Melançon Enterprises • a multidivision multinational since 1980

Snoozles Hostel
Galway
Forster Street, Galway, Ireland

(The Galway Hostel said they had no space, and wouldn't let me plug my computer into their hall outlet for a minute to find a place.

At Snoozles, I walked into the nice large lobby, plugged in my computer, and found out they have excellent unrestricted internet. And they let me stay indefinitely on the couch there without a hassle at all. And the walk-in price? Exactly the same as the internet price! And the cheapest in Galway. Super win.)

http://www.snoozleshostelgalway.ie/

Unrepentent nerd. This is fun!

The Map: Ireland trip on Google maps.

Aggregated advice for this first trip to Ireland, for some Agaric RDF for Drupal work in Galway (the guy who knows what he's talking about in this video is the one organizing the code sprint) and then some wandering.

Finally missed the train when I couldn't afford to and biked in to Cambridge today. [a week and a half ago]

That's on roads with slicker ice than any I've experienced. Just shift my weight and the back wheel would slalom like crazy.

Walked into a subway car with the very surreal experience of there being NO SEATS.

Figured it's being fixed up or something, I joked that it was very nice, very minimalist, must have been designed by an artist.

Then I see the advertising boards.

We made room.
Introducing Big Red our new high-capacity car with fewer seats and room for more customers. So hop on te get going fast and let us know what you think.

Mail back the comment card or visit mbta.com and click on the Big Red button.

Mom was not comfortable with Grandpa's driving so she was urging him to stop for a motel for the night.

The first exit, Grandpa didn't take, because Mom was looking for hotel signs, even though there had been a bevy of restaurant and gas signs and I told them the lodging was always listed first.

So we coasted by an exit that had four or five hotels and motels practically on the highway. (Two exits on, it turns out, also had lodging just off the highway.)

There's a song in that title...

Rather than driving Ms. Zelda and I over a scenic overlook, I parked at one to rest for a while. Woke up about a.m. Then I figured, I'm parked here, I should see this in daylight – at daybreak.

Now it's almost 6 a.m. and no sun in sight.

But immediately on waking up again (shortly before five) I was thinking about our group hike up Mt. Major, and missing sunrise with Manda.

After a high-speed, high-stakes drive with some miss-turns trying to get to Union Station, the great Drupaler S.B. dropped me off exactly on the Amtrak side, with 4 minutes to go to the 7 p.m. departure. I was downstairs and approaching the platform at 6:57 p.m., a young black man who had probably just finished helping load all the other passengers pointed me to the gate and said I had better hurry.

Two Amtrak workers are standing near the gate, and two more not far off.

A black woman says "The platform has cleared. You can't get on."

[Written in line, and on the bus]

Due to the kindness and grace of one driver, I have to take back, or put on hold, almost all the bad things I say about Greyhound here. [Below.] I prevailed on him -- after the three girls had begged at the rest stop and surely softened him up -- to stop in Framingham. Since the girls couldn't be sure their ride would find them at the Natick rest area (they couldn't get through by phone), we'll all be dropped off at the official Framingham stop!

Losing luggage in Brooklyn and working the public transport possibilities.

After a really fantastic dinner with Cathy, Stacey, Brian, Manda, and Rich (at the Samba steakhouse and sushi in Framingham)
since it was while walking all over Brooklyn and New York last weekend that her foot sustained what is probably a stress fracture.

Got some basic advice too: (tie shoes, good not to button the top button but button all the way to the top button... thanks Rich!)