How to Take Your Kids to Ireland--Sights and Sites

While researching places to visit with kids in the Republic of Ireland, I found many reviews geared toward adults. There's a big difference between what an adult might enjoy and what a squirrelly eight-year old boy will like. Family-friendly sights and activities can be found on a few websites, and I'm glad to share our experiences as well. Here are some places our family loved!  

Remember, this is our experience traveling with two tween-age boys to places that interested us within the time we had...this is not meant to be a sole resource.
For a step-by-step trip planning guide, start with this post.

In and Around Dublin

(We spent three nights)

National Museum of Ireland--Archaeology

Irish mummies. Need I say more? Seriously, while a little creepy, the Bog Bodies at this museum are amazing. There are also fantastic exhibits of gold jewelry, Viking artifacts, and incredible early Irish Christian crosses. Oh yeah, and weapons through the ages. (It's also free admission, which is awesome.)

A long-lost cousin, perhaps?

Dublinia

So. Fun. An interactive museum geared for kids that's great for the parents, too. The three levels have displays, activities, and actors demonstrating life through the ages in Dublin. If your kids have energy to burn, take them up the 96 steps to a great view of the city. This museum also offers a combo ticket to Christ's Church Cathedral, but it was closed the day we were there.

A tour guide explains medieval justice systems.

Helmet's a little big.

Trinity College Library

Not only does this stunning library include some of Europe's very first books off the printing press, it contains a great exhibit surrounding The Book of Kells, a 1200-year old illuminated Gospel. Before you go, be sure to watch "The Secret of Kells," which is a gorgeous fantasy-telling of the book's history--and gives the kids buy-in when seeing the real thing.

http://www.atlanticbridge.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Library-long-room-Trinity-College-Dublin.jpg

Tours of the campus are also available, which Jay and I enjoyed when we went without kids, but gave it a miss while having them. There's a campus cafe across the quad from the library, which makes for a convenient cake break.

Parks and Playgrounds

We stayed within walking distance to two parks the boys really enjoyed, Iveagh Gardens with its boxhedge maze and super fun boulders and hills to climb on; and the large St. Stephens Green with ponds, trails, and a playground. These parks are free (and the only ones we had time to explore). Here's a helpful link to reviews of Dublin's playgrounds.

Cheater!

Newgrange, Newgrange Farm, and the Hill of Tara

THIS IS COOL. When's the last time you were in a 5,000-year old structure? I can't recommend enough taking this half-day bus tour. It includes guaranteed entry into the Newgrange passage tomb (with no waiting in lines), time to wander the dripping-with-history Hill of Tara, a lovely lunch break at a family-friendly farm, and wonderful live-narration of the area's history during the driving.

"We can run anywhere we want?!" Bliss!

Our boys loved running up and down hills, feeding chickens, milking a plastic cow, and touching stone carvings that were made before writing was invented. It's totally worth it to take the tour. Our boys were the only kids on the bus...which made for a quiet ride, but it's too bad families are missing out!

Counties Kilkenny and Wexford

 (We spent two nights)

I'm sure we didn't do the cute town of Kilkenny justice, because we only spent half a day walking around. We did...

Kilkenny River Walk (we did a piece of it)

The River Nore is beautiful and there are a number of trail routes you can walk (or cycle) along its banks. Great way for the kids to run and burn some energy. If you follow the river through town, it takes you to...

View of River Nore from Kilkenny Castle

Kilkenny Castle and Grounds

You'll have to gauge your kids to know if they'll enjoy touring the castle. Its foundations were laid in medieval times, but the current castle has been restored as it was in the Victorian era. So while I enjoyed the lavish wall coverings and furnishings, my boys were a bit bored. However, I pointed out to them that this was how English nobles were living during the time impoverished Irish were emigrating from their homeland in droves, so it's good for perspective.

The grounds are gorgeous. Large lawns, pretty flowers. Apparently, there's a playground here (included in paid castle admission), but my boys were too tired from walking along the river to check it out.

There's a lot we could have done in County Wexford (including this cool outdoor museum-park-thingy we had to skip because one of our travel days was unexpectedly long), but we only had time to visit the...

