Many years ago on one of my first trips to London, I found myself camped out in a pub at 9 a.m. following an all night flight to the “rain gray town.” (Thank you Byrds for that description.)

The hotel where I was staying had agreed to hold our bags for us but noted that we would not be able to check in until later in the day. Hence, we hit the pub for a scone and a cup of coffee.

Our waitress, sensing we were preparing to camp out there for awhile, suggested that we hit the Hop On Hop Off bus that stopped right down the corner from the pub. At the time I was still into the “I’m-not-doing-touristy-stuff” frame of mind. Plus, the Buzzy in me wouldn’t let me spring for the $15 or so fee that they charged to ride the bus for 24 hours.

However, after sitting around the pub for another 20 minutes or so, my ADD bug kicked in and I said to my travel companion “OK, let’s get on the bus.”

I have been a HOHO fan ever since.

Our final day in Dublin this past week, Pam had arranged for us to utilize the HOHO to see as much of the city as we could in a limited amount of time. It was a great idea because it being Saturday and nice weather, Dubliners were out in droves enjoying the weather and strolling around. (Throw in a couple protest marches and it all made for one big traffic jam as we made our way around the town.)

Here was the view out our bus’ front window:

But despite all the churn and traffic, we were able to tour the entire city in a couple hours time and see all the important sights to be seen.

Note that I spent a little bit of time trying to ascertain the history of HOHO buses and just who came up with the idea, but did not find anything definitive. (This article mentions Key West’s Conch Train was an early originator in loop tours but I couldn’t verify that it was the first to do so. Gray Line bus tours have been around since 1910 but I did not see any mention as to whether or not they did any HOHO ventures. Research for another day I guess.)

OK, musically since I quoted it, here are the Byrds with “Eight Miles High.” (I like David Crosby’s answer when asked what the song was about: