end our tour of Ireland. It was so forceful. Beyond any comprehension. It must be seen to be believed. So, we just finished eating dinner (goulash) and everyone exchanged gifts (lots of books to make our suitcases even heavier�like we need that! It was an amazingly sweet gesture!).

5/26 8:36 a.m. London

Left Ireland yesterday after one more night at a pub. We met Pather at one of his favorite pubs and listened to another rock band. They�re really keen on the Red Hot Chili Peppers here. Every band seems to do covers of them. Traditional Irish music = Red Hot Chili Peppers? Had the most turbulent flight of my life heading to London. Oh, it was horrible. Good-byes were had and we left 10 companions as they headed back to the states.

London is an amazing city. A huge, sprawling, twisting mecca. Knowing that The Reduced Shakespeare Company is based here, I had to go see the only production I�ve missed, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare Abridged. 37 plays in 93 minutes. It was too much. I was in awe of how easily Dayna and I coordinated the entire process. We got some great discount tickets. Eight of us were only a little over 100 pounds. We also managed to eat at a Burger King (!) and had a faboo time at the Tate Modern. It�s an awesome art museum in a gutted out factory. They have an upside-down hanging piano that "vomits" its insides out. Kelley and I were mesmerized. It was Kelley�s birthday.

The Underground rules. So many people, so many places. Everyone�s headed somewhere. I was shocked at how easy it was to navigate our way around it. Jenn and I rock with directions.

5/27 9:06 a.m. London

Headed for Oxford right now. Our little group is falling off quite rapidly. We seem to be victim of a nice little virus. Hospitals are being quarantined to keep this virus out. Lots of vomiting. We�ll see how long my immune system holds up.

Took the double decker bus tour around yesterday. Hit Madame Toussaud�s, Tower of London, Big Ben, Eye of London, House of Parliament, River Thames, London Bridge, Kennsington Park and more. Have a few new favorite phrases: Mind the step and Avoid the que.

It�s warm and sunny right now. Julie claims the weather person said it would rain and hail later today. Ugh.

Our virus has a name: The Afghanistani Winter Vomiting Virus. Fun!

5/27 6:21 p.m. London

Oxford is simply awesome! The buildings are fantastic. It�s just a huge campus with centuries of tradition and history. It finals right now and the students actually wear regalia as they take their tests. It lets everyone know to feel sorry for him or her. We kept pretending to meet Chelsea Clinton. I could easily go back to grad school at Oxford. They do have a masters in English�

Stratford was nice, but the visit too short. Went to the birthplace of Shakespeare and shopped a bit. Just as soon as it got interesting, we ran out of time and had to run back to the bus.

Just heard about the Oklahoma/Arkansas bridge disaster. Yikes. More are getting sick here. Hasn�t hit me yet. My clothes are starting to smell bad. Bought some new stuff at Oxford in an attempt to remedy the situation. Going with Jenn to the theatre tonight. Should be an adventure!

5/28 10:19 p.m. London

We ended up seeing Chicago last night! Kelley and I had the most amazing seats, front and center on the balcony. We were right there. It was the most amazing view. Jenn decided she didn�t want to spend as much money and took a seat in the nosebleeds. It was a great musical, very sexy, lots of underwear.

Today was our last full day in London. We head out in five hours.

Chalk it up as another gray, rainy day. Started out in Kennsington Park where Brooks, Julie, Jason and myself saw someone (Harry, we think) in the Royal Helicopter. Plus, we pretended to meet Madonna (she was jogging) and then she took our picture.

Went to Harrods, which is an amazing huge and expensive department store. I couldn�t afford trash there if I wanted to. Rather depressing knowing that people actually can afford to buy some of that stuff.

We continued to wander around town, ride the Underground a bit and spent some time going to fun, little shops.

Ended up at the National Gallery (I finally saw a Bosch!) and then the British Museum which has the Rosetta Stone. Now I�m all packed up and settled in for a short nap. I�ve had a lot of fun, but I�m tired of travelling. I�m ready to go home.

Gonna miss London. For being so large, it�s amazingly clean and beautiful.

5/30 1:17 p.m. New York City

Left London yesterday. Wake-up call was at 2 a.m. It made for possibly the longest day ever.

Took a 777 from Heathrow to JFK. I�m so spoiled now! We all had our own TVs, 13 channels, 4 movies, 17 radio stations�it was awesome! The amount of legroom was amazing. I even managed to stretch out and relax. I managed to sleep almost the entire way.

Got to NYC around 9 a.m. Had to have our shoes bleached at customs since we went on a farm in Ireland that had cow poop. Ugh. Headed straight to New York University with Dayna and Michelle. Dayna and I took the subway to Times Square and explored. In the hot sun, everything smells like pee.

Had my phone interview with Univ. of North Carolina at Charlotte. It was okay, but maintenance workers walked in on the middle of it. Rather embarrassing, but we�ll see.

We crashed really early. We only meant to take a nap. 12 hours later, we woke up. Oops.

Went to Ground Zero this morning. They had a ceremony now that the recovery effort is over. Saw Rudy in the process. The entire ceremony was very somber and humbling. I don�t think its possible to understand exactly what happened on September 11 unless you see the empty hole where the towers used to be. There is an empty hole in the middle of the city. It�s amazing. The tribute was just as moving. Stories, photos, flyers looking for loved ones. It�s unreal.

Oh, yesterday we saw Richard Kein (from Spin City) and Marilu Henner (from Taxi). They were hosting a thing in an alley where they bring out musical numbers from Broadway shows. They did a number from Mama Mia and I had the horrible realization that I knew an ABBA song. It was disturbing.

I�m starting to like New York. I think I was just tired the first day.

5/30 11:16 p.m. New York City

Just got back from seeing the play Proof with Jennifer Jason Leigh. It�s about a woman who gives up her life to take care of her father, a professor in mathematics. He�s lost his mental capacity and is going crazy and she�s afraid she�s following in his footsteps. It�s oddly moving and very melancholy. Go figure, it really spoke to me.

Saw the Empire State Building! Michelle, Dayna and I had dinner at this nice little sidewalk caf� near NYU. Michelle and I split a smores. You really roast your marshmallows over an open fire! It was a lot of fun.

Tomorrow, Dayna and I are going to The Today Show for their Summer Concert Series. It features Shakira. Gonna be a long and early day�

6/1 5:17 a.m. New York City

That�s it. We�re done.

Saw Shakira on The Today Show. We were lucky and got an amazing spot right next to the stage. We were about 10 feet away from her. They kind of shuttle everyone into these metal pins, much like veal fattening pins. It�s you and 20 of your closest friends. We were one of the last groups to get placed into a pin. Lucky for us, it was next to the stage. We also saw healthy amounts of Al, Katy and Matt. Katy is even cuter in person!

Went to Liberty and Ellis Island. The ferry ride is nice. They squeeze as many people as possible on to it. Dayna saw some old friends from Oklahoma on the ferry. How crazy is that? We couldn�t go into the Statue of Liberty, but we walked all around it.

Tried to go to the Met, but were met with much resistance. Got lost a few times and it was really far away. Got stuck in one last rain and hailstorm. Ended up on a bus to nowhere, got off at CBS Studios and found our way to the subway. Once on the subway, I can get just about anywhere. The Underground is more logical, but I can handle the subway in NY.

Found out I have a job interview at North Carolina next week! Woo hoo for me. Happy ending to the trip.

We�re off to catch a shuttle to JFK now.

6/1 10:42 a.m. St. Louis

�so one by one, they turn from me�

I end this where I began this, in St. Louis. Just left Dayna where she is off to her concourse. I�m glad that we had the same flight from NYC. She was a great travelling companion.

3 weeks, 3 countries, 6 hotels, 6 cities, 39 drinks, 1 job interview, countless new friends and even more stories to tell and remember.

I�ve always had a terminal case of wanderlust, this has only confirmed my self-diagnosis. In my head, I�m making plans and thinking of what and where to go next. I suppose the next step is to let my friends who I�m going to travel with next summer that they�re going as well.

To quote The Wallflowers, "Man, I ain�t changed but I know I ain�t the same."

As I prepare to board the sixth and final plane, I can finally relax. Nothing was too stressful, mind you, but this is finally over. And as melancholy as it seems, that how it is and how this journal ends.

I�ve seen a billion years of history and know so many could never understand. It makes me sad when I think about�the vacant stares on some people�s faces as they see something and can�t possibly comprehend the story behind whatever it was.

But I did. And I do.

And I will always.

It�s humbling really. I can�t think of a better way to let my memories of this trip fade.

Until the fates conspire to let me do this again