A Week of Road Tripping!

It has been a week or so since I last checked in with all my faithful blog readers!  Tanner and I were on what the Irish refer to as holiday and what we know as vacation!  Because we were given a week off of school, Tanner and I decided to take the time to travel around the Green Isle.  We left early on the morning of October 26^th along with our friends Eric and Mary Whyte and Shelly Boyd that we have met here at Bible School.  Eric and Mary are a lovely married couple from Canada, and they only live two doors down from us in Student Housing.  We have been truly blessed by their friendship and are looking forward to the many more months ahead of spending time with one another!  Shelley is from a town here in Northern Ireland called Hillsborough!  She is so fun and Tanner and I are so grateful for her friendship.  She loves us really well as she is always willing to drive Tanner and I to the grocery store or the doctor’s office or the bank . . . you name it!  But, not only does Shelley drive us places and help us settle into life here in Northern Ireland, she is an amazing friend full of encouraging words and thoughtful insight into what God is doing in my life especially!  I am simply blown away by God’s goodness in brining these wonderful friends into our lives. 

  

 

Eric, Mary, Shelley, Tanner and I all set out on this road trip on Monday morning in Shelley’s little 2-door car.  So . . . to say it was a bit “tight” in the car is a slight understatement.  With all of our bags, coats, boots, cameras . . . and the food bag of course, we were packed in like a little can of sardines.  On Monday we drove from Belfast, Northern Ireland to Cork, Ireland (by way of Dublin).  We only passed through Dublin, but Tanner and I plan on going back soon to visit.  We made it to Cork in about 4 ½ hours . . . not too bad.  We even made our own Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches on the way to save money on lunch.  Shelley had never heard of a Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwich.  I guess it isn’t a very popular sandwich here.  We explained that in North America a lot of kids take Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches to school with them to eat for lunch.  She thought it was hilarious.  But, I think she enjoyed her sandwich.  After arriving in Cork, we spent the rest of the evening exploring the city center!

On Tuesday morning, October 27^th, we woke up nice and early and headed to the Blarney Castle, which is right outside of Cork.  This is where the infamous Blarney Stone is located.  The weather was a bit foggy and misty, but that is actually a good day here in Ireland . . . so we have learned to be thankful for mist as opposed to torrential downpours!  The Castle was beautiful and we climbed all the way to the top!  All of us kissed the Blarney Stone . . . well all of us but one certain Tanner Richards who claims he has a bit of Irish heritage!  How is that even Irish . . . going all the way to Blarney Castle and NOT kissing the Blarney Stone.  As you can see in the photos below . . . it is a bit of a challenge kissing the Blarney Stone as you have to bend backwards over this little opening looking straight down to kiss the stone . . . a little bit freaky!  Anyways, we had a really fun time exploring the Castle and the gardens around it.  We found some wonderful little waterfalls . . . absolutely brilliant. 

 

 

 

Afterwards we all piled back into the car, made our Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches again and headed toward a town called Killarney.  While in Killarney, we visited another Castle, The Ross Castle.  The Castle sits right on water and it is gorgeous.  We were there right about Sunset, so we were able to sneak a few photos in before the sun said goodnight.  Speaking of the sun setting, it gets dark here around 5 pm.  I know it gets dark early in the winter back home, but MY GOODNESS.  It is hard to stay energetic after Sunset when it is so dark. 

 

From Killarney we headed to a small town called Ballinskellig on the South West coast of Ireland.  We spend Tuesday evening in a hostel there and enjoyed the coastal view when we awoke on the morning of the 28^th.  We spent the morning exploring the coast, taking some fun photos of Castle ruins.  We even ventured up a few roads to the top of this beautiful hill for a stunning view of the coast!  There were quaint cottages at the top of the hill that are available for artists, authors, musicians, etc. to rent for time of rest and inspiration to further their particular art form.  How cool is that!  

 

 

 

So, from Ballinskellig we headed over to the Dingle Peninsula to the town of Inch and Dingle!  We stopped in the town of Inch to take photos of the beach . . . too bad it was too cold to go for a swim!  It would have been fun to spend a day simply relaxing on the beach, soaking in the rays . . . but the clouds were doing their best to restrict the sunlight.  And from Inch we headed to Dingle to try and spot the infamous Dolphin named Funghi that lives in Dingle Bay.  However, we arrived about an hour too late for the Dolphin cruise that takes you out to look for the Dolphin.  From Dingle we headed to Limerick for our next pit stop of our trip.  We didn’t do much in Limerick other than eat at a classic Irish Pub.  We had a great meal while listening to live traditional Irish music!  Tanner and I loved it!

 

 \

On Thursday morning, October 29^th, we headed from Limerick to The Cliffs of Mohr on the West coast of Ireland.  The drive was beautiful . . . all the driving we did was absolutely stunning!  Sometimes I would look out of my window and see small mountains rolling into the sea, while other times I would notice miles and miles of the greenest pastures full of sheep.  When we arrived at The Cliffs of Mohr, we spent a few hours exploring.  We walked along the nicely cemented and well-guarded path along the cliff’s edge until we came to a sign warning, “Do not cross beyond this barrier.”  Well . . . there were loads of other tourists passing beyond the barrier, and being in a group of adventurous youngsters, we too decided to cross the barrier.  Ok . . . time for my disclaimer . . . just because I was one of the five in this group of adventurous youngsters DOES NOT mean I wanted to cross beyond this sign to walk on a slippery, muddy path less than 10 feet away from falling off the cliffs!  NO THANK YOU!  But, I tried my hardest to be a trooper.  Well, about five minutes into our little hike, after I had already yelled about 3 times at those in our group to be careful and watch what they were doing because I was so paranoid someone was going to get hurt, I simply broke down in tears.  I mean . . . I lost it . . . and I was so embarrassed.  Tanner sat with me for a while and then we turned around and walked back to the safety that is cemented and guarded walkways!  It was crazy . . . seriously . . . there were times that you were only a few feet away from falling off of Ireland! 

