John F. Kennedy Arboretum

November 26, 2011 by Heather Lucier Stanley 1 Comment

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

The John F. Kennedy Arboretum was initiated using donations from Irish Americans. The Irish American community gives generously to Ireland. The Irish government decided to match the funds provided by the Irish Americans and the arboretum was created.

Our tour of the arboretum was brief and by bus. I would have enjoyed walking the arboretum; however, timing did not permit it. Our group stopped longer for a snack than anticipated. Shortly thereafter, a misunderstanding occurred between the arboretum guide and our guide or plans had changed. Ultimately, we waited around and wasted some time before we got started. This happens on group tours, but I felt our experience overall was phenomenal and I am not critical of the entire tour.

I love arboretums. The University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, where I spent several years as an undergrad, has an arboretum on campus which I visited regularly. The most surprising thing about the John F. Kennedy Arboretum is the number of trees I had recognized from warm climates. Our guide, Robbie, had told us that Ireland gets a wind from the Caribbean and is temperate overall. Snow? Not very often. This surprised me because I thought Ireland would be blanked in snow in the winter months like New England. Nope.

If I return to Ireland for a longer self-guided tour, I would visit the John F. Kennedy Arboretum for an entire day. From what I read in the Lonely Planet Guides, it is one of the top sites in County Wexford.

heather and alan

About Heather Lucier Stanley

Heather Lucier Stanley grew up in Central Massachusetts and lived in New England until she started studying at the University of Michigan where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Creative Writing and Literature. In her early 20s, she moved to San Antonio, Texas and started studying business and accounting. In her late 20s, she became a Certified Public Accountant. She has held many varied and interesting business and volunteer positions: public accountant, internal auditor, systems implementer, project manager, business analyst, tax preparer and Austin Skiers board member. While traveling 35% for a position she held, she earned her Master of Information Systems (MIS) at the University of Phoenix. She is enthusiastic about learning and trying new things. A few of her passions are personal development, fitness, snow skiing, and travel. She is outgoing and real. She feels that success is easy to attain if the individual defines what success means to her and then has a plan to achieve her individual success. No two definitions of success are the same because each of us is unique and has something original to share with the world.
View all posts by Heather Lucier Stanley →

Trackbacks/Pingbacks

  1. Exploring Ireland: How To See A Lot and Have a Blast | Heather Lucier Stanley - December 10, 2011

    [...] Dunbrody Ship and Kennedy Homestead 05. John F. Kennedy Arboretum 06. Waterford and Arthur’s [...]