Ireland trip day eleven, Tuesday 6/8/10
We got up early today in order to get to Belfast City Airport and fly off to Scotland. Specifically we were flying Ryanair to Glasgow. We were actually going to fly to Prestwick International Airport and then ride a train 45 minutes into the big city. Then we were going to spend the day shopping and touring in Scotland. That's not exactly what happened. As with any adventure with Keren and Michael, you have to be ready to roll with the punches.
So when we woke up this morning with a little rain we were undeterred in our plans. It always rains in Northern Ireland, right? Well, when we got to the airport, trudged through the rain, faced the dreaded security line, and got to THE gate (only one)we knew something was wrong. There were way too many people in the airport for that one little gate. Then we looked at the flight status board and realized we were really in trouble. There were no flights leaving or coming. For our flight status it said "wait in lobby and shop". Seriously? That's not a good sign. Our flight time came and went and the most information that we got was "check the board again at 11:00am". We starting getting worried that we weren't going to make it because after all we were only going for one night. We didn't want to fly over there just to turn around and come back. Finally we hear something positive for our flight. "For Ryanair flight to Prestwick International Airport please proceed to the gate area. We have moved your flight to the Belfast International Airport and we are arranging for a coach (bus) to take you over." WHAT!!!??? That's right. They moved our flight over a little bit of rain. I now had serious concerns over any European city to get me safely anywhere. So we exit through the gate and actually exit the building. There is NO ONE telling us where to go or what to do. There are a lot of people just hanging out waiting on the bus. Finally we ask someone with a walkie talkie and she tells us that they are shipping us over to the other airport and then we will have to go through security all over again.
To make a long morning and story a little shorter, we finally got to the airport. Michael got patted down in security. We made it on the plane for our 25 minute flight to Scotland and then took the 45 minute train ride into town. Finally in the town of Glasgow, the rain and the late time put a damper on our plans but we had fun anyway. We trudged up and down the streets, looked at all the Kilt shops, and had some excellent food. I couldn't bring myself to eat the haggis after all the cutie sheep I saw but we did manage to sample a little Scottish Whiskey. In a taste test between Scottish and Irish Whiskey, Michael liked the former better and I liked the latter. One thing I noticed about Scotland was that they really really like golf. We must have seen 6 courses in about 15 minutes. Crazy!
We went to bed early because we had to wake up early to catch another flight back to Ireland. What a whirlwind!
So I am off now. Have a blessed evening and thanks for reading my blog.
Friday, June 11, 2010
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Ireland trip day ten
Ireland trip day ten, 6/7/10 Monday
We started the day with breakfast at the hotel. Then we went to the Museum of Free Derry. Not really knowing what to expect, we thought it would take 5 minutes to breeze through and maybe buy a souvenir. We knew we were wrong as soon as we stepped inside. The guide that took our money (3 pounds each) told us briefly about the events of Bloody Sunday and then let us know that his brother was Michael Kelly, one of the twelve killed that day. For some reason, being so close to the reality, it made an impact on me.
As you walked through the museum, there was a sound track playing of the actual events of Bloody Sunday. A reporter had captured all of the audio and donated it to the museum. There was an amazing amount artifacts. They had propaganda from the early 50's and told the entire story of "the Troubles". There were pieces of clothing that some of the murdered were wearing when they died with arrows pointing to the bullet holes. There was a video and pictures from Bloody Sunday. That coupled with the paper materials, physical artifacts, and the sound track, we were very moved. It reminded me of going to the holocaust museum in DC. It is amazing how inhumane humans can be and can get in a mob mentality. The museum was also not completely one sided. They acknowledged the UK citizens that were killed by the IRA and gave a really nice retrospective on it all.
After all that I felt the need to pet some puppies and kittens but instead we went to visit the Giant's Causeway. North of Derry and on the way to Belfast we headed over to the northern coast. A long, long, time ago a volcano or a glacier or a giant created this natural wonder. There is a real reason why this particular physical feature exists but I don't want to bore you with the details. To make a long story short, there are hundreds of hexagonal columns extending out into the sea. They are all at different heights and it feels like you are walking on stepping stones. We got to view them from the cliffs high above and also got to walk all over them into the ocean.
Finally we hit the road to Belfast. This is by far the largest city we have been to yet at 350,000 people. That may not seem like a lot by American standards but it is huge for Ireland. We walked ALL over Belfast. My feel and legs were super tired. But we made some great discoveries. We walked down to the Shankill area and got to see some more inspiring murals about the struggles in Ireland. We got to see all of the shopping in the city and we came across some names that were familiar:
McDonald's
Burger king
Yankee Candle
H and M
TK Maxx (not TJ)
Pizza Hut
Papa Johns
TGIFridays
Subway
Claire's
Build a Bear
Disney Store
KFC
Starbucks
Costco
Ralph Lauren
and although it is not American we also saw IKEA
We were amazed at how many store names that we recognized. We felt right at home.
Lastly, I wanted to let you know about the smells we have been experiencing. The country side has a distinct natural fertilizer smell but there are times when it feels like the sheep/cow/horse is in the car with you. It is almost paralyzing and difficult to breathe. Then when you get close to the coast and it smells like salty air. You can taste the salt in the breeze. And then there are the cities. There is a combination of sulphur, dirt, garbage, and beer. One time we were directly outside of a distillery and could really smell the alcohol. My nose may never recover from all the rich smells. I just wanted to let you know because my pictures won't give you the full experience.
Well that's all for now. Stay tuned for our adventure to Scotland.
Have a blessed evening and thanks for reading my blog.
We started the day with breakfast at the hotel. Then we went to the Museum of Free Derry. Not really knowing what to expect, we thought it would take 5 minutes to breeze through and maybe buy a souvenir. We knew we were wrong as soon as we stepped inside. The guide that took our money (3 pounds each) told us briefly about the events of Bloody Sunday and then let us know that his brother was Michael Kelly, one of the twelve killed that day. For some reason, being so close to the reality, it made an impact on me.
As you walked through the museum, there was a sound track playing of the actual events of Bloody Sunday. A reporter had captured all of the audio and donated it to the museum. There was an amazing amount artifacts. They had propaganda from the early 50's and told the entire story of "the Troubles". There were pieces of clothing that some of the murdered were wearing when they died with arrows pointing to the bullet holes. There was a video and pictures from Bloody Sunday. That coupled with the paper materials, physical artifacts, and the sound track, we were very moved. It reminded me of going to the holocaust museum in DC. It is amazing how inhumane humans can be and can get in a mob mentality. The museum was also not completely one sided. They acknowledged the UK citizens that were killed by the IRA and gave a really nice retrospective on it all.
After all that I felt the need to pet some puppies and kittens but instead we went to visit the Giant's Causeway. North of Derry and on the way to Belfast we headed over to the northern coast. A long, long, time ago a volcano or a glacier or a giant created this natural wonder. There is a real reason why this particular physical feature exists but I don't want to bore you with the details. To make a long story short, there are hundreds of hexagonal columns extending out into the sea. They are all at different heights and it feels like you are walking on stepping stones. We got to view them from the cliffs high above and also got to walk all over them into the ocean.
Finally we hit the road to Belfast. This is by far the largest city we have been to yet at 350,000 people. That may not seem like a lot by American standards but it is huge for Ireland. We walked ALL over Belfast. My feel and legs were super tired. But we made some great discoveries. We walked down to the Shankill area and got to see some more inspiring murals about the struggles in Ireland. We got to see all of the shopping in the city and we came across some names that were familiar:
McDonald's
Burger king
Yankee Candle
H and M
TK Maxx (not TJ)
Pizza Hut
Papa Johns
TGIFridays
Subway
Claire's
Build a Bear
Disney Store
KFC
Starbucks
Costco
Ralph Lauren
and although it is not American we also saw IKEA
We were amazed at how many store names that we recognized. We felt right at home.
Lastly, I wanted to let you know about the smells we have been experiencing. The country side has a distinct natural fertilizer smell but there are times when it feels like the sheep/cow/horse is in the car with you. It is almost paralyzing and difficult to breathe. Then when you get close to the coast and it smells like salty air. You can taste the salt in the breeze. And then there are the cities. There is a combination of sulphur, dirt, garbage, and beer. One time we were directly outside of a distillery and could really smell the alcohol. My nose may never recover from all the rich smells. I just wanted to let you know because my pictures won't give you the full experience.
Well that's all for now. Stay tuned for our adventure to Scotland.
Have a blessed evening and thanks for reading my blog.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Ireland trip day nine
Sorry we haven't updated, there wasn't any Internet access the last few days. I will try and catch you up now.
Sunday June 7th, 2010 Day nine
We woke up in Galway after a fitful night of sleep. Let's just say that the partying went all night and morning long... But on a positive note, we got breakfast free at the hotel. It was included with the room but we felt extra special.
We went from Galway all the way to Derry/Londonderry. This was the longest drive of the trip. We tried to break it up by stopping in Donegal City. Donegal was a sweet little town that has absolutely nothing open on Sundays except the church. We did find a very old castle right smack dab in the middle of the town. And it was open too! The castle dated back to the early 1600s. It was owned by the clans/families of the O'Donalds and the O'Neills. They hardily fought the take over from the British but eventually fell to Oliver Cromwell. An Englishman named Brooke took over the castle, expanded it, and made it into a veritable fortress. We got to see what it would have looked like in the 1700s. Part of it was redone but most of it was all the original stone work. Quite impressive that it lasted so long!
We made it to Derry by early afternoon. Since we had such a long journey to get to Derry we read about the history of the town. Some of you may be familiar with the town from the popular song "Sunday, Bloody, Sunday" by U2. The song does not tell the story clearly enough. In brief, the Catholics/Republicans/IRA were fighting for equal jobs, pay, and housing as the Protestant/Unionists/UVF/British/UK. The sides of this war are very blurred and you will need to look up the info to fully understand it. The Republicans put up a blockade in part of the town, attempting to establish their own government/area separate from the Unionists. Things got a little heated and bullets were fired from the Unionist side. 12 men were murdered that day and over 50 died in all of the civil infighting. When we first got to Derry we were immediately confronted with the Bloody Sunday conflict as there are murals everywhere depicting the day. The murals have become a symbol of hope and of peace in the town. We walked down the same street that the tanks rolled down. We saw countless memorials to all the people who died in the conflicts they themselves label as the "Troubles". It was so interesting to see the battle that took place for civil rights in Ireland at the same time that the battle for civil rights was happening in America. We took many pictures of this site.
