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Arches national park in Utah inkknife_2000 (7.5 million views +)

Open thread: What's the best adventure you ever had?

Road trip through the US? Taking the Orient Express? #AddStories and join the conversation.

STORIES ARE THE spark that lights the fire of every great conversation.

We’re all a patchwork of the life adventures that leave us with great stories. And like most things, they’re better shared.

So what’s the best adventure you ever had? To get the inspiration flowing for you guys, we first got staffers in Journal Media Towers to tell us about their war stories. Hold onto your hats…

Lost in La Mancha

One DailyEdge.ie scribe told us this yarn about the time she travelled solo through Spain with just a tent for shelter:

I rented a car and took off from the south. It was brilliant. Camped in San Sebastian, somewhere outside Madrid, somewhere outside Grenada. I got literally lost in La Mancha. The only place I stayed in a hotel was Valencia because it was a city so there was nowhere to camp.

Iglesia Arciprestal de la Asunción (Almansa) Abacete,Castilla la Mancha,España Catedrales e Iglesias Catedrales e Iglesias

She added: “I lost the car in Pamplona. I parked it near what I thought was a very ornate and recognisable fountain. Turns out Pamplona is full of them.”

D’oh.

All going wrong in Lusty Beg

Lusty Beg - Oct 2008 (12 of 82) nuttycam nuttycam

A journo on the news desk told us this madcap tale of misadventure:

Me and my friends decided we were going on a road trip to Lusty Beg island in Fermanagh for Valentines weekend. Three garage stops in the first hour of driving, GPS stopped working when we crossed the border, none of us brought a toothbrush to the island, and there were a few awkward incidents in the pool and sauna… But they’re all funny stories that people love hearing!

Stormtroopers on a trip from Salt Lake City

These are not the droids your looking for... SGPhotography77 SGPhotography77

This tale of up and downs was shared by another member of staff:

I went on a road trip with my friend who lived in Salt Lake City in Utah from SLC to Las Vegas. We stopped at a national park and climbed a precipice at sunset and we also got lost in the desert on the way to a small music festival but one of the women who was expecting us was sitting at a dusty crossroads, in a camp chair, cold beer in an icebox just as we thought we were goners. “I knew y’all would pass by here eventually,” she said, as if sitting in the middle of the desert, nothing as far as the eye could see, was the most natural thing in the world. When we finally got to Vegas, we fell in with a Star Wars convention and got hit on by a bunch of StormTroopers, in full costume.

Phew. We’re exhausted just reading that one, frankly.

A new perspective in Calcutta

Kolkata Padmanaba01 Padmanaba01

And we’ll leave you with this rather heart-warming tale from our commercial team:

When I was finishing up towards my school days, I was lucky enough to go to India, most notably Calcutta. I got to immerse myself in the culture, the food, and the people, and I have memories which have lasted me forever, and further encouraged me to always consider those in need before myself, and to always recognise how lucky I am.

Now it’s over to you. What’s the biggest adventure you ever had? Big or little, we want to hear them all…

To discover new horizons, you have to take the road less travelled. Stories are the source of every great conversation. Go where you haven’t been. Leave the city behind. Clear your mind. Add adventures. Add friends. Add memories and add meaning. And when you return, go tell your story. Check out the new MINI COUNTRYMAN to start your adventure now. #AddStories

Now read: 6 unmissable outdoor day trips to enjoy around Ireland

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16 Comments
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    Mute Kieran Campbell
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    Dec 19th 2019, 8:07 AM

    Slight breeze in Dublin and it’s red alert. Actual storm 1 hour away from Galway and Mayo and last minute warning issued. You’d be forgiven to think that the west doesn’t matter.

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    Mute David
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    Dec 19th 2019, 9:04 AM

    @Kieran Campbell: Met Eireann have strict criteria that they follow when issuing any warnings for any location… Stop talking nonsense with your anti Dublin chip on your shoulder.

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    Mute Lar Meyler
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    Dec 19th 2019, 9:10 AM

    @Kieran Campbell: That is exactly what is in Dublin right now (9am), a slight breeze…

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    Mute Ann Moynihan
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    Dec 19th 2019, 10:06 AM

    @Lar Meyler: you are joking. It scared the life out of me.

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    Mute John gaughan
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    Dec 19th 2019, 11:00 AM

    @Kieran Campbell: I totally agree with you and that lad David that replied to your comment is probably some city boy that doesn’t even know his next door neighbor never mind reading the weather forecast

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    Mute smart cat
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    Dec 19th 2019, 12:03 PM

    @John gaughan: I say he does not whinge as much as the culchies

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    Mute Miss T
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    Dec 19th 2019, 8:15 AM

    Follow the Midlands Weather Channel on Facebook – Cathal predicted this days ago and was surprised no warnings were being given. He’s spot on with his forecasts.

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    Mute Ich bin brendan
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    Dec 19th 2019, 8:49 AM

    With everyone giving out about previous warnings, it’s hardly surprising that it came to back to bite. In fairness, the cinema should of stopped the movie and let those inside know there cars were about to be flooded once the water started coming up.

