My favorite weekend getaway was when we went to Westport last weekend. When we arrived in Westport we started the day at Mount Croagh Patrick.  Mt. Croagh Patrick is a sacred mountain rising 2,510 feet tall and one of the most important places of Christian pilgrimage in Ireland.  The climb to the top of the mountain is an act of penance.  My fellow students and I were very determined to climb to the top of Croagh Patrick.  The morning was overcast and fairly cold, making it impossible to see the top of the mountain.  After renting our walking sticks, we briskly started the climb up the mountain having no idea what to expect.  Our goal was to keep a steady pace through out the hike.  As we ascended the beginning of our journey we thought that we would have no problems making it to the top of Croagh Patrick.  We read that the average climb time was three and half hours.  We joked that we should be done much quicker than that as we noticed elderly people and young children walking down the mountain after completing the hike.  The incline of the mountain grew steeper and steeper as we continued on, with an increasingly rocky terrain.  We grew weary of what the rest of the climb would entail as the top of Croagh Patrick was ominously covered in a thick fog.  We asked a few people how much farther till we reached the top and they told us we were about half way.  We tried to mentally prepare ourselves for the rest of the journey.  We agreed our best way to reach the top was to stick together and take quick group breaks whenever they felt needed.  As we passed the half way point we reached a bend in the path that revealed how much further we needed to climb.  We gathered ourselves and just as we began the hardest part of the climb it started to rain.   The rest of the way to the top was extremely difficult.  The terrain was now completely rocks and every step had to be carefully planned to avoid falling.  I also began to have a hard time breathing due to a combination of my asthma, the wind, and the altitude.  We slowly but surely made our way up the remainder of Croagh Patrick.  At the top it was so foggy we could barely see anything.  It was disappointing that it was too foggy to see any of the views of the landscapes.  After a short while resting at the top it was so windy that we were freezing within minutes.  We looked at the chapel and St. Patrick's Resting spot that was at the summit.  Then we begin our decent to the bottom of the mountain.  We very carefully walked down on the array of rocks that covered the path.  A few of us fell but we were so elated with being able to reach the summit that it barely bothered us.  Once we reached the bottom of Croagh Patrick we drank the Irish version of Gatorade and celebrated our successful journey.  We round the bus into Westports city center and ate dinner together in a nice restaurant.  This was my favorite day trip in Ireland not only because of the beautiful scenario and experiencing a different town, but the spiritual experience of us hiking Mount Croagh Patrick together.  Over three short weeks I have become very close to my fellow students in Ireland.  We were able to motivate and support each other during this climb.  For me this increased the spiritual experience of being able to make it to the summit of Mount Croagh Patrick.