There are two main wars that took place in Derry. The first took place in the 1600s way before all that civil rights stuff, but it was basically the same battle Catholics vs. Protestants. I was going to write about it here but there is really too much information for me to type and potentially get wrong to do it. So google it and get in your history lesson. But regardless, the first conflict, "The Apprentice Boys" took place within the walls of Derry. There is a huge Wall of China barrier that surrounds the city. You can actually walk on the wall and go all the way around the inner city limits. Coolest thing ever! There is a ton of history in this city. Many monuments and churches all dating back to medieval times.
While we were walking the wall we had an interesting incident that happened with some boys. There is still a LOT of political turmoil in Derry and much of the town is segregated. In fact, there is a peace wall that keeps them separate. Well, as we passed the "peace wall" while walking on the city wall there was a group of tween boys having a gang argument. To resolve whatever issue they had (we suspect it was a Catholic/Protestant thing) they were throwing glass bottles and rocks. Michael was taking pictures of buildings and I wanted to run. I was going to saunter over to an area I thought was safer but I was waiting on him. It's a good thing I have Michael because 3 seconds later the area I was going to saunter over to got crashed by a giant green glass bottle and shards went everywhere. The boys were not including us in this battle, they just had very bad aim-baseball is America's past time after all. Totally appalled by their actions we hastily moved on to a different part of the wall. But unfortunately for us, that was where the one gang of boys were stationed. We were still above them on the city wall but they could clearly see us. It is also unfortunate that they happened to be in a beautiful scenic part of the town. We were taking pictures of the skyline and old buildings when I heard "f*** off." I moved away not knowing if they were aiming that at us or not. Michael was unaware of what they said and was still looking in their direction when they got their point across to him by throwing a rock at him. Don't worry, their aim is bad. They weren't even really close but it was definitely aimed at us. We decided it was time to move on and went about our business in a different section of town.
With a history so rich of civil infighting, is it any wonder that we witnessed some of it? It was a scary experience but not any more scary than walking late at night in downtown Atlanta. At least in Ireland we weren't afraid of a drive by shooting.
We ended our day with a lovely dinner in a local restaurant. Michael had chicken wrapped in "bacon"/ham and stuffed with cream cheese. I had a vegetable stir fry wrapped in a pancake and covered with goat cheese. YUM! Our taste buds were very satisfied.
It is getting late so I need to go. Next up is the story on Belfast.
Have a blessed evening and thanks for reading my blog!
Sunday June 7th, 2010 Day nine
We woke up in Galway after a fitful night of sleep. Let's just say that the partying went all night and morning long... But on a positive note, we got breakfast free at the hotel. It was included with the room but we felt extra special.
We went from Galway all the way to Derry/Londonderry. This was the longest drive of the trip. We tried to break it up by stopping in Donegal City. Donegal was a sweet little town that has absolutely nothing open on Sundays except the church. We did find a very old castle right smack dab in the middle of the town. And it was open too! The castle dated back to the early 1600s. It was owned by the clans/families of the O'Donalds and the O'Neills. They hardily fought the take over from the British but eventually fell to Oliver Cromwell. An Englishman named Brooke took over the castle, expanded it, and made it into a veritable fortress. We got to see what it would have looked like in the 1700s. Part of it was redone but most of it was all the original stone work. Quite impressive that it lasted so long!
We made it to Derry by early afternoon. Since we had such a long journey to get to Derry we read about the history of the town. Some of you may be familiar with the town from the popular song "Sunday, Bloody, Sunday" by U2. The song does not tell the story clearly enough. In brief, the Catholics/Republicans/IRA were fighting for equal jobs, pay, and housing as the Protestant/Unionists/UVF/British/UK. The sides of this war are very blurred and you will need to look up the info to fully understand it. The Republicans put up a blockade in part of the town, attempting to establish their own government/area separate from the Unionists. Things got a little heated and bullets were fired from the Unionist side. 12 men were murdered that day and over 50 died in all of the civil infighting. When we first got to Derry we were immediately confronted with the Bloody Sunday conflict as there are murals everywhere depicting the day. The murals have become a symbol of hope and of peace in the town. We walked down the same street that the tanks rolled down. We saw countless memorials to all the people who died in the conflicts they themselves label as the "Troubles". It was so interesting to see the battle that took place for civil rights in Ireland at the same time that the battle for civil rights was happening in America. We took many pictures of this site.
There are two main wars that took place in Derry. The first took place in the 1600s way before all that civil rights stuff, but it was basically the same battle Catholics vs. Protestants. I was going to write about it here but there is really too much information for me to type and potentially get wrong to do it. So google it and get in your history lesson. But regardless, the first conflict, "The Apprentice Boys" took place within the walls of Derry. There is a huge Wall of China barrier that surrounds the city. You can actually walk on the wall and go all the way around the inner city limits. Coolest thing ever! There is a ton of history in this city. Many monuments and churches all dating back to medieval times.
While we were walking the wall we had an interesting incident that happened with some boys. There is still a LOT of political turmoil in Derry and much of the town is segregated. In fact, there is a peace wall that keeps them separate. Well, as we passed the "peace wall" while walking on the city wall there was a group of tween boys having a gang argument. To resolve whatever issue they had (we suspect it was a Catholic/Protestant thing) they were throwing glass bottles and rocks. Michael was taking pictures of buildings and I wanted to run. I was going to saunter over to an area I thought was safer but I was waiting on him. It's a good thing I have Michael because 3 seconds later the area I was going to saunter over to got crashed by a giant green glass bottle and shards went everywhere. The boys were not including us in this battle, they just had very bad aim-baseball is America's past time after all. Totally appalled by their actions we hastily moved on to a different part of the wall. But unfortunately for us, that was where the one gang of boys were stationed. We were still above them on the city wall but they could clearly see us. It is also unfortunate that they happened to be in a beautiful scenic part of the town. We were taking pictures of the skyline and old buildings when I heard "f*** off." I moved away not knowing if they were aiming that at us or not. Michael was unaware of what they said and was still looking in their direction when they got their point across to him by throwing a rock at him. Don't worry, their aim is bad. They weren't even really close but it was definitely aimed at us. We decided it was time to move on and went about our business in a different section of town.
With a history so rich of civil infighting, is it any wonder that we witnessed some of it? It was a scary experience but not any more scary than walking late at night in downtown Atlanta. At least in Ireland we weren't afraid of a drive by shooting.
We ended our day with a lovely dinner in a local restaurant. Michael had chicken wrapped in "bacon"/ham and stuffed with cream cheese. I had a vegetable stir fry wrapped in a pancake and covered with goat cheese. YUM! Our taste buds were very satisfied.
It is getting late so I need to go. Next up is the story on Belfast.
Have a blessed evening and thanks for reading my blog!
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Ireland trip day eight
6/5/10 Saturday, Day 8
First of all, Happy Birthday to my nephew Dennis. He is one year old today!!! Sorry I missed it but I will bring you a pot of gold.
Today was such an amazing day! The whole trip has been like this. Every day is a fun adventure. We started today by saying goodbye to Kenmare and the country. We made our way over to a tiny town north of Tralee and caught a car ferry over to Co. Clare. It was so neat to be on a ferry and walk around. Your car was on the boat too! It takes very little to excite me. We then drove north and got to see the Cliffs of Moher. You can't really tell there are cliffs. You are just driving and all of a sudden the field of cows drops off into the ocean. This was by far the most "touristy" thing we have done. There were T-shirts and lots of people milling about. It was very crowded. Well, not like a Braves game but it was crowded for Ireland. The Cliffs had signs everywhere saying not to jump over the barrier that the cliffs are not stable. Well, we might have jumped the barrier in a "safer" section to get better pictures. Everyone else was doing it...I promise we were safe. The cliffs don't seem all that impressive until you get right on the edge. The drop down is HUGE! Grand Canyon huge!!! You can tell because the birds you can usually see as normal size are teeny tiny little dots down at the water's edge.
After the Cliffs we went to see the Burren. The Burren is a natural geographic wonder of the world, kind of like Stone Mountain only made of limestone and about 8 times taller and wider. We toured all the way around it and made several stops. One place was a recently discovered ancient burial ground. It looks like a stone table. They did an excavation in the 1980s and used radio carbon dating to place some of the objects from as early as 2600 BC. The found the remains of at least 30 people in this burial area. Most of them were thought to have died elsewhere and had been laid to rest in the chamber. The formation of the Burren is a result of a glacier. The flora and fauna represented in the Burren contains about 70% of all the species found in Ireland. We got some more great pictures of the burial ground but you will have to use your imagination on the burren. We got a few pictures but there was no place to stop at some of the most picturesque views. Oh well.
Lastly, we headed to our hotel in Galway City. Not only did we luck out and book on the same night as the power boat convention we also are here at the same time as the Havana Club Latin festival. Sense some sarcasm? The streets are crazy busy and people are really enjoying the adult beverages. It's also a college town and the June Bank holiday too! We are in party central tonight. Once we threw our bags down, we went on a historical stroll through town. Here's what we saw: a teenage garage band, a stand where you can buy cups of marshmallows covered with fondue chocolate, a Latin/Irish fusion band, a really inebriated man dancing the salsa, an old dude playing the saxophone, and a sign that said "the K bar". It was the most entertainment we have had since the Internet was invented. We did actually see some historical things as well. There is a monument to JFK as he visited Ireland weeks before his assassination. We also saw a monument to Christopher Columbus who visited Galway in 1477 a few years before his great discovery. There are several buildings still in use downtown that date back to the 1500 and 1600s. It is quite an impressive city. And considering all the love I have seen it getting tonight, i am quite surprised it is still standing.
Tomorrow is the longest drive of the trip so I'd better turn in and get some shut eye.
One last rant before I go, on driving in Ireland. Here are my thoughts:
*If you are going to build a road, please put two lanes on it.
*Why do we have to drive on the left? It is confusing.
*Other drivers--If Michael and I have to drive on the left, so do you, please get out of our lane.
*I do not enjoy the left side of the car getting whisked by the vegetation because there is a mammoth sized car in the other lane that won't get over.
*If there is a car in front of us I refer to them as "cow pushers" because they get the opposing lane cars to move over before we have to pass by them.
*Why is the speed limit 100 km/hour? First of all there is no way you can navigate the curves that fast. Secondly, the roads are so bad, you don't want to.
*In the movie "Overboard" with Goldie Hawn there is a scene where she is trying to use a chainsaw to chop some wood. Afterward she says nothing but "buhbuhbuhbuhbuh..etc" because she has been vibrating for so long. That is exactly how I feel after we get off some of these roads. They are crazy bumpy, filled with all kinds of holes and patches.
Ok, Rant over.
Have a blessed evening and thanks for reading my blog!
First of all, Happy Birthday to my nephew Dennis. He is one year old today!!! Sorry I missed it but I will bring you a pot of gold.
