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!
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Oh, traffic in Ireland isn't much different than in Germany where our huge tour bus was whicked by another tour bus which tore off the side view mirror. Luckly, Johan knew how to fix it and did that evening.
ReplyDeleteDennis had a wonderful birthday with cake all over his face he was a wonder. Grandpa Whitley gave him a turtle to sit on and if his feet could reach the floor it will pop up and down with him on it. He likes to sit on it and mash the buttons that play music and see the pretty colored lights on it.
While at the party somehow my keys found their way out of my purse. We have looked all over Sharon's car, Kristina's house and even to the 7 Tequilia's restaurant for the keys. Kristina sat down in the living room to rest from the search to hear the tinkling of something across the room with little Dennis.
"What do you have Son." It was the keys Dennis had stuffed them into one of his toys where only he knew where they were. Kris will come tomorrow and return the keys.
Sounds like you both are having a lot of fun.
I am having just loads and loads of fun, packing, packing, and more packing.
Love and keep safe,
Mom