Dunbrody Famine Ship

If you or anyone you know is of Irish ancestry, a tour of this ship docked in the town of New Ross is especially meaningful. The Dunbrody is a full reconstruction of an actual 19th century "famine ship," which took often-desperate emigrants one-way to the New World to try and find a better life. The tour includes a brief history video, exploration of the boat, and conversation with actors representing actual passengers. It's really cool.

Totally worth the 45-minute drive from Kilkenny, but don't plan on doing anything else in the town. New Ross doesn't seem to have recovered from the recent recession and didn't have a whole lot to offer.

County Tipperary

 (We drove through)

Rock of Cashel 
Not only is this ultra dramatic stone complex a feast for the eyes and mind, it's set atop a grassy hill with walls around the base...and a docent told us, "Let the kids roll down the hill!" Jay and I gawked through the medieval church/fortress and the kids got grass stains. Win-win! Do try to get there before noon, however, because it can get pret-ty busy with tourists.

County Kerry

 (We spent two nights) 

You've probably heard of "The Ring of Kerry," a not-to-be-missed dramatic drive around the Iveragh Peninsula. Well, we skipped it and didn't miss it. Spending four hours in the car looking at scenery and trailing behind tour buses with two tween-agers wasn't our idea of fun. Here's how our family enjoyed the beauty, history, and music of this amazing county.

Muckross Farms

This was a perfect break in the long drive from Cashel to Dingle, but it's a great destination in its own right. This working, outdoor museum shows how three family farms were run in the 1940s. The docents actually work the farms and are delightful to chat with. We ate soda bread baked over a peat fire (no electricity), milked a cow, hunted for eggs, turned a lathe, and held downy chicks.

Jay milked the cow too!

There is an extensive baby-farm animal area for petting--ask the docent about the animals and listen hard through his thick Irish accent--a playground, picnic areas, and even a bouncy-house!

The walk between the three farms is simply beautiful, and there's a little shuttle bus that you can take instead if you want to save your legs.

The boys warm up over a peat fire.

If you're interested, Muckross also has a Victorian mansion for touring (a separate admission fee); we skipped it because the kids had enough of that sort of thing at Kilkenny Castle.

Dingle Peninsula Archaeology Tour

Don't let the word "archaeology" scare you! This 2.5-hour tour is a great alternative to doing the more rigorous Ring of Kerry drive, and it includes time for the kids to run around at the various stops. Tim Collins and his son are both scientists who take a small group twice a day around the peninsula, showing off breathtaking views and staggeringly-old sites.

Everyone gets to hear about the area's history while driving along the coastline between stops, and then the kids get to explore. This is NOT a no-touching experience! Once again, our boys were the only kids on the tour, which is a real shame.

G investigates an escape tunnel from this ring fort.

Traditional Music

Dingle is famous for its lively "trad sessions," which can be found just about every night after 8 or 9:00 in the local pubs. But--especially after sight-seeing all day--by that time in the evening, our kids were done. As an earlier alternative, Dingle has a couple music events each week during the summer around 5 p.m. at the charming music store Siopa Ceoil and at St. James' Church. G and I went to the Siopa Ceoil concert and found it to be cozy, lively, and fun. (The orange juice and Irish coffees given during half-time were nice too). Granted, most of the 30 audience members were graying tour bus types from Ohio, but they were enthusiastic nonetheless!

Linger at Siopa Ceoil during the day when you get your tickets, and chat with owner Michael. If you or your kids are musical at all, you might even get to jam with him a bit! I was thrilled to play a little piano alongside his accordion.

Farm Stay

If you possibly can, stay on a farm on the Dingle Peninsula. It was incredibly peaceful to have ocean on one side, mountains on the opposite side, and grazing sheep everywhere in between. If you stay with a relaxed farmer like we did, your kids might even get to chase the sheep around.

The Playdium

Part of the climbing structure

What a gift! Tralee's giant indoor playground for kids under 12 is about an hour inland from Dingle. It made a great driving break for us on the way to County Clare: Jay sat in the cafe area with The Playdium's wifi while the kids romped...and I went shopping in cute old-town Tralee. (Ahem, for shopping bargains go to Penneys. Not JC Penny's.)

Between County Kerry and County Clare...

...Take the ShannonFerry. Your nav system may very well try to route you around the Shannon Estuary through Limerick, but don't do it. The 20-minute ferry ride is inexpensive, a change of scenery, and a break from driving. The kids--and parents--can get out of the car and watch the water zip by in the wind.