Today was such an amazing day! The whole trip has been like this. Every day is a fun adventure. We started today by saying goodbye to Kenmare and the country. We made our way over to a tiny town north of Tralee and caught a car ferry over to Co. Clare. It was so neat to be on a ferry and walk around. Your car was on the boat too! It takes very little to excite me. We then drove north and got to see the Cliffs of Moher. You can't really tell there are cliffs. You are just driving and all of a sudden the field of cows drops off into the ocean. This was by far the most "touristy" thing we have done. There were T-shirts and lots of people milling about. It was very crowded. Well, not like a Braves game but it was crowded for Ireland. The Cliffs had signs everywhere saying not to jump over the barrier that the cliffs are not stable. Well, we might have jumped the barrier in a "safer" section to get better pictures. Everyone else was doing it...I promise we were safe. The cliffs don't seem all that impressive until you get right on the edge. The drop down is HUGE! Grand Canyon huge!!! You can tell because the birds you can usually see as normal size are teeny tiny little dots down at the water's edge.
After the Cliffs we went to see the Burren. The Burren is a natural geographic wonder of the world, kind of like Stone Mountain only made of limestone and about 8 times taller and wider. We toured all the way around it and made several stops. One place was a recently discovered ancient burial ground. It looks like a stone table. They did an excavation in the 1980s and used radio carbon dating to place some of the objects from as early as 2600 BC. The found the remains of at least 30 people in this burial area. Most of them were thought to have died elsewhere and had been laid to rest in the chamber. The formation of the Burren is a result of a glacier. The flora and fauna represented in the Burren contains about 70% of all the species found in Ireland. We got some more great pictures of the burial ground but you will have to use your imagination on the burren. We got a few pictures but there was no place to stop at some of the most picturesque views. Oh well.
Lastly, we headed to our hotel in Galway City. Not only did we luck out and book on the same night as the power boat convention we also are here at the same time as the Havana Club Latin festival. Sense some sarcasm? The streets are crazy busy and people are really enjoying the adult beverages. It's also a college town and the June Bank holiday too! We are in party central tonight. Once we threw our bags down, we went on a historical stroll through town. Here's what we saw: a teenage garage band, a stand where you can buy cups of marshmallows covered with fondue chocolate, a Latin/Irish fusion band, a really inebriated man dancing the salsa, an old dude playing the saxophone, and a sign that said "the K bar". It was the most entertainment we have had since the Internet was invented. We did actually see some historical things as well. There is a monument to JFK as he visited Ireland weeks before his assassination. We also saw a monument to Christopher Columbus who visited Galway in 1477 a few years before his great discovery. There are several buildings still in use downtown that date back to the 1500 and 1600s. It is quite an impressive city. And considering all the love I have seen it getting tonight, i am quite surprised it is still standing.
Tomorrow is the longest drive of the trip so I'd better turn in and get some shut eye.
One last rant before I go, on driving in Ireland. Here are my thoughts:
*If you are going to build a road, please put two lanes on it.
*Why do we have to drive on the left? It is confusing.
*Other drivers--If Michael and I have to drive on the left, so do you, please get out of our lane.
*I do not enjoy the left side of the car getting whisked by the vegetation because there is a mammoth sized car in the other lane that won't get over.
*If there is a car in front of us I refer to them as "cow pushers" because they get the opposing lane cars to move over before we have to pass by them.
*Why is the speed limit 100 km/hour? First of all there is no way you can navigate the curves that fast. Secondly, the roads are so bad, you don't want to.
*In the movie "Overboard" with Goldie Hawn there is a scene where she is trying to use a chainsaw to chop some wood. Afterward she says nothing but "buhbuhbuhbuhbuh..etc" because she has been vibrating for so long. That is exactly how I feel after we get off some of these roads. They are crazy bumpy, filled with all kinds of holes and patches.
Ok, Rant over.
Have a blessed evening and thanks for reading my blog!
Friday, June 4, 2010
Ireland trip day seven
Friday, day seven 6/4/10
Hello all! I guess your prayers for good weather were successful, because we got to go on our boat trip today! I am not sure how Michael found this character but we had reservations on a boat with a man named Des. We were told to call on the day of the scheduled trip to make certain that the trip was on. This morning Des was beside himself with glee that the trip was going to take place. He told us to drive to Portmagee and ask for Des's boat. Honestly? We're just supposed to drive out there and ask for him? Ireland is not a big place. The whole country has a small town feel. We drove out there and we were greeted at the only dock in Portmagee by a man. He asks us who we are looking for and upon our reply that we are looking for Des he says, "all the way down on the right". And that was it. We walked down the dock, met Des and our boat journey began.
Des was the owner of the boat but not the captain that day. Our Captain answered to the name of Cav. That's all the info I got about him except that I noted that he smoked about 100 cigarettes while on board. We climbed into the boat behind only one other couple. We were early so we struck up a friendly chat. The couple, not married, were from Austria and Germany. They were very nice and talked about the places that they had already seen in Ireland. We next met a pair of men. One was from Dublin and the other was American. Turns out the American used to be a professor of geography at Georgia Southern, Michael's Alma mater, and they were there at the same time. Michael never took his class but it was still neat. The Professor now runs a business of taking private tour groups from the US and shuttling them around Ireland. He had already finished with his tour and was doing a little sightseeing himself. He recommended several places to see before we left. On the rest of our boat we had an older duo of English ladies, a set of two women (one young, one old) from Ireland, and a French couple who had brought their 5 month old baby boy. Cav joked that he was the new Captain.
We were instructed to put on the rain slickers over our pants and jackets. Even though Michael told Cav the Captain that our clothes were waterproof, he insisted because it sometimes gets "splashy" on the boat. Turns out Cav was right. The extra layer kept us dry and also kept us warm, the wind was a little brutal. I have never been on a boat in the ocean and didn't really know what to expect. Well I'll tell you, it's a good thing that apparently I don't get seasick. That tiny little boat hit those big giant waves and we went up and down, back and forth. Yikes! The professor was tossing his breakfast over the side multiple times! The baby fell asleep. Michael and I were good until the end when we just wanted to get off the boat. It took us 90 minutes to go 8 miles. I am sure there is some sort of Eminem reference here but I can't think of what it would be (8 mile...). Anyway, by the time we finally got to Skellig Michael, we were worn out.
I know I mentioned this yesterday but I wanted to clarify what this place is that we went to. Built in early 400AD the first Christians to settle in Ireland built a monastery on this island for seclusion. I knew all of this and knew that the terrain was rough and there were lots of stairs but I really had no idea. The path to get to the top of the island was straight up. Gilligan and Skipper did not do this on their three hour tour. Not only was the path essentially all vertical, it was also all multi-sized hand placed rocks on the path that served as steps to the top. We were also warned by Cav to be careful because it sometimes gets "slippy". It's a good thing I have been working out! There were 618 steps-one way!!!! Michael and I are both athletic but the heights thing was a little scary. Picture going up and down into Tallulah Gorge only with out handrails, without even steps, and it is all on the face of the cliff, oh and it is also about 5 times as high up.
We made it about three fourths of the way up and stopped on the only flat place to eat lunch. After refreshing ourselves and stopping the shaking we climbed to the peak.
I can't begin to describe what it was like at the inner circle of the monastery. On the outside you could hear the ocean and the millions of sea birds and as soon as you walked through the walls it was immediately quiet. There was a sense of God's presence there. It was awe inspiring and humbling. The view from the top wasn't bad either. We explored their beehive like huts made all from stone and wondered what it was like to have lived there hundreds of years ago. I don't think I would've liked it. It would have been very hard to have lived so far away(seemingly) from the rest of the world.
After our retrospective time ended, it was time to head down. On the way, we decided to be brave and actually look around. There were lots of sights to see if you weren't scared to death you would fall. We took our time but we got some great pictures. We also finally got to see the puffin. The puffin is a tiny little bird that makes its home on the island. They are a cross between a penguin and a toucan. Trust me, they are super cute. We caught them on video and on camera.
Back on the boat, it was time to journey home. The professor started tossing his lunch right away and the baby fell asleep once again. Cav took us by Little Skellig so we could see all the animals. There are 29, 000 pairs of nesting gannets. That's a lot of birds. We also saw some seals, sunning themselves on the rocks.
We made it home in one piece and are now packing to leave our lovely cottage in Kenmare. Tomorrow we begin the roaming part of this voyage. We are traveling to Galway and then on to Belfast.
Stay tuned for more adventures!
Have a great evening and thanks for reading my blog!
Hello all! I guess your prayers for good weather were successful, because we got to go on our boat trip today! I am not sure how Michael found this character but we had reservations on a boat with a man named Des. We were told to call on the day of the scheduled trip to make certain that the trip was on. This morning Des was beside himself with glee that the trip was going to take place. He told us to drive to Portmagee and ask for Des's boat. Honestly? We're just supposed to drive out there and ask for him? Ireland is not a big place. The whole country has a small town feel. We drove out there and we were greeted at the only dock in Portmagee by a man. He asks us who we are looking for and upon our reply that we are looking for Des he says, "all the way down on the right". And that was it. We walked down the dock, met Des and our boat journey began.
Des was the owner of the boat but not the captain that day. Our Captain answered to the name of Cav. That's all the info I got about him except that I noted that he smoked about 100 cigarettes while on board. We climbed into the boat behind only one other couple. We were early so we struck up a friendly chat. The couple, not married, were from Austria and Germany. They were very nice and talked about the places that they had already seen in Ireland. We next met a pair of men. One was from Dublin and the other was American. Turns out the American used to be a professor of geography at Georgia Southern, Michael's Alma mater, and they were there at the same time. Michael never took his class but it was still neat. The Professor now runs a business of taking private tour groups from the US and shuttling them around Ireland. He had already finished with his tour and was doing a little sightseeing himself. He recommended several places to see before we left. On the rest of our boat we had an older duo of English ladies, a set of two women (one young, one old) from Ireland, and a French couple who had brought their 5 month old baby boy. Cav joked that he was the new Captain.
We were instructed to put on the rain slickers over our pants and jackets. Even though Michael told Cav the Captain that our clothes were waterproof, he insisted because it sometimes gets "splashy" on the boat. Turns out Cav was right. The extra layer kept us dry and also kept us warm, the wind was a little brutal. I have never been on a boat in the ocean and didn't really know what to expect. Well I'll tell you, it's a good thing that apparently I don't get seasick. That tiny little boat hit those big giant waves and we went up and down, back and forth. Yikes! The professor was tossing his breakfast over the side multiple times! The baby fell asleep. Michael and I were good until the end when we just wanted to get off the boat. It took us 90 minutes to go 8 miles. I am sure there is some sort of Eminem reference here but I can't think of what it would be (8 mile...). Anyway, by the time we finally got to Skellig Michael, we were worn out.
