The final day of our trip was here, and the plan for the day was to explore County Clare, with the highlight being a stop at the famous Cliffs of Moher. I love a good city, but I think my favorite travel days are in the car roaming the countryside and soaking in as many landscapes as possible.

We were excited for the day, but first, Tillie and I woke up early to explore Galway some more in order to thank a few more donors. It’s always amazing to me when a city goes from crazy hustle and bustle during the day and night to extreme silence in the morning. Galway was a perfect example of that. Just down the road from our hotel, I spotted the Galway Girl statue and took a seat next to her, thanking Alex and Emily Anne Pride Sutton. I get to see Emily each summer at Phi Delta Theta’s leadership conference, and I’m quite excited for her as she’s expecting her first child soon!

One of Galway’s top landmarks, the Spanish Arch, is an 18th-century stone arch extending from Galway’s medieval city walls. It was packed the day before, so I took advantage of the quiet morning to thank the wonderful David and April Etler. Truly a special family in our lives who were our kids’ caretakers during their early years. I miss seeing the Etlers as much as we once did!

We continued our walk down Galway’s famous Claddagh that offers great views of where the River Corrib meets Galway Bay. The day before, I took a donor photo in front of the brightly colored houses behind me in the picture below. I thanked David Almacy for his donation. Dave just finished his time on Phi Delta Theta’s board, and we had many memorable trips together over the years through the Fraternity’s work. The two landmarks that Dave had selected were on the Ring of Kerry that we had to miss, so I was on the hunt for something special.

After a quick breakfast, we met up with the Galles’ to pack up, somehow navigate our car out of our parking garage, and hit the road. I let Ryan drive out of the parking garage.

After a short drive, we came across one amazing sight to see. The Dunguaire Castle is a 16th-century castle overlooking Galway Bay. It’s one of Ireland’s most photographed castles.

The castle had a path around it for continued views and the opportunity to thank Brian and Kyle Woods. I’m really excited for the Woods as they just opened up their amazing Minnesota cabin to the world – Mossy Hollow Cove on Lake Superior. What an amazing place that you can now book! Ask for the A Good Run discount, and see what happens.

This was also the portion of the trip that we decided to introduce a new blog segment – Where’s Ryan? – a fun challenge to try to find Ryan in many of my donor thank you signs for the rest of the day. Some are easy, some difficult, but we had a lot of laughs throughout the day.

On the way back to the car, I thanked Linda Carlson again with an expansive view of the castle. (Ryan sitting on the stone block in front of the castle). I told you, some would be tough to find.

We then stopped through Ballyvaughan after seeing their impressive church in the distance. The wind had begun to pick up, foreshadowing some classic Irish weather to come. I thanked Rob and Julie Waltz again for their donation. Can you spot Ryan?

Fanore Beach was the next stop, a long sandy and rocky beach backed by dunes on the Wild Atlantic Way. It was an absolutely beautiful stop that was perfect to thank our great friends Ross & Megan Roti. Ross had initially selected Rossbiegh Beach (for obvious reasons) as his donation stop, but that darn cancelled flight once again altered the plans. The young Roti boys would have a blast on this beach exploring the rocks.

Speaking of rocks, I had to show off the awesomeness that the rocky landscape added to the beach. I don’t know about you, but if I see giant rocks, my childhood instincts appear, and I have to climb them. I thanked Jeremy Smith on the beach. Jeremy is our newest employee at the Live Like Lou Foundation, and it has been awesome to have him a part of the team doing incredible work. I had the pleasure of pinning Jeremy this summer as he was initiated in Phi Delta Theta.

And to make this post better-looking, I had to get a picture of my beautiful bride standing on a rock. She is the ultimate rock in my life.

Driving along the coast in County Clare is an absolute treat. One stretch had us on a narrow cliffside road with nothing but rock on one side and water on the other. It’s those moments that you wish you could slow down. The Burren is one of Ireland’s most compelling landscapes and even includes a National Park within it. It had begun to rain, so we weren’t able to enjoy the area as much as we would have liked, but I did have the opportunity to thank my Uncle Randy and Aunt Lori once again. Oh, there’s Ryan again!

It was time for lunch in Doolin. We found a cozy little pub, and I enjoyed some classic Irish stew and Guinness. Nothing better. We noticed that a tour bus was there, and we quickly realized that we would be joined by about 50 Cyclones for lunch. Such a weird but awesome feeling to see so much cardinal and gold randomly in Ireland.

Tillie had a Doolin shop recommendation in hand, so we decided to try to wait out the rain some more by doing a little shopping. Shopping is definitely something I don’t do much of while traveling. Why? Because who needs more stuff? Plus, it makes travel more affordable. I decided to take this opportunity to scope out what I might buy if I had to come home with something. Nailed it. Thanks again Ross & Megan!

Doolin is basically the gateway to the Cliffs of Moher, so it’s very busy with tourists. The rain did not help our cause, because everyone had flocked to the village to take cover. As mentioned many time during this trip, traffic can be crazy in Ireland, so sometimes you have to jump out of the car while stalled to get a good photo! A big thanks to one of my inaugural running trip road dogs Andy Tomka for his donation. I can’t believe it’s been 12 years since my first Iron Phi trip.

We continued our scenic drive towards the Cliffs of Moher, and the countryside vistas did not disappoint. We spotted the Doonagore Castle at a fork in the road, and I once again jumped out in the rain to thank Stephen Bloomer for his donation.

