Castle Ross

Once we finally got our clothes back (Maddie and Jack were in their travel pajamas), we set out to explore Dublin. And by "exploring Dublin", I actually mean "stalk U2". Our first stop was U2's recording studio. We didn't get to see any of them, but at least we tried.

One of Jack's middle names is "Bonovox". (It's actually Jack Bonovox Thomas Harris.) So, Josh wanted to show him where that name originated from. Bonovox is the name that Bono (from U2) was called from his band mates, and they got it from this hearing aid store in Dublin. It eventually was shortened to Bono. It is Latin for "good voice". Josh loves music, particularly U2, so this name is very meaningful for him in that way. I agreed for it (and advocated for it) not because of Bono's good voice as a singer, but because of his good voice as a human rights advocate. He has done so much good for the international human rights movement. And as you can tell by my attending human rights law seminars in Ireland, that is a very big deal to me. Therefore, Jack's middle name is doubly important to both Josh and I. That is the very long and complicated explanation of Jack's super weird middle name.

Once we checked those items off our to do list, we headed west to our new home in Galway.

We pulled up to our temporary home, an adorable cottage attached to an old castle. I believe it all dates back to the 1500s. The hostess was welcoming and warm. But the house was not. It was a very cold two days. Luckily, we were only scheduled to be there for two days until our city house was available. It was just enough time to explore the grounds and adjust our sleep schedules. It was a very magical, sleepy, cold few days.