I know I mentioned this yesterday but I wanted to clarify what this place is that we went to. Built in early 400AD the first Christians to settle in Ireland built a monastery on this island for seclusion. I knew all of this and knew that the terrain was rough and there were lots of stairs but I really had no idea. The path to get to the top of the island was straight up. Gilligan and Skipper did not do this on their three hour tour. Not only was the path essentially all vertical, it was also all multi-sized hand placed rocks on the path that served as steps to the top. We were also warned by Cav to be careful because it sometimes gets "slippy". It's a good thing I have been working out! There were 618 steps-one way!!!! Michael and I are both athletic but the heights thing was a little scary. Picture going up and down into Tallulah Gorge only with out handrails, without even steps, and it is all on the face of the cliff, oh and it is also about 5 times as high up.
We made it about three fourths of the way up and stopped on the only flat place to eat lunch. After refreshing ourselves and stopping the shaking we climbed to the peak.
I can't begin to describe what it was like at the inner circle of the monastery. On the outside you could hear the ocean and the millions of sea birds and as soon as you walked through the walls it was immediately quiet. There was a sense of God's presence there. It was awe inspiring and humbling. The view from the top wasn't bad either. We explored their beehive like huts made all from stone and wondered what it was like to have lived there hundreds of years ago. I don't think I would've liked it. It would have been very hard to have lived so far away(seemingly) from the rest of the world.
After our retrospective time ended, it was time to head down. On the way, we decided to be brave and actually look around. There were lots of sights to see if you weren't scared to death you would fall. We took our time but we got some great pictures. We also finally got to see the puffin. The puffin is a tiny little bird that makes its home on the island. They are a cross between a penguin and a toucan. Trust me, they are super cute. We caught them on video and on camera.
Back on the boat, it was time to journey home. The professor started tossing his lunch right away and the baby fell asleep once again. Cav took us by Little Skellig so we could see all the animals. There are 29, 000 pairs of nesting gannets. That's a lot of birds. We also saw some seals, sunning themselves on the rocks.
We made it home in one piece and are now packing to leave our lovely cottage in Kenmare. Tomorrow we begin the roaming part of this voyage. We are traveling to Galway and then on to Belfast.
Stay tuned for more adventures!
Have a great evening and thanks for reading my blog!
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Ireland trip day six
Thursday, day six, 6/3/10
Today we woke up very excited because we had booked a boat trip to Skellig Michael, or Great Skellig (islands 8 miles off shore) where there was an old Monastery dating back to early the 400s. I rolled out of bed early and went to take a shower. The first thing I noticed was that the back of my leg was itching. I went to scratch it and i felt a bump. I looked at my leg and saw a big fat tick!!! After I screamed for Michael and tried to remain calm, he extricated the bug with no complications. I feel fine but am a little creeped out that I had a foreign bug sucking my blood.
We were directed to call ahead for the boat trip as sea conditions change rapidly and we may need to reschedule. Sure enough, today's conditions were not conducive to visiting. We rescheduled for tomorrow and regrouped with our plans. We decided to visit a different island called Garinish Island, off the coast of Glengariff,County Cork. This was a formerly barren island that a private investor bought just before the "great war". He filled the island with gardens designed by a Spanish creator and had a summer cottage on the premises. The owner's son took over and ran the island and its many gardens until his death in the 1970s. It then became a public park. We rode a ferry over and were treated to seeing many seals on the smaller islands jutting out into the bay. We also saw a school of jelly fish and many many birds. The gardens were beautiful and slightly tropical. The climate in Ireland lends itself to being able to house many species of plants. We really enjoyed the gardens but didn't enjoy the double charge. You have to pay to ride the ferry and then you also have to pay to enter the gardens. Tricky.
To get to the island, we thought we knew the way. So we popped in the GPS and started out. Michael said that he thought we should go left even though the
GPS said right and there began our adventurous journey to Garinish Island. Everything was fine and we were following the road but neither of us recognized any of the landmarks. We had traveled this way just three days before and we thought we knew where we were. All of a sudden the road turns and heads up a mountain! I wasn't sure but I was pretty certain that we were no longer on the right path. As long as we didn't drive off the mountain I was ok with an alternate path. Turns out we should've rented the off roading package. This was essentially a dirt road that had twists and turns and 30 degree climbs. It was a heroic 30 minute drive that should've taken ten minutes on the highway. Michael, I think, secretly enjoyed putting the car through its paces. He was like a giggly little boy when we got on the main road. I half expected him to say "Let's do it again!" Needless to say we got hooked back up on the main road and made it safely to our destination. On the way back we took the road more traveled, not the heart attack trail.
The rest of the day we spent shopping and looking around the small towns on our way. We had more "take away" fish and chips because they were so good and we couldn't stop thinking about them.
There is no evening entertainment here unless you go to a pub. We already did that once and it can get expensive so we have been reading. I finished "The Help" and Michael is still working on "The Stand" and since we brought our Kindles I can go start on another new book. We could watch TV but there is only a few channels and all they do is talk about football-not the American kind.
So I am off to read more. Have a blessed evening and thanks for reading my blog. Stay tuned and hope for good weather tomorrow!
Today we woke up very excited because we had booked a boat trip to Skellig Michael, or Great Skellig (islands 8 miles off shore) where there was an old Monastery dating back to early the 400s. I rolled out of bed early and went to take a shower. The first thing I noticed was that the back of my leg was itching. I went to scratch it and i felt a bump. I looked at my leg and saw a big fat tick!!! After I screamed for Michael and tried to remain calm, he extricated the bug with no complications. I feel fine but am a little creeped out that I had a foreign bug sucking my blood.
We were directed to call ahead for the boat trip as sea conditions change rapidly and we may need to reschedule. Sure enough, today's conditions were not conducive to visiting. We rescheduled for tomorrow and regrouped with our plans. We decided to visit a different island called Garinish Island, off the coast of Glengariff,County Cork. This was a formerly barren island that a private investor bought just before the "great war". He filled the island with gardens designed by a Spanish creator and had a summer cottage on the premises. The owner's son took over and ran the island and its many gardens until his death in the 1970s. It then became a public park. We rode a ferry over and were treated to seeing many seals on the smaller islands jutting out into the bay. We also saw a school of jelly fish and many many birds. The gardens were beautiful and slightly tropical. The climate in Ireland lends itself to being able to house many species of plants. We really enjoyed the gardens but didn't enjoy the double charge. You have to pay to ride the ferry and then you also have to pay to enter the gardens. Tricky.
To get to the island, we thought we knew the way. So we popped in the GPS and started out. Michael said that he thought we should go left even though the
GPS said right and there began our adventurous journey to Garinish Island. Everything was fine and we were following the road but neither of us recognized any of the landmarks. We had traveled this way just three days before and we thought we knew where we were. All of a sudden the road turns and heads up a mountain! I wasn't sure but I was pretty certain that we were no longer on the right path. As long as we didn't drive off the mountain I was ok with an alternate path. Turns out we should've rented the off roading package. This was essentially a dirt road that had twists and turns and 30 degree climbs. It was a heroic 30 minute drive that should've taken ten minutes on the highway. Michael, I think, secretly enjoyed putting the car through its paces. He was like a giggly little boy when we got on the main road. I half expected him to say "Let's do it again!" Needless to say we got hooked back up on the main road and made it safely to our destination. On the way back we took the road more traveled, not the heart attack trail.
The rest of the day we spent shopping and looking around the small towns on our way. We had more "take away" fish and chips because they were so good and we couldn't stop thinking about them.
There is no evening entertainment here unless you go to a pub. We already did that once and it can get expensive so we have been reading. I finished "The Help" and Michael is still working on "The Stand" and since we brought our Kindles I can go start on another new book. We could watch TV but there is only a few channels and all they do is talk about football-not the American kind.
So I am off to read more. Have a blessed evening and thanks for reading my blog. Stay tuned and hope for good weather tomorrow!
Ireland trip day five
Wednesday 6/2/10
We started the day by going to get our tire fixed. Here they spell tire, tyre. We drove out into the country to find this little bitty shop. He took one look at our tire and said "bet you got that driving on the Ring of Kerry" and then proceeded to mumble something in Irish about lots of blow outs. He promptly sold us another tire, lest we get caught with another flat, and fixed the bent rim on the wheel. Michael and I were prepared for the worst but it ended up only being 55 euros. We thought we had won the lottery and ran out of there before he decided to charge us more.
Our next stop was at the bank. We needed to deposit the balance of our cottage rental into our landlady's account. While we were there we spied the farmer's market on the square. It was the perfect day for it. The sun was shining and there was a gentle breeze. The market was unlike the one we had seen in Philly. There were vendors from all over Europe there. Most of them were not speaking English. We saw all kinds of cheeses and meats, veg (they don't say the whole word for vegetable here) and plants, and a yummy assortment of cakes and pies. We only bought cupcakes but everything looked wonderful.
Then we headed out of town to the last peninsula on this side of Kerry. We went to the Dingle Peninsula. Unlike the Ring of Kerry this road is much less traveled. The mammoth buses stayed off these roads. But it was their loss because the views here were even more spectacular. The views were more "beachy" than the other rings which put Michael right at home. He was in hog heaven looking at those sandy beaches. We have a ton of pictures from this ring.
There was a km by km driving tour that we were following from Rick Steves' book. It was excellent and educational. We saw the house that Tom and Nicole stayed in while filming "Far and Away". We also saw the fields that the farmers like the character Joseph were trying to grow potatoes in. There are still a lot of remnants from the great famine here. Many houses were abandoned and were just left to decay. Many of them you can tour for several euros. That is one thing that the Dingle Peninsula people have figured out. How to get a tourist to spend some money. Every little rock, house, or hut on this leg of the tour had a dollar sign on it- or rather a euro sign. Michael and I passed most of them up except one. We stopped at this one place that had a ten minute "gentle walk" uphill to see these giant cliffs. You can't tell from the road. It just looks like a field and all of a sudden the field ends and there is a 800 foot drop off. It was magnificent. Beautiful views. We will post pictures eventually but they will never do the country justice. You have to see it to believe how beautiful it is.
We stopped in the town of Dingle, whose Gaelic name is pronounced "on dang en". Dingle is a very prosperous town. Mostly due to their keen sense of how to get money from tourism. The town is also known for its participation in a government initiative. They are trying to preserve as much of their Gaelic heritage as possible. In the schools they speak only Gaelic and all the street signs are in only Gaelic. Most of the country has everything listed in both English and Gaelic but not this town. Around the really scary bends in the road it says "go mall" which means, drive slow. I kept yelling "GO MALL" at him. He didn't appreciate it as much as I did but we both had fun.
