Take the plunge and just get in that car and drive. You'll do just fine, and you'll be happy to have the mobility and the freedom to travel wherever you want to go - especially when traveling down some little road in Donegal that you think is going where you want (being helpfully nameless), only to wind up in the middle of some bog without habitation in sight! My last trip to Ireland in '98 was the first time I'd driven there. I found that driving on the 'other side' posed few problems (though German tourists seem to have all sorts of issues with this, and you'll see signs posted in German that basically say "hey, you're going the wrong way!"), but that getting used to shifting a manual transmission with my left hand was far more disconcerting, but became second nature after a while. I had rented a VW Lupo, which possessed an engine roughly as powerful as a lawn mower. The Lupo had the lovely habit of stalling out on steep Donegal hills. This was cause for some concern when rolling backwards down a steep hill toward the sea. When exploring the area around Ardara and Glenties (the ancestral stomping grounds of my mysterious McLoone clan) I had to drive through the Glengesh Pass in that little toy twenty or thirty times. The magnificence of that scenery could be somewhat obscured by my agitation as I gingerly coaxed that transmission up the hill. So, avoid the Lupo, take a deep breath, look both ways, give yourself more time than you think you'll need to get from point A to B, expect to find an entire flock of sheep in the road around the next bend, and enjoy! Jim [researching Mundys, McLoones, McLaughlins and others from in an around Glenties] ________________________________________ James Mundie Philadelphia PA, U.S.A. Prodigies: Anomalous Humans by James G. Mundie http://www.missioncreep.com/mundie/images/

I want to thank all of you who have helped me see my fear of driving in Ireland in a different light. Especially Michael who gave me really good info which I have printed and James Mundie who made me laugh so hard at his driving experience that I am actually looking forward to having a bad driving experience. LOL I want you all to know that this newsletter is great and all of you people in some way have helped me so much not only in this but last year in finding the birthplace Corr Point, Donegal of my Sweeney grandmother to which I owe Pete from Mass. my undying gratitude especially. And Lindel hope this finds you in good health cause you rock girl! Again my thanks to all Pat ----- Original Message ----- From: "James G Mundie" <jimandkatemundie@juno.com> To: <DONEGALEIRE-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Wednesday, August 25, 2004 9:36 AM Subject: Re: [DONEGALEIRE] Question about traveling in Ireland > Take the plunge and just get in that car and drive. You'll do just fine, > and you'll be happy to have the mobility and the freedom to travel > wherever you want to go - especially when traveling down some little road > in Donegal that you think is going where you want (being helpfully > nameless), only to wind up in the middle of some bog without habitation > in sight! > > My last trip to Ireland in '98 was the first time I'd driven there. I > found that driving on the 'other side' posed few problems (though German > tourists seem to have all sorts of issues with this, and you'll see signs > posted in German that basically say "hey, you're going the wrong way!"), > but that getting used to shifting a manual transmission with my left hand > was far more disconcerting, but became second nature after a while. > > I had rented a VW Lupo, which possessed an engine roughly as powerful as > a lawn mower. The Lupo had the lovely habit of stalling out on steep > Donegal hills. This was cause for some concern when rolling backwards > down a steep hill toward the sea. When exploring the area around Ardara > and Glenties (the ancestral stomping grounds of my mysterious McLoone > clan) I had to drive through the Glengesh Pass in that little toy twenty > or thirty times. The magnificence of that scenery could be somewhat > obscured by my agitation as I gingerly coaxed that transmission up the > hill. > > So, avoid the Lupo, take a deep breath, look both ways, give yourself > more time than you think you'll need to get from point A to B, expect to > find an entire flock of sheep in the road around the next bend, and > enjoy! > > Jim > > [researching Mundys, McLoones, McLaughlins and others from in an around > Glenties] > > ________________________________________ > James Mundie > Philadelphia PA, U.S.A. > Prodigies: Anomalous Humans by James G. Mundie > http://www.missioncreep.com/mundie/images/ > >