Homer Alaska - Schools -

As time progressed, I received prompts from various sources, urging me to get ready.

"You better get your passport. It takes at least 90 days." "You better get your tickets or not much will be available."

When fishing and moose seasons wrapped up and I finally got on the phone to make reservations, I discovered flights were either full or prohibitively expensive. Connecting flights were scarce. Luckily, an angel at American Airlines by the name of Regina came to my aid. She developed an itinerary that included 32 hours of travel from Kenai to Anchorage to Seattle to Chicago to London to Edinburgh. The return was about 13 hours to Anchorage.

On Dec. 13, 2007, Maureen and her pal, Jennifer Bartolowits of Clam Gulch, met me at the Edinburgh Airport. My bags still in hand in hand, we immediately began to check out the Christmas fair and nearby sights. For the next few days, we toured Edinburgh Castle, the Royal Mile, Writer's Museum, Reverend Knox House, the National Museum, the National Gallery and various shops. We visited the castle, church and small boat harbor in Saint Andrews. In Sheffield, we enjoyed a visit with Kenneth Hawley, reported to own the largest tool collection in the world.

Before heading to France, we spent a couple of days in London, crossing London Bridge, seeing the sights from atop a double-decker bus and enjoying a stage production of "Chicago."

In Paris, we spent most of a day at the Louvre, in wonder at such great art, and the remainder of the day at Euro-Disney, where celebrations for its 15th anniversary were taking place. What a day.

Versailles was an opportunity to observe the opulence of an era. Two days later, we viewed the work of impressionist painters at the Musee de Orsay. I remembered to wear my Da Vinci Code T-shirt that day, but forgot to have Maureen take my picture in front of the Mona Lisa.

Our last day in Paris closed with a tour on a double-decker bus.

Germany was next on our itinerary. Arriving two days before Christmas, we met Regina and Nina Philipp in Moessingen. When Maureen was a junior in high school, she spent the summer as an exchange student with the Philipps.

For an authentic German castle experience, we toured Wilhelm Castle. Its dramatic spires and towers set it apart from blocky, square castles we'd seen previously. From its top, the view extended to Switzerland.

As Christmas drew near, we enjoyed a musical in the village square, we sipped hot mulled wine and sampled ginger cake.

On Christmas Eve, we shopped for ornaments to decorate a balsam tree, its scent reminding me of Alaska spruce. In the evening, we attended church services, with every seat filled and only standing room left in the balcony. A rather gangly fellow sat at the helm of the 200-year old pipe organ. From 12 feet away, I watched his every move. The Christmas story was told with a brief sermon. The last carol, "Joy to the World," was sung in English. I was misty-eyed when Rudy nudged me and said "just for you."

Christmas brought a twinge of homesickness, but the girls were excited and Deidre, my wife, had mailed a box of gifts earlier. We had some great food and enjoyed excellent regional wine and locally brewed beer. It was a wonderful Christmas in Germany with some very dear people that are now friends.

We flew to Ireland two days later. Ireland was somewhat of a white-knuckle experience, with driving not all right, but exactly all left. Our time there began with stops in Dublin, Limmerick and Cork.

When I missed a turn on our way to Blarney Castle, the GPS corrected us through a one-lane goat trail. I had my struggles, but Maureen and Jennifer were excellent navigators. We eventually found our way with time to kiss the Blarney Stone and tour the Jameson Distillery before that day ended.

Jennifer returned to Edinburgh Dec. 30 to meet her mom and aunt, who were coming to visit her. After she left, Maureen and I toured the Irish countryside, stopping for the night at the Dingle Gate Hostel, which reminded me of the Norman Bates Motel (from Robert Bloch's novel, "Psycho"). It was kind of eerie. All the windows were cracked open for air so there would be no mold, but this made all the doors work; they creaked back and forth with the breeze outside.

On New Year's Eve, we headed to Belfast, via Dublin and the main freeway, arriving as rush hour traffic was rushing out. At midnight, fireworks boomed, their reflections spraying across the glass faced buildings. The year was over. Good-bye, 2007.

Our inquiry led to a coach trip to the Giant's Causeway, a geological formation consisting of six-sided columns formed along the beach. Robert McComb's Executive Tours had an office in the lobby of our hostel and, to our surprise, a coach was waiting. Our tour took us along a narrow purchase of coastal land. The sea was about 40 feet to the right and the land fell down to the road so steep in some spots it resembled a wall. Villages were at most of the river mouths with small tidal harbors tucked behind breakwater structures. The scenery was breathtaking.

Before leaving Belfast, we saw the shipyard where the Titanic was built. We also saw the divided neighborhoods and murals and remnants of Belfast's peace wall.

Finally, on Jan. 3, we flew to London, caught a train to Sussex University to check Maureen into her dorm room and returned to London. After checking into a hostel, I showered and did some repacking, my thoughts beginning to turn to home and Anchorage weather.

At the airport the following day, I got misty eyed with our farewell hug even before my daughter the girl in the gray wool coat disappeared into the crowd.

It was the trip of a lifetime. Next time, I'll wear more comfortable shoes, I'll pack less and I'll go in the spring. My list is already started.

My thanks to my wife, Deidre, and to Maureen for making the journey possible. It was the trip of a lifetime.

John McCombs lives with his wife, Deidre, and their youngest daughter, Leslie, in Ninilchik. When not traveling, he can be found working at Ninilchik School in the winter and commercial fishing in the summer.