i’ll be posting my ireland journal in it’s entirety for the next few days. if you haven’t had a chance to view the images, check that posting out here. i’ll also be posting my polaroid images when i get them scanned into my computer}
“we headed out of killybegs early in the morning to the giants causeway. it was about a 2.5 hour drive to it, going through derry and along the coast. it was such a strange contrast to be in ireland and then all of a sudden in the uk. there is a very noticeable difference in the towns and houses, but also in the countryside. the uk clearly has more money/less economic problems.
the drive from derry to the causeway only took about an hour — the roads were much nicer!
the causeway was just as impressive as i had imagined: the hexagonal stones step across to the water, and the waves come up and spray pretty far back. {ed. note: at one point jess and i were far enough out to be in danger of waves and slick stones, and we had apparently crossed past the sign telling us this… no fear though, i took some video! …. which now i can’t upload because i can’t find the usb cord… anyway}. once we asked the national trust person, we were able to find the wishing chair. we sat in it – i wished to know what i’m doing. you know.
we had sent gma down on the bus, so while she waited for that, jess, mom and i began the long walk up. at the top, i bought some postcards to send, and jess + i got wifi. {family friend from kc} is in ireland as well, so i’d messaged him. we’ll be in galway – we won’t so i doubt we’ll meet up with him.
we had lunch in bushmills at the copper kettle – i was craving a cheeseburger, so i had one. amazing.
from lunch, we drove a few miles down the road to dunluce castle, a 15th? century castle ruin on the cliffs. it was pretty fantastic, and it was easy to tell that the place is maintained by the national trust – not only because they are there taking money, but also because of the historical and archaeological displays. it was almost identical to stirling castle.
the ruins themselves are beautiful and so are the views. there were some great spots to see up and down the cliffs {also up the chimneys}. the castle also had some towers which were accessible, and nat’l trust has restored bits and pieces of it (like the bay windows).
jess found a cave, and mom and i walked down there. it was a much steeper path than i had thought and it turned out to be an underground archway {under the castle foundations} to the sea.
our drive back to killybegs was uneventful, but it did rain the entire time — it also took just a bit longer because of the weather. we had dinner at the tara hotel bar – it had a lovely view of the harbour and boats.“