Northern Ireland has been absolutely beautiful. After making it thru Derry to Colraine, I went and saw the Massenden Temple, which was built between 1779 and 1783 and the Mausoleum and the Belvedere which is castle ruins there. The I drove to Cushendale, where there was a festival going on in town. From there, I went up to the Bushmill distillery, Duluce Castle and the ever amazing Giant's Causeway. Today, I drove to the Carrick-A-Rede Rope bridge. It was something for me to cross that with my terrible fear of heights. But, that is what this whole trip has been for me. Crossing over and not looking back, but looking ahead to what lies ahead in the future. Facing new fears and challenges and knowing that I am a strong and capbable woman. As my mother told me as a child, "there is nothing you cannot do." Today was nice because I met 2 very nice families. A husband and wife , and their 8 year old twin daughters, who I crossed the bridge with. Then when I got back to the car, I was given tea and sandwiches by a lovely older couple, and their adult children. When I was leaving Pat (the older woman) packed up sandwiches and a juice box for me for the road and said she was just being a mother. I told her about my mom and she let me cry and she hugged me with a warm motherly hug. I said , it was nice to have a surrogate mother's care. AS I was leaving, she said she would think of me often and I said I would of her too. Now, I am on my last leg of my Ireland trip ,Belfast. I am going to go into the town center tonight and tomorrow and then drive back to Dublin tomorrow, so I can leave for UK on saturday. I love Ireland, I love the land and I love the people. This has been a great trip here and I plan to come back again someday.

Made it to Northern Ieland, besides the roads be wider and the accents being a little different, did not notice much of a difference. I was talking to Valerie, my B&B host about Northern Ireland and being Irish. She said she did not consider herself Irish. She said she considered herself British because she is a protestant. That was the first time since I have been here the discussion of your religion as a defining point of your nationality has come up. I asked her if she had a Bristish passport or an Irish one. She said she has a British one, but they give them the choice of what kind of passport they want. So, she has a British one, but her neighbor could be Catholic and get an Irish passport. Interesting pieces of History to gain up here in the North.

Doolin was really nice and very small, which is what I liked. I hate being in the cities with alot of traffic. I love what the villages have to offer. Small towns are great, you ask people where they live and every one lives up the road or around the corner. As you can tell from my pictures the Aran Islands and the cliffs of Moher were spectacular. From there I drove 50 miles of coastline to Galway. Galway is bustling, but still a little too much city than what I was looking for. When I was there, I went to the waterfront for dinner, which was smaller, but windy and rainy. Not to different than Seattle. After I left Galway, I took the most beautiful drive up to Kylemore Abby and took lots of pictures and I posted it's history in that. The next day, I drove to Sligo. I am staying in a village called Carney and staying in a lovely Farmhouse(pics posted) This is my 2nd night here. I have had dinner the last 2 nights at the local pub called Laura's and everyone in the pub have been so helpful and friendly. I think this may be my favorite village and B&B. Today I drove up to Donegal and saw the castle in that town and did their waterbus tour , which was very interesting. I was walking by a pub and got beckoned in by a group of people, which I thought was quite funny. The waterbus tour took us by where the Irish left for America in the 1800's during the famine, when they had no potatoes and many died of starvation. Many of the Irish walked for hundreds of miles to get to these boats to come to America and many did not survive those voyages. Can you imagine what the people before us had to endure to try to survive. Tomorrow, I head North to Derry, which I believe is in Northern Ireland. I have one more week here and my goal is to reach the Giants Causeway. Someone at the Pub tonight, was telling me that Derry is a walled in city, so I am looking fprward to seeing that. Well I will post more pictures as soon as I can. This is truely been one of the highlights of my life and I can see myself living in a little village somewhere where everyone knows everyone. It is the nicest feeling to be welcomed in these viallages and people are all so helpful. It is funny though, you start talking to one person about your driving plans and everyone pops in with their opinions. Not much different than home,but you got to love these people. The Irish , are people with a genuine heart and a good spirit and a love for life. Peace out to all of you:) My wish is that everyone in their life gets to experience the adventure of traveling by yourself. It gives you a confedience that I think we all have inside of us, but sometimes it is hard to bring that out. I have found a person in me that I knew exsisted, but I think I was afraid to let her light shine. It is shinning like a beacon in the night now.:)