On the way home we drove through "Connor Pass". This road is not even two lane suggested. It is just a plain old one lane road with a big giant cliff on one side of the car. If someone else comes you have to back up to an area where there "might" be enough room for both of you to pass. There was no whisking on this road either. There was only a stone wall and a cliff. Yikes. Michael drove like a pro. We made it home and decided to eat the rest of our lasagna so we could stay in.
As a side note to today's travels, here are some observations I have made about Ireland:
*The toilet paper is thick like a paper towel but not as rough.
*The water is not hard and perhaps a little more soft than at home.
*There are not many road kill animals.
*Everything is very small: small toilet, small chairs, small cars, small roads, small people, small sheep...you see what I mean.
*It's a very pretty country.
*They sell lots of Irish made items and have a lot of country pride.
*Downtown areas thrive and there are no Wal-marts.
*Driving on the left is not something we can do naturally.
Have a great evening and thanks for reading my blog. Stay tuned for more adventures!
We started the day by going to get our tire fixed. Here they spell tire, tyre. We drove out into the country to find this little bitty shop. He took one look at our tire and said "bet you got that driving on the Ring of Kerry" and then proceeded to mumble something in Irish about lots of blow outs. He promptly sold us another tire, lest we get caught with another flat, and fixed the bent rim on the wheel. Michael and I were prepared for the worst but it ended up only being 55 euros. We thought we had won the lottery and ran out of there before he decided to charge us more.
Our next stop was at the bank. We needed to deposit the balance of our cottage rental into our landlady's account. While we were there we spied the farmer's market on the square. It was the perfect day for it. The sun was shining and there was a gentle breeze. The market was unlike the one we had seen in Philly. There were vendors from all over Europe there. Most of them were not speaking English. We saw all kinds of cheeses and meats, veg (they don't say the whole word for vegetable here) and plants, and a yummy assortment of cakes and pies. We only bought cupcakes but everything looked wonderful.
Then we headed out of town to the last peninsula on this side of Kerry. We went to the Dingle Peninsula. Unlike the Ring of Kerry this road is much less traveled. The mammoth buses stayed off these roads. But it was their loss because the views here were even more spectacular. The views were more "beachy" than the other rings which put Michael right at home. He was in hog heaven looking at those sandy beaches. We have a ton of pictures from this ring.
There was a km by km driving tour that we were following from Rick Steves' book. It was excellent and educational. We saw the house that Tom and Nicole stayed in while filming "Far and Away". We also saw the fields that the farmers like the character Joseph were trying to grow potatoes in. There are still a lot of remnants from the great famine here. Many houses were abandoned and were just left to decay. Many of them you can tour for several euros. That is one thing that the Dingle Peninsula people have figured out. How to get a tourist to spend some money. Every little rock, house, or hut on this leg of the tour had a dollar sign on it- or rather a euro sign. Michael and I passed most of them up except one. We stopped at this one place that had a ten minute "gentle walk" uphill to see these giant cliffs. You can't tell from the road. It just looks like a field and all of a sudden the field ends and there is a 800 foot drop off. It was magnificent. Beautiful views. We will post pictures eventually but they will never do the country justice. You have to see it to believe how beautiful it is.
We stopped in the town of Dingle, whose Gaelic name is pronounced "on dang en". Dingle is a very prosperous town. Mostly due to their keen sense of how to get money from tourism. The town is also known for its participation in a government initiative. They are trying to preserve as much of their Gaelic heritage as possible. In the schools they speak only Gaelic and all the street signs are in only Gaelic. Most of the country has everything listed in both English and Gaelic but not this town. Around the really scary bends in the road it says "go mall" which means, drive slow. I kept yelling "GO MALL" at him. He didn't appreciate it as much as I did but we both had fun.
On the way home we drove through "Connor Pass". This road is not even two lane suggested. It is just a plain old one lane road with a big giant cliff on one side of the car. If someone else comes you have to back up to an area where there "might" be enough room for both of you to pass. There was no whisking on this road either. There was only a stone wall and a cliff. Yikes. Michael drove like a pro. We made it home and decided to eat the rest of our lasagna so we could stay in.
As a side note to today's travels, here are some observations I have made about Ireland:
*The toilet paper is thick like a paper towel but not as rough.
*The water is not hard and perhaps a little more soft than at home.
*There are not many road kill animals.
*Everything is very small: small toilet, small chairs, small cars, small roads, small people, small sheep...you see what I mean.
*It's a very pretty country.
*They sell lots of Irish made items and have a lot of country pride.
*Downtown areas thrive and there are no Wal-marts.
*Driving on the left is not something we can do naturally.
Have a great evening and thanks for reading my blog. Stay tuned for more adventures!
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Ireland trip day four
6/1/10 Day four
Today was a very eventful day. We decided to tour the Ring of Kerry today. All the tour books suggest to get up very early and go clockwise around the ring to avoid the myriads of tour buses. We followed those directions and did very well avoiding those aircraft carriers masquerading as vehicles on the suggested two lane curvy roads.
Michael has somewhat mastered the art of driving on the left side of the road and as a result we had a very pleasant drive. We stopped at Fort Staigue and looked at a strange rock fort that was several thousand years old. It had crazy acoustics! We dropped in at several cliffs and paid a few euros to get better views and it was totally worth it. We stopped at the Skellig Chocolate Co and got the best chocolate ever --there will not be any left by the time we get home, sorry. This ring was a little more commercial but the views were much more spectacular. We have plenty more pictures to show you from this day.
It takes multiple hours to drive this ring and we wanted to make it to the other side to visit a sheep farm. We were almost to our sheep farm destination when those pesky aircraft carriers started appearing. Along towards 5 o'clock those guys want to get home and they start hogging the road. Around one particularly dangerous curve, one travel trailer fellow decided he was not stopping and pushed us all the way over into the "whisking" area. I heard a loud pop and a rush of air. Yes, our tire had been punctured by a sharp little rock on the side of the road. Stupid big cars on the tiny roads!!!! So Michael was a pro. We handled it well and decided that a flat tire was better than no arms or a door torn off the car. With the spare tire securely attached we went on to the sheep farm.
The demonstration was already supposed to be over but when we got there it turns out the bus was late (they probably killed some unsuspecting Americans...). We immediately headed to the field where we were to hear all about hearding the sheep with the specially trained sheep dogs. The only problem was that this particular group was from France and so they explained everything in French!!! There was another couple from Hungary who knew no French either so we had this nice German lady speak to us in English so we all could understand. It was amazing. The dogs were incredible to watch! Then we went to the barn to see the sheep get sheared. They showed us how to do it and let us touch the wool. There was a baby lamb in the barn that was only three days old. Even though it was in French it was still very enjoyable!
For dinner, we wanted to try the "take away". This is basically a little stand inside a store front where you order food and take it home to eat. We ordered fish and chips and took it home to eat. It was by far the best fish and chips i have ever had. We ate too much and are now so full of fish and chocolate that we must go off to bed. Stay tuned for day 5 tomorrow. We are off to the Dingle peninsula and also to get the tire fixed.
Have a blessed evening and thanks for reading my blog!
Today was a very eventful day. We decided to tour the Ring of Kerry today. All the tour books suggest to get up very early and go clockwise around the ring to avoid the myriads of tour buses. We followed those directions and did very well avoiding those aircraft carriers masquerading as vehicles on the suggested two lane curvy roads.
Michael has somewhat mastered the art of driving on the left side of the road and as a result we had a very pleasant drive. We stopped at Fort Staigue and looked at a strange rock fort that was several thousand years old. It had crazy acoustics! We dropped in at several cliffs and paid a few euros to get better views and it was totally worth it. We stopped at the Skellig Chocolate Co and got the best chocolate ever --there will not be any left by the time we get home, sorry. This ring was a little more commercial but the views were much more spectacular. We have plenty more pictures to show you from this day.
It takes multiple hours to drive this ring and we wanted to make it to the other side to visit a sheep farm. We were almost to our sheep farm destination when those pesky aircraft carriers started appearing. Along towards 5 o'clock those guys want to get home and they start hogging the road. Around one particularly dangerous curve, one travel trailer fellow decided he was not stopping and pushed us all the way over into the "whisking" area. I heard a loud pop and a rush of air. Yes, our tire had been punctured by a sharp little rock on the side of the road. Stupid big cars on the tiny roads!!!! So Michael was a pro. We handled it well and decided that a flat tire was better than no arms or a door torn off the car. With the spare tire securely attached we went on to the sheep farm.
The demonstration was already supposed to be over but when we got there it turns out the bus was late (they probably killed some unsuspecting Americans...). We immediately headed to the field where we were to hear all about hearding the sheep with the specially trained sheep dogs. The only problem was that this particular group was from France and so they explained everything in French!!! There was another couple from Hungary who knew no French either so we had this nice German lady speak to us in English so we all could understand. It was amazing. The dogs were incredible to watch! Then we went to the barn to see the sheep get sheared. They showed us how to do it and let us touch the wool. There was a baby lamb in the barn that was only three days old. Even though it was in French it was still very enjoyable!
For dinner, we wanted to try the "take away". This is basically a little stand inside a store front where you order food and take it home to eat. We ordered fish and chips and took it home to eat. It was by far the best fish and chips i have ever had. We ate too much and are now so full of fish and chocolate that we must go off to bed. Stay tuned for day 5 tomorrow. We are off to the Dingle peninsula and also to get the tire fixed.
Have a blessed evening and thanks for reading my blog!
Ireland Trip Day Three
Day Three 5/31/10
Happy Memorial Day! They don't celebrate it here. Go Figure!
Since we slept all morning, we finally got going on our first adventure by 12pm. We decided to tour the Ring of Beara. It is a Peninsula that you can drive around and be back to Kenmare in half a day. We were told that you can go anywhere in Ireland and take pictures. We took that to heart as we ditched our car on the side of the road, lea pt a fence, and started snapping pictures of sheep. There were in this picture perfect field of green grass and yellow flowers--pictures to come soon. In our defense there was a sign indicating there was approved fishing at the bottom of the hill. No one arrested us, yet.
