Sunrise over Northern Ireland

Well, we made it. We just saw the sunrise over Ireland as we made our approach into Belfast International Airport. We quickly made it through customs and to the baggage claim area. Everything made it from Missoula except our "cursed" tripod.

That tripod has seen an adventure of its own this past week. Last Wednesday, I went to shoot some video of the Habitat for Humanity house that the Irish folks helped build 13 years ago. While I went in to visit with the owner of the house, Gayle Collins, the tripod, that I left outside, disappeared. While I was freaking out and driving up and down the alleys on Missoula's northside, UM Radio-Television department chair Denise Dowling was getting a phone call from First Interstate Pawn on Reserve St. Someone had brought in the tripod "for a friend" and wanted to sell it. The folks at First Interstate saw the UMRTV etching on the tripod and gave Denise a call. Lucky for Ray. Thanks Interstate Pawn!

Now the tripod has been from Missoula to Denver to Newark to Belfast to London and possibly to Houston before it makes the final trip to Belfast so it can be delivered tomorrow morning. I guess someone forgot to get all of the luggage off of our plane in Belfast. Well I guess the luggage made it but not all of the golf clubs. Since the tripod bad looks similar to golf clubs, it was left behind too. While John was waiting in the lost luggage line, the attendant, noting the number of people looking for their clubs, asked if anyone was following the Ryder Cup that was concluding today in Wales. "Not going the way of the Yanks," he said. "Any U.S. gentlemen here? I don't want to start any incidents," he adds as everyone laughs. "Remember Brookline!" shouted one American remembering a previous U.S. victory. He said he was in town for a golf tournament and told everyone the courses he was playing. "You'll enjoy them all," a local man, also waiting for his clubs, said. Congratulations to Team Europe for capturing the Ryder Cup today.

It was a beautiful morning and early afternoon in Hillsborough and Lisburn--barely a cloud in the sky. But that didn't hold for long. By 4pm, the winds had kicked up and the clouds rolled in off the Atlantic Ocean spitting a bit of rain. The forecast looks good for the next week or so. We'll keep our fingers crossed for blue skies.

(Picture is of window along the wall leading to St. Malachy's Parish Church in Hillsborough.)