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    Mute John Hayes
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    Dec 19th 2019, 9:42 AM

    @Ich bin brendan: spot on. Fellas on here bleating on about warnings and snow flakes. No wonder Met Eireann didn’t issue one cause if they did and it flopped they’d be listening to it. Keyboard warriors aplenty to knock something.

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    Mute Dave Hammond
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    Dec 19th 2019, 5:03 PM

    @John Hayes: Nonsense – they have a warning system for a reason – if they cannot manage to do their ONE JOB they need to taken to task – w e pay enougb taxes for public services in this country to expect people to do their jobs – i honestly don’t get all these apologists – ya can’t blame them , what should they have done , it;s not that complicated – issuing an orange warning at 8pm when a storm hit a 9pm – go back and watch the met eireann forecast on the 6 news of you want to see EXACTLY what they were saying – this apologist stuff is nonsense – Irish people are far too soft on their expectations of what level of public services they should expect for the very very high taxes we pay to fund public services – Met Eireann are not beyond criticism FFS

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    Mute John Hayes
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    Dec 19th 2019, 9:50 PM

    @Dave Hammond: glad you got that off your chest Dave … nothing like a good rant. You surely have heard of the saying – it’s as unpredictable as the weather- which is what weather is UNPREDICTABLE even with technology. A warning at 8pm for 9pm is better than no warning at all in my eyes. Happy Christmas fella.

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    Mute Gavin Mckenna
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    Dec 19th 2019, 9:11 AM

    Some comments here are hilarious as per, hence why I pop in to see the usual suspects here who’d argue with their own shadow.

    If there was warnings we’d have the usual that its ott and “there’s no need for warnings” and if we had a late warning/no warning it’s “where was the warning?”

    Can’t win.

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    Mute Sean O'Reilly
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    Dec 19th 2019, 9:17 AM

    @Gavin Mckenna: sounds like you have a CV in with the Wet Office Gavin?!

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    Mute Dave Hammond
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    Dec 19th 2019, 5:06 PM

    @Gavin Mckenna: its not complicated Gavin – they have a warning system – the whole point is that a lot of people think they cannot use it correctly – and they are guilty of issuing too many yellow warnings to the point where people pay no attention anymore – imagine they had a yellow warning on yesterday – they issued an orange warning at 8pm for a storm that hit at 9 …..how on earth can you not think they need to be criticized and taken to task when they are not able to do the ONE JOB they are being funded for.

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    Mute John Lardner
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    Dec 19th 2019, 8:53 AM

    a bit late calling the Orange Warning at 9 wouldn’t you say, when it had already made landfall at 8.20pm in Galway and was already ferocious and almost at RED warnijng level!!!!

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    Mute Anthony Edward Healy
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    Dec 19th 2019, 8:57 AM

    The Storm Never Bothered Me Anyway…

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    Mute Ciarán FitzGerald
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    Dec 19th 2019, 12:23 PM

    @Anthony Edward Healy: Came here for Frozen comments… was not disappointed.

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    Mute Paul O'Sullivan
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    Dec 19th 2019, 9:08 AM

    Well, well that was some storm, no warnings, probably the worst storm in Cork since Ophelia. Met Eirean gave no warnings,this was coming, they only gave a status Orange for Cork when the storm was halfway through it looked worse than that.
    A typical winter storm.Have to say life goes a lot easier when they are no warnings of storms.

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    Mute AJ Con
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    Dec 19th 2019, 9:25 AM

    Met Éireann needs a little room on this one, the weather warning was gave when it developed. The difference here is that the storm built late (Portugal only named it on Tuesday and it was not expected to be bad) , it came from an unusual source and took a big swing to the left allowing it to build. We don’t normally get big storms storms building in strength as they hit us. The ones we get warned about are massive things way out in the alantic that done look like they will reduce in strength as time and distance slows them down.

    My question is were pre orange status indications and were they acted upon or observed on time.

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    Mute John gaughan
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    Dec 19th 2019, 10:57 AM

    One hour warning given at eight taking effect at nine if that was Dublin or the East coast they would be talking about it a month before

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    Mute Conall
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    Dec 19th 2019, 10:52 AM

    Car parks on the Seafront in Salthill regularly flood when there’s a storm. A sign to remind drvers of this would be good idea.

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    Mute DC
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    Dec 19th 2019, 3:08 PM

    @Conall: plenty of those in situ, the pre warning didn’t give people a chance to cancel plans for cinema etc. Some newish hybrids still on the prom waiting to be towed.

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    Mute Sean O'Reilly
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    Dec 19th 2019, 9:15 AM

    Storm Elsewhere more like!!!

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    Mute Pauline Gallagher
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    Dec 20th 2019, 11:33 AM

    well i think they underestimated the strength in the North East, it was very severe Wednesday night, stuff blowing all over the place and very hazardous driving conditions

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