We visited the Dereen Gardens and saw rhododendrons the size of Texas. Seriously, they were bigger than our house. We spied several blue herons flying around. We also got in a great hike around the grounds. We ate our sack lunch in the car because it was raining but it was not a bad experience due to the biscuits. Yes, I said biscuits. They are not like the kind your Mama made, they are tea biscuits. There are entire aisles at the market dedicated to the biscuit. On the way to the house the day before we had picked up a roll because we were starving a sleepy. We hoped the sugar would satisfy and perk us up. It did both and now we love biscuits. They are basically shortbread cookies. As a side note here, they call Twix candy bars "chocolate covered biscuits". So lunch was yummy and we continued on the Ring of Beara trail. We stopped at every scenic view and took gobs of beautiful pictures, each better than the last. We went to Glengarriff Woods Nature Reserve and hiked to the top of Widow's Look out. Had we known this was straight up, we probably wouldn't have gone but, oh well. It was a nice view except the fog started to roll in. We couldn't see much for the rest of the trip due to fog, so we headed back to Kenmare.
Michael wanted to try a local pub. There are no restaurants open past 6 or 7pm. Anything food after that time has to be pub or "take away"--essentially fast food, although they don't really have what we call "fast food"--more on that later. We finally found a pub that looked worthy. They were extremely busy and not too friendly so we tried not to be annoying foreigners who don't know what to do. We watched others and quickly followed what they did. It was obvious we needed to order something from the bar or be looked down on and know quickly what we wanted to eat. Michael ordered a Guinness to drink and fish and chips to eat while I got a Bailey's coffee, water, and bacon and cabbage to eat. They sat us as quick as they could and we got down to some serious people watching. Most of the people there were from different countries. It was very interesting. When our food came, it was all soooooo good. Bacon, by the way, is ham. I didn't know that until the food was served but it was good anyway. Michael discovered he really liked the Irish Guinness but we will see if that trend continues at home.
After a full day of touring and full bellies we headed off the bed. Stay tuned for day 4!
Have a blessed evening and thanks for reading my blog!
Happy Memorial Day! They don't celebrate it here. Go Figure!
Since we slept all morning, we finally got going on our first adventure by 12pm. We decided to tour the Ring of Beara. It is a Peninsula that you can drive around and be back to Kenmare in half a day. We were told that you can go anywhere in Ireland and take pictures. We took that to heart as we ditched our car on the side of the road, lea pt a fence, and started snapping pictures of sheep. There were in this picture perfect field of green grass and yellow flowers--pictures to come soon. In our defense there was a sign indicating there was approved fishing at the bottom of the hill. No one arrested us, yet.
We visited the Dereen Gardens and saw rhododendrons the size of Texas. Seriously, they were bigger than our house. We spied several blue herons flying around. We also got in a great hike around the grounds. We ate our sack lunch in the car because it was raining but it was not a bad experience due to the biscuits. Yes, I said biscuits. They are not like the kind your Mama made, they are tea biscuits. There are entire aisles at the market dedicated to the biscuit. On the way to the house the day before we had picked up a roll because we were starving a sleepy. We hoped the sugar would satisfy and perk us up. It did both and now we love biscuits. They are basically shortbread cookies. As a side note here, they call Twix candy bars "chocolate covered biscuits". So lunch was yummy and we continued on the Ring of Beara trail. We stopped at every scenic view and took gobs of beautiful pictures, each better than the last. We went to Glengarriff Woods Nature Reserve and hiked to the top of Widow's Look out. Had we known this was straight up, we probably wouldn't have gone but, oh well. It was a nice view except the fog started to roll in. We couldn't see much for the rest of the trip due to fog, so we headed back to Kenmare.
Michael wanted to try a local pub. There are no restaurants open past 6 or 7pm. Anything food after that time has to be pub or "take away"--essentially fast food, although they don't really have what we call "fast food"--more on that later. We finally found a pub that looked worthy. They were extremely busy and not too friendly so we tried not to be annoying foreigners who don't know what to do. We watched others and quickly followed what they did. It was obvious we needed to order something from the bar or be looked down on and know quickly what we wanted to eat. Michael ordered a Guinness to drink and fish and chips to eat while I got a Bailey's coffee, water, and bacon and cabbage to eat. They sat us as quick as they could and we got down to some serious people watching. Most of the people there were from different countries. It was very interesting. When our food came, it was all soooooo good. Bacon, by the way, is ham. I didn't know that until the food was served but it was good anyway. Michael discovered he really liked the Irish Guinness but we will see if that trend continues at home.
After a full day of touring and full bellies we headed off the bed. Stay tuned for day 4!
Have a blessed evening and thanks for reading my blog!
Monday, May 31, 2010
Ireland Trip Day 2
5-30-10
Please note that these events took place on Sunday not today. I am aware that the blog is dating it on the day I post. Sorry if there is confusion.
So we left our story on the plane and this is where we now begin...
Michael and I planned to do nothing but sleep on the plane as we would wake up at 9am in Ireland. Michael, of course, fell fast asleep. I had a little trouble. After watching about an hour of TV I finally passed out. While I was waiting on the sleep fairy, the flight attendant came around with cards we had to turn in. The cards were "landing cards" that Ireland requires all passengers to fill out unless you have a UK passport. I got myself and sleeping beauty a card and promptly fell asleep. After about four hours of tossing and turning I was done with sleeping on plane. I had somehow missed the dinner service but I do recall someone asking me if I wanted meatballs. I only remember because the smell made me slightly nauseous. . But I was delightfully awakened by my husband to receive a breakfast tray. Bellies full, air travel almost complete, we needed to fill out the landing card before the trip was finished. You had to fill out these cards with a pen. Unfortunately due to the teeny tiny travel space I had, my normal purse pen was no longer in my purse. I asked two flight attendants for a pen to no avail. I ask you, if they want you to fill out the card in pen, why do they not give you a pen? Regardless, no need to panic, a friendly seat neighbor let us borrow his. Time to enter Ireland.
We passed easily through customs and the gate agents and followed the friendly airport signs to the scariest place on earth, the Car Rentals. To travel the places we wanted to go, this was the only option. We got our Fiat and had to figure out how it worked. Because they drive on the left side of the road, that means that you have to sit on the right side and look to the right before you turn right. Panic and anxiety are two words that come to mind when I recall our first few moments in the car. We had to get a Sim card for the phone and a road map for the directions so Michael programmed our new GPS to take us to the nearest mall. We successfully navigated the left side of the road and also the round-a-bouts to make it to the mall only to realize it is Sunday and they don't open until 12pm. So what to do until then? We had breakfast (which really feels like lunch to our bodies) at the local McDonalds. That is not an Irish restaurant folks. It was a good ole American Micky D's. The menu was somewhat different and the coffee was horrible but it was neat to eat there nonetheless.
After acquiring our booty, we traveled to our rental home for the first week of the trip in Kenmare, County Kerry. The roads started out easy enough to drive because they were two lane highways. Then they went down to two lane roads. Next they went to two lane suggestions. That means that the bigger car wins. It was like playing a game of chicken for two hours. Who will pull over first? Which car will make it? Did you hear any scraping? One of the guide books says to "edge over to the left. The vegetation will gently whisk your car but hardly ever scratches". Michael was gently whisking the crap out of our car. Not only was it unnatural to drive on the left, you also had to be a daredevil. The speed limit was posted at 120 KM/ hour. These roads were clearly not made for that speed. I am surprised we made it alive to the house. In addition, we were both falling asleep due to severe jet lag.
Finally we made it to the house. The views were beautiful. We stopped at a Grocery Store to pick up some daily needs and also to get dinner. We had to plan the evening carefully because we needed to keep busy in order to stay awake. We took showers, ate dinner, went on a walk, watched TV, and it was hard! Finally we made it to 9pm and we went to bed. It was still light outside when our eyes shut and it was light when we opened them 12 hours later. Needless to say, I felt very rested.
Day three is next with our first exploring adventure. Stay tuned in!
Have a blessed evening and thanks for reading my blog.
Please note that these events took place on Sunday not today. I am aware that the blog is dating it on the day I post. Sorry if there is confusion.
So we left our story on the plane and this is where we now begin...
Michael and I planned to do nothing but sleep on the plane as we would wake up at 9am in Ireland. Michael, of course, fell fast asleep. I had a little trouble. After watching about an hour of TV I finally passed out. While I was waiting on the sleep fairy, the flight attendant came around with cards we had to turn in. The cards were "landing cards" that Ireland requires all passengers to fill out unless you have a UK passport. I got myself and sleeping beauty a card and promptly fell asleep. After about four hours of tossing and turning I was done with sleeping on plane. I had somehow missed the dinner service but I do recall someone asking me if I wanted meatballs. I only remember because the smell made me slightly nauseous. . But I was delightfully awakened by my husband to receive a breakfast tray. Bellies full, air travel almost complete, we needed to fill out the landing card before the trip was finished. You had to fill out these cards with a pen. Unfortunately due to the teeny tiny travel space I had, my normal purse pen was no longer in my purse. I asked two flight attendants for a pen to no avail. I ask you, if they want you to fill out the card in pen, why do they not give you a pen? Regardless, no need to panic, a friendly seat neighbor let us borrow his. Time to enter Ireland.
We passed easily through customs and the gate agents and followed the friendly airport signs to the scariest place on earth, the Car Rentals. To travel the places we wanted to go, this was the only option. We got our Fiat and had to figure out how it worked. Because they drive on the left side of the road, that means that you have to sit on the right side and look to the right before you turn right. Panic and anxiety are two words that come to mind when I recall our first few moments in the car. We had to get a Sim card for the phone and a road map for the directions so Michael programmed our new GPS to take us to the nearest mall. We successfully navigated the left side of the road and also the round-a-bouts to make it to the mall only to realize it is Sunday and they don't open until 12pm. So what to do until then? We had breakfast (which really feels like lunch to our bodies) at the local McDonalds. That is not an Irish restaurant folks. It was a good ole American Micky D's. The menu was somewhat different and the coffee was horrible but it was neat to eat there nonetheless.
After acquiring our booty, we traveled to our rental home for the first week of the trip in Kenmare, County Kerry. The roads started out easy enough to drive because they were two lane highways. Then they went down to two lane roads. Next they went to two lane suggestions. That means that the bigger car wins. It was like playing a game of chicken for two hours. Who will pull over first? Which car will make it? Did you hear any scraping? One of the guide books says to "edge over to the left. The vegetation will gently whisk your car but hardly ever scratches". Michael was gently whisking the crap out of our car. Not only was it unnatural to drive on the left, you also had to be a daredevil. The speed limit was posted at 120 KM/ hour. These roads were clearly not made for that speed. I am surprised we made it alive to the house. In addition, we were both falling asleep due to severe jet lag.
Finally we made it to the house. The views were beautiful. We stopped at a Grocery Store to pick up some daily needs and also to get dinner. We had to plan the evening carefully because we needed to keep busy in order to stay awake. We took showers, ate dinner, went on a walk, watched TV, and it was hard! Finally we made it to 9pm and we went to bed. It was still light outside when our eyes shut and it was light when we opened them 12 hours later. Needless to say, I felt very rested.