We had arrived at the Cliffs of Moher, and what was my first reaction? Holy tourists! Even in the rain, the parking lot was quite full, but for a great reason. You have to see the Cliffs of Moher when in Ireland! One of Ireland’s most iconic natural landmarks, rising 700 feet above the Atlantic Ocean, the cliffs offer dramatic views and a clifftop walking trail.

I was a bit worried that the rain was going to make a good picture impossible, but the skies cleared for a moment to thank some donors. Ryan joined me to thank our good buddy Bret Zimmerman. Zim was one of the first people to grab a landmark on this trip, and he knew what he was doing. Zim and I explored Utah on the running trip a few years back, and we still revive the amazing memories that were created through our National Park trek.

I had to make sure to thank Debbie Smith at the Cliffs of Moher. She won the award for top donor for this year’s trip. Thanks again Debbie!

And another view of the cliffs to make you feel like an ant in this big world. I always love thanking my Iowa State fraternity brother Jason Brannon, as he has been such a wonderful supporter over the years.

As the rain picked up, we decided that we definitely still needed to trek up to O’Brien’s Tower that overlook the cliffs. I’m glad we did, as we also realized how better prepared for the rain we were than many of our fellow tourists. The Kerry Cliffs was another missed opportunity due to the cancelled flight, so I wanted to make sure to thank my Uncle Tom and Aunt Colleen at another set of cliffs.

A great stop after visiting the Cliffs of Moher is Eagan’s Bar, a short 15-minute drive. Luckily for us, it was on the way to Limerick, where we would be staying that evening. And what do you know, we walk in to find another twenty Cyclones with the same idea. One of my favorite Cyclones to have a beer with is my cousin Adam, so I thanked he and his wife Lindsey at Eagan’s.

It was also reiterated to us at Eagan’s that by working at John Deere, everyone always wants to chat with Ryan. Every Cyclone knows someone at Deere, right?

Our final stop before reaching Limerick was the amazing Domoland Castle, a privately owned luxury accommodation and golf resort. We were greeted by a friendly gatekeeper who let us in to drive around the grounds and scope out the scene. The thing about rain in Ireland is that it definitely does not stop people from golfing. This castle is amazing, and how great would it be to stay overnight here? I thanked another Iowa State Phi Delt and former colleague Colin Hueser for his donation.

We arrived in Limerick to the Savoy Hotel. While I was parking the car, the rest of the group checked in. When I arrived, I learned that this hotel was amazing and had placed us on the concierge level with views. We’re still not sure how we got the nice upgrade, but I have to imagine it was because someone knew somebody at John Deere. I thanked Kerrie Herren and captured the view from our room overlooking the river.

Our final dinner of the trip was incredible, and Nicole captured a fun photo of Tillie and I with our fancy drinks. And yes, we were all weathered and wearing hats in a nice restaurant.

We finished the evening with a short stroll along the river. The sunset was beautiful and provided an awesome backdrop. I used a runner’s choice to thank my great friend and former colleague Mario Villa. A passionate Texas Longhorn who works at Texas A&M (let that sink in), I’m proud of Mario for recently defending his dissertation and become a Doctor!

We came across a statue of Sir Terry Wogan on the river. I don’t know much about this good Sir, but Ryan wanted to be in another picture, and I needed to take another runner’s choice picture. I thanked another good Sir, Tad Derrick. Tad and his wife were in Ireland in July, and his pictures got me very excited for the trip!

After the long day, we were ready to head back to the hotel, re-pack our stuff, and get rested for the long flight home the next day. Once again, the Savoy Hotel was an unexpected luxury to cap off a wonderful trip. I thanked Tiffany Conrad in front of the hotel, as I thought it made sense given her job. I’m proud of Tiff for returning to our hometown of Fort Dodge, Iowa and working for Visit Fort Dodge, showcasing the town’s awesomeness. She’s the perfect person to do it.

The next morning, we arrived at the Shannon airport to head home. If you plan to travel to Ireland, one amazing benefit about the Shannon airport is that it has U.S. Entry & Customs on-site. We were able to get that out of the way instead of having to go through in Chicago. A major time saver!

We entered the gate area, and not surprisingly, we ran into another pack of Cyclones, the same pack that we had mingled with at Egan’s the afternoon before. One of the men who I had chatted with the day before at Egan’s was convinced that I had lost weight since seeing him. I accepted the false claim with grace and went to grab something to eat.

I had one last thank you sign in my backpack for David Almacy, and I thought he’d appreciate all of the historical signs of famous figures who have flown in and out of Shannon. Also, I did have two donors contribute after I had printed my thank you signs that I wanted to make sure to thank. Brayden Hosman and Fred Reimer always deliver, and I proud to call them both friends.

As I wrap up the posts for this year’s Iron Phi trip, I just want to say thank you. I was able to raise close to $7,000 in advance of the trip (a new record for me), and I can’t wait to see these funds go to great use, providing great impact for the ALS community and supporting this thing called Phi Delta Theta that I love. As always, I look forward to planning next year’s trip and convincing others to join me!

I’m very grateful that Tillie and I got to experience this journey with Ryan and Nicole Galles. We had such a blast, and the trip provided great memories that we will be able to reflect upon for years. They were amazing travel partners.

If it’s not already there, please place Ireland on your bucket list. It’s a wonderful country with something unexpected around every corner. Dublin is great, but make sure to spend the majority of your time in other spots. If you’re patient enough, you can absolutely find mid-$400 flights to the country from a major airport. Once over in Ireland, we found things very reasonably priced, much cheaper than back home. Keep exploring my friends.