433. There and Back Again (and Again, and Again, and Again)—a Pete Geek’s Irish Odyssey

This morning we've got another real treat in store, a House-Pipe sized odyssey of Nate Lynn's hunting expeditions in the Land of Éire, including a tour of the factory at Deansgrange and even short videos Nate shot of Giacomo Penzo at the frazing machine and Wojciech Blaszczak at the rusticating station!  So fill your favorite Pete, top your Pete Geek mug with the brew that is true, and light up-- THERE AND BACK AGAIN... by Nate Lynn CPG There and Back Again My first trip to Ireland was November 16th, 2019. I was there for work, site seeing and the glorious black stuff that known as Guinness. I remember walking past a pipe shop, “Peterson Pipes,” as I was going to visit Trinity College and was intrigued but didn’t stop as I was too focused on seeing the Book of Kells. At this point in my life I was only a once or twice a year cigar smoker and collected only movie prop replicas. And Again... Fast Forward to March 16th, 2022, my wife and I land in Ireland, drop off our luggage and head to Trinity College to meet my old boss, who’s a Dublin native. I was taking my wife to see the book of Kells and the Long Room of the library before the jet lag set in. We wrapped up the Book of Kells and Long Library tour and once again I see Peterson Pipes as we exit Trinity to go to my favorite pub (Sheehans) in Dublin for some much-needed Guinness Stew. This time I gave the shop a bit more of a look as my son, 21 at the time, had gotten into pipe smoking so I was thinking I might pop in to get him a gift. But we got busy at Kehoes Pub and then crashed soundly for the night in preparation for the next day's travels around the Emerald Isle. And Again-- My third trip to the Emerald Isle took place May 12th, 2023. We took our dear friends with us for their first trip to Ireland, and this time I was planning on checking out the pipe shop known as Peterson. I had bought my first pipe in March of 2023 in Gatlinburg, TN at the Gatlin-Burlier Tobacconist.  It was a Mitchell Thomas Churchwarden, aka a “Wizard Pipe” according to my youngest daughter. I still had no clue what Peterson was. I just thought it was a shop like any other and had no clue it was the longest running briar-pipe making factory in history, making the most amazing pipes our world has ever seen, IMHO. Unfortunately, I did not get to visit Peterson, even though I walked by it as we left Trinity College with our friends as we were trying to get to Christ Church before it quit tours for the day. And Again . . . We returned to Ireland November 12th, 2023, as I decided for my 40th birthday to take my wife and our four…

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