County Clare

(We spent three nights)

Cliffs of Moher

These ridiculously dramatic cliffs dropping into the wild Atlantic ocean are breathtaking. There are several ways to experience the Cliffs, depending on your time, budget, and physical fitness. We chose to start at the visitor center and walk around within the park (there are tasteful safety walls all along the edges). If you're not worried about yourself or your children dropping off the rim to certain death, you can hike for miles along the coast on a narrow cow path. There are also boat cruises and airplane rides for booking.

Our 8-year old could see, but not swan dive. Perfect!

 
Fanore

Or Doolin or Ballyvaughan. This stretch of Ireland's West Coast is simply stunning. Get yourself an AirBnB cottage and relax for a few days. In addition to staring at sunsets over the ocean and reading books in a farmhouse while listening to the sound of the waves outside my window (or in the case of the kids, getting in some quality tablet time), there are several things in the area we loved doing.

Fanore Beach

This is one of Ireland's highest-rated beaches for swimming and playing, complete with lifeguard. It has bathrooms, outdoor showers, smooth sand, and surf board rental. The parking lot is a good size, but if it fills up, you can take a nice walk through the fields from your nearby rental. It's okay to hop over fences, apparently.

On our beach day in mid-June, half the time we were playing it was sunny. Then it wasn't, and I was glad for my windbreaker and towel to bundle up in. The kids were still in the water though! Be sure to bring a picnic or snacks, unless you want to save your appetite for...




O'Donohue's Pub
This wonderful place springs up out of nowhere along the Wild Atlantic Way. Technically in Fanore, if you blink you'll miss it (really, you'll miss Fanore entirely if you blink). The decor is charming, the food is delicious, the staff is friendly toward families, and they often have local musicians in for trad sessions on weekends. Since it's the only restaurant for 20 minutes in either direction, this is a local watering hole not overrun by tourists. Score!

 










Walking Trails Through the Burren

I can't not include this photo.

The Burren's landscape is dramatic and varied, with trails that loop all around the area. If your family doesn't fancy an all-day hike, you can do like Z and I did and just walk a section. We drove up the hill from Fanore, parked the car (after following a cow for a while, since the road was too narrow to get around her), and walked as long as we wanted before turning around.

Medieval and Folk Banquet 
Candles flicker against stone walls, jolly guests clamber onto wooden benches and tables, pitchers of cold mead clank against goblets, the aroma of roasting potatoes fills the air. A harp begins strumming and clear voices sing out a welcome to "My lords and ladies of the castle!" With so many castles in Ireland, how can you not take your family to a banquet at one?

Shannon Heritage in County Clare offers evening banquets year-round at three different castles: Bunratty, Knappogue, and Dunguaire. (Technically, Dunguaire is in County Galway, but barely.) Bunratty gets a lot of press because it also has an outdoor folk museum where kids can dress up and pet animals. However, it's right near the Shannon airport and I read reviews that said it was overrun by jetlagged tourists. If you go to Bunratty, please let me know what your experience was like!

This is an activity that should be booked a couple months ahead of time...especially if you'll be there in summer and prefer the 5:30 seating to the 8:45 seating (or vice versa). We had a 5:30 Sunday evening showing at Dunguaire Castle and--as seems to be the pattern with our trip--ours were the only kids there. Because of this, we got seated right at the front and our kids got a lot of attention from the performers. They ate the feast and the entertainment up!

County Offaly

(We spent one night)

Birr Castle Playground and Gardens

Smack-dab in the heart of the Irish Midlands is the little town of Birr, halfway between Galway and Dublin. If you're going through this area, Birr Castle is a fantastic place to get the kids out of the car and play. With an awesome playground, gorgeous trails and gardens, and the once-largest telescope in the world, your family could end up spending hours playing and exploring. (The castle itself is only open to pre-booked tours during the summer for ages 12 and above, because the Parsons family--owners since 1620--still lives there!)

If you've visited any of these places as a family, or have other suggestions, please share in the comments!

Thankful, 04 November 2014

Today I am completely humbled and filled with gratefulness.  I have such an easy life.

When my parents were newlywed college students, they were asked to take part in a broad study that looked at employment history and wages and family relationships.  They continued to be interviewed every few years, and when we kids rolled around, we started being interviewed too.  "Here comes the Interview Lady!" someone would announce, and the rest of the day was spent with a nicely-dressed woman with a clipboard and rudimentary laptop, who questioned the eight of us in turn for hours.