Day three is next with our first exploring adventure. Stay tuned in!
Have a blessed evening and thanks for reading my blog.
Ireland Trip DayOne
5-29-10
Today we left for our epic journey to a land far far away. In order to fill you all in on the details and also so we can manage to remember ourselves, I will be chronicling our journey for you. So today we left... at 5:00am the alarm went off and we got ready to go. My good friend,Christie Bailey, was kind enough to come and pick us up and drive us all the way to the airport. I tell ya, they don't make friends like that any more. We checked in and went through security with no issues at all, except for one very unpleasant lady that was in the wrong line of work. If you want to be employed as a security line agent,you should really not mind working with people. Now we are ready to embark on the first leg of our trip. You see, Michael and I cannot just fly directly to Ireland, because we are WAY too cheap. We instead fly to Philadelphia, PA.
At 10:30am, the first leg of our journey is complete. Michael and I are in Philly and we have several objectives. We would like to see the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall and eat a Philly cheese steak. We are very simple to please.
In addition, Michael found this quaint little joint that was labled "Market East" on the map and we will go there too. So...we board the train, yes a real train, and take off for downtown Philly. There is a man that comes through the cars of the trains and gives you this little ticket that he punches out. You pay him and then put your ticket on the little slot on the chair in front of you. Soooo cool!!! The sights of Philly were not all that exciting but apparently we were in the right place for partying because the US soccer team was playing a World Cup game that very same day!!! Lots of fun on the train. Meanwhile Michael and I are trying to figure out why people were so spirited.
Our first stop on the journey toke us to the food mecca, I mean the Market East. It is SOOOOOO awesome. They have everything you would ever want in a Farmer's Market/bakery/arts and crafts fair. Michael and I drooled over the smells and food but didn't buy anything. As a bonus, I found $5 on the floor. I asked around but no one claimed it. Score $5 for me :) Now we are getting hungry so we travel on to the original Philly cheese steak place. We walked several blocks to find this particular store and when I say several, I mean 12. It's a good thing that decided to pack light for this trip. We both only have little carry-ons. The cheese steak was excellent, we ate outside. The place was called Campo's and was so busy that we really ate outside because there was nowhere else to sit. The city was buzzing with excitement about the game and on the walk back towards the center of town we passed the following things: Dole fruit juice stand giving out free samples, a guy playing the guitar, a drumline-where the bass drum had only one head and lots of duct tape, a man with two pythons draped over his body-one albino (we could've had our picture taken with him...), a stage with a man shouting in a microphone about how Jesus was a member of the KKK (he had several very well built body guards), and lots of people going to the soccer game.
Finally we make it to Independence Hall. We snap our pictures and look at it in awe. We also see the Liberty Bell from behind glass. We can't go inside because we have our luggage but we got close. As a bonus we also got to see the land where Ben Franklin's house used to be. It was torn down but they have a very neat museum there and you can see the foundations of his old house. After all the excitement we sit on a bench and contemplate what to do next. We still have several hours to kill before the next leg of the trip. As we sit and wonder, we remember all those wonderful goods at the Market (remember it is 12 blocks away?). Neither of us will say we want to go because it is kind of far but we are interested. We leave it to the flip of a coin. Heads-we get cookies, Tails-we head for the train. Heads it was and we started walking. The cookies were totally worth it. If you are ever in Philadelphia, go to the Market East!!!
Now for the second leg of our journey. We are not in Ireland yet. We have to hop on the subway, to take us to the Regional Rail. Then we take the Regional Rail to Trenton, NJ. Then we switch trains to take a NJ transit train to Newark, NJ. We then transfer to an Air Train which should conveniently whisk us over to the airport. That last train didn't work but it was alright with us because we figured, "What's a little more walking?" It wasn't really far to our gate. There were some other people thought that were extremely distraught that the train didn't work. There was this British guy that was complaining so badly I thought he might have an anxiety attach right there on the platform. He kept saying that the service was so terrible it was "shocking". This now becomes the fun word for our trip. We were laughing so hard at this guy. Everything we now see is "shocking"--please add a British accent for the full effect.
We are finally at the Newark Airport and we are waiting on our 10:00pm flight to Shannon Ireland. The anticipation is great and not without some airport entertainment. First we see a lovely display of foreigners not knowing our customs as a mother takes her two year old and holds him over the trash can to pee. Yes he thought that seeing his wee wee go in the trash can was hilarious. I did not. We also watched in horror/mysticism as a plane bound for New Delhi was almost crashed by the people trying to get on it. They were continually announcing for the people to "back 5 feet away from the door". We thought someone was going to get crushed. Finally we get on the plane and embark on the final leg of the journey, sort of--more story later.
It is time to sleep on the plane because when we land it will be 9am in Ireland. So goodnight for now, more stories to come.
Have a blessed evening and thanks for reading my blog.
Today we left for our epic journey to a land far far away. In order to fill you all in on the details and also so we can manage to remember ourselves, I will be chronicling our journey for you. So today we left... at 5:00am the alarm went off and we got ready to go. My good friend,Christie Bailey, was kind enough to come and pick us up and drive us all the way to the airport. I tell ya, they don't make friends like that any more. We checked in and went through security with no issues at all, except for one very unpleasant lady that was in the wrong line of work. If you want to be employed as a security line agent,you should really not mind working with people. Now we are ready to embark on the first leg of our trip. You see, Michael and I cannot just fly directly to Ireland, because we are WAY too cheap. We instead fly to Philadelphia, PA.
At 10:30am, the first leg of our journey is complete. Michael and I are in Philly and we have several objectives. We would like to see the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall and eat a Philly cheese steak. We are very simple to please.
In addition, Michael found this quaint little joint that was labled "Market East" on the map and we will go there too. So...we board the train, yes a real train, and take off for downtown Philly. There is a man that comes through the cars of the trains and gives you this little ticket that he punches out. You pay him and then put your ticket on the little slot on the chair in front of you. Soooo cool!!! The sights of Philly were not all that exciting but apparently we were in the right place for partying because the US soccer team was playing a World Cup game that very same day!!! Lots of fun on the train. Meanwhile Michael and I are trying to figure out why people were so spirited.
Our first stop on the journey toke us to the food mecca, I mean the Market East. It is SOOOOOO awesome. They have everything you would ever want in a Farmer's Market/bakery/arts and crafts fair. Michael and I drooled over the smells and food but didn't buy anything. As a bonus, I found $5 on the floor. I asked around but no one claimed it. Score $5 for me :) Now we are getting hungry so we travel on to the original Philly cheese steak place. We walked several blocks to find this particular store and when I say several, I mean 12. It's a good thing that decided to pack light for this trip. We both only have little carry-ons. The cheese steak was excellent, we ate outside. The place was called Campo's and was so busy that we really ate outside because there was nowhere else to sit. The city was buzzing with excitement about the game and on the walk back towards the center of town we passed the following things: Dole fruit juice stand giving out free samples, a guy playing the guitar, a drumline-where the bass drum had only one head and lots of duct tape, a man with two pythons draped over his body-one albino (we could've had our picture taken with him...), a stage with a man shouting in a microphone about how Jesus was a member of the KKK (he had several very well built body guards), and lots of people going to the soccer game.
Finally we make it to Independence Hall. We snap our pictures and look at it in awe. We also see the Liberty Bell from behind glass. We can't go inside because we have our luggage but we got close. As a bonus we also got to see the land where Ben Franklin's house used to be. It was torn down but they have a very neat museum there and you can see the foundations of his old house. After all the excitement we sit on a bench and contemplate what to do next. We still have several hours to kill before the next leg of the trip. As we sit and wonder, we remember all those wonderful goods at the Market (remember it is 12 blocks away?). Neither of us will say we want to go because it is kind of far but we are interested. We leave it to the flip of a coin. Heads-we get cookies, Tails-we head for the train. Heads it was and we started walking. The cookies were totally worth it. If you are ever in Philadelphia, go to the Market East!!!
Now for the second leg of our journey. We are not in Ireland yet. We have to hop on the subway, to take us to the Regional Rail. Then we take the Regional Rail to Trenton, NJ. Then we switch trains to take a NJ transit train to Newark, NJ. We then transfer to an Air Train which should conveniently whisk us over to the airport. That last train didn't work but it was alright with us because we figured, "What's a little more walking?" It wasn't really far to our gate. There were some other people thought that were extremely distraught that the train didn't work. There was this British guy that was complaining so badly I thought he might have an anxiety attach right there on the platform. He kept saying that the service was so terrible it was "shocking". This now becomes the fun word for our trip. We were laughing so hard at this guy. Everything we now see is "shocking"--please add a British accent for the full effect.
We are finally at the Newark Airport and we are waiting on our 10:00pm flight to Shannon Ireland. The anticipation is great and not without some airport entertainment. First we see a lovely display of foreigners not knowing our customs as a mother takes her two year old and holds him over the trash can to pee. Yes he thought that seeing his wee wee go in the trash can was hilarious. I did not. We also watched in horror/mysticism as a plane bound for New Delhi was almost crashed by the people trying to get on it. They were continually announcing for the people to "back 5 feet away from the door". We thought someone was going to get crushed. Finally we get on the plane and embark on the final leg of the journey, sort of--more story later.
It is time to sleep on the plane because when we land it will be 9am in Ireland. So goodnight for now, more stories to come.
Have a blessed evening and thanks for reading my blog.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Other People's Stupid things
3-23-10
Since I have thoroughly embarrassed myself by telling you all my stupid secrets, I will now proceed to make fun of others. I have seen and heard many a stupid thing in my life. But this first anecdote is by far my favorite. As told to me by a friend several years ago, I will put the story below. The only thing I will change are the names to protect the innocent and the stupid.
Bob and Jane were avid outdoors people. They enjoyed water skiing, tennis, golf, hiking, and anything in nature's playground. For this occasion, they had rented a houseboat for a long weekend excursion. It was mid-July and very hot out on the lake. On the first day of their vacation, Bob had failed to properly apply sunscreen and had a red ring around his body just above his shorts line. After lamenting his now uneven tan line, he came up with a solution. For the second day of outdoor fun, before leaving the interior of the boat, Bob decided to strip down naked so as to not have a spotty tan line from a misapplication. Jane was the attentive wife and diligently rubbed the sunscreen on all areas to prevent any red rings. She then took her towel and proceeded out the door to soak up the sun on the roof of the boat. She only got three steps out the door when she heard, "OH GOSH!!!" and turned to see her naked husband running back into the boat. Apparently he had forgotten that he was stark naked and was just following Jane out onto the roof of the boat. It wouldn't have been so bad if there hadn't been other boats docked in very visible range. After Jane picked herself up off the floor of the boat from her hysterics of laughter, she checked around to see if Bob had been seen streaking on their boat. There were a few skiers out in the morning water but it was doubtful that they were looking towards Bob and Jane. Needless to say, Bob put on his shorts and they went on about their day. Every once in awhile Jane would giggle and remember the sound of her husband realizing he was completely naked. It will always bring a smile to her face.
