My Route

This will be my route. I will be traveling 5-6 hours per day. The total distance of my trip will be 3, 583 miles. I plan to leave the Saturday after summer school is over.

On Monday, I will take my car in for summer servicing to check belts, hoses, air conditioning, etc. Katie and Colleen probably remember the trip back to Cape Cod when our air conditioning went out in Arizona. It was a hot trip, but an enjoyable one. I do not want to experience that again. Traveling alone as I am, I feel that it is good to have everything checked out (well, that is what AAA recommends).

After the car servicing, I will post a more detailed itinerary. I hope to be posting each day to let you know where I have been and what I have seen. It is now 27 days away.

A Little History

John O’Donnell was the son of Hugh O’Donnell and Mary Derkin. He was born in Louisburgh, Ireland, in County Mayo in 1834. “Louisburgh is the focal point of an area some 450 square miles in extent, stretching from Killary Fiord to the South, to the Owenree River to the North, and from the coast to the Erriff valley watershed in the East. All of this landscape is designated as an area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in the Mayo County Development Plan, and calls have been made for its designation as a 'Special Amenity Area'.”

[http://www.mayoireland.ie/Mayo/Towns/LouisB/LouisB.htm]

"Louisburgh Famine Walk
During the Famine in Ireland more than 2.5 million people died of hunger and many more emigrated to America to escape starvation.
Like the rest of Mayo the Famine had a devastating effect on the Louisburgh area. Still etched in the landscape to the present day are the ridges and hollows of the potato beds and the ruins of many tiny stone dwellings which failed to house such impossibly large families at that time.
In 1841 the Choctaw Indians in Mississippi were forced from their homelands to journey many hundred miles cross country to Oklahoma. Many of them perished on what became known as the 'Trail of Tears'. A report in 'The Arkansas Intellegencer' of April 3rd 1847 stated that the Choctaw Indians, on learning of the Irish Famine, sent money to a famine relief fund in Ireland.
Every year a famine walk takes place, during the month of May, from Doolough to Louisburgh recalling the Irish Famine. This walk is often joined by one of the Indians from the Choctaw Nation. "

[http://towns.mayo-ireland.ie/WebX?14@128.RcSKdCmB8xM.0@.ee7a115]

The beginning

The school year has ended and I have been in front of my computer planning my route to follow the footsteps of my great grandfather on my father's side, John O'Donnell. The journey will take me into: Arizona, Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada and then back to California. I hope to imagine what it was like for my great grandfather, however, the modern day conveniences will fog my thinking, I am sure. I hope that this will be something that I can share with my daughters and my brothers and that, perhaps, they will drop into this blog and see what is happening.