This process has continued with us "kids" into adulthood, and today I had my interview.  I was asked about family relationships, about income, about employment history, about my children, my religion, my personality traits, and so-on (it took three hours; this is a serious study!).  The more questions I answered, the humbler I became.  Yeah, my parents and I have made a lot of good choices, but so much of where I am today has absolutely nothing to do with being "good."  My heart breaks for those for whom the answers to these questions are completely different from mine.

"In the last 12 months, have you ever been without a place you could depend on to sleep?"  No.

"In the last 12 months, how often have you felt you were treated more unfairly than other people?"  Never.

"Have you ever been been personally beaten or the victim of any other violent crime?"  No.

"How often have you gone without something you need, because you could not afford it?"  Never.

"Think about your childhood.  Was there ever a period when your family did not have enough to eat?"  No.

"How often do members of your family have calm discussions?  Every day, a few times a week, once or twice a month, several times a year, or Never?"  Every day.

"Other than spankings, how often do members of your family hit each other?"  Never.

"In the last 12 months, were you ever denied employment because of being treated unfairly?"  No.

"Within your day-to-day life, how often do you feel you receive the same respect as other people?  Every day, a few times a week, once or twice a month, several times a year, or Never?"  Every day.

"In the last 12 months, how often were you unfairly stopped, targeted, or questioned by law enforcement?"  Never.

"Have you ever seriously contemplated suicide?"  No.

"In the last 3 months, how many days of work or school did you miss because you were physically or emotionally unable to attend?"  Zero.  (Yes, even SAHMs can miss work by literally not being able to get out of bed.)

"In the last 12 months, how many days of work or school did you miss because you were physically ill?"  Three.  Three days only.

"During the last 3 months, how often did G or Z seem confused, as if in a fog, or unresponsive?"  Never.

"All in all, how would you rate your satisfaction in life?  Very satisfied, somewhat satisfied, somewhat dissatisfied, or very dissatisfied?"  Very satisfied.

My life isn't perfect.  I had an emotionally difficult time answering questions about whether I'd lost anyone close to me in the last four years (Yes, three women); and I answered that my biological mother was 52 years old when she died; and yes, I'd lost a home to a foreclosure.  But I've dealt with those things without ever dealing with discrimination based on my age, gender, ethnicity, or economic status; without ever struggling to buy my children nutritious food; without ever worrying about where we would sleep the next day/week/month.

Why me?  Why do I happen to be a Caucasian in a country where Caucasians are generally treated with respect?  Why did I happen to be born into a family with a continued upward economic trajectory?  Why did I happen to have children born to me without any physical or  mental illnesses?  Why do I happen to be alive in a time and place where women are given at the very least the same legal respect as men?  Why do I happen to even be alive today?

I don't know the "why"s, but I do know this: It's not because of me.  Every single one of those answers could change tomorrow, but that still wouldn't be because of me.

I am so humbled at the gifts God has chosen to give me at this time, and sobered as I contemplate how to share them.  I am so thankful for Today.  Tonight's prayer is that I can be just as thankful tomorrow...whether I'm given the same gifts or not.

Project: Dresser Turned Media Console, Part 1

My mom loved thrift store furniture finds, which is probably why I do too.  During my final year of college, in which I was preparing a voice recital, taking lots of classes, and preparing to marry Jay, my mom took it upon herself to furnish my apartment from thrift stores.

Ikea would have been a more chic option if we'd had it, but we got things that did the trick.  A looooooooong couch that took up an entire living room wall (and took off some of the doorjamb paint getting in), a swivel chair, a little round table for the kitchen, and a nine-drawer dresser for the one bedroom.

Were these pieces pretty?  No.  But they did the job!  In fact, the dresser has been doing the job for the last 12 years; when we moved out of that apartment into our first house, it became a "buffet" in our living room, storing linens, infrequently-used kitchen utensils, and whatever else we managed to cram in.

A vacuum cleaner salesman commented it looked like I lived in a grandma's house.  Touche.

On special occasions, it became an extension of the kitchen for spreading out food or a platform for decor.

See the corner with the folding chairs and table? That corner was our dining room. The kitchen is on the other side of the buffet wall...and about the same dimensions.

