Hi Joan in PA - I have lived in the Pacific NW (Spokane, WA, in the Inland Empire) since 1960. We had a record snowfall this winter - yuk! I grew up in Eugene, OR. Have never been to the East Coast or other sections of the USA. I'm a great-grandmother with a great curiosity about other places, other times - a direct offshoot from my genealogy hobby. Would love to see the Smithsonian museum, the American Civil War sites, etc. The month my sister and I spent in Ireland in the summer of 2006 meant so much to me. (My sister treated me!) We were struck by the genuine kindness of the Irish people and the amazing sites and culture. We took a wonderful two-week Globus guided coach tour that included Northern Ireland, followed by two weeks of independent travel getting around by taxi, bus, buses, train - on foot, in Dublin city - and a couple of my e-mail friends in Ireland volunteered to pick us up at our hotel and take us around to see the sights. It was a dream come true. My father, who was born in Liverpool in 1903, had English-Irish roots. Surname in Ireland was FORD/E. Mom's maiden name was SWEANY, believed to also have Irish roots. Hope to visit England at some point. For those who can't travel for one reason or another, there is a marvelous (reasonably-priced) oversized book with close to 500 colorful photographs of the whole of Ireland and interesting accompanying text: "A Celebration of Ireland," text by Janice Anderson, photos by David Lyons (2008) - pub. in England and in the USA both. I found it to be exceptionally nice - purchased one for myself and another for my sister. Jean ----- Original Message ----- From: "Joan Whitney" <jwhitney@pacifier.com> To: <ireland@rootsweb.com> Sent: Sunday, January 11, 2009 12:23 AM Subject: Re: [IRELAND] Query for Ed LOFTUS re: Kilmacteige CP,Co. Sligo -- Resource: L-R website - "Home"- Eileen McGOVERN > Jean, where in Wa State do you live? I am on the Long Beach Penn. > Thanks. > Joan Whitney > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Jean R." <jeanrice@cet.com> > To: <ireland@rootsweb.com> > Sent: Saturday, January 10, 2009 10:09 PM > Subject: Re: [IRELAND] Query for Ed LOFTUS re: Kilmacteige CP,Co. Sligo -- > Resource: L-R website - "Home"- Eileen McGOVERN > > >> Hi Ed - I visited Ireland from WA State a couple years ago, and I can see >> why you miss it! <snip>