 

 

 

From the Cliffs of Mohr we headed to Galway!  Galway is a great town . . . we had loads of fun wandering the streets and finding a good place to eat.  Again, we ended up enjoying some fabulous traditional Irish music at the Spanish Acres Pub.  After spending the night in Galway, we headed on Friday morning to perhaps my favorite stop of the entire trip, Kylemore Abbey and Gardens.  From Galway, we drove another 1 ½ hours West through amazing fields and more stunning scenery, until we came upon the Kylemore Abbey.  The Kylemore Abbey has been the home of Benedictine Nuns since around the time of World War I.  This beautiful castle sits on a lake and we enjoyed walking all around the premises, visiting the Abbey, the Church and the Victorian Gardens.  I am not exaggerating when I say this place was in the middle of nowhere!  There was an absolute serenity and peace as we spent time exploring the Kylemore Estate!  If you are ever afforded the opportunity to travel to West Ireland . . . try and visit the Kylemore Abbey.  It was definitely worth the drive out!

 

 

 

We headed home Friday night, and were back in Belfast by midnight!  The trip seemed to fly by.  Tanner and I were not only blessed to see more of God’s beauty through nature, only further falling in love with our God and His absolute creativity, but we were also blessed by Eric, Mary and Shelley and the conversations we had all throughout Ireland.  We still can’t believe that we are really in Northern Ireland, that our dreams are actually becoming reality.  Thank you, thank you, thank you for supporting us on this journey . . . especially for all your prayers.  It is our prayer that we continue to seek after God’s will for our lives and that we will continue to be available and used by God to be living testaments of His grace and goodness!

 

Comments

[Shannon]

Thanks for sharing your fabulous pictures, Emily! It looks like you and Tanner are having a wonderful time.
Blessings,
Shannon C.

[Fabiana]

Thanks for sharing Emily:)

[Melissa Conte]

Thanks so much for sharing. Ireland is somewhere I have always wished to visit -now even more so. Bless you for following God's plan for you and your husband!

[Southern Gal]

We have friends that we supported for four years who were missionaries to Ireland through Greater European Mission. They would send updates and pictures (through the mail then). Your photos remind me of theirs. It's my dream to go to Ireland one day and experience the Green Isle for myself.
Thanks for sharing your adventures!

[Lisa Wheeler]

It sounds like a great trip, but you were wise to turn back and return to a safty zone, just this past September my neighbor died in Skellig Michael, Ireland by a slipping.

[me]

Emily-
I miss your blogs. Hope to hear from you soon.

[Meredith]

Emily,

Why don't you blog anymore?

[Kelly H-Y]

Love hearing about your travels and seeing the pictures! Beautiful!

[Davis Miller]

Point Break - A Perfect Bar Experience in NYC

A local friend recommended and took my Cali group to this amazing bar. He said that mostly locals came here so I didn't really know what to expect ambiance wise... but screw it, the view at this bar was absolutely breathtaking! No joke. I felt like a celebrity w/ superstar treatment as the staff are friendly and amazing to say the very least.

I don't know who the house DJ was but he definitely was playing music right up my alley. It would've been my dream for people to start dancing, but it's all good.

It's a bit sceney for my taste, but it really didn't bother me much. the bartenders knew their stuff, although their 1st cocktail was a little weak, when he saw i understood cocktails the next 2 were stronger. I also liked that even though the place was really hopping the bartender remembered what i was drinking when i came to order another. (he also understood how good a gin hendricks is, and not to overpower it with the mixer). It was amazing to see their “das boot” which is shaped like a boot filled with beer. Don’t get me wrong, I am not drunk…it’s an actual boot shaped beer container ready to be emptied..try it ..you will love it!! Oh..how can I forget, they even have a wheel o' shots where you just have to spin it and have to drink whatever shot it lands on!! Now call that bar creativity at its best!!!

We ordered the Veal and Fish Tacos. They were delicious. Mm! We ended up asking for spoons to polish off whatever remained in the platter. (Faux pas? Who cares as long as it gets in my tummy.) The fries were crispy, but not overcooked, just the way that I like them.

So take in this scene: You walk in to what seems like an overly crowded place, but soon fine an empty table. Time seems to stop and the only indicator of the night moving on is the moon and your brain cells slowly going to bed forever. The music is not to loud and the people around look good, the only thing left for you to do is to enjoy that drink you paid ridiculously low for and laugh at the joke your co-worker just told.

The vibe of the place just never seems to die out and if you happen to spot some NYC socialite, sports player, or star, don't let it get to you... because for that moment, this night they are no long more important than then you. In fact go up to them and introduce yourself!

All in all just a great place to meet new people, or just have drinks with people you already know. I've been to numerous bars in the city but i would say this place is just great. Very welcoming staff, very laid back ambiance. I’ve been here twice after my first visit with my Cali group . I would say its worth the every penny you spend!!

[Araba Yarışı Oyunları]

What a blessing for you and your husband and what a wonderful opportunity you all have! Be thankful unto God each and every moment
http://www.bentenoyunlari.org http://www.komikoyunlar.net http://arabayarisioyunlari.com http://www.zekaoyunlarim.com http://www.oyunzamani.com