 After kids started arriving, wicker baskets (from Ikea this time) were added underneath to hide toys.

G looks for an escaped toy.

When we bought our current home, it continued to serve a similar function, also standing in our--much larger--living room.

Hidden under a tablecloth for the tea party goodies! Also present is the china cabinet in its '80s brass glory.

And when the kids started school, it housed text books and work sheets, plus card games, linens, and even books.

But over this last year, a few things changed: Namely, I got more thrift store furniture.  The buffet drawers slowly emptied as I found new homes for things, and I began to wonder if this highly functional albeit highly dated piece of furniture had outlived its use.

Meanwhile, here's what our living room's media nook looked like.

This cabinet was purchased new (shock) from Ikea when we needed something lockable to keep electronics safe from little boys.

Works just fine, but check out all that wasted space on the sides!  And then on August 11th at about 3 a.m., inspiration struck.  By 9:00 a.m., Jay was at work, the kids were at school, I had a borrowed Sawzall, and my brilliant idea began to take shape.

First, I unplugged and lugged everything out of the media nook...and then wiped down the walls and prepped for paint.  Because why wouldn't I add painting a few walls to my day's activities?

After getting the first coat of paint on, I started with the dresser.  First, drawers out.

Next, I removed the back, which was thankfully a fairly flimsy piece of plywood stapled on.  The back of a hammer took care of it.

After unscrewing greasy drawer tracks from key spots, I got out the saw and created a sub-woofer home.  This actually took more work than I thought it wood would, and after getting a blade stuck and breaking it getting it unstuck in an attempt to trim off a certain edge, I called it "good enough" and committed to cleaning up the edges when I paint it.  Yes, painting coming in Part 2.  What, you thought I enjoy the finish on this thing?

I found a scrap of sturdy OSB in the garage and cut it to fit across the bottom of the sub-woofer shelf, lending extra support.

I can't remember if at this point I was able to put the second coat of paint on the walls, or if it was time to pick up the boys from school.  I do remember that I skipped my afternoon nap to keep working on my living room project.  I do not remember if I cooked dinner.  I can guarantee that I ate dinner, though.

Jay--who was completely astonished and in awe of this brilliant idea that I'd executed by myself without consulting him first--helped me get the heavy pieces moved around and the electronics plugged back in.  I have a recollection of adjusting speaker heights after the kids had gone to bed, so that suggests that I wasn't finished until after 8:00, but this is what I ended up with:

Pretty nifty, eh?  Look how perfectly it fits in this space!  And check out what I did with three of the removed drawers for under-console storage space.  Jay also happened to think that was brilliant.

In Part 2 of this project, the dresser-turned-buffet-turned-console will get a coat or four of lovely white paint and new drawer pulls.  I'll also rearrange the drawers a bit so that the frames are more contiguous.

So what do you think?  Are there pieces of furniture you've repurposed over the years?

Happy Mommy Moments, 27 May 2014

Today I'm a happy mama.

Nothing particularly huge happened today--unless we count G giving his first-ever speech in front of his 2nd grade class--but I felt delighted at a number of little moments.

I arrived at the kids' school early enough to catch G's oral report on the common hippo (I'll refrain from quoting the whole thing right here, although I could probably do it from memory myself), and as I walked through the center common room on my way to his classroom, a little Kindergartner from Z's class walked past me on the way back from the restroom.  His face lit up in recognition when he saw me.  "Hi, Z's Mom!" he grinned.  At that moment I realized I love being known as Z's Mom.

And known as G's Mom too, as the 2nd grade kids refer to me!  I'm not gonna lie, I burst a few buttons as my darling 7 year old presented his research on the animal he'd chosen for his year-end project.  He remembered everything we'd practiced!  Deep breath to start, feet rooted to the floor, talk slowly, glance down at the cue cards and then look up and speak to the class with eye contact.  For this project, which included a multi-page written report, a diorama, and the speech, we were handed blank grading rubrics along with the assignment.  When I saw those, I gulped.  We're in the big leagues now, I thought, with rubrics and bibliographies and clay-baked sculptures.

G insisted on reading through the rubrics ahead of time to see what he'd need to do for the full 4 points per element.  He didn't want to mess around with 2- or 3-point quality work.  "Mommy, I want to get 4 points on everything," he declared.  We haven't gotten his grade for the written report or the diorama yet, but immediately after finishing his speech today, he turned to his teacher and asked, "Do I get 4 points??"