day 4-Doolin

Sorry, I have not blogged in a few days. I was staying in Bunratty in County Clare. The internet service was very sketch there. But, I stayed in 2 very nice bed and Breakfasts. Heard some good Irish music at Durty Nelly's, went to the Nights, and had a midevil dinner in the castle. In my stay there I met some really outstanding Irish lads and lasses, who were very inviting and hospitable to this old American girl. They showed me some of the local fun and also, I met 2 lovely 2omen in my B&B who gave me some ideas of where my next destination will be.
I had wnated to go to Galway, so that I could go to the Aran Islands, but I also wnated to go to the cliffs of Moher and the burrn. They suggested I drive to Doolin and do the crusie to the Arran Islands and then it does the cliffs of Moher on the way back. I thought that was a great idea, but I could not get Doolin on my GPS. Fortunately, I was able to get Lahinch and I knew I had to go thru there to get Doolin. After a long drive down very narrow roads with cars coming at you at 120 km( I think that is about 75 miles an hour). I stopped a few times to get some pictures of the gorgeous fields, trying not to get hit by oncoming cars and going splat.
I finally made it to Doolin, checked out the times and the costs of when the boats go out in the morning. I have to be at the dock at 9:30 am, so up for breakfast by 8am and out the door.

Left Seattle at 12:30 pm yesterday. Met lovely people on my flight, 2 women from NY, one a fiight attendant and another an WSL teacher and nice elderly Irishman. The only rough patch was transferring planes. I had an an hour to get to my next plane and I had to go to another terminal at JFk, which means you have to wait till they send a bus for you, so that was tight and stressful. I sat next to a young college aged Irish lad who was very noce on that flight. After we landed It took 1 1/2 hours to get thru customs. He spent 30 seconds with me, so I have no clue , why it takes that long. Next I picked up my car. I was suppose to get a non air conditoned ford focus, but the rental guy hooked me up. he gave ame an air conditions SUV. But, I tell you after driving these narrow roads, I think I would have been better off in the Ford. The GPS kept loosing satelite signal, so i would drive and get lost. Finally, I retraced back to the airport and found a fruit stand to ask directions. This woman said she was going close to where I was going so she said I could follow her, thank goodness. Finally, after driving 90 miles to a city center that is 15 miles away, I get into Dublin. Again, I cannot find the hotel. I keep driving down all these one way roads hopelessly getting lost. So, I decide to park and exchange my american dollars for euros before the bank closes and try to get a cell phone and an o2 for the netbook. The bank was totol security. I had to buzzmy self in two doors and to leave had to buzsz myself out 2 doors. good thing it was not payday in Ireland, that would have taken forever. After, geting everything done I make my way back to my car exasperated because it was after 5 and I still had no hotel room. Someone suggested following a taxi to the hotel. I found one, but he was waiting for a fair, but gave me directions. I asked him if there is a time limit for parking afound out you need to pay, even though I did not see a paring meter. he said he was surprised there was not boot on my car if I had been there 3 hrs. He said they probably gave me a break, because they can tell it is a rental. Phew! So, again I head off to find the hotel and I drive in circles a few more tiems before i park and decide iam going to walk t find it. After asking another taxi drivers help, who walked with me to find it. Success and I was only a block away. it was brick and atached to alot of other business and only had a tiney cold sign , so it was hard to see, even though I must have driven past it amillion times today. So, I get checked in and she sends me off to their parking garage a half mile away.Good grief, more directions and a map. I enter the gated garage and find out I have to park in the basement of the garage. I had to drive my car into a one car elevator and it takes you to the bottom. Well, I get in there and it does not move. I finally figured out I needed to swipe my parking ticket to make it move. Then it takes you to the basement. Then I discover I am locked in the garage. I fianlly found an emergency stairwell and took that.
Well, it is 4:08 am and I have been up 43 hours, so I think I will sign out before another day of adventure.

Theme song

Ok, I got a picture and a theme song down loaded to the blog. Now all I have to do is actually go on my adventure.

Electric Boys - Mary In The Mystery World

Pre trip to Ireland

1. Blogg set up- check

2. packing not done yet

3. GPS not figured out

4. notify friends of blog- check