tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-68705500011708513062011-04-21T19:48:54.284-07:00Unemployed? I prefer the term "freelancer."Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03867498318889390635noreply@blogger.comBlogger111100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6870550001170851306.post-67451764058218150712009-05-19T20:46:00.000-07:002009-05-19T20:51:36.006-07:00

So, my experiment in blogging from the corners of the Earth ended with a whimper rather than a bang. For that, I apologize. But now that I've got a new home, a new career and a camera full of great photographs, I'm ready to catch up. Check out reporterbarnes.com/blog for my latest posts on travel, the trip and life as a freelance writer. Now that I spend most of my time on my butt in front of the

Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03867498318889390635noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6870550001170851306.post-88640913220037229852008-09-26T01:35:00.000-07:002008-09-26T01:41:44.137-07:00

Hello,I'm in Berlin with my buddy James. It's been a great trip so far. Sorry I haven't been keeping up with my blog as promised. Time has been more scare and Internet access more expensive than I'd planned.Although they're not spell checked, I've added posts about my trip through my night in Belfast. From there I took a ferry to Scotland and spent the night in Edinburgh. Three nights in London,

Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03867498318889390635noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6870550001170851306.post-57552836337405654162008-09-26T01:33:00.002-07:002008-09-26T01:34:32.873-07:00

BelfastThe three retired men sitting with me on the train from Dublin to Belfast had come from their yearly trip south to bet on horses and drink. They were great. One of them forgot to lock the door to the bathroom on the train. He started doing his business only to find buddy had opened the door behind him. As he chuckled with the third old man next to me, the guy explained it was revenge for a

Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03867498318889390635noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6870550001170851306.post-4342853436657833952008-09-26T01:33:00.001-07:002008-09-26T01:33:33.530-07:00

TraleeI'd planned to fly from Shannon airport in western Ireland to London on a cheap Ryanair flight. Ryanair is like America's budget airlines, except the fares are 1/3 the price and it's more like taking a bus between Kansas city and St. Louis than flying.All the same, it appeared that I could get to London for about e35.It was the luggage that screwed me. I'd need to check my backpack. That

Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03867498318889390635noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6870550001170851306.post-32421464967246593252008-09-26T01:32:00.001-07:002008-09-26T01:32:58.930-07:00

DingleAfter my night in Cork I took a train and bus to Dingle on west coast of Ireland. After several days of bad weather, the clouds started to clear as I rode onto the fabled Dingle peninsula. Uniformed school kids goofed off behind me as I snapped pictures of the spectacular, sun-lit countryside out the window. There is a cliche made by most travel and guidebook writers that Ireland may be

Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03867498318889390635noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6870550001170851306.post-13033420267679616232008-09-26T01:31:00.000-07:002008-09-26T01:32:12.617-07:00

CorkI took the trains from Dublin to Cobh/Cove on the southern coast. I was searching for the seaside charm and cuisine I'd heard so much about from the likes of Rick Steves and night-time reruns of Anthony Bordain I'd watch after mom was in bed.The staff at the tourist center/chamber of commerce were nice enough to watch my pack for me, and I walked out into the drizzle to see the town. Five

Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03867498318889390635noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6870550001170851306.post-59389770079727646272008-09-26T01:29:00.000-07:002008-09-26T01:31:21.263-07:00

DublinI started the day with a hearty Irish breakfast. One egg, two sausages, one black pudding, half a tomato, a glass of orange juice, coffee, two slices of toast, two slices of bacon and about 1,200 calories later I headed for the Trim castle. It's the largest castle in Ireland, and the local businesses still display photos from when scenes from Braveheart were shot there.As I mentioned, it's

Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03867498318889390635noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6870550001170851306.post-76897381071230466112008-09-26T01:27:00.000-07:002008-09-26T01:29:26.667-07:00

Trim, Ireland It's the little things that cause culture shock, Stephanie would say when she talked about her semester in Spain. As soon as the plane began to decend I started noticing them. The headlights on the freeways were facing the wrong direction. Rugby posts sat next to soccer goals in school fields. DoIuble decker buisses carried people away from the airport.In the corridor outside the

Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03867498318889390635noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6870550001170851306.post-86809725901731592752008-09-26T01:26:00.000-07:002008-09-26T01:27:03.329-07:00

HoustonAfter months of planning the day arrived to start my trip. This journey first came into my mind last winter when I was in Phoenix. I'd always wanted to backpack abroad. With the slow realization that I no longer had a job or rent to hold me back, I found myself more and more rergularly looking up things like Australian return-ticket requirements, Bankok public transit and ferries between

Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03867498318889390635noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6870550001170851306.post-32840087402301026222008-09-26T01:20:00.000-07:002008-09-26T01:26:00.619-07:00

7/19/08 I ended up attending two weddings last weekend, one between a couple who happened to be brother and sister to my other friends who married two years ago, and another union between a guy Iíd never met and his imported Russian bride. Idaho is never boring. I rolled in to Sun Valley the night before the rehearsal dinner. After high tailing it out of Sun City I realized Iíd written down the

Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03867498318889390635noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6870550001170851306.post-73798160014877464892008-07-20T18:30:00.000-07:002008-07-28T13:50:33.277-07:00

Two days ago I drove to Las Vegas with my mother’s remains in the trunk of my car. It took just under two weeks to clean out the house, hold the service and call the people who needed to be called. I packed until packing turned into throwing things away. I threw things away until all that was left to do was pay a guy named Gilbert $40 to haul what was left to the landfill. A garage full

Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03867498318889390635noreply@blogger.com1