She chuckled, and that's all the grade he's gotten so-far.

But it sure seemed like a 4-point presentation to me!  His diorama is pretty cute too, and I'm especially proud because it's the the first time we've done baked clay for anything.

Presenting a common hippo and her calf wading somewhere in Central Africa.  I should have photographed this before taping the plastic wrap on it.  G told his class he'd used "assilic" paint.

Another absolutely precious little thing warmed my heart today.  I'll be revealing something about my age when I say that I grew up on the show Reading Rainbow, hosted by LeVar Burton, and I recently discovered that our instant-streaming video provider carries the old episodes.  Naturally, I have been eager to watch through every episode myself share the show with my kids.  It turns out that Z's Kindergarten teacher has shown his class a couple of episodes too, so he's already a little familiar with it.  (I have to admit, it takes the wind out of my sails a bit to hear, "Oh, I've seen this one.")

As the two boys and I sat on the couch tonight, taking an inside-tour of the Library of Congress and getting up close and personal with the Statue of Liberty, I couldn't have been more full of warm fuzzies.  That is, I thought I didn't have room for more fuzzies...until the final credits and the reprise of the theme song--when Z started signing along.

My sweet little boy in his wandering soprano voice, singing a theme song that was heard in my childhood home almost every school day?  That is a happy feeling.

While we're on the subject of nostalgia combined with literacy, I recently brought out my copy of Heidi, on which is penned the inscription, "To Rachel, on her 7th birthday.  With love, Mom and Dad."  I could have handed the book to G to read, but I love reading aloud to my kids.  (Plus, I don't want him to crinkle the pages.)  Reading aloud, I get to use my college drama skills which don't see the light of day very often!  So for the last couple weeks, whenever the boys and I have some downtime, we sit together and I read about the little Swiss girl in the Alps who eats toasted cheese on bread (Z's new favorite breakfast) and delights in the beauty she finds in wildflowers, goats, glaciers, fir trees, and old grandmothers.

P.S. I'm ready to move to Switzerland.  Now.

Both boys love the story, although I think Z enjoyed The Secret Garden (which I read a few months ago) more.  Maybe something to do with the ratio of girl:boy characters?  [Teacher Note: It is way cool to do a compare/contrast with Heidi and The Secret Garden.  I hadn't realized how many similar themes they have until re-reading them so close together.  The kids and I had a great conversation about this during breakfast at a buffet this weekend.  SPOILER ALERT  And we haven't even gotten to the part where Klara starts walking yet!]

A couple days ago I finished reading a couple chapters and left the room to go work on something.  Thirty minutes later, I noticed it was still pretty quiet in the living room.  I could hear Z talking to himself a bit as he played with toys, but G seemed to have dropped out of sight.  Did he fall asleep? I wondered incredulously.  But his bed was empty.  Not seeing his fuzzy head peeping over the back of the couch either, I walked around to the front of it to see if he had lied down.  He hadn't.  He was kneeling on the floor, Heidi spread out on the couch in front of him, reading ahead from where we'd left off.

Talk about simultaneous horror of "He'll find out what's coming!!" and immense gratitude of "He cares about this story enough to read it himself!!"

The latter feeling has definitely won out.  And--thanks to those drama skills coming in handy--he's not bored listening to me read the parts he's already seen.

I'm not bored either.  In fact, reading this story again as an adult, I'm astounded to rediscover the incredibly strong theme of redemption in this story.  I choked up, right on the living room couch, reading the Grandfather's break-through moments after hearing Heidi tell him the story of the Prodigal Son.  And I again had to clear mist from my eyes when the story revealed that the darkness Heidi had experienced during a hard period of her life directly brought light to the heart of the Grandmother--a woman whose blind eyes saw nothing but blackness.

It's a good book, people.

But I've digressed from refraining to give you a report on the common hippo to giving you a report on Heidi.  That wasn't my intent!  I just wanted to take some time tonight to share a few ways that I'm loving being Mom to my boys.  There's been so much sadness and darkness in my adult life...I'm so thankful for these beautiful moments of recognition that all is not dark.  There can be light in my heart.

With that, in the iconic words of LeVar, I'll see ya' next time!