And to mine. If you knew Bob, you would laugh hard too.
I hope that you had fun laughing at Jane and Bob. The next story could be about you.
Hope you have a blessed evening and thanked for reading my blog.
Since I have thoroughly embarrassed myself by telling you all my stupid secrets, I will now proceed to make fun of others. I have seen and heard many a stupid thing in my life. But this first anecdote is by far my favorite. As told to me by a friend several years ago, I will put the story below. The only thing I will change are the names to protect the innocent and the stupid.
Bob and Jane were avid outdoors people. They enjoyed water skiing, tennis, golf, hiking, and anything in nature's playground. For this occasion, they had rented a houseboat for a long weekend excursion. It was mid-July and very hot out on the lake. On the first day of their vacation, Bob had failed to properly apply sunscreen and had a red ring around his body just above his shorts line. After lamenting his now uneven tan line, he came up with a solution. For the second day of outdoor fun, before leaving the interior of the boat, Bob decided to strip down naked so as to not have a spotty tan line from a misapplication. Jane was the attentive wife and diligently rubbed the sunscreen on all areas to prevent any red rings. She then took her towel and proceeded out the door to soak up the sun on the roof of the boat. She only got three steps out the door when she heard, "OH GOSH!!!" and turned to see her naked husband running back into the boat. Apparently he had forgotten that he was stark naked and was just following Jane out onto the roof of the boat. It wouldn't have been so bad if there hadn't been other boats docked in very visible range. After Jane picked herself up off the floor of the boat from her hysterics of laughter, she checked around to see if Bob had been seen streaking on their boat. There were a few skiers out in the morning water but it was doubtful that they were looking towards Bob and Jane. Needless to say, Bob put on his shorts and they went on about their day. Every once in awhile Jane would giggle and remember the sound of her husband realizing he was completely naked. It will always bring a smile to her face.
And to mine. If you knew Bob, you would laugh hard too.
I hope that you had fun laughing at Jane and Bob. The next story could be about you.
Hope you have a blessed evening and thanked for reading my blog.
Monday, March 22, 2010
Stupid Things #2
3-22-10
Don't be shocked. I know this is the second day in a row that I am blogging. Try and control your excitement and shock.
In continuing my story from yesterday, I must tell you another stupid thing I have done. Ok. Control your shock again. As hard as it was to believe that I did anything stupid, can you believe that I would do more than one stupid thing? Also try to repress your laughter. It hurts my feelings a little.
So, on to Stupid People Tricks #2...
My loving husband surprised me on our anniversary weekend with a ski trip to Maggie Valley. We had a wonderful trip that included skiing and relaxing. There was also a hot tub that we soaked in after a full day of skiing. As much as I love skiing and hot tubs all these activities tend to make the skin very dry. So after I hopped in the shower, I slathered on some lotion to soothe my crackling skin. Later on that day I noticed some red welts popping up on my inner arms. I was a little alarmed but I thought that it was a reaction to the travel lotion that I had packed. As the day wore on the patches of red on my arms began to burn and grow larger. By the end of the night I also had splotches on my legs that were burning as well.
When I showed my husband, he was appalled by the spots and was ready to take me to the hospital. He demanded to see what foreign product had created this massive outbreak on my body. I grabbed the travel lotion bottle and read to him the outside that said "extra moisturizing" and at the bottom in teeny tiny print it said "body wash." WHAT!!!! The body wash got me again. I had put soap all over me and left it on all day!!!!!!! I am so stupid. I immediately washed it off and applied real lotion and began the healing process. Luckily within the week my skin was back to normal and my ego was only slightly worse for the wear.
I leave you with these thoughts. Beware the body wash.
Have a blessed evening and thanks for reading my blog.
Don't be shocked. I know this is the second day in a row that I am blogging. Try and control your excitement and shock.
In continuing my story from yesterday, I must tell you another stupid thing I have done. Ok. Control your shock again. As hard as it was to believe that I did anything stupid, can you believe that I would do more than one stupid thing? Also try to repress your laughter. It hurts my feelings a little.
So, on to Stupid People Tricks #2...
My loving husband surprised me on our anniversary weekend with a ski trip to Maggie Valley. We had a wonderful trip that included skiing and relaxing. There was also a hot tub that we soaked in after a full day of skiing. As much as I love skiing and hot tubs all these activities tend to make the skin very dry. So after I hopped in the shower, I slathered on some lotion to soothe my crackling skin. Later on that day I noticed some red welts popping up on my inner arms. I was a little alarmed but I thought that it was a reaction to the travel lotion that I had packed. As the day wore on the patches of red on my arms began to burn and grow larger. By the end of the night I also had splotches on my legs that were burning as well.
When I showed my husband, he was appalled by the spots and was ready to take me to the hospital. He demanded to see what foreign product had created this massive outbreak on my body. I grabbed the travel lotion bottle and read to him the outside that said "extra moisturizing" and at the bottom in teeny tiny print it said "body wash." WHAT!!!! The body wash got me again. I had put soap all over me and left it on all day!!!!!!! I am so stupid. I immediately washed it off and applied real lotion and began the healing process. Luckily within the week my skin was back to normal and my ego was only slightly worse for the wear.
I leave you with these thoughts. Beware the body wash.
Have a blessed evening and thanks for reading my blog.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Stupid things
3-21-10
Do you ever do stupid things? I like to pretend that I am completely perfect and that at no time in my life have I EVER done anything that resembles stupid or less than perfect. We all know that it isn't true. No one is infallible, albeit some of us are more fallible than others, but I digress.
This morning I was reflecting on some stupid things that I have done which made me feel really dumb but in time I have decided to share because well, to other people it will be hilarious. I guess I am channeling my inner Pioneer Woman, my favorite blogger, to "Keep it Real".
One of the first anedotes that came to mind was an incident that took place in the shower. No, this is not X-rated. I am usually an early riser and generally get up first thing in the morning and jump in the shower. The hot water serves to wake me up and also soothe out any sore muscles I might have. On this particular morning, I washed my hair as usual and then put in the conditioner. I leave the conditioner in and wash it out after completing the other menial tasks I need to do (wash face, shave legs, etc..). After washing out the conditioner I realized that my hair was not the same smooth texture it should be. It was tangly and hard to run my fingers through. Thinking that I had not put enough conditioner in, I went through the process again. I put in the conditioner and this time got a lot into my hair and then promptly rinsed. The same result took place again. I was hesitant to get out of the shower with such a mess in my hair so I once more went to get the conditioner to put it in my hair. It is at this point I should tell you the layout of my shower.
We have a dispenser in our shower that holds our shampoo, conditioner, and body wash (soap for those of you who are boys). All of the little levers are labeled with the appropriate titles and they always remain in the same place. On this particular morning, I guess my brain was not into reading and was more about the colors. Because instead of reaching for the conditioner the third time around I reached for the same item I had put in my hair two times previously, the body wash. Yes, I had thoroughly washed my hair with body wash two times in a row and was reaching for a third time when I finally awakened to the problem. READ the label. Needless to say I was embarrassed and never told the story until now. You may think that it's no big deal but it was a very silly mistake and now can you can relentlessly retell the story and make fun of me. Please change the names to protect my status as a person who NEVER makes any stupid mistakes.
I will continue the sage of the stupid things I have done next time.
I hope that you have a blessed day and thanks for reading my blog!
Do you ever do stupid things? I like to pretend that I am completely perfect and that at no time in my life have I EVER done anything that resembles stupid or less than perfect. We all know that it isn't true. No one is infallible, albeit some of us are more fallible than others, but I digress.
This morning I was reflecting on some stupid things that I have done which made me feel really dumb but in time I have decided to share because well, to other people it will be hilarious. I guess I am channeling my inner Pioneer Woman, my favorite blogger, to "Keep it Real".
One of the first anedotes that came to mind was an incident that took place in the shower. No, this is not X-rated. I am usually an early riser and generally get up first thing in the morning and jump in the shower. The hot water serves to wake me up and also soothe out any sore muscles I might have. On this particular morning, I washed my hair as usual and then put in the conditioner. I leave the conditioner in and wash it out after completing the other menial tasks I need to do (wash face, shave legs, etc..). After washing out the conditioner I realized that my hair was not the same smooth texture it should be. It was tangly and hard to run my fingers through. Thinking that I had not put enough conditioner in, I went through the process again. I put in the conditioner and this time got a lot into my hair and then promptly rinsed. The same result took place again. I was hesitant to get out of the shower with such a mess in my hair so I once more went to get the conditioner to put it in my hair. It is at this point I should tell you the layout of my shower.
We have a dispenser in our shower that holds our shampoo, conditioner, and body wash (soap for those of you who are boys). All of the little levers are labeled with the appropriate titles and they always remain in the same place. On this particular morning, I guess my brain was not into reading and was more about the colors. Because instead of reaching for the conditioner the third time around I reached for the same item I had put in my hair two times previously, the body wash. Yes, I had thoroughly washed my hair with body wash two times in a row and was reaching for a third time when I finally awakened to the problem. READ the label. Needless to say I was embarrassed and never told the story until now. You may think that it's no big deal but it was a very silly mistake and now can you can relentlessly retell the story and make fun of me. Please change the names to protect my status as a person who NEVER makes any stupid mistakes.
I will continue the sage of the stupid things I have done next time.
I hope that you have a blessed day and thanks for reading my blog!
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Hello World!
3-2-10
Well, here it is the second day of March and I am at home because it is snowing. What is up with that? Since I am stuck home and hubby is at school I have decided to update this here blog.
So, it was October the last time I wrote here. What has happened since then? Well, Christmas, New Year's Day, Lots of traveling, birthday, Valentine's Day, and lots of SNOW!!!!!!
Here is a picture of the snow for your viewing pleasure...
This is our house at the last snow. Right now, there is as much snow in our yard. YIKES!!!!
In other news, aside from the weather, Michael and I are super busy with the repair shop. There are clarinet re-pads and Bari Sax regulations galore in the basement. I will get to those right after I finish blogging.
My thoughts for the day are not very exciting. But I figure I am just priming the pump (so to speak) for better blogs to come in the near future. I guess this blog hasn't died yet. If you are still out and about checking to see if I will ever write again, be excited!
Have a great day and thanks for reading my blog (I forget which number).
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