The Forgotten Hotel in Ireland and then Meet the Artist – Andrew McCarthy

“A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving.” – Lao Tzu

To be honest with you, I really had NO idea where I was going. The trip started out in a small rental car with a half assed GPS, a mission to explore, and the open Irish road…..left side of the road of course.

It was all down hill from there…..

After a few bad turns and a few missed round about exits, it started to get better though. Luck of the Irish I guess.

As with many of my solo journeys, I had a loose plan. Hopping from a reserved hotel room to hotel room leave little room for the off beaten and unexplored trail, so its usually not the way I go. I tried something a bit different on this trip though. In todays “connected” society, it seems that a room recommendation is only a quick tweet or post away. I would have never found this little gem if I didn’t reach out to my own little network! Thanks Fiona! Sure I may have been one of the only people in this small little mansion for the night, but it was great fun to explore 🙂

Solo travel is and has always been a passion of mine. How does one achieve that as a father, business owner, husband, or devoted EX husband? Better yet, what causes that drive? A need to disconnect, a deeper need to escape, ….. am I alone in this feeling?

While leafing through one of my favorite travel magazines the other day, I came across another article from the Actor/Director/Author Andrew McCarthy. You might remember him from the early 80’s movies such as Pretty in Pink an St. Elmos Fire. I was intrigued after reading the article and wondering how he made the transition, or as it seems, is in the process of that transition, so I dug a little deeper.

Meet the Artist – Andrew McCarthy

For the most part, I resonate for one reason or another with the artists and creatives that I share here every week, and Andrew is no exception.

For one, he is about my age. Having turned 50 recently, he is only a couple years ahead of me. He mentions or at least hints in a few of the articles of creative writing that I dove into over the past couple of days about following his passion for the sake of the journey as well as listening to the internal urge to reinvent (outside of your chosen career path). And lastly, is his understanding of the value of solo travel, gap year travel, and connecting with the world out there.

As a father of 2 and a recently remarried man, he talks a lot about how he still needs to nurture that side of himself. He also speaks a bit about his own fear, vulnerabilities, and search for a deeper connection.

I spent a few moments devouring some of his articles on his site that he links to and decided to order his book.

I think Ill save it for my next little get away 🙂

I realized just how much I have in common with what he shared in this video below that I just had to share. Its a fun watch if you resonate with some of the concepts and ideas I ramble about here on the blog, so enjoy!

If you are in a hurry though, book mark this for later and watch the quick video below this one.

Not sure, but I see a travel show in this guys future.

Remember, you heard it here first 🙂

Thanks for sharing your art with us Andrew!

Interview with National Geographic editor Don George

Or watch the video here!

A short travel video from Ireland

Or watch the video here!

Here are a few other places that you can find Andrew and the art he shares with the world!

His website

His latest Book

On